Kingston Ontario

Kingston Ontario:  So on the morning of day 2 in Kingston, Ontario, I decided to go back to the now infamous  (in)convenience store to pick up some eggs since we were completely out.  The store did not have eggs yet, but what they did have was our debit card in hand – useless now of course since we had to cancel it.  As it turns out the next person to request cash at the machine couldn’t enter his card because ours was still in the slot, so the machine ejected the card into this new person’s hands.  I had a passing thought as we were in the convenience store wondering whether or not that sort of a “solution” to our problem was a likely scenario and wrote it off.  Too bad we didn’t hang around to see what happened with the next person who needed money. 

The captain and I decided to go directly to a bank for funds.  The first bank we went to CIBC who was the owner of the teller machine at the (in)convenience store was less than helpful.  They told us that since we didn’t have the word “PLUS” on the back of our card, it wouldn’t work anywhere but we should try the Bank of Montreal since they dealt in all things MasterCard and should be able to give us a cash advance.  Weaving our way through the city streets to get back to the Bank of Montreal location, we stumbled across a TD bank.  I have  a TD card as a little ‘pin’ money.  Excitedly we went in and asked if they could help us, and in particular, if their machine decided it wanted to keep my bank card, could they retrieve it for me.  They said it was not policy to open the machine but given our detailed explanation of the prior day’s events, they were willing to do so if necessary.  Happily the machine liked me and my card and actually provided us with Canadian dollars.  I have never been so happy to see money before. 

We decided to leave Kingston and head on to our next adventure – the Rideau (Reedoe)Canal.  The locks on the Rideau are grueling; they come in sets of 1, 2, 4, and even 8 locks in a series.  On the Erie Canal locks can be close to each other but they are not attached / part of the same infrastructure as the preceding lock.  There is no time to even catch a breath before you move from one to the next.  Our boat catches the wind easily and so it was another “hold on for dear life” situations to try to hold the bow of the boat near, but not too near, the wall.  The sun was beating down and I had no water handy.  At some point I told the captain to grab me a hat because I was getting a severe headache and seriously concerned with heat stroke.  A hat, a drink, and a cool breeze helped.  Plus when I got a chance between one of the sets, I stuck my head under the sink and soaked my hair to help keep me cool. 

As we entered the first lock on the Rideau Canal, two other boats entered with us.  We locked through together throughout the day but parted ways at Seely’s Bay where we stopped in to check out their local market and buy the eggs I never got in Kingston.  Wonder of wonders, we even had cash to pay for them.  We debated long and hard about whether to stay put at the dock in Seely’s Bay or go on down  to a picturesque anchorage in Morton’s Bay.  We finally opted for dropping anchor and left Seely’s Bay behind.  As we entered Morton’s Bay I took numerous pictures of the rock walls surrounding us as we worked our way down to the very tip where we found a dam and a dock to pull up to.  We jumped out, took a couple of pictures including 2 of a frog in the water surrounded by lily pads, and jumped back in the boat to head back to anchor for the night.   Here we were told we could take our dinghy to shore and if we are “serious hikers” climb up some of the rocky terrain to get a great view of the Whitefish Lake.  That will be a morning activity if it happens.  Following that we head to Jones’ Falls where we were told we need to go even if we don’t stay.