Fenelon Falls

 Fenelon Falls 

As you can probably imagine we were a little stressed from the previous two days so we did a very short cruise to Fenelon Falls on Wednesday July 27th, a Looper favorite stop. It was only 20 miles and 2 locks so we were there by 11am. The lock wall is right in the center of the tiny town so it is pretty convenient. There was several Loopers on the wall also. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the local brewery and then went about town. 

There was another one of those local historical museums full of old items from the local area. They were actually having a High Tea in the lawn served with ladies in period correct dresses. The Museum was very interesting. We then heard about a bike path so we launched the bikes and went on a great ride thru woodland and costal areas. The bike path is used by ATV’s/golf carts, cyclists or walkers in the warm weather and snow machines in the winter months.  

We spoke with two ladies on Jazzy electric wheelchairs wearing shirts that read, “Sexy Seniors”.  Turns out they have a daily wheelchair jaunt to the coffee shop and back.  Electric wheelchairs are indeed the new “sexy”.

On Thursday we headed to lake Simcoe which was a 28 mile cruise and involved 7 locks and one swing bridge. It was a pretty warm day but it was windy so it was not too bad. We ended up staying on the wall just past the swing bridge at the mouth of lake Simcoe. It was well sheltered and we had an awesome view of the lake for our dinner on the Sundeck. We enjoyed the company of another boat from Waterport NY which is between Rochester and Buffalo. They had been to Georgian Bay and were a wealth of information. We also learned that there is, no kidding, a Virginia Beach, Ontario on Lake Simcoe. How crazy is that! I found this location perfect a nap. Lulled by the lapping of the waves on the hull of Next Chapter I dreamt of the coves we would anchor in (and I could squeeze a nap in) on Georgian Bay. One interesting thing that happened was this car pulled up and a really old guy clamored out of his car. Sue immediately went to the rescue as she thought he was in need of some type of assistance. Well it turns out he was dispensing information about the history of that particular lock. The original was built in the mid 1800s but it was enlarged in the 50’s. Well George happened to own a construction company at the time at the young age of 26 and did all the excavation with a cable operator excavator. Back then that machine was a highly specialized piece of equipment and he was the only one for many miles that had the skill to operate it. And so it goes. The next Morning we headed off for a 28 mile cruise that included 7 locks and one swing bridge. A pretty full day as you remember each lock takes about 25 minutes to pass thru. We ended up on the other side of the swing bridge just at the mouth of Lake Simcoe. It was well protected and offered a beautiful view of the lake. We met some other past loopers who shared some of their wisdom on Georgian bay. Turns out they were from Waterport which is just north of Batavia, NY where Sue and I lived for a short time before we moved to VB. We also discovered from some locals that there was a Virginia Beach, Ontario on lake Simcoe. Look it up I’m not smart enough to make it up!.

High Tea

Inside the Museum

Local Home