Are We There, Yet

Today was our last day of traveling as we entered Lake Champlain and followed the narrow passage way to the wide open waters near Fort Ticonderoga.  Over the past 300 years, Lake Champlain has served as a highway and battleground for the armies and navies of several wars.  There were four French and Indian Wars,the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

After passing beside the Champlain Bridge which is under construction, docking, and unloading all of our needed junk ( i.e. golf clubs, dirty clothes), Claire picked us up and we settled in at the Ayer Camp.

For the next week we'll be playing golf, going to parades, eating too much and watching for Champ, the Lake Champlain monster !

We won't be posting until after the 4th when we plan to make the return trip to Huron, OH.

Orange Barrels in the Hudson

Even summer on the Hudson River/Champlain Waterway means orange barrels.  We encountered  dredging, tree trimming and barges as we motored between locks 6 and 8 today.  We were not delayed but had to slow to 5 miles per hour through the construction zones.

We finished the last of the locks today. The canal was frequently higher than the surrounding countryside and provided panoramic views.  We were attacked by biting flies that seemed to enjoy the smell and taste of Coleman 40 percent deet insect repellant!

We are in Whitehall tonight and had a wonderful dinner at the Finch and Chubb Inn where the dockmaster is also the chief.  (pump gas, saute the veal, handle dock lines, pour the wine. . . .)

Tomorrow we head for Champlain Bridge Marine and will be off the boat for a few days with friends, Claire and Alan. Boating will become golfing!





Admiral Vick at her post in the last lock!

The Ups and Downs of Locking

As we left Schenectady we prepared for the Flight of 5 locks which are in quick succession (1.5 miles) and would take us to the end of the Erie Canal in Waterford, NY. The total drop was 170 feet and took an hour and a half to complete.

At Waterford we turned north on the Hudson River on our way to the Champlain Waterway.  We saw no other cruising boats going in either direction on this section of the trip.  The lockmasters were pleased to see us, as they could do their job, instead of mowing the grass!  

This afternoon we stopped at Schuylerville, NY and will continue to Whitehall, and the end of the Champlain Canal.  We did a total of 10 locks today. . .   It's easier every time !

Captain Rick planning for the next day.

Water over the dam!

"On the Road Again" or the Canal is Open!

We pulled out of St. Johnsville this morning at 8:30 and by 4:00 pm we had passed through 8 locks and dropped  91 feet.  Many of the dams had flood gates open so there were strong currents and lots of debris after each lock.  Captain Rick did an excellent job of steering and no loud thumps or dings occurred!

It was a gray overcast day with the sun breaking through in the early evening as we sat at the dock in Schenectady.

For the past 15 years we've driven along the canal on I-90 now we're on the canal looking at I-90.

Some of the debris along the canal.

"Stuck in Lodi Again" or We Spent the Day in St. Johnsville

We had a quiet day in port.  The canal is closed between locks 12 and 15 due to high water levels and debris.  The town was a short walk away and we had breakfast at Granny's where the namestake is the waitress and the cook is Gramps. There was a wedding in the gazebo by the canal and that about sums up the excitement for the day.  Bernie, the marina manager, drove us to a local Italian resturant for dinner and a waitress brought us back.  Hopefully, tomorrow we'll be on our way.

A Long Rainy Day

* This post is for Friday, June 24 but will be dated June 25.

Friday was a long and some times grueling day for us.  We were up on plane and cruising across Lake Oneida by 9:00.  The orginal canal went around the lake but with the introduction of self propelled boats is 1917 and the enlarging of the canal, the lake became part of the canal.  (The mules and horses would have had a 20 mile swim!)
We skirted the weather for most of the day but had some showers. Our proposed stop for 6:00 pm was not possible due to a festival and no available dockage.   Then the skies opened up and the debris in the river increased!   We made it to St. Johnsville Marina at 8:30 PM. 
Today's journey took  us through 7 locks including Lock 17 which is the highest lock on the Erie Canal.  It also is the only one that the gates lift above you. (See photo)  While passing through the locks we rose 50 feet and then dropped 117 feet.

Four Locks, Two rivers, and a Lake

This morning we were awakened thanks to the Lyons fire department at about 6:30. It was a 9 hour day that covered 70 miles  of rural countryside,canal side homes, and marsh lands. In this part of New York the Erie Canal follows parts of the Seneca and the Oneida Rivers.  This section of the canal was the last to open due to recent flooding and we had to dodge debris in several locations.

The most interesting sight was the  Montezuma Aqueduct which is located where the canal of 1862 crossed the Seneca River. 


The aqueduct was 900 feet long. When the present Erie Canal was constructed in the Seneca River the center section of the aqueduct was removed.  (see photo)

Locking has become very easy as you can see by the smile on Vick's face!

Locking in The Rain

Today was a day of firsts: our first time locking thorugh with another boat (did that two times with the same sailboat), meeting a working barge on the canal, and locking through during the rain. " Note to self: need longer raincoat for sitting on wet deck of boat and don't wear denim shorts !"  We passed through five locks today on our way to Lyons, NY, the peppermint capital of the world.

We saw several canal wall murals today which are a  part of an ongoing project called Mural Mania that will result in murals depicting historic scenes along 50 miles of the canal.

On our eveing walk around Lyons, we discovered a restored vaudville theater.  The same movie projector that Rick ran during high school at the Russell Theatre in Millersburg was in the lobby window.  That brought back lots of memories !

Low Bridge Everybody Down, Low Bridge for We're Comin' to a Town

Today was a day of lift bridges, 12 to be exact.The bridge tenders knew where we were and then would either call ahead or drive to the next bridge and open it for us to pass under. The portion of the Erie Canal  that we traveled today most closely resembles the original Eric Canal as a ditch dug thought the landscape with towpaths on either side. When the canal was orginally proposed it was called "Clinton's Ditch".  Near Rochester we passed through "Rock Cut" where extensive excavation through solid rock  was accomplished 80 years ago, before modern earth moving machinery.
  As we cruised along at 8 miles per hour we had bikes, runners and jogging strollers passing us !  We saw two different groups of rowing teams practicing in the canal as we passed.  Tonight we tied up at Fairport and were treated to a live concert across the canal.

I Got a Mule and Her Name is Sal

Lake Erie was kind to us this morning with a smooth trip to Buffalo under sunny skies.   We entered the Black Rock Canal on the way to the Erie Canal.  Vick was nervous about locking through for the first time.  With her life vest, radio and rubberized gloves and  Rick maneuvering the boat within easy reach of the slimy line hanging down, it was a piece of cake!  

The Lockport Locks are staircase locks with cables that you wrap your line around.  The gate closes, the water goes out, the next gate opens, you move ahead, grab a cable and the process is repeated,The total drop for the two locks is 50 feet and took about 15 minutes.Three lift bridges later and at a speed of 8 miles an hour, we reached Middleport, NY,  our stop for the night.

Day 2 - On to Dunkirk, NY

The departure of several fishing charters at 4:45 am was our wake up call today in Geneva on the Lake.  The National Weather Service was predicting calm seas so we planned an early departure,  But Lake Erie, true to her character, didn't hear from the National Weather Service so we had 2 to 4 foot waves directly on our bow for the entire trip to Dunkirk, NY.  Staying close to shore we could see the picturesque bluffs, but it was waaay too choppy for pictures.  We arrived in Dunkirk around noon, fueled up and moved to our assigned dock with the help of several local people.

Tomorrow to Buffalo and the Erie Canal.  Of course, the National Weather Service has promised us 1 foot or less wave for our 1.5 hour trip.   We'll see..  After that it's 5 to 10 miles per hour for the next 400 miles.

Day 1, Leaving Huron Lagoons

It was a short night in Holmes County. We left home and were leaving home port by 9:00 AM.    Lake Erie was calm with hazy skies.  We entered the breakwall at Cleveland to view the skyline and see the Rock Hall and the lake front from a different perspective.
The trip on to Geneva on the Lake, OH was uneventful.  The Geneva State Park Marina is sheltered and it was a short walk into town for dinner.