Exceptional!

The smiling Davis Lock lockmaster greeted us with a “Welcome back!” and caught our lines as we nosed Velsignet along the blue-lined dock.  After letting him know we intended to fill up with water, go through the lock and get a spot on the upper side of Jones Falls (4 locks to descend through), he promptly instructed us on water, called the Jones Falls lock, and informed us of space for the night above the next lock and dam.  With watering completed, we entered the open lock.  After descending to the lower canal level, the dock tenders started cranking the doors opening.  Before our departure, the  smiling lockmaster said, “Now watch the red markers!  (…approaching this lock 6 days ago, we missed a marker and found ourselves in very shallow water.) It’s the same time of day you came through last time and you’ll want to stay in the deep.”

We left Perth yesterday and cruised under welcomed cloudy (and sometimes rainy) skies (the weather in Canada has been perfectly summerish:  sunny and warm!).   Cruising today (sunny with a gentle cooler breeze) , we will arrive in Kingston, Ontario this afternoon and hope to spend the rest of the day exploring the town (it’s a recommended stop).  From Kingston (tomorrow or Friday), we will continue westward towards Trent, where we will begin our journey through one of Canada’s National Historic Sites, the Trent-Severn Canal.

While in Perth, we got together for lunch with Norm and Lori Low from Ottowa, and Katie Low from Seattle (Katie's husband, Todd, has a family cabin on Lake Crosby near Perth).  

Uncle Norm and Aunt Lori with Niece Katie. 
Katie announced that she and her husband, Todd, are expecting their first baby in December!

Norm and Lori stopped by Velsignet to take a look at her before heading home towards Ottowa (they're in the midst of their summer schedule--company coming and going; tonight Lori was hosting dinner for friends from South Carolina). 
We so enjoyed seeing these two again!

Yesterday afternoon we took a break and tied up on the lower side of Newboro Lock.  The town of Newboro was a 5 minute walk, so we took it to explore (the talked about) Kilborn's--an everything store:  furniture, clothing, shoes, fudge, ice cream, gifts, groceries...all high quality and fun to browse through.

This building was on our walk to Newboro.  It is called a blockhouse and it was built in 1831.  The 24 square foot blockhouse (3-foot thick walls to withstand small canon fire and a tin roof to withstand torching) was one of four constructed along the Rideau to protect and defend the canal (assuming from the U.S.).  

Le Boats.  We saw LeBoats on the Midi Canal when we biked in France a couple of years ago.  We've seen several on the Rideau. 
JoAnn and Scott Brolsma--here's an idea for the two of you (plus 2-6 of your favorite peeps) to explore Canada!

Last night we were happy campers with a nice docking space worthy of jumping in for a swim, followed by
 and a bottle of fine Chianti to go with our Italian marinara over fresh linquini.

The water temp is 80 degrees.  It was a perfect evening for a swim!

By evening, the cloudy skies had cleared. 
This is a photo of our docking space last night, just above the Jones Falls Lock and Dam. 
This morning, we were situated perfectly to make the first group to go down the 4 locks of Jones Falls.  To miss it would mean we would have at least a 2.5 hour wait until our next opportunity.

These are our Canada Parks season stickers that allow us to go through the locks and tie at the docks along the canal systems.  Without these season passes, we would pay each time we locked or tied up to a Canada Parks dock.
We've used the stickers to go up and down 17 locks and tie up for the night at at least 6 Canada Parks docks...already, we're close to breaking even for the cost of the stickers.

We'll return to the United States at Mackanaw Island and we're prepared.
 The US customs wants us to have this decal on our boat for re-entry.

In this photo, you get a sense of how the areas around the locks are very park-like: flowers, manicured lawns, picnic tables, electricity.  A family was having lunch and watching boats go by later this morning.

This is one of two boats we've been locking through with today.  Two "cigarette" boats.  Loud.  Never heard guys talk so much....they talk in their Quebec French all. the. time. 
This morning at the Jones Falls locks, they were parked along the blue line indicating they wished to lock through.  Because the lock was open, we cruised by them into the lock, tied up, and then ....waited.
All of us (including the 4+ locktenders) waited as they finished their coffee, got their fenders out, and chatted amongst themselves.  After one of the lock tenders approached them, they started their engines and moved into the lock.

Assumptions: 
These people are what others think of when they see that they are from Quebec.
(only speak French; do not engage with others; rude) 
They're not familiar with locking etiquette (locks open at 9 a.m.; you move when the locks are ready).
 They aren't familiar with boating etiquette (there are boaters waiting to lock through at the other end). 

Hard decision for the lock tenders.
If the lock tenders had chosen to lock us down without these two boats, the lock tenders would have to put up with the Quebec boaters for another 2+ hours until the next descending lock through!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  These boaters were the exceptions, not typical of our encounters with other boaters from Quebec.  Everyone else has been very considerate of other boaters and considerate of the lock tenders and locking systems.