July 23-26 Canajoharie and Little Falls

Canajoharie: We left Schenectady at 7:30 and headed west. The scenery was very nice - lots of trees, clean water, great vistas, farms, cloudless skies and too many bald eagles to count. One little problem was the wind, as it built to 15 mph and swirled in the locks, and made it difficult to keep the boat in place. We had originally planned to stop after about 30 miles at lock 12, but as things were going well, we rolled on another 17 miles to Canajoharie - the Indian name means "boiling pot" or bowls created at waterfalls as the water passes over the rocks. After squaring away the boat, we took the mile walk to enjoy the falls and boiling pots. We passed a weird little traffic light in the middle of a 5-way intersection. This lite, the guide book says, is one of only of three of this type in the state - I say one of three in the world!

Beautiful to look at!

VW On top of 100 foot smoke stack - what else can I say!

At a five way intersection

Boiling pots



R Island at the Canajoharie Dock.

Little Falls: The highlight of the trip to Little falls, 20 miles and 4 locks, was Lock 17! The lock is a rise of 40 feet and the entrance gate is a three part vertical lift door (you get wet when you pass under it). As always, all went well and it was easier than anticipated.
We also passed the home town of Sawyer Frederick - last years winner of "The Voice" and they had a 15 foot by 60 foot sign facing the canal with his name - pretty cool for us as this is one show we follow pretty close when we can.
We arrived at Little Falls about noon and had lunch on the boat. Little Falls is an old manufacturing and Railroad and Canal town that seems to be holding it together. Neat old buildings, lots of antique shops and good restaurants. We walked town in the afternoon and had dinner at the Copper Moose - a brew pub with updated "New American Food". Next day, Saturday, we visited the antique shops and bought some things to haul home; went to the Farmers Market and visited the Historical Society. All very relaxing. We decided to stay another day and catch up on this blog, and just watch the water go by.

Entering Lock 17

Little falls and the Erie Canal

Old Mill Buildings converted to Antique Shops and apartments

City Hall and Police Station

Masonic Temple

Renovated building to single family home and a great deck1

July 16-22 Waterford and Schenectady NY

Waterford: We left Schuylerville about 7:10 and headed south. No locks for 12 miles so we were well past the start of their day when we arrives at lock 4 about 9:00. Lots of barge traffic between locks 4 and  2 as PCB cleanup continues. At lock 1, a couple stopped by to watch us lock thru. They have a boat but have never gone thru locks and we told them what we have learned so far. Arrived at Waterford at 11:30 and tied to the free floating dock - and the folks from Lock 1 were there. They were gone by the time we got the boat secured and power connected and we failed to see them again. We were only one of three boats at the dock, so docking went smoother than we had feared having anticipated a crowded dock. We were both very happy.

Had lunch on the boat and took a nice walk up to the next lock and then around town. Stopped and "Dan and Paul's" diner for a slice of blueberry pie a-la-mode! Rest of the day we reviewed charts for the next day and did an overview plan of our next 3 weeks on the Erie Canal.

We went right last time; this time we went left!

The Waterford Harbor Visitor Center

Part of the old locks used as a bypass channel.

A "mule" with an information board on both sides.

Schenectady: Today, Friday, we start our trip with the "Flight of Five". Five locks, one right after the other, for a total lift of 167 feet! A little intimidating - but all went pretty well except for Lock 5 where we wound up entering too far into the lock and having to tie to a ladder and work our way up 2-3 rungs at a time instead of using the cables provided for that purpose - it worked out fine! 15 miles and one more lock and we were at Schenectady Yacht Club (SYC). SYC is a very laid back club that more resembles and RV park only with boats instead of RV's. You can tell by the tables, chairs, fire-pits and "stuff" that has collected on shore next to the slips. Nice place, great facilities, great folks - just not what most people think of as a yacht club. Oh, no food/restaurant in the clubhouse and nothing within 5 miles. We had lunch on the boat, took an hours nap (Ger is getting good at napping!), washed down the boat and had fried chicken, corn-on-the-cobb and potato salad for dinner.

Our first of five.

A Guard Gate - to hold back flooding water.

Our view across the Erie Canal/Mohawk River from our slip!

Saturday- We rented an Enterprise (they pick you up) Car and went to the Walmart for our prescriptions. As usual, one of Judie's had to be ordered and would not be in until Tuesday after 4:00. We followed that up with a trip to the Movies to see "Ant Man" so we could get a little entertainment fix. Pretty good movie - entertaining and not a lot of thought. We then enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner at Olive Garden and returned to SYC.

Sunday- Up and out the door about 7:20 to drive to the village of Lake George on the south shore of Lake George. We enjoyed breakfast at a local diner and took a leisurely stroll around town. Many shops and restaurants and a beautiful view of the lake. Started driving back on the local roads and stopped at Saratoga Springs, home of the famous Saratoga race track. Many old homes - all well maintained. The traditional horses were a week away from starting the season, but the Casino was open and the trotter races started 45 minutes later. Ger got lucky at the casino and made enough to cover the buffet and A/C seating, so we spent a lazy afternoon dining and watching the races.

Lake George courthouse

Memorial to the fallen soldiers

Beautiful landscaping!

Monday thru Wednesday-  was really focused on such exciting chores as: change air filters and sea water strainers, clean the boat inside and out, grocery shop, install a key holder, see "Terminator" movie and update the expense logs. We did visit "Jay Street" in downtown Schenectady where they blocked off traffic for one block and tried to bring in shops and restaurants. Did not work too well as most things are at the end of the block and on the side street surrounding the long time theater in town. But a nice time and you have to give them credit for working at it - and making progress. Schenectady is a General Electric town but much of the research has been moved out to newer facilities closer to larger urban areas.

Proctor's Theatre

July 2-16 Lake Champlain up to Canada and back to the beginning.

Plattsburgh NY: We actually tried to stay in Burlington an additional day due to the windy weather forecast, but there was no room, so off across the lake to Plattsburgh NY. A 20 mile trip and past Valcour Island (Home of the battle for Lake Champlain during the War of 1812 where Benedict Arnold fought the British in a great "sea battle". It is now a park with very limited access.). Plattsburgh is the second largest city on the Lake and is putting up a good fight to make the transition from "rust belt" to current times. Georgia-Pacific still has a large manufacturing facility just north of the city and it certainly helps. Non-the-less, it feels like a pretty successful city with lots of civic pride. We used our Forth of July weekend to take bicycle rides around town and along a bike path past the old Air Force Station, attend the Forth of July parade, watch great fireworks from prime seats on the fly bridge of R Island and get caught up on laundry and perform some maintenance of the shower sump pump. The marina is fairly large - about 250 boats and 95% are sailboats and 95% are owned by Canadians. Seems they get a big tax break by keeping their boat in the US - and it is also the best sailing area close by Montreal being less than an hour away. Not too friendly, but nice boats! The marina also has a good restaurant and bar - "The Naked Turtle Café" that serves great mussels!

Note: Current traveled 839 miles this year and 2,400 for the entire trip!

Monument to Samuel Champlain in background - guy got a lot of monuments!

And of course they played "Amazing Grace".

They make these articulated busses locally.

Rouses Point NY: Twenty-six miles north is the little town of Rouses Point. The lake provides a beautiful ride up to this area and we stopped about a mile south of the US/Canada border (no need to mess with customs this year). Gaines Marina is neat as a pin and one of the best we have been in. Nice ships store, restrooms, showers, and a very friendly/helpful staff. One minor aggravation was the One Million Little Green Bugs that had just hatched and were everywhere and forced us to keep the doors closed and screens in place. The town is small and not much there, but walked to the post office, Dollar Store, convenience store, and had a good Pizza at a lonely restaurant; as we were the only one's there. We changed the oil on main engine and generator, and  installed fresh oil/fuel filters to get us ready for the second half of this years trip.


The trip South: Time to return to our starting point of the Champlain experience - the junction of the Champlain and Erie Canals in Waterford NY. We made this 160 mile trip by basically retracing our steps from the trip north. First night we returned to Plattsburgh and enjoyed a concert in a nearby park with a 60-70,s rock band that played all the oldies they had been playing for 50 years!

Same musicians, same songs, 50 years.

Then we planned to stop in Essex NY where the entire town is on the historic register, but the docks were still under water from the spring run-off and recent rain (Lake is still 2 feet above normal). passed on that and cruised past Westport where they too were still under water and decided to continue on to Chipman Point in Orwell VT - you  may remember the photo of the 1810 building that houses the marina office and restrooms. Traveled 67 miles in 8.5 hours and were glad to be at the dock! At times we were in water over 300 feet deep and only 200 feet from the shore - can you say cliff! The lake really changed for us today as we went from deep crystal clear water and miles from shore to shore to a river-looking lake with brown water and about 1/4 mile wide. Don't get me wrong, still nice but very different!

Next stop was another 21 miles to Whitehall NY; either the bottom of the lake or the top of the canal - depends on your perspective. The staff remembered us from our trip north and the restaurant was ready to cook our burgers and fries this time! We stayed a couple days here and enjoyed "Canal Days"; a local festival to draw attention to history and bring the town together - and an excuse for really good fireworks viewed once more from R Island's fly bridge! We borrowed the Marina Jeep and toured Schene Manor - home of retired Judge Potter, a former Justice of the US Supreme Court. Had a light lunch in the Tea Room afterwards.

View looking down at the city from Schene Manor side porch.

Lighting the main staircase

Up to the Manor from the city park along the canal.

Closer view!

We then returned to Ft. Edward NY for one night at the city free dock. The restrooms were locked up tight and when Ger called the City at 6:30 that evening, the Public Safety Office in the police dept. called the Parks dept. and then called me back to report on utility problems. We were impressed that they responded, even if we did not like the answer. There were 8 other boats with us at the dock wall, 4 more than on the way up and it made for a full house. The guys working the lock just before we hit town had recommended "the Old Fort Diner"  and.....it was okay. The goulash tasted like Ger's mom's spaghetti recipe from when she used elbow macaroni; family members will remember!

Next stop was Schuyler Yacht basin in Schuylerville NY - a marina and camp-ground with a "Homey" feel to it. Phil and Judy have been owner/managers for 30 years claiming they "went out to buy a boat and bought a marina instead". We walked to the Schuyler House; home of American revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler. The house was closed on a Tuesday - can you imagine, but we had a nice walk and toured some of the town on our trip. We returned to town for dinner at Clarks Steakhouse for a first-class meal in a very crowded old linen factory where they used to make silk gloves. Stayed an extra day due to weather and the following day we completed the canal leg of our journey and arrived at the start of the Erie Canal.

Small waterfall from old turning basin and dry dock into the old canal.

Our last stop on the Champlain Canal....

General Schuyler's home rebuilt in one month after being burned by the British.


 

June 25 - July 1 Lake Champlain: Waterford NY to Bulington VT

Sometimes it's hard to tell what state you are in and it is complicated by the fact that Lake Champlain looks more like a winding river than a lake for the first 30 miles. We left Waterford NY at 8:30 for a nice 21 mile cruise with no locks. We arrived, and docked on the opposite side of the water and were in Chipman Point (Orwell) Vermont. The lake takes you on a rural path mostly populated by a few cottages, lots of blue heron, deer, and eagles - we saw them all. We passed many small fishing boats but only one cruising boat - a 65 footer that was headed north like us. Actually, he passed us!

The Chipman Point Marina is small and run by a lady in her seventies. The office is on the first floor of a stone and timber four-story building. The second floor is the restrooms, showers and laundry facility; the third floor houses her apartment. The office offers free cake and coffee all day and has home made dried fruit, cookies and other sweets for sale. The building, along with a twin 100 feet north, were built in 1810 as warehouses.

Chipman Point Marina (not really crooked).

Beautiful morning!

Fort Ticonderoga   as we passed by.

Lighthouse and monument to Sam Chamlain

We left the next morning for another 29 miles to Westport NY (opposite side of the lake). The water was flat, the sun shining and it was a beautiful day. Within minutes we could see Fort Ticonderoga on a hilltop on the NY side. We also passed a new bridge and monument to Samuel Champlain. There is no way to access these from the water and we would travel there in a rented car from Burlington in a few days. The lake got wider and the water got clearer and about 11:30 the wind decided to blow. Luckily we were almost to Westport. We secured a great slip with dry docks - important since half of the docks were at water level due to the high water level in the lake. We had lunch at the marina restaurant and then Judie did laundry while Ger washed the boat. Casual supper and early sleep.

High Water

Low docks

The next morning was a repeat - flat water, hazy sun and a great day. We covered the 24 miles to Burlington VT in 3 hours and our slip was not yet available, so we cruised the harbor for an additional hour and then docked by 12:00. The lake is now wider and looks more like the Chesapeake Bay - you can see the other side, but not much detail. After checking in, we had lunch on the deck of the marina restaurant ( I know, has a familiar ring to it) and took the free shuttle five blocks up hill to the Church Street Mall. The city has closed five blocks to traffic and pedestrians and cafe's/shops have taken it's place. There was also a farmers market this day and we bought a few things for the house and a cigar for Ger to smoke on the back deck with a glass of rum. Back to the boat for a few hours of R&R for  Judie's knee. Took the free shuttle back up for dinner at a Pizza restaurant before walking back to the boat. Two Drifters, a boat we had met at Westport Marina docked 2 slips down - lots of great folks! Started to rain on our way back.

Day 2: The rain continued. Plain and simple. We worked on a few chores in the morning and some of this blog and in the afternoon took a 1.5 hour trolley tour in the rain to see the city. Not certain if it was the rain - but not too much to see after you leave the waterfront and the main downtown. The University of Vermont is here, so it does have a college town flair. Main industry is the University, summer tourists and some high-tech. After the trolley tour we took the free shuttle back up the hill to purchase some better rain jackets from LL Bean. Had all three meals on the boat!

Day 3: Rented a car to do some errands and sightseeing. First hit the Wal-Mart for prescriptions, then West Marine for misc. stuff and then  went to the Shelburne Museum just south of Burlington. The museum is an eclectic collection of items important to Vermont history that were procured by Mrs. Electra Havemeyer Webb and then dedicated to a trust. Items include the last constructed and serviceable paddlewheel steamship on the lake, a train and train station, a one room school, the last operating lighthouse on the lake, many 17th century homes, and misc. other buildings. She then proceeded to furnish them with items she imagined should have been there - not necessarily were there. Makes for an interesting day. One of the docents commented that it was like seeing all of New England in a day - we agree. We had dinner at the baseball park (25 cent hot dog night) as we watched the local Oakland As' affiliate - the Vermont Lake Monsters play the Lowell Spinners of the Red Sox's. Fun time but the rain caused us to leave in the 6th inning.

One of 4 guest cabins on the steamboat.

Moved 2 miles from the water! in one piece!

Twins!

Home built by Electra's children and furnished from her NYC estate.

Lake Monster's Mascot - Champ

Day 4: Up and away early to Ft. Ticonderoga! It's about an hour and a half drive south of Burlington and you can cross the lake on the new bridge I mentioned earlier. The fort, originally built by the French in 1756 and named Ft. Carillon sits at the junction of Lake Champlain and Lake George (that flows into the Hudson River and down to NY City) a critical spot in our countries history. Way too much to talk about, but a great tour that went thru the entire history and many docents dressed in period clothing performing cooking, sewing, shoemaking, and other tasks, all according to how the French did it when they occupied the fort. We spent about 3 hours and then visited the vegetable gardens as they would have planted them along with more formal gardens that were developed by the folks who bought the Fort in the early 1900's to preserve what was left. After the fort was abandoned, local settlers commandeered the rock and timber to build their own  homes and barns. Stopped at the Samuel Champlain monument and the waterfall at Vergeness on the way back.

Officer's Quarters

16 enlisted men to a room.

When restoration began

Outdoor kitchen - making bread and green bean soup.

Day 5: Returned the car after making a stop at the grocery store and spent the rest of the day inside, out of the rain,  working on keeping the blog up to date. It is supposed to be nice starting this evening for a week - it will be welcome after 4 days of rain.

Sunset from the flybridge.