On August 11th we had Debra, Chris and Al Faulkner aboard for a morning trip down the 8 step locks in downtown Ottawa and then a spin at speed on the Ottawa River. You can see these crew members in the picture above with the gate of a step lock behind them. We had a great visit with our Canadian in-laws. We let them off at the bottom of the locks and then were off to Chateau Montebello in Quebec.

Chateau Montebello is a major resort with a hotel which is probably the largest log structure in the world. The logs are painted black with red tips. The building is right on the Ottawa River, situated on beautiful grounds and has its own marina in a protected pond. Many of the boats that had come down to the Chateau because of the threat of the lock personnel strike threatened for Friday. We had dinner with Ivy and Robert from MIDNIGHT SUN.

The next morning, Thursday, August 12th, six boats passed through the two Canadian Parks locks on the Ottawa River so we could be clear of the locks before the strike that was threatened for Friday. We arrived at Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue at 1230 and enjoyed lunch at the restaurant right beside our tie-up on the town wall.

Today, Friday, August 13th it's been raining all day so we decided on a lay day and are enjoying the town and a rest day without boat chores. Today the parks personnel went on strike in Ontario closing down all the locks in the province. In Quebec they will close the locks on Saturday and then go back to work on Sunday. The strike will impact us on the Chambly Canal that takes us south into Lake Champlain. It means that we could see a day or two delay in reaching the lake but that is preferable to retracing our steps back up the St. Lawrence river and doubling the Erie and Oswego Canals.

Tomorrow the weather should improve and we will do two locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway (not run by Parks Canada) and stay at the Longueuil Marina across from Montreal. The next day we will go down river to Sorel, Quebec to the beginning of the Chambly Canal. We regret not having more time to spend in Montreal but, are looking forward to cruising Lake Champlain with enough time to enjoy it.