GONE TO DAVY JONES’ TOY LOCKER

July 22-23, 2026

Pretty home along our route.

Having an animal onboard while doing the Great Loop has pluses and minuses. Pluses include having them interact with a lot of new people, places and watching them enjoy a walk or swim. Minuses include not being able to be away from the boat for more than 4-5 hours due to bathroom requirements, taking her with us and being restricted on where you can eat (patio only), and the pièce de résistance, having squeaky toys going overboard and having to dredge them out (this has happened with the following squeaky toys: penguin (lost to Davy Jones’ locker on day two of our trip), big bird, owl, sea turtle and at least three balls).

There are actually a number of other factors that go into having a dog onboard, but I am going to go into those in another blog post.

Rosedale, lock 35 on the Trent Severn, is a beautiful spot, definitely in my top three spots along the entire waterway. There is a great trail loop that we took where Bella was able to run free (no one around) and we were able to enjoy a lovely walk in the woods. I even found some birch bark that I flattened and wrote notes to my Mom and sister, Laurie. It was also very peaceful as the only other boat on the lock wall was actually staying in a rustic cabin nearby.

Beautifully peaceful Rosedale lock. So lovely.

Howie and I played horseshoes and enjoyed a gin and tonic while sitting near the lock office. Just a peaceful evening (except for having to rescue squeaky toys).