Thursday 23 March 2023

Saturday drive to Elgin: on to Chaffeys Lock & Westport

 From Elgin we went to Chaffeys Lock, followed by Westport. This was the second leg, here was the first. It's fun seeing the landscape without the leaves out. The first photo shows the limestone. The next, a delightful old home.


The old hotel, formerly Opinicon, has been bought, and refinished. 

    

There is another one, Hotel Kenney. There was a fun TV show, Salvage Kings, who visited the Hotel Kenney, and found some amazing treasures and a ghost, trying to clean out the place. That hotel is on the canal system.

It is quite pretty in season (see below)! We had lunch there one summer, prior to COVID! I hope they manage to make a go of it. The problem is getting staff. They hope to be a wedding venue, to add to their services. 


These old locks still function well. It is a wonderful lock system right from Kingston up to Ottawa.

This was a mill back in the day. When we last visited it was an art gallery. 
There was a couple walking where I was headed at the end of the pier. You can see them in the 2nd photo, below.

I walked down to the end of the harbour, as well. I could see birds off in the distance. I spotted a heron during one visit.

It was bitterly cold, with winds whipping up at me off the lake. I didn't drag my zoom with me, but I did get some video. It was a pair of eagles soaring above the geese and ducks on the water.

Chaffey's Lock from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


It's a nicer visit in summer, but it was peaceful. What's with the red candle, though?!
    

It is the end of snowmachine season. The trails, created over defunct railway lines, are closed. The next photo is a hunter's tree stand. Hunting season, thankfully, over.

I like this house in Newboro!
    

Finally, Westport! 




From there, home! 

It is a big day in Ottawa, Thursday, with President Biden visiting. There are many police at the airport, security everywhere. Ottawa has had a freezing rain warning. We had rain overnight, which I expect will continue, despite the blue indicating snow here. I hope all goes well. 

 

11 comments:

Tom said...

...thanks for taking along on this fabulous tour, let's do it again.

Anvilcloud said...

i am out of it — didn’t know about Biden.

Do I recall correctly that you had a not-so-great experience at the Opinon? It’s vague, but it’s what I seem to recall.

Kathy G said...

There are a couple of roads in my area that have quite a few houses, which you can only see during the winter when the trees are leafless.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
A lovely drive, ta! YAM xx

William Kendall said...

Beautiful views. There is a touch of freezing rain on the sidewalks. But it's going to warm up some later on.

Groups of police cars yesterday were doing drill tours all day yesterday through the downtown core.

Divers and Sundry said...

I love seeing old places renovated. I hope they do well.

I hope the Biden visit is a good one.

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you so much for taking us with you. I thoroughly enjoyed our drive.

RedPat said...

It sounds like a good time to stay away from Ottawa.

Barbara Rogers said...

Ha, even I who slide quickly through evening world news, missed this visit. Oh I did see something about helping in Hatti.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Great winter scenes. The eagles and water scenes were exciting. We are surrounded by deciduous woods and cannot see any neighbors' homes until the leaves fall off.

DrumMajor said...

I count 18 deer in your header pic! Interesting road trip. What IS that red candle/stick thing in the fork of the tree? Linda in Kansas