A Happy Boater's Letter
January 25, 1997
Greetings from Alabama,
We are enjoying your page while planning our 1997 vacation. Our 1996
vacation was trailering our boat to Trenton and spending two weeks on
the Trent-Severn. We suspect that we will again trailer 1000 miles+
each way to spend our vacation on the Rideau.
A few comments about your fees and other areas of concern on your page.
When we reached the start of the Trent-Severn, we were very surprised
and disappointed that your user fee was about $85.00 for our boat.
However, after going through 44 locks with help from each and every
locktender, our first thoughts changed considerably. This canal is
beautiful and we had one of the most pleasant vacations ever. We were
catered to in every lock and had clean and pleasant facilities available
throughout the canal. We enjoyed the beautiful lockside parks and the
lockmaster with a sense of humor who announced that we were about to
have an "uplifting experience."
The people on shore were wonderful and we never worried about leaving
our boat unattended. This is not an option in many parts of the Southern
U.S.
When we broke a trailer axle on your "401" and lost a wheel and brakes,
we were pleased to find a friendly and competent repair shop whose
employees were willing to work overtime to see us on our way. The
charge was far less than it would have been in the states.
Ontario is a well kept secret and we wonder if your user fees are too
LOW!
Regards,
David Millonig
When I asked David for permission to publish his wonderful letter, he
added this:
"I would like you to include a good word for the very helpful locktenders,
since they are the primary reason for our having such an enjoyable trip."
I would like to add that the Rideau Canal
would be pretty much the same wonderful experience. -- Pat Drummond
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