Well, last week in Peterborough I was at the doggie spa getting pampered with bubble bath, clip and fluff, when who came in to pick me up but SANDY! It sure was a nice surprise to see her. I guess Izzy and Jeff knew she and Dimitry were coming to visit, but Izzy's attempts to tell me must have gone over my head. I only understand a few of the words they use. From what I gather, they were a little weary from a long "red-eye" trip with many hours of planes, buses and automobiles trying to find us in Peterborough. They must have handed the red ones back in when they got to Peterborough, because Sandy's eyes looked real pretty and blue like always by the time she came to get me.
For those of you who don't know Sandy, she's Izzy's daughter who rescued me from the Animal Shelter eleven years ago and brought me to live with Izzy. We have a special bond, ya know...Now she's engaged to Dimitry and she lives in England, so I hardly ever get to see her. Dimitry likes dogs so I think the engagement is ok.
This is the view of the big fountain in the Peterborough marina where Sandy and Dimitry met us. 
Dimitry had visions of doing some fishing while surrounded by all this water, so Jeff and Dimitry soon went off on the bikes in search of a fishing pole.
Personally, I think it’s a good idea for Jeff to learn some survival techniques in case we ever get stranded out in the wilderness with Izzy’s crazy navigating or Jeff’s “adventurous” driving. Besides, I’d like a little more fresh fish in my diet and I’m just not that good at swimming to catch them myself. With Dimitry onboard we could do some serious fishing over the next week. YES!
That afternoon we took a dinghy ride up to the Peterborough Lift Lock to take a look at what we’d be going through the next morning.
This lock is very different than the others we’ve been through. This time there’s a big bath tub of water that we drive into, and they raise us up in the bathtub to the next level of water (about 75 feet up) while they lower another bathtub of water and boats down next to us. Kind of like the seesaws I see in the playgrounds. (No cherry bumps allowed!) Looks like there's potential for some screw up, so I'll have to be on my toes to avoid being anywhere close enough to be blamed for anything tomorrow!
When we came back to the boat, we saw some ladies all dressed in pink heading out of the harbor in their long row boat named "Survivors Abreast" to get some exercise. Izzy said they were breast cancer survivors and she waved and clapped as they went by. I barked.
We had a good dinner at Hot Belly Mama's and came back to the marina to see this pretty sight with the lights on the fountain.
Everyone stayed up for a while chatting about all the happenings since we saw Sandy and Dimitry (almost a year ago!), but I tried to get some sleep for the big day of locks coming up. I wish they'd turn off the TV.
Here are some pictures we took the next day as we went through that lock in the pouring rain. Sandy was stationed at the bow ready for the line holding while in the Peterborough Lift Lock,
and Dimitry was stationed in the stern.
They got us all tied up , then the bath tub of water moved up and up 75 feet high.
At the top they opened the gates on the other side, and we floated away down the canal in the rain.
The rain didn’t stop the whole time we were making our way through 7 locks in 10 miles!
At one lock, Dimitry got to turn the gate handle to close the doors after we pulled inside and even got the lock tender to take his picture! Those Canadians are pretty helpful.
At another lock the Lock Tender told him where he could pick a nice bunch of flowers for Sandy. Good plan Dimitry...you get extra points for that!
Needless to say, Sandy and Dimitry got a good dose of line tending by the end of the day, and were ready for the cocktail hour and some R & R when we pulled in to Lakefield Marina at about 3 PM. By then the rain had stopped so Dimitry got out the fishing pole and they fired up the dinghy for a little exploring and fishing.Here’s the catch of the day. Dimitry spent more time cleaning those little guys than he spent catching them.
Then he prepared them with some yummy spices that he dug up in Izzy’s kitchen
and put them on the BBQ so we could have them for appetizers.Dimitry said this is the size of the one that got away. Everyone laughed.
As the sun went down we had a relaxing dinner on our sundeck before being chased in by the mosquitoes again.
The next day Sandy was ready to hit the lines again for another day of locking and watching for rocks.
Here are a couple of sights from the locks."AGLCA" - Loopers version of "tagging" in the algae covered locks...thought they weere a little old for that!
This is the dreaded Zebra Muscle that is taking over the lakes and rivers and making the water clearer which changes the fish populations. There are a lot of them in the locks.
We had some sun the next day as we went through Clear Lake and did a bow watch for a well known rock called “The Spoiler”. I guess it could spoil your day if you found it by accident! Hell’s Gate was next on the list of places Jeff took us…go figure! This area is shallow -only 6 feet deep- and rocky with narrow channels to follow. It required some tricky driving to go between the red and green channel markers.
Rocks were all around us and some were real close to the boat as Jeff negotiated the narrow channels. There were lots of tall weeds growing in the water too, and since the water was shallow, they got caught around our props a few times. Jeff would have to stop and back up to get them unwrapped. The worst part of the weeds was that they caused the depth gauge to read "0.0 ft." many times, and make us all nervous, and Izzy's hair catch on fire. As for me, all this water and those close rocks make a guy want to jump out and take a wiz on one of them, but Izzy keeps me in my halter on the flybridge. 
There were houses built on rocks in the middle of the water where some lonely dog probably lived,
and even a church on a rock like in this picture
...where do people park on Sunday morning? Jeff followed this boat for a while through the rocky channel. Guess he was watching to see if he hit the bottom first!
After Love Sick Lock, which is only accessible by boat, we arrived in Bobcaygeon to find one of the most popular spots so far on our trip. Lots of boats were tying up to the walls on either side of the lock for the afternoon to shop in the downtown area. We had to go past the town and come back a while later to find a space to tie up for the night. Kind of like driving around the block in your car.
A nice dock hand helped us magically put our 49 foot boat into a 30 foot space on the wall above the lock with our bow sticking out beyond the curve on the wall.
We were right in front of the town park and the famous Bigley’s shoe store.
Izzy liked that! That night we were treated to a drum concert in the park (pretty bad) as we barbecued some burgers on the boat and enjoyed the best seats in the park!
It was also the night I met Tess - the beautiful blonde bitch of my dreams! She reminded me of Lucy, Sandy's dog and my good friend back in California. Young and playful and beautiful to boot! I was head over heels in love at first sight and couldn’t keep my paws off her. Izzy said she was “jail bait”, and that I should just get over it! Jeff was a little more sympathetic and let me paw at her a little longer. Tess didn’t seem to mind. Here she is…isn’t she beautiful?
I'm glad I just got my hair cut.
Soon we pulled out the ammo for the mosquitos, including the new electronic gadget that Jeff found while shopping that day,
and as the sun went down we enjoyed the view of the boats and lights on the calm evening water.
I heard Tess's boat leave the next morning while we were having pancakes on the sundeck, and we barked good bye from afar. I hope we’ll see her again sometime soon!
Dimitry has been trying his luck with fishing at all the locks when we stop, and sometimes he even trolls while we’re underway. He gets Jeff and Sandy involved lots of times.
I think he hooked a big one the other day but it must have gotten away with part of his pole,
because he and Jeff had to go and get a new rod in Bobcaygeon the next morning before we left. By the time we got to our next stop, he had the new one all rigged and ready for another try.
It was busy at Fenelon Falls and we weren't sure we'd find a space to tie up on the wall for the night on the other side of the lock. So Izzy got off the boat and walked over to see if there was a spot while Jeff and I took the boat through the lock with Sandy and Dimitry. Izzy took this picture of us as she walked over the lock. 
She snagged us a spot on the wall right in town, so we could walk to the restaurants and shops and the dog run for me. After a lunch at Slices and Scoops, Sandy and Dimitry took off in the dinghy
and Izzy and Jeff headed out on the bikes for a ride through the pretty cottage country roads. I got a good long walk too, but opted out of the bike ride. Here I am with Sandy and Dimitry... still looking for Tess.
Sandy tried to keep up her exercise routine on the boat. If she timed it just right she could fit in the "Ten Minute Abs" between locks. She talked Dimitry into joining her sometimes. 
This is the beginning of the long Trent Canal that is shallow and made of rocks. I kept my toes crossed hoping that another big boat wouldn't come through from the other way at the same time. Occasionally Izzy would spot another boat coming into view, and get excited. Jeff would say that Izzy's hair was on fire again. 
Then at one small opening, a big 53 foot boat came toward us.
It slowly passed as we inched over as far as we could without going out of the channel into the rocks, and so did the other boat. Whew! No bumps from the ground or the other boat. Lucky day! (and good driving from Jeff). Sandy and Dimitry were enjoying the adventure, and Izzy was busy putting her hair fire out. I think she should just wear a hat.
Then came a whole gaggle of boats straight at us as we neared the Kirkfield Lift Lock. They must have just gone through the lock and were anxious to get moving again. We held our course (and our breath) and the little boats had to go around us or wait for us to pass. We felt pretty big right then.
We made our way into the right side of the "bath tub" of water, and tied the Izzy R to the side of the lock, along with two other boats.
This was another scary ride in a tub of water like the Peterborough lock. This one was smaller, but the sides were more lattice like so we could see the ground better. Here are Jeff and Izzy before the lock started to move. You see she took my advice and is wearing a hat to keep her hair from catching on fire.
We all survived it just fine, and gave high fives all around when we got out.
I think Sandy and Dimitry have become official "Loopers" by now.
After this lock we have traveled to the highest point in the Trent Severn – 840 feet. We’ll be "locking down" from here to the Georgian Bay. I think that will be easier! 
But the red and green channel marker colors change sides again…another opportunity for problems in this boat! I hope Izzy and Jeff will remember that and not frighten me and the rest of the guests with sudden changes of course and expletives as they realize at the last moment that they are headed around the marker the wrong way into the rocks or something.
One day we drove through this hole in the wall.
I snapped this picture after we got through to the other side. Jeff gave Dimitry the wheel so he could take the heat instead.
I’m on to his antics, so I stayed far away. Looks like Dimitry will get the blame this time. He’ll learn.That afternoon we arrived at Sunset Cove Marina and went for a dinghy ride to a swimming place. I was a little confused, because Izzy usually makes me stay in the dinghy when we go for a ride, but this time she pushed me out of the dinghy into the water with Sandy and Dimitry to go for a swim! It was cool and felt good, but I was a little nervous and tried to hang on to Sandy. She helped me get out pretty soon. I was tempted to get back in for another dip later, but I didn’t. Maybe next time.
Here is Dimitry fishing off the dock at the marina. The twelve year old kid next to him was pulling in fish left and right with a net while Jeff and Dimitry fiddled with their fancy poles and only caught a few.
Sandy wanted Dimitry to throw them back so we wouldn’t have to wait all night for him to clean them again. I think she also has a soft place in her heart for fish, and wanted them to go back and have fun swimming.
Meanwhile, Jeff’s technique is improving…here I think he caught a California Roll.
When we left the Trent Canal, the water opened up into Lake Simco. Jeff was so relieved to be out of the narrow rocky channel that he let his mind wander for a minute.
Problem is that the boat wandered too, and we arrived in Simco Lake with a bang…literally …hit a rock on the exit from the long skinny Trent Canal into the lake. They're not kidding about staying in the channel! 
Jeff looked for me to blame, but luckily there was no apparent damage and he didn't have to fabricate a story about my driving skills again.
Rodrigo (or Drig as we sometimes call him) came out into Lake Simco to meet us in his boat.
He's a good friend of Jim and David Pearson from their youth in Canada. Drig lives right on Lake Simco in the little town of Pefferlaw, with his cute son, Marco. They guided us into the shallow harbor and helped us find a slip for the night.
Drig invited us to his house for a BBQ and swimming one afternoon. We all had a great time catching up with him and playing with Marco in his big yard on the lake. The grass felt real good!
Here are some pics. 
Later that afternoon, Sandy and Dimitry hopped in a cab and rode back to the Toronto Airport for the flight to California. I’ll really miss Sandy…she takes me for walks and talks to me all the time. I hope I’ll see her again at Christmas when she comes home from England.
I'm getting hungary now, so I think I'll go get a pizza.....NOT!
Till next time.
Love,
Ben
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