It has been a very long time since we had to pause our Great Loop adventure. Though we have kept busy, Lyn remains in high demand professionally and I rediscovered woodworking as a means of getting out of the house and being productive, restarting our Loop has been foremost in our minds. ‘Boaters Weekend’ (4/2-3) provided a milestone to install, update, resize, remember and generally get back to a boaters frame of mind. With luck, normal water levels and the absence of ice, we expect Aisling to be in the St Lawrence River by mid-May. Of course that is when the really hard work begins; cleaning, polishing, stowing, provisioning in the hope that June 1st we depart for Montreal.
The St Lawrence Seaway opened on March 22nd as the ice subsided and the Coast Guard Breakers poised to keep things moving. Many of the cargo/freighter/oilers we saw last Summer have passed through the Locks to/from Montreal though life on land in northern NY is still very much in the throes of Winter. There is no snow on the ground in ABay, but we drove through snow showers as we headed home on Sunday. The bartender at the hotel said he hadn’t seen a customer since Thanksgiving (only slightly exaggerating…) and a boat owner we met lamented ‘he hoped Spring would be here soon’!! There were no buds on trees, no crocuses, no pussy willows… and it was not hard to find ice in the coves and marinas.
As has been said, ‘Hope springs eternal’ and thus we have purchased our Lock and Mooring passes for the Canadian Canals, and our DTOPS permit which allows us back into the USA and the Covid restrictions requiring a test within 72 hours of entry in Canada have been lifted!!
Aisling goes Looping 
Good to know spring may be on the horizon somewhere! Can’t wait to see you on the water.
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