Ottawa to Merrickville, ON.
After breakfast on board we were away by 0815 hrs. on yet another cloudless day. The Rideau between Ottawa and Merrickville is supposedly the boring part of the canal, but we found it really pretty except for the foam that often spoiled the locking experience. We were very lucky with the locks, never having to wait at all, but we did hit a deadhead (or something) when we were running on the edge of the channel giving room to a large motor yacht. We were in five feet of water, but the hit was hard enough to take a chip out of the motor’s skeg. The canal is supposed to be controlled at five feet, but we saw much shallower water many times in the channel. Merrickville is a nice, arty, small town. We toured the blockhouse museum, and then ran into Leon and Claire again at the Friends of the Rideau store. Claire had won over $800 at the casino. “Better than the last time,” she said, ”when I only won $750.” In town Mary was looking in the window of a supposedly closed crafts store when the store’s owner beckoned us in. He was doing his accounts, thought we might as well be looking around while he worked, and ended up with a sale as Mary bought some very pretty earrings. Later we ate at the Serendipity Bistro, where the waiter was flippant, the DJ music much too bass-y, but the food excellent.