We began our morning early to be one of the first boats of the day through the Peterborough Lift Lock. First we had to go through the Peterborough Lock that was before the Lift Lock. We were bummed to see three other boats already there. There was a boat a little bigger than ours, a sailboat, and a houseboat. We had been warned to watch out for the houseboats that were mostly rentals with inexperienced drivers. We were a little wary at first, but there was no need. This was his third summer renting a boat, and he knew what he was doing. Which was good, because we went through a LOT of locks together.
We had a little bit of bad news at the first lock: there was a swing bridge that we needed to open for us between the Peterborough Lift Lock and the next lock after it. That bridge was being repaired and was therefore unable to open. The lock master said they expected the bridge to open around noon. So we were going to go through this lock and the lift lock, then tie up at the top of the lift lock to wait for the bridge to open. It was what it was. It meant we probably wouldn’t make as far as we hoped for the day, but that’s what happens sometimes.
In the meantime, we had a lock to go through. The boat like ours and the sailboat went into the lock first side by side, then the houseboat and we shared the back. After the first lock, which seemed a tight fit, we slowly (when there’s a sailboat in your group with a tiny motor, you go about as slow as you’d expect a mastless sailboat with a tiny motor to go) made our way to the beautiful Peterborough Lift Lock.
This was a dream come true. We took our spot in the lock, then got out our cameras. I took video of our 65 foot lift up into the air. I have to admit, I was a little teary. My thoughts during our 2-minute ride were about all the planning that had gone into this trip and what a blessing it is to be able to do things like this.
When we finished in the lock, all the boats pulled over to the side to wait the expected couple of hours to get through the bridge that was being repaired. Owen and I put our chairs on the deck and prepared to get some sun while eating our leftover butter tarts from last night. After a chat with us, the people on the power boat got out chairs and sat down to read. The sailboat people went inside their boat, and the people on the houseboat got BUSY: kayaks came out, fishing lines went in the water, a picnic basket appeared, and the grill on the back of the boat was fired up. It was amusing (and quite nice, actually) to see the kids immediately know how to entertain themselves. Not a wasted moment on that boat!
We were excited to see some jet skis coming from the opposite direction. They are small enough to fit under the disabled bridge, so they had no problem coming to the lock. We were so happy we would be able to see the lock in action! We both took video of the jet skis going through lock.
Eventually, the lockmaster told us the bridge was ready to open for us, so we were able to go through. We slowly made our way (again with the sailboat with the tiny engine) toward the bridge, which looks like it was left open while the work crew went to lunch. We were told it was going to close again for a while after we passed through.
We went through a few more locks with our counterparts, until they all eventually stopped for the night. We went through the Lakefield Lock and over to the Lakefield Marina. We were tied up on the wall in no time by the dock hand and another boater. Owen was happy to see that there was ice cream right at the marina. It’s the little things that make Owen happy. We’ll be at this marina for a few days while Owen works.
Bowlines Thrown 