Hastings, Ontario, - Peterborough, Ontario, July 12, 2008

The four of us had dinner last night at the “Captain’s Table”, a restaurant recommended by several locals. Everyone said the halibut was good, so that’s what we had. Margaret and Beth had a halibut plate and Bob and Darrell had a seafood platter, which had scallops and shrimp in addition to halibut. Everything was fried and was accompanied by homemade french fries and cole slaw. The food was good, but the servings so large that none of us could finish our meal.

It was very foggy this morning when we awoke, but had cleared by the time we left, 8:00. We only went through 1 lock today and it was more than 30 miles from Hastings.

For several miles after Hastings the shoreline was populated with resorts, seasonal homes and RV parks. There were many farms along the way as well as year around homes. Occasionally we would pass small communities. Very old stone chimneys were still standing next to the shore. Almost every home we see has a beautiful, well kept lawn. Most are landscaped with bushes and blooming flowers.

During our cruising the past couple of days, Darrell noticed some vibration on the starboard prop and thought something had wrapped around the prop or shaft. He tried various methods of getting it off including backing up to change the rotation of the propeller. Nothing worked, so Darrell went in the water to check. There was some plastic wrapped around the shaft. Darrell got as much off as he could. Today he still noticed the vibration, so he shut down the starboard engine and we ran only our port engine. We will try to get a diver to look at it when we’re at Peterborough.

We went through a large part of Rice Lake today before catching the canal again. Rice Lake is very large and very pretty. It was very quiet, not much traffic, only an occasional fisherman. There are several islands in the lake, making it very scenic. About ½ way through Rice Lake we turned north to Kent Creek to follow the canal route.

Our one and only lock today was just before our stop. It was a small lock with only about a 10’ raise in level, but a very popular lock. It connects 2 lakes and they have many boaters using it. There were 4 pretty good sized trawlers and 1 runabout in the lock. It was quite a tight fit.

We got to our marina in Peterborough and were tied up by 2:15. This is a very nice marina, with very nice bathrooms and showers. We have seen 9 other boaters with Looper Flags. We all got together at 5 for drinks and snacks. Everyone brought a snack to share.

We are right next to the park that is the setting for the Summer Festival of Lights, concert and fireworks event every Wednesday and Saturday. We are looking forward to it.