From the August cruise (last cruise post)

Belleveille We got a slip at Meyers Marina, lucky A13. It took quite a turn to get into this slip, and the poor girl there was trying to pull 30,000 lbs without putting the line around a cleat. We got in, and I gave her a nice tip for her effort. Amazing how many guys stood around and did not help her. Where have all the gentlemen gone? We were praying another boat did not park next door, or we'd have a tough time getting out. We had the break-wall directly behind us, and Alert is not very agile in reverse. We had dinner at Paolo's, and it was great as usual. We walked this time, and it was pretty tiring coming back, especially after a couple glasses of wine. When we got back, we had a nice couple and their son from Toronto docked next to us. They invited us to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club for next year, as they felt we should explore the west side of the lake. We will do this before we leave the lake altogether. Next day was the bike ride from hell. It was 90 degrees and sunny with no breeze at all. We hit the river trail, and after a couple miles, we thought we should hit a convenience store for some water for the boat. We were looking for a couple of gallon jugs, and let me tell you there is not one convenience store anywhere in this town! Not even a gas station, or anything within 5 miles of the marina. We peddled our asses everywhere, and could not find anything. It got so bad that Deb had to sit down with some water before she passed out. We found a little market in the heart of the city, but if offered only litre bottles, and we drank most of them. We bought four of them and stuffed them into my backpack. We remembered a small market on the other side of town, and we got three gallons. Two for Debs handlebars, and one for the backpack. I could barely balance the bike with all the water on my back, and Deb sure looked goofy with gallon jugs on her handlebars. We made it back to the boat without getting run over. Dinner again at Paulo's, after we drank most of the water. This time it was pizza night. Wood fired and delicious. We paddled back to the boat for a nice quiet night, and a nice quiet escape. Leaving Canada Belleville is behind us, as I got out of that slip without hitting anything. Into the Murray canal, and out, with a polite Bon Voyage from the bridge masters. So here we are in the middle of Lake Ontario with no wind, but no flies :) Motoring home at 7.5 knots, and thinking how long it will be before we can do this again. Too long, and too cold.