It was a pleasure to  attend church with  the Van Essen’s on Sunday. The openness and friendly atmosphere made it a special time! We enjoyed a walk and picnic lunch by a lock. Some of us had never  seen one before this vacation. We were fascinated to watch the boats enter the lock from the side of the  waterway where the water level was lower.  The gates closed behind the boats and the lock filled with water up to the level of water on the other side of the lock. The gates opened letting the boats sail out onto the higher water. The whole process took about 15-30 minutes.

Then the Van Essen’s took us to see the highest  hydraulic boat lifts in the world – The Peterborough lift lock.  The difference in water level was so drastic (65 ft) that the boat lifts actually moved up and down like an elevator! They were huge!

But it was more then just  site-seeing because the time spent getting there and back was filled with edifying conversation. What a blessing to spend time with such a spiritually uplifting family.