The Seaway is Open

7"X5" Water-soluble Pencil on paper

It is always a bitter-sweet moment when the Welland Canal (part of the St. Lawrence Seaway) opens to marine traffic at the beginning of the year. On the one hand it is a true sign of Spring and the boats really are magnificent. On the other hand it means that we have to be prepared to get "bridged", a local term meaning stuck at the bridge for up to twenty minutes at a time. Or else we play the bridge-hopping game, similar to supermarket queue-hopping and subject to the same sod's law.

As I have to cross the canal on my way to and from work every day I get lots of practice at this guessing game. If I could just remember which local station it is that gives updates on the progress of the boats through the canal (and bring myself to listen to their selection of banal elevator music), I would miss out on some of this fun.