The storms last night were truly awesome, though we missed a lot by hiding under our sleeping bags. This morning we found that though the tent had stayed up and basically done its job, the floor inside was pretty wet. Our silk sheets (yes, silk sheets) had wicked up a lot of water and were soaking.
Today we had declared a rest day, to recover from yesterday's heat and prepare for tomorrow's challenges (the scary bridge and scary Canadian wilderness). We cycled into town, past pretty but often run down houses, just crying out to be bought cheap and renovated.
An Edmund Fitzgerald model at the boat tour office. I have come to realize that the Edmund Fitzgerald was a big deal and then Gordon Lightfoot wrote his song, and not the reverse. i.e. He did not dig up some obscure event to write about.
We also passed again the amazing, long, stone crafted power plant that produces 70 W from water channeled through it by canal.
Looking then for a cafe I asked a man in the street where downtown was. "You're in it" was the reply. I do like small towns, just have trouble adjusting sometimes!
We found a post office and engineered our second and presumably last mailback. This included the tacky t-shirts for Avi and Violet. Laurie, they are on top. (Laurie: some other stuff may be damp, so yank it all out!)
Mailback number two. This one was "voluntary" comprising failed equipment like the Planet Bike and one camera, plus cold weather gear. Total weight 8 pounds.
Out big event for the day was the boat tour of the canal system. Even at $22 each we found this to be really worth it. Follow along and see what we saw:
The locks on the Canadian side. When the 1800's vintage locks collapsed, new ones were built inside the old ones, but shorter. The old lock gates are still visible, and the admin and other buildings are part of a national historic site.
Back on shore we found yet another restaurant. This was the Captain's Pub and Grille in the historic Ojibway Hotel. The room was large and well air conditioned. Oh my. It took a while to cool down, and then a level of comfort we haven't felt for some time. The bikes had to wait outside. They were beside a threatening sign on a fence beyond which are the locks. The US government threatens to search anyone who approaches the locks or the visitor centre. We just stayed away from it.
The waitress in the Captain's Pub was basically hopeless. We got up to get our own menus, went to ask someone for water, etc. The food quality was good but the
portions were small. We wondered if we had ordered the seniors menu. We may be seniors, but we are cycling seniors - a different animal!
The Captain's Grill. #1 top feature: good air conditioning.
Cruising back through town we remarked on how efficient our bikes are for getting around. In summer, with no rain, and distances under 10 km they can not be beat!
Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles) Total: 4,800 km (2,981 miles)
