Have T@b will travel: A whole lot of cute!

We've been avoiding the major highways for two reasons! The above is reason number 1! Not a pretty sight! Instead we have been inching our way along the smaller, quieter number 2 highway, which runs parallel to this disaster. It's a great way to see some of the small towns that dot the shore line of Lake Ontario, reason #2! Today is a shortish post made up of some of our recent highlights! Hope you enjoy the show!

First stop was Smith Falls! We stopped for a quick picnic lunch and watched some boaters pass through the Smith Falls lock. One of nine locks in the historic Rideau Canal system. You can travel from Nova Scotia to Quebec and into Ontario and the Canadian Great Lakes! Pretty amazing to watch!

Lunch time!

This is the old canal which was hand operated.

The new canal is operated by hydraulics. The lock filled up in a matter of minutes, and the boats passed through. Pretty cool!

One happy boater!

Off they go!

Another quick stop was Belleville. Where we had lunch in the park and stretched our legs before carrying on.

Since leaving Belleville we have come across two more historic towns. Cobourg and Port Hope. We are so impressed we have taken up residence in the Cobourg Walmart to spend a few days and explore. Both towns have maintained their historical architecture, and have kept that old main street feel. Port Hope is known for having the best preserved 19th century street scape in Ontario. Unfortunately it is also known for having the largest volume of low level radioactive waste in Canada. Yikes! This was caused by the mining of radium many years ago. Fortunately there are plans to clean up the contaminated soil. Let's hope this happens! Needless to say, these two towns have really grown on us! The residents take pride in their homes, and the main streets are lined with beautiful flower baskets, flags, cute restaurants, and antique shops, to name a few!