Lake Huron to the Hudson River–Roundtrip

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DAY 16 - ERIE CANAL - SCHENECTADY, NY - SCHENECTADY YATCH CLUB

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2010

CREW:  Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather: cloudy

Canal: flat

Travel time and distance:  zero; moored for the day

Night mooring: Schenectady Yatch Club

Dining:  The Light House Restaurant; 4.5 out of 5; Champagne toast; Rick:   ; Joyce:    ;  Rolf:    ;  Donna:  Eggplant Parmesean.

Comments:  Today would be the day to find out if Loon Feather was dead in the water, or capable of going on. 

Interestingly, the Schenectady Yatch Club turned out to be a co-op, where the members each have to contribute a minimum of 48 hours of labor per season, and there is only 1 paid employee - Brad, the site manager.  Boat leak?  Guys came out of the woods to help.  The boys love their boats, and love a challenge even more.  So, by 9:00 a.m., Loon Feather was heading down a very narrow waterway, part of the original Erie Canal, toward the travel hoist that would pull her out of the water. 

Turns out, the Yatch Club is built on the ruins of the old canal, and one very lovely old lock which the club uses as its slip for the travel hoist.  Very exciting!

As Rick threaded LF into the slip (the old locks were a mere 17 feet wide - LF: 12 x 42), Rolf and Donna fended off, while Joyce and others pulled her in.  Some 15 minutes later she was being lifted out of the water, and across land for the look-see. 

It took only seconds to find the culprit:  the garboard plank near the aft end of the keel has a poor fit at the butt joint, which Rick had been watching for some time.   Seems, the sinker logs kept knocking it, jarring chinking from the joint.  “A 10 minute job!”  shouted one happy club member, who was himself a wood boat owner who loved the challenge. 

And indeed, she was soon back in the water, floating better than ever.  Bilge pump has only been running a few times a day since.  

However, this bit of drama had put Rick’s schedule off course by some 80-90 miles (or 14 hours), meaning that the new crew, which was expected to start off closer to Utica, would be starting a day and a half behind at Schenectady.   

But, Schenectady it was.   Joyce, Rolf, and Donna, getting a half day head start, took a rental car back to Lockport, where the Bates’ car awaited their Friday trip back to Michigan.  Rick tended to the business of laundry, and awaited the arrival of the next crew:  fraternity brother Doug Nelson, and brother-in-law Carl Cloutier. 

As co-incidences happen, up came a new transient docker:  the boat that had rescued the couple from the fire on the Hudson.   Details:  hubby was a poor swimmer and had to be talked off the boat; wife had just taken off her diamond ring to tend the ropes in lock F1 nearby.  The ring went down with the boat.  There had been 4 or 5 boats in the lock together, where engines must be turned off.  Upon exiting the lock, the owners had trouble getting the engine started, and shortly after exiting found the engine compartment to be engulfed in flames.  Turns out that there are no fire boats on the Hudson, and that the first one is due to arrive for the city of Troy (nearby) in 3 weeks.  So, all the fire and rescue people could do was watch, and take pictures, as our photos show.

 

DAY 15 - ERIE CANAL - AMSTERDAM, NY, TO THE HUDSON RIVER, THEN BACK TO SCHENECTADY, NY

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

CREW:  Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather: Foggy/cloudy A.M., partly cloudy and very warm and humid P.M. - 91 degrees and very very humid (translation: wet and stinky shirts all around.)

Canal: glass

Distance and Time:  Twelve hours and approximately 45 miles

 

Comments:

Have we mentioned that both Rick and Rolf snore?

Hot night, and lots of trains.  But, it was a charming morning, with fog shrouding the tree lined Mohawk.  Egrits and heron were fishing the lily pads along the shore, and Joyce basked in the sun.

With the leak getting a bit worse, Rick sourced marinas that had a hoist to lift Loon Feather out of the water for a look-see.  Ah, one just downstream on the Hudson!!!

Since we were all determined to make the Hudson, and to do the last flight of tightly arranged 5 locks that would drop us some 165 feet down into the river, we pushed the throttle to the max - 12 mph!!!  This, of course, forced more water into the leaky area.  Catch 22, but we were still afloat.

The flight locks were interesting.  Once into the flight, there was no stopping.  You either continued down, or managed a tight turn around to go back up.   Nominally 33 feet deep each, we would enter one and exit within sight of the next.  

The area surrounding was deeply wooded, and again it was a very hot and muggy day.   So, at the top and bottom of each lock we would sweat bullets, and savor the middle where we were out of the sun yet still high enough to catch a breeze.

THEN, VOILA!!! 

We were suddenly there, and heading south on the Hudson.  But, wait…   what is that huge black billow of smoke ahead?!!!?   Could it be?  OMG… 

Binoculars, cameras…   Yes, it was a pleasure boat on fire in the middle of the Hudson.   Naturally, we drove closer.  We could hear the pops of small explosions, and enjoy the police and fire crews as they kept their distance, while taking their own photos waiting for the thing to inevitably burn itself out.  (See Media Library)

Suddenly, a Carver 42 pulled up near us, having just left the scene where their boating friends rescued the couple just before their boat burst into flames.  Everyone was safe.  Phwew!!! 

In the meantime, Rick had spotted the “fix-it” marina and determined that the marina needed a fix itself.  A short conference later, we headed right back up that flight  of 5  (which took 2 1/2 hours to come down in blazing heat) .   Not an easy decision, especially for Rolf who was manning the foredeck where the white surface magnified the sun.  At least Donna, in the aft, could sit and move under the cabin roof when she was not actively tending. 

Good news however.   We were at the end of the day, with no other boats locking through.  We made it in a record 1 hour and 20 minutes!  Then, we headed straight for the Schenectady Yatch Club and their highly touted service center.

Yes, the Yatch Club!  A private club with a few day rentals.  Pool.  Laundry.  Ice.   Gas, of course.  Cab service to a nice restaurant.  And, “Power and Showers”!!!

And…

Simply put, it was here that  Joyce and Donna set up the rating chart for the shower facilities.  Though not dead last, the showers at The Club were next to. 

Yatch, Not!

However, they did have a service center with a big hoist to lift our girl out of the water for a look-see.  That would be tomorrow, as Rick and Rolf hit the pool while Joyce and Donna negotiated the showers.  Dinner by cab (also very loosely defined), at a rather nice restaurant, the Light House. 

Champagne all around, a toast to the Hudson and the capt’n, with really delicious food and plenty of left overs for Rick while he awaits the next crew.

The Daily Funnies:

• Joyce and Donna working graffiti into the slime on the walls of lock 4.
• The telling, to Rick at dinner, of the bet Joyce, Rolf, and Donna had made on the drive from East Lansing: that A.) How many times on our 7 days together Rick would say, “Donna, Donna, Donna,” and B.) How many times he would say, “Long story short…”   We had each placed our bets, at 25 cents a pop.  But, the joke was on us:  Rick had said “Long Story Short” twice the first night, and then never again.  And, he had NEVER, NEVER, NEVER said “Donna, Donna, Donna”!!!
• And finally, having Donna fall asleep at dinner.  Seems that after 4 nights in a row of only 5 hours of sleep (working blog and photos), plus 4 hours of tending the flight locks down and up, she could no longer hold it together.  Rolf was hoping for her to face plant into her eggplant.  But, kindly guided her into the “cab” instead.  Ah, Donna’s full 11 hours of sleep in foreward v-birth…  heaven!
• Two fun recognitions:  blasts from the whistle of a passing CSX train, and long toots from a semi traveling along I-90 (The New York Thruway).

 

 

Day 14 Erie Canal- Little Falls, NY to Amsterdam, NY

 TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010

CREW: Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather: Cloudy, then hazy.

Canal: glass

Distance and time:

Night mooring: Amsterdam City Park Wall

Comments:

At 9:00 a.m., Cap’n Rick gathered the crew and made this announcement: “We’re sinking”.

Since we were about to enter the lock with the 40 foot drop, we all rolled our eyes and said a silent “duh”! 

“No,” Cap’n says.  “We’re sinking.  Remember the sinker logs?” 

Turns out that something had happened with the thunk-thunks that had changed our bilge pump rate from a minute and a half every hour, to a minute and a half every 15 minutes.  Joyce, who already always knew where her life vest was, glanced at the corner while making mental arrangements to jump ship at Schnectady to board the next plane for Kalamazoo. 

Well, we said.  We are still above water.  How bad is it? 

A quick check into the engine compartment confirmed that it was a mild leak, so far.  And, as the hours went on, we learned that sitting still kept it low key, while speed made it worse. 

What to do?  Head for the Hudson, and figure the rest out later, of course!!!

The excitement of Lock 17 pushed all fears aside, and we headed down the canal for the 40.2 foot drop.  And indeed it was a drop.  All of the locks are 300 feet long and 35 feet wide.  So, that when we reached the bottom of 17, it was like being in a huge vault with wonderful echoes.  Naturally, Joyce and Donna took advantage of the echo and sang out loud and strong, “I’ve got a mule her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal…” , clear to the final chorus.  Nice!  Even the duck who had joined us in the lock seemed to enjoy it.

From there we headed to a marina in St. Johnsville, where we enjoyed Rolf’s gourmet brunch of omelettes, bacon, sausage, and beer.  Our two hour layover also allowed us time to do some much needed laundry, as well as stock up on provisions.  

Again, the guide book was a bit over zealous regarding this bitsy town.  And when Joyce and Donna set out on foot to replenish the staples, little did they know how basic the market would be.  However, it was again HOT, and the air conditioning at the store put a silver lining on the realization that no fruits and veggies would be at hand.

The “market” was a Kinney Drug.  Old and small, but crammed with goodies like applesauce and oreos and beer for the guys, Arnold Palmer Iced Tea for Joyce, and purple Dickie scrubs for Donna.  They loaded up their cart, fully aware that whatever they bought they would have to carry uphill and down for the mile or so back to LF.  

But, good things come when least expected.  Rather than have us ditch the beer, the sorely needed jugs of water, and the two propane containers for the grill, the store clerk offered to drive our goods back down to the dock.  YES!!!   Gotta love small town life.

The rest of the day proceeded much like the day before.  Pretty scenery, but otherwise boring.  We all lived for the tiny things.  Locks 17 to 10, which kept us busy enough, brought more new information into our brain-trust.  We learned that the big flood of 2006 wiped out much of the area, including all of Lock 10.  Many of the downstream locks were subsequently modernized with automated controls which are more responsive in emergencies.  We also learned that there is a heirarchy in the lock tender jobs.  Lock tenders are subject to their initial job entrance exam, job performance reviews, and, of course, office politics for their assignments.  Many commute long distances hoping to someday get the lock near their homes.

We were drifting along, trying to avoid the still plentiful floating logs late in the day, when the sky turned dark.   Suddenly, we were headed into our first major storm.   Techies Rolf, Joyce and Rick quickly turned on their various devices and began tracking the red and orange colored cells in our path.  The winds came up, the rain came down,  and we slowed to a crawl attempting to stay behind the front that was hovering over the Erie Canal/Mohawk River area.     The good news was that the temperature dropped dramatically, and the ery annoying house flies were blown out of our cabin.

Joyce, of course, donned her PFD.  But, by Lock 12, the storm had moved on, and we moved into pre-happy hour.   It was then that Cap’n Rick rose up on steps to declair a toast to his crew.   We hadn’t lost a pole or scraped Loon Feather’s side, and, most importantly, we hadn’t sunk - yet! 

At Lock 11 we arrived at Amsterdam, NY, our stretch destination for the night.   Much to our joy, we found that this city dock was GORGEOUS, with a clean laundry and a charming public plaza.  Best of all, it had our dream duo: Power and Showers!  Cried Joyce, “We Heart Amsterdam!”

BItter sweet is that tomorrow is our big day - WE WILL ARRIVE AT THE HUDSON RIVER!    As we join with the Mohawk River, we will do a cascade of 5 Flight Locks, lowering us from more than 165 feet above sea level down to the Hudson River.

CHAMPAGNE ANYONE?!!!    

Daily Funnies: 

Donna was up and dressed before Rolf.  It so shocked her, that she went back to bed and slept for two more hours.

 

 

 DAY 14 - ERIE CANAL -BREWERTON, NY, TO LITTLE FALLS, NY

MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2010

CREW:  Joyce and Rolf Bate, and Donna

Weather: Sunny; getting boring!

Canal: like glass

Travel time and distance:

Night Mooring:  on the wall at Little Falls, NY

Dining:  (4.5 out of 5) Rolf’s queso blanco cheese, pre-cooked and vacuum packed baby back barbequed ribs, single serving Uncle Ben’s minute brown rice, store bought deli corn bread, and a double portion of the alcoholic beverage of choice

Wild life sightings: humanoids in Little Falls.  Notable characteristic: single word answers.

Comments:  AND A BORING DAY WAS HAD BY ALL.  Brewerton  (and Winter Harbor Marina) sits at the mouth to Oneida Lake (30 miles long), a major natural waterway on the Erie Canal.  Once on the lake, we were able to open up Loon Feather for first time since Lake Erie, making a bit of time and enjoying the breeze.  But, it was pretty much just pretty woods from there.   Great reading time.

Highpoints:

• two boys jumping off of a 20 ft. bridge.  Very Tom Sawyer.  But, the mothers (and fathers) in us gasped.
• “Lock Tender Gary” - So, at every lock we have a bit of a chat with the lock tender.  As would be their wont,  Joyce and Donna got more and more….  well, aggressive in their questions.   Witness this: each lock has a set of closing doors, and, after the lowering or raising of water, a set of opening doors. The lock tender would sit in a little hut and first press buttons to close the doors.  THEN, OMG, he (and it was always a he) would walk the length of the lock (some 300 feet) to a little hut at the other end and press buttons to enable the lowering of the water (or raising, as it were), and then a set of buttons to open the far end doors.  Seemed like a bit of a bore to us.  So, we began suggesting that they needed a skateboard, rip stick, or segway.  Of course, this was mostly met with dull smiles, until we met GARY.
• GARY had a bike!!!  And not only did he have a bike, which he did indeed rode from one end of the lock to the other to press the aforementioned buttons, he had a beard!!!  AND… Seems that the beard was against the law.  It prevented proper sealing when using a gas mask on the job.  Now, we had at this point done some 20 locks.   Joyce looked at Donna, and Donna looked at Joyce.  The need for gas masks???  OMG.  GO GARY!!!

Much of this part of the canal is lush and wild, but without many interesting features that would cause one to look up from a book.  Mother nature also has an active hand in the water quality along this section. Rains and winds bring down tree debris, which is then washed into the canal.  Budget, of course, encumbers cleanup programs, making this was a rather ca-ca part of the canal, despite the wooded beauty.   So, the floating logs, as well as the sinker logs (evidenced by the rather disconcerting thunk-thunk on the bottom of the boat),  made it nearly impossible for Donna to navigate this slalom course with her toes while texting.  Otherwise, this was not the most exciting day. 

Also disappointing were the three or four towns that the guide books designated as charming.  The best of these was Little Falls, our mooring for the night.   Tying-up near the downtown, we walked blocks looking for signs of life.  Finally, we motored back to the town wall, where Tina, the harbor master (”for now”) managed a few surly words in showing us the showers while taking our mooring fees.  (This was the only town mooring that we actually had to pay for, and was quite expensive at $1.00 a foot.) 

We took our showers, enjoyed our ribs, and planned the events of the next day with a more circumspect itinerary than ever before.

Our tomorrow goals: to enjoy the grandfather of all locks , Lock 17- a 40 foot drop here in Little Falls(largest drop on the canal), to have breakfast, to grocery shop and do our laundry in St. Johnsville, and to make night mooring within 8 locks of the Hudson River. 

Daily Funnies:  At lock 18, just before Little Falls and still locking through, we locked in.  But, as we locked downward we all declared that we were pretty much locked out for today and looking forward to a wall!

 

 

DAY 13 - ERIE CANAL - LYONS, NY, TO BREWERTON, NY

SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2010

CREW: Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather: Hot and humid, yet again, but cloudy early.  And then a big thunderstorm with hail just after we tied up for the night.

Canal:  guess!!!

Travel time and distance:

Night Mooring:  Winter Harbor Marina, Brewerton, NY

Restaurant Rating:  Calypso Cay - 4.0 - Rolf: scallops, Rick: Ribeye Steak, Joyce: Ribeye  Donna: Chicken Penne with Gouda sauce;  outside seating on water available, but it rained :((

Wildlife sightings:  WILD MAN ROLF (who is still trying to catch anything with his rod and reel, let alone the huge walleye that kept jumping all around us.)

Comments:  Only 4 locks today, and no bridges, let alone rising bridges.  Interesting intersections with native bodies of water, such as Cross Lake and the Seneca River.  Turns out that in building the Erie Canal, not only did they try to utilize some of the naturally occurring waters, but they also worked at promoting some areas to the deficit of others (ie: Rome, NY, in favor of Utica).   

Dewitt Clinton (1739-1812) is the most recognized promoter of the canal system, and began his campaign for such back in the late 1700’s, along with Thomas Jefferson, who favored a Potomac route.   They each recognized the need to transport goods from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and subsequently the west.  And they knew that the way west was through one of the breaks in the Appalachian Mountain chain.  In water terms, that meant that the best route was from the Hudson River in Albany, NY, to Buffalo/Lake Erie and the Great Lakes.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWitt_Clinton    http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/transport/erie.html

Of course there were naysayers, and the project became known as “Clinton’s Ditch”

Lots of years, under the table deals, and paybacks later, the canal was dug.  Tea, fabric, and spices shipped easily from the east.  Grain and meat shipped easily from the west.   New York City became a major national and international port, and the great lakes became a great shipping channel.

But, there was an  oops!  Not long after the building of the Erie Canal came the creation of the railroad.  A railroad track was built right along side The Canal, rendering the Canal a slower and more clumsy means of transportation. Making the “Canal Era” one of the shortest in transportation history.

The towns that had sprung up out of nowhere around the canal locks suddenly faultered.  And, part of the problem was that the canal was built only 17 feet wide and 4 feet deep, not enough to handle more than the specific canal barge.  Additionally, the canal continued to build up with silt, rendering it useless in places. 

But, it’s local utility and reputation gave it an edge.  And in 1924  it was determined that a new bigger, wider, better canal would be built.

So, for us, we are traveling the new Erie Canal.  There is a more official name, but we refuse to use it since no one, save the state and national gov’t, does.  And who would, with its lack of deference to the original canal.  (hush, hush, sssssssshhh: it’s called The New York State Barge Canal.   Even today’s New York Erie Canal maps call it the Erie Canal…   go figure.)

On board, lots of naps today:  Joyce, Rolf, Donna, and even the cap’n.

Lock side, lots and lots of waving folks.  Sort of knocks our socks off as to how many people wait for the boat, and wave.  At lock 29 a whole line of people hung over the bridge waving and shouting.  Great fun!

By the time we reached Brewerton, clouds had gathered and we knew we were in for a storm.  So, we quickly checked out the various mooring options, circled around, and took an open wall at the large and auspicious looking Winter Harbor Marina. 

Previously, our mooring chant had become, “Power and Showers!!!”  In other words, an electrical hook-up and a nice, clean, warm, large, close, and user friendly shower.   Winter Harbor had these in spades.  Moreover, they offered a courtesy van which we could drive ourselves to a local restaurant (we chose Calypso Cay).  Dockside, they had charming planters of veggies for our picking (cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, chives), and cheap gas ($2.99 per gallon.)  Since Loon Feather gets a quaint 1 mile per gallon, this was not something at which to thumb one’s nose!

Following a refreshing thunder storm (with hail, mind you) we were off to Calypso Cay, which was great (see above).  Natch, we are also enjoying a bit of the tonic on board.  So, our evenings sometimes get to be a wee bit beyond sunset.  ‘Tis fine for us who are night owls.  For those who must arise at dawn, the birth works, too.  Yin and Yang.

The Daily Funnies:

• Argentinian macho macho man with buff buns and tats in a black spandex puma suit, Winter Harbor Marina.  Very very hard to look without looking!
• Slime.  Ok, not so funny.  But, at least Donna has new Playtex Living Gloves with which to hold the lock lines.   
• Donna also learned that, in dealing with the Navigator issues back in East Lansing, she left most of her pants at Lindsay’s house.  Two pair of white pants = three days MAX  <  8 day cruise.  Oh dear.

 

 

DAY 12 - ERIE CANAL - SPENCERVILLE, NY, TO LYONS, NY

SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010

CREW: Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather:  Sunny all day; high in the mid-80’s; We got fried!

Canal: flat; seems to be the norm

Travel time and distance:

Night mooring:  Along the wall below the fire department at Lyons, in front a big boat from St. Catherines, Ontario, which had a weird couple on board.  Not all boaters are cool like us…

Dinner: on board; Avocado Chicken - a cruise favorite

Wildlife sightings:  more heron, more osprey, more ducks, and terns.

Comments:

Crew Leg 4 (Doug and Carl, that would be you):  you have big shoes to fill.  Rolf and Donna have nailed the split-second timing for the locks.  Additionally,  someone has to man the camera.   At the end of our leg, Ace camera-person Joyce will be headed back to Lake, Michigan, and Walloon (aka: Rick and Donna’s house). 

Now might be the time to divulge the Erie Canal COLORS!!!   Maize and Blue!!!  (Ooops, that’s what they call the colors at the Univ. of Michigan.  Others think of them as Navy and Gold.)    At any rate, all of the buildings, barges, boats, and lock mechanisms are painted these colors.  Very sharp and very recognizable as official components

Joyce has made it a personal quest to photograph each and every lock number on its big block mount.  Navy and gold everywhere.   Tons of such equipment along the way, particularly around the lock areas.  Some barges are even equiped as floating dormatories for people who work the canal.

What stuck us all, beginning at Lockport, was how cheap it is to ”LOCK THROUGH”.   (Think of it as “Through Hiking” on the Appalachian without the muscle tone.) 

Turns out that tying up at the walls for the night is FREE,  use of the associated electrical hookups is FREE, use of any associated showers is FREE, adding water to our water tank is FREE, and going from Lock 35 in to Lock 1 in consecutive days costs a piddly $50.  A season’s pass to do it all repeatedly is only $100!!!

And yet, we are one of just a few handfuls of boats on the canal.  Seems that the price of gas is at least part of the reason. 

One co-incidence we forgot to mention back in Holley.  So, here we are in the place of Rolf Bates’ relatives.  Joyce is busy with her camera in the town square, and Rolf goes to sit down on a bench.  Then, OMG, Joyce notices that in this little town are benches all over the place from the company for which she is a marketing manager in Kalamazoo:  Landscape Forms!!!  Small world stuff, indeed.

The Daily Funnies: 

• The bridge to nowhere.  (Look for it in the photos as soon as we get that page up and running.)

 

DAY 11 - ERIE CANAL - LOCKPORT, NY TO SPENCERPORT, NY

FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010

CREW: Joyce and Rolf Bates, and Donna

Weather: even more gorgeous than yesterday!

Canal: flat

Travel time and distance:

Night mooring: on the canal wall at Spencerport; next to the town gazebo

Restauant Rating: Sam’s: 3.5 - pretty good fried Haddock.

Wild life sightings:  blue heron, osprey, and lots of leapin’ walleye

Comments:

This was an amazing day.  We traveled downstream from one charming little burough to another, managing 7 canal locks that lowered us 15 - 25 feet to the next level, as well as many wonderful little lift bridges. 

Leaving Lockport around 8:00, we quickly learned that the canal is almost as much about the little town bridges as it is the locks.  The bridges were often only 4-8 feet above the water level.   So, they would rise up, as on elevators, when a boat approached.   (Sing:  “Low bridge, everybody down.  Low bridge, we’re comin’ to a town!”)

Amazingly, many bridge masters were in charge of two bridges.  Once we were through the first, the master leave that first bridge, quickly hop into his bright yellow state-issued truck, and race down the old mule path toward the next bridge.  (Sing along now: “I’ve got a mule her name is Sal.  15 miles on the Erie Canal.”)  Some of these bridges were miles apart, so we would often beat the master there.  Presently, he would arrive, slam the truck door, and charge up the bridge tower steps (20 or so) at top speed.   Towns’ folk would wave, call greetings, and shout questions about “Loon Feather”. 

Along with this race was the joy of watching the 7-9 year old crowd await the next boat.  They would then hop on their bikes (or run), clamber up the tower steps, and when the bridge was fully raised, the kids would ride their bikes across the raised bridge while our boat passed below.  We later learned that until 20 years ago or so kids were allowed to be on the bridges (with their bikes) while the bridges rose.  However, no more…  liability.

Around 2:00 P.M., we arrived at the Village of Holley, the hometown of Rolf’s great, great, great grandfather.  We were so fortunate to have learned of this connection just before we left Michigan.  In fact, Rolf’s dad, Richard Bates, loaded Rolf up with tons of writings, photos, and a family tree so that he (and we) could visit the local grave yard and hug the ancestors. 

From Rolf’s dad on Monday, Aug.  2, who is enjoying this journey from Ann Arbor, ” I had forgotten that Mother, her sisters and parents lived in Holley for a year before coming to Michigan, and that Grandma Jackson was married in Holley. It’s not in Mother’s account, but I remember Grandma telling me the teasing rhymes that they chanted at the  boys minding the mules that pulled the barges.  The boys would chase them, squealing, down th e banks but had to return to their animals immediately, as they well knew.  She also tapped out the Morse code for “HY” for me–she had memorized the sound by hanging around the depot and noticing which sequence of clicks made the station master race to his key.”

In Holley, Joyce immediately made friends with Nicholas, an 8-year-old with wheels and a big personality.    Nicholas took charge, leading her, and us, to the village center and cemetary, all the while chatting about the town’s history and providing tidbits (according to Nicholas 24/7) about the canal.  It’s drained in winter to around 2 feet in depth.  Can they skate on it?  No, too dangerous.  Can you swim it it?  No, too nasty. 

A good, not great, fried haddock lunch at Sam’s on the Village square After lunch, we walked the mile up hill to the cemetary.  The connection with the Erie Canal was poignant.  Rolf’s ancestors left Holley for Michigan just after the completion of the Erie Canal.  They traveled with their possessions by barge along the Canal, and, at Buffalo, put all of their possessions on a larger boat bound for Detroit.  The family then traveled by wagon train up over Ontario and down into Michigan.  Once in Detroit, however, they sadly learned that the boat had capsized on Lake Erie, and all of ther possessions were lost. 

By late afternoon we were again on our way,  and moored at the Spencerport wall for the night.   It was a darling waterfront and town, with a gazebo at water’s edge.  We enjoyed walking around, which, as Joyce said, was almost miniature in stature.  We determined that the first (and second) stories of the buildings were only 8 feet tall, making all of the commercial buildings feel low to the ground, as compared to our Michigan buildings which often have 10 and 12 foot ceilings.

WHAT WE DIDN’T KNOW: These town are the most charming along the canal, primarily because they are part of the Old Erie Canal.

Daily funnies:

• Rolf:  “We’re slowing down for a boat.  We don’t want to wake her.”
• RicK:  Too busy taking pictures to fire up Loon Feather and get her out of the locks.Rolf:  Going down in a lock sings, “I’ve got that sinking feeling, another sinking feeling.”
• Donna:  While sliding down the lock rope as the water vacates the lock, “Damnit; I’m at the end of my rope!”  Which would not have been funny if she really ran out of rope before the water hit it’s lowest level.  Managing the locks has become a game for Rolf and Donna, with Joyce at the camera, and Rick sitting in a chair for a 5 minute siesta. 
• Old guy on riding mower:  flips us off multiple times as we motor past his land, forgetting to reduce our speed to “No Wake”.   “No more flip offs” has become our battle cry as we enter populated areas.  Truly, it is a necessity to keep the wake down in order to prevent shore erosion as well as dock damage.
• Joyce: Once anchored to our wall in Spencerport, Joyce delivers a magnum of wine to a very tired Rolf, along with a 16 oz. disposable beer cup, and says, “Have at it.”  Joycie, Joycie, Joycie…   In the future, sweetly present the guy with his favorite pewter wine glass, and pour him the first one as well!  “Have at it” has become yet another well-used phrase on-board.

Dinner on board: brats and deli salads.  Nixed a trip out for ice cream cones in lieu of going to bed at 9:30.