Rideau Canal-Kingston

A foggy, drizzly,  morning gave way to a sunny afternoon between Westport and Upper Brewers Lock, where we spent our last night on the Rideau Canal. We traveled with Shearwater, a yacht we first tied up with back in Burlington, VT. We got together after dinner and told some good stories, as the sky turned orange and pink at sunset. After dark, we heard some children running and laughing in the grass field and we found them catching fireflys. Being from Alaska we had never seen such a sight and we joined in the fun running around attempting to catch some. Frazier caught two and they were fun to watch as they flashed like a strobe while sitting on his hand. Carrie was busy photographing a blue heron catch the trapped fish out of the lock. It was a peaceful night until some fisherman fired up their boat at 5:30a to get on the lake early in preparation for the Canada Day fishing derby.
The locks weren't ready until 9:30a so we got a late start toward Kingston. We had six more locks and had to wait for other boaters so it was a slow process. We arrived at Kingston just in time for the 150th anniversary Canada Day celebration. It was a lot of fun and there were many people but everyone was very nice and welcomed us Yanks to their celebration. Kingston was the original capital of Canada and was fortified with huge military structures to blast the Yanks if they tried to invade. There is so much amazing architecture and history here! We hung out on the docks at our boat with the rest of the locals to watch a tremendous fireworks show. It was a great finale to the fun day we had. Today we went to church and after the service stayed to fellowship with some fine Christian Conservative Canadians! In all of our travels and hundreds of folks we have met, I am still amazed that God made all of us in His image, and even though we are so different from each other, the bond of Love and kindness is universal. Everyone has been so kind and offered to help us with anything we need on this trip. We have been invited for dinner, offered a ride to the store, taken out for ice cream, given local tours, and many more kind gestures. We are all brothers and sisters and I hope I can make a positive contribution to someone like all these people have done for us! My number one goal on this trip was to meet strangers and share a laugh, a moment, a memory, or a story. I have not been disappointed and feel like we have made some friends that we hope to meet up with again someday. It has been a great experience and we only have a few more places to explore before we begin the long drive home. Lake Ontario is very rough but the weather window to cross is Tuesday or Wednesday so we are getting ready for that. The Erie Canal is closed due to flooding so we will have to see which route to take back to the truck. Maybe by Wednesday it will open up? We will venture to the famous Thousand Islands tomorrow and wait for the lake to calm. Until the next Wifi...or AT&T signal!