August 5
Tim Macinerny was true to his word and showed up to take the car north for us at 7:00 a.m. This was a good incentive for us to get going. We put the boat back in the water from where it was resting on top of the floating dock and were on our way while it was still somewhat cool.
Lock 8 brought us to the top of the canal as the water between Lock 8 and Lock 9 is at the maximum elevation. I am not really sure where this water comes from as in flows out at either end. We started down toward Lake Champlain when going through Lock 9. The rest of the way was all in a dug canal, narrow and straight. The rowing conditions could not have been better. We passed cows drinking on the shore and the trees in many parts hung over far enough to provide shade.
For some reason there is no Lock 10 and if there ever was they have removed every trace of it because we saw nothing that looked like it might have been part of one. We reached Fort Anne’s floating dock and were pleased to see our car parked there waiting for us. It had become dreadfully hot and carrying the boat off the dock was a bit difficult. We felt much indebted to Tim.
We drove north to Whitehall to the Budget Motel, which should have been named Low Budget Hotel. We hoped we might find a cool air-conditioned room. It was crowded with Bass fisherman and their fast looking boats with 225 horsepower outboard engines. We unpacked into the room and then went to look for dinner. The best we could do was to get some frozen dinners at the gas station convenience store after having a superb ice cream! I was asleep before 9:00. Our air conditioner dripped condensation on the carpet all night and caused a sour mildew smell so bad it woke me several times.
