Campbellford Ontario

Campbellford Ontario

Part of the Trent Hills Area

The Guide Books said that Campbellford is a great place to stop for the weekend. Although it was only Thursday, we decided to spend some time here. We tied up on the wall where we were able to get power and water. If we stayed two nights, we could get the third night free. SO, why not! We hoped this way we would miss any weekend traffic going through the locks. A young man named Tom checked us in. He told us that his father had defected from Czechoslovakia and that part of the family had gone to Canada and the other part ended up in St. Louis! So he had been to St Louis just a few years ago visiting. From then on, Mike continued to call him the "Defective Chech"! Hmmmm.

When we arrived at the wall, there were several other Loopers already here. Since the west side was full, we tied up on the east side which turned out to be better anyway. The waterway cuts right through the town. Old Mill Park is right by the wall. It's a very nice area. The town has quite a natural charm about it. In the park is a giant 20 foot replica of the Canadian Two Dollar coin. The artist who designed it lives in Trent Hills area and the Canadian Mint declared Campbellford as "the home of the two dollar coin". It was quite a sight to see. They refer to this coin as the "Twonie". It's because the dollar coin is referred to as the "Loonie". The dollar coin has a "loon" on it. Canadians use the coins the way we use dollar bills. It took some getting used to, but it isn't a problem. Their quarters remind me of tokens. Our money and Canadian money is pretty much exchangeable at this time. However, they accept American money a lot easier than we accept Canadian.

There were several things to check out in Campbellford. Mike was able to obtain a fishing license there. In Canada you can purchase a license for the whole country. Makes it very convenient, unlike the States. One of the first things I wanted to check out was Dooher's Bakery. We had heard about this bakery all the way up the locks. I was not disappointed! There were over 19 flavors of muffins! How do you choose!! - Duh, by making several trips! There is also a cheese factory here – Empire Cheese. We had to pick up some of that as well. Especially the cheese curds – so fresh they squeak!

I managed to do laundry somewhere in between the bakery and the "World Finest Chocolate Factory". This place was fantastic. They advertise that that this is one of the few factories that make the chocolate from "bean to bar". There was so much to choose from that I think I gained weight just wandering around in their outlet store!

It was nice to stay a few days in nice weather rather than just waiting out the rain. We rode our bikes all over the town. There is a big box store – something like Wal-Mart in Canada called the Canadian Tire Store. We had to check that out as well. Of course, we met some very interesting locals. Canada is full of them – in a good way! One night we had dinner at the Rub (BBQ) with Rick and Carol of "Salt and Sand". Really good food!

The next night Mike and I went to this "little" pub named the Stinkin' Rose. Now by little, I mean little! It only seats 28. 29 if you count the bartender. This was a really unique place. There was a two piece band there – I use the word band here loosely. It was a young couple. The guy would sometimes accompany her with his "drum". It was just the skin or the top of a snare drum. Not the whole drum. Guess it's a lot easier to haul around. It sounded pretty good though! This place had only micro brewed beer and liquor. The only thing that we didn't like was that it was NOT air conditioned. It was so hot it there. They couldn't open the doors, because the mosquitoes would have a feast! It still was a neat place and we met several people there. We did find out there was a Bluesfest going on in Frankford this weekend. The problem was that we had passed Frankford a few locks before. Oh well, we'll find some blues somewhere I'm sure some day! We keep missing festivals, etc. by a weekend or two!

On Saturday morning, they have a Farmer's Market. I rode over to check that out. Wasn't really that much there. However, I found out that the Grindhouse, just a little coffee shop just a few yards from the boat was having a jam session. Every Saturday morning, they have a jam session and play cannabis informational movies. Yes, I said cannabis. We really wanted to get back to it to check it out, but we ran out of time. Just what is a cannabis informational movie anyway?

Sunday morning after topping off with fuel, we headed toward Hastings. That means six locks and about 30 miles. Along the way we heard Sweet Pea on the radio. They were only a few hours behind us. We hoped they could catch up. When we got above the lock, we tied up on the wall. Thanks to Simple Interest. They were tied up there already and saw us locking through. They went over to the wall and pretty much saved us a place. We had to make a few fishermen move. They weren't too happy about that but at least they took it better than the ones in Barnegat Bay!

We were all set up when we saw Sweet Pea locking through. Mike helped them in by helping save a spot for them. We finally got to meet their daughter, Ashley. She is the original "Sweet Pea" for whom the boat is named. We enjoyed talking and catching up on things. We ate cheeseburgers at the local burger joint just across the street. The forecast is for possible storms tonight. We may be here a while!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"