Coming to an end

 Saturday, September 24, 2022-

Today we traveled to one of our favorite marinas, Florence Harbor in Florence, AL.  The trip was uncomplicated and we arrived just as fishing boats were coming back into the harbor after a day's competition.  Seems like every time we come to Florence Harbor there's a fishing tourney going on!  

The transient dock looked packed and several dock hands were out trying to move boats that shouldn't have tied up there so paying transients could come in.  We called the dock master as we were coming in and asked where we would stay for 2 days.  He recognized our boat name, Maggie Jo, and was very close friends with the couple that we bought her from.  He and his wife are still boaters, living up in Florence during the summer and going back to Florida in the winter.  Anyway, he escorted us up to one of about 3 slips near the office and restaurant!  We may just keep this boat name...and change Maggie's to Maggie Jo!! ;-)

Florence Harbor is about 3 miles below the Wilson Lock which we would need to go through to continue our trip home.  Trouble was...Wilson had a wall collapse and are working to fix it.  Meantime, the schedule for pleasure craft like ours is 6AM-7AM in the morning...and another time period later in the day.  We were going to need to get up and travel in the dark to the lock in order to go upstream as planned on Monday morning!  Well, if ya gotta, ya gotta!

Meanwhile we'd make good use of our time here.  Saturday evening we ordered hamburgers on take-out from the restaurant. (Boy, were they busy that evening with all those visiting boaters/fishers!)  We didn't realized they were double patty burgers...but we wasted not.  We had half that night and half for lunch the next day. ;-)  On Sunday we washed some clothes, then checked out the loaner car for lunch at a little Italian restaurant nearby and a shopping trip for groceries, etc.

Monday, September 26, 2022-

We did, indeed, get up at 5AM on that Monday morning and made our way up to the lock in the dark.  Not fun!  We had a companion boat, Moondance IV and we were the only ones going up stream that morning.  Our destination was Decatur, AL, and a little marina there (Decatur Riverwalk Marina) that we've often used coming through.  To get there we went through another lock...and again we got through with no waiting.  We made such good time that morning that we got to Decatur around noon and decided we simply couldn't stop for the day...we had to go on!  So...we cancelled reservations at Decatur and went on to Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL.

 Tuesday, September 27, 2022-

We are still on the same route with Moondance so we both agreed to leave at 7:30 this morning.  We had one lock, Guntersville, to transit and were able to get through right before they were going to close for some routine maintenance.  Whew!  On we went, then, to another favorite marina, Goose Pond Colony, a resort area in Scottsboro, AL.  The trip up the river had spells of wind that reminded us of Lake Michigan...but the ride was much smoother.

We filled up with diesel at a price of $4.59/gallon!  Best price yet on this trip.  Let's see, $4.59 x 100 gallons.....Yikes!!  We'd wanted a hamburger from one of the restaurants near the marina but one doesn't open until 5 and the other was serving only cold sandwiches on Tues. and Thurs.  Bologna anyone?  Instead we baked a frozen pizza and will snack for supper.

We'd ordered dog food for Mags and picked that up.  In doing so we learned that our next lock, Nickajack, is having power issues and may not be open for business tomorrow when we'd planned to move on up the river.  Wayne called the lock and they are working on the problem now...think it will be fixed sometime tomorrow but not sure when.  We're to call around 7 or 8 tomorrow morning for an update.  Meanwhile, realizing that the lock is about 45 miles from Goose Pond, we decided to go on up near the lock (if not through) tomorrow and anchor below the lock if we can't get through.  We have worked it out on paper to get "home" (Caney Creek Marina on Watts Bar Lake) this Friday!!  Hook, nook or crook!

The rest of the story..

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

So today we moved from Ivy Marina down to Peoria, IL, City Dock.  Now, before we left Ivy we heard nothing good about the city dock in Peoria.  Turns out it wasn't as bad as we were told.  The dock master at Ivy talked of unsafe conditions due to vagrants hanging out around that area.  That wasn't apparent to us at all.  The only issues we saw were that the town is not keeping up the docks.  We got in with 6 other boats but the depth of water at the docks made it impossible or rough for anyone else to tie up.  And...the docks were not maintained.  Bird poop everywhere on the wooden docks.  We ordered food from Costco and had it delivered by Instacart.  Maggie and I walked all along the river bank and felt totally safe.  Peoria is working on the river front area and it shows.  Now they just need to keep the city docks clean and cared for.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Went through Peoria Lock fairly quickly with about 12 vessels going through.  We hurried along then to Logsten Tug Service for the night. We'd been there before on our last loop trip and knew it was a rough setting...but it was the only game in town for us that day...and for 3 looper boats. Getting to land was difficult from the tie-up to a tow boat. I took Maggie out that evening...but not the next morning.  The stairs from the tow boat to land were precarious and I decided Maggie just needed to use her potty onboard...and she did.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

We traveled to Grafton, IL, that day and stayed the night...thinking we would spend two days there.  Unfortunately they had no diesel service and we only stayed one.  Nice marina with great laundry facility...so we washed some clothes before getting on the Mississippi.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Left fairly early and traveled to Alton, IL.  Loved this marina!  Covered slips, very reasonable, and right next to the town of Alton.  We got there around 2 PM and ordered lunch (burgers, please) from the Bluff City Grill.  I walked to get them and wished I'd taken Mags so she could get some exercise...but I made up for it by walking her around the park area there several times that day.  The next day would start out with a lock...and our plans for going through it were collaborated with about 5 other boats, all loopers.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Got up really early this morning and took off for an 85 mile run to Kaskascia Lock on the Mississippi River.  First we went through a lock with about 7 boats, again mostly loopers, then traveled on down to the lock where we could tie up to a wall for the night.  Turns out, the lock was doing some construction and, while we were welcome to tie up, the conditions were rough.  Lots of activity in the narrow approach...tie up to concrete walk with no access to land (apologies to Maggie that night) and crowded with...looper boats.  It was a free, safe space to stay.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Left around 6:30 and headed on down the Mississippi River with hopes of anchoring at a place about 21 miles away from the Ohio River turn.  Made good time and found the anchorage we were looking for only to discover it was too shallow an approach for us.  We traveled on.  And we began looking for good wing dam areas for anchorage.  Finally found one at about mile 19 and anchored there for the night.  One of the boats we'd traveled with took a picture of us as they passed by that evening....

Monday, September 19, 2022

Traveled today, again with an early start, down to the place where the Ohio River comes into the Mississippi.  We made our left turn onto the Ohio and immediately felt the difference in speed: the Ohio River was running against us as opposed to the Mississippi, which was pushing us along.

We stayed that night at the Paducah, KY, Transient Dock.  The dock runs right along the channel of the river so not much protection from boat wake...and many on the dock had issues with the electrical outlets (as did we for a while)....but it was a place to stay for the night.  Looks like Paducah is working on a waterfront venue for the city.  Town was close enought to walk to but we were HOT and tired by the time we got there. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Instead of starting out with "early start" every time, I'll tell you if and when we "sleep in!"  Today we left Paducah and headed down the Cumberland River to the Barkley Lock.  From there we made our way over to the Kentucky Dam Marina for the night.  Again we had a really warm day and were happy to tie up to a dock and turn on the air conditioning!

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Spent a peaceful night at the marina...no river wake to shake the boat.  ;-)  Walked Maggie and actually turned her loose in a large grassy field to get some running in.  This dog loves to run!!!  

It was another hot day!  Sounds like tomorrow might be a 70's day and we'll be SO glad!!  We were

Thursday, September 22 2022

 Leaving the marina that morning we celebrated the fact that we were now a step closer to home and familiar waterways.  The Kentucky Dam created Kentucky Lake and that's what we traveled on today.  It's very wide so we didn't have much need to hail oncoming tow boats to arrange a pass.  Instead, we just avoided the tows by moving out of their way.

Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN, was our destination today.  We've stayed there several times before and it was just as welcoming as always.  They are known for their restaurant (which is open during the fall only on the weekend) and, apparently, their cinnamon rolls.  We never knew they had cinnamon rolls let alone famous cinnamon rolls!  I was witness to a boater coming into the office/restaurant at the marina and huffing out when told the rolls would be there the next morning.  He muttered that he wouldn't have waited for the marina office to open (8 am) if it hadn't been for the desire to have a cinnamon roll.  ;-)

One of the really nice things about many marinas in the South is that they often have a "courtesy" car that can be borrowed for an hour or two.  Our plan was to get the car the tomorrow morning bring in more food!  We're out of the essentials: apples, bananas, cinnamon raisin bread (I have a cinnamon raisin bread sandwich of p-nut butter and banana every morning :-).

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Got the courtesy car this morning when the office opened at 8 and drove to the closest Walmart for groceries.  That job done, we headed out for an anchorage tonight.  It was, indeed, cooler today and the trip was pleasant.  

We had picked out several places for an anchorage...but when we got to them we realized there wasn't enough water for anchoring.  So we traveled on and finally hailed a marina for dockage but were told they didn't have enough water for a 4 ft. draft (how deep our boat is).  On we went a bit further and finally spotted a recreation area on the water that had what looked like a perfect place to stay for the night.  We anchored in about 15 ft. at MM (mile marker) 135.  Perfect place and we slept well.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Plans today were the same as yesterday: find an anchorage.  Again we had several options and ended up at Wolfe Island.  That's where we are right now.  I've finally sort of caught up on the blog!

Now's the time to tell you about our change in plans.  We are no longer interested in traveling for a year "or more" on a boat.  We will have traveled about 4,000 miles by the time we get home and we think that's aplenty for us.  We're coming back to Knoxville (first week in October, we think) and we're going to buy a house and boat on the local rivers...and perhaps go to Florida for some winters (though not this year because we have things we want to add to the boat.)

This trip was trying in a number of ways.  First, our course of travel was simply too crowded.  Loopers have been delayed in their travel plans in 2019 because of lock closures on the Illinois River, 2020 due to COVID issues and not being able to enter Canada...so a big number of those delayed Loopers started out in 2021 and are now on their way to Florida for the winter.  When we hit the Illinois River off of Lake Michigan and all the way down to the bottom of the Mississippi we were in the company of as many as 15 Loopers.  Nothing against Loopers, but traveling in a caravan of 15 boats takes all the adventure out of the trip.  You are no longer motoring along, enjoying the views on either side.  Instead, we found ourselves trying to space our vessel in among the others, slowing down, speeding up...very tedious.  Going through locks was a zoo.  When locks were closed for any reason the places one could stop for the night were limited by the number of boats needing the same services.

Other reasons we've changed our mind is that we miss the comforts of a home.  (Probably shows our age, but so be it.  ;-)  And with both of us having had pretty serious recent health issues we are often needing a "check in" with our health professional (via a Zoom-like video session) or a prescription delivery, or a blood draw.  All of those have been hard to arrange while boating and will likely go on for years now.

We had considered at one time moving to a different place at the end of this journey.  That's no longer a consideration.  We both want to live in Knoxville, TN, where we have lived the majority of our 75 years.  And we're both looking forward to seeing our friends and enjoying your company as soon as we can settle in.

More photos to come later....

And we thought we were through the roughest part...

Wednesday, September 7, 2022 -

Well, our time at Michigan City is over, missions all accomplished,  and today we headed out for our last trip on Lake Michigan.  First, a few views of the area around the Washington Park Marina.  Washington Park was an amusement park from the early 1900's until 1970's when they converted it into a park with space for special events, huge park picnic area, marina, beachfront, and even a small zoo.  I was especially taken with the stone "furniture" they had throughout the park area...

 

It was a short distance to travel today...30 some miles.  But...the winds were coming from the North and they rocked us back and forth all morning long.  Pretty rough!  Dropped our table in the salon and moved the HEAVY couch from the wall about 2 ft.!

At last we were on the Calumet River making our way to the Sunset Harbor Marina for one night.  Very interesting place.  They were full, but the woman who runs the marina, Barb, said we could stay on the gas dock for $30/night.  Fine with us since water and power were included.   Then when we came in for the night and found we only had one 30 amp plug she had the crew unhook the boat docked on the other side of the fuel dock and let us have that plug.  Oh, and also said there would be no charge for the night.  Barb always sounded like she had just finished off a fifth of something...

 What we didn't know was that they all left at 5 and locked the gate to the marina.  OOPS!  Maggie didn't get an evening or a morning walk...but she did regularly use the green pad (aka bed until now) for No. 1 business.  

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Took off early, as usual, because we had two locks to go through before getting to our marina for the night, Three Rivers.  Had a slight wait at the first lock, but the second lock brings on a whole new story......

To begin with, we were going through the busy area called the Calsag and were on watch for moving tows/barges.  We also had to navigate bridges that at first were ranging from 17'6".  Our highest point was the anchor light at 17'.  At the first bridge they had crews working on the sides and the bridge was going to remain down for a while.  We waited a while and talked about whether or not to try it...and did.  We were almost out when we hit a piece of metal, like a rod of some sort, and it bent the pole that holds the radar and the pole that holds the anchor light.  SO...we decided to have the next bridges of similar height lifted.  Took a bit more time to transit this area, but soon the bridges were taller.  Meanwhile, we went up and took down the large piece that holds the radar arch, etc, (I'm sure that "piece" has a real name, but Wayne's napping right now.)  Made going under bridges much easier then.

Finally we had come to the last lock we'd need to go through today, the Lockport Lock.  When we hailed the lock to ask for passage they informed us they wouldn't open until 5PM that day.  It was then 11AM.  I had read a piece from the Army Corps of Engineers about how Illinois is doing a lot of lock upgrades and repairs.  I obviously read it wrong concerning the Lockport Lock.  Anyway, the lock wouldn't allow boats to tie up on the wall to wait so we went back up the river a little way and, at the lock recommendation, tied up at a rusty wall by an old grain silo.  FINALLY, Maggie got to go for a walk, grungy as it was.  ;-)

Between 11AM and 5PM about 13 or 14 boats had gathered at various places above the lock to wait.  We decided to just spend the night where we were and leave the next morning when the lock would be on regular hours.  But then, a large towboat had parked his barge on the lock wall and decided to wait in back of our boat...about 20 ft. away.  Not good!  The thrust of the tow's engines coming back on our boat had it rocking and crashing into the rusty wall.  We decided we needed to move further back up the river to a wall where several other boats were waiting.

We got to the wall, sidled up to it, knowing we were going to have a really hard time to tie up there because of the height of the wall and the crumbly condition.  Two boaters came over and tied us up for the night...and then, offered to come over at 6AM and untie us so we could all be down at the lock together when the sun came up.  We couldn't thank them enough!

Friday, September 9, 2022

Headed out early for Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, IL.  We were there on our first loop trip in 2008 when the marina flooded and we stayed, with a bunch of other loopers, for 2 weeks before the water went down enough for us to continue down the river.  It's totally changed and is even better (like WOW better) than it was then.

With about 6 boats ahead of us we were limited in how fast we could go.  Passing 6 boats would have been hard, so we just stayed together...slowly.  Went through a lock or two, or three, and rafted up in each lock.  At the last lock we were tied to the wall and had two larger boats rafted up to us.  Felt a little uneasy with the arrangement, but all went well.  But...we ended up being the last boat to leave the lock.  Must have been 12 or 13 of us leaving and you can imagine the line ahead of us.  Bigger boats quickly arranged for passing and we were finally last of about 5 boats.  We had met the owners of the boat directly in front of us and were pleased to hear them announce that they would like to do a slow pass (we slow down so not to wake the boat...and they slow down to allow us to pass).  We chimed in and said we'd like to do the same.  Still ended up behind a couple of boats and followed them to Heritage.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

As usual, left early and headed for Henry Harbor, IL.  Foggy this morning so we had to stay put for almost an hour until the fog cleared.  We had a great day on the water, though.  No locks, for one thing.  And the cruise took us through some gorgeous, remote areas of Illinois.

Arrived at Henry in the early afternoon.  The little marina is back in a cove that is too shallow for us to enter but the owners, Fran and her husband, have a little area beside an old lock wall that boats like us can use.  When we'd called they were "booked" because they have so few spaces.  But Fran said she'd let us tie up to her boat and we accepted!

Can't say enough about this couple and how helpful and friendly they were.  They ended up moving us to the gas dock in the evening and we topped off our tanks as a gesture of thanks!  The couple both have "day" jobs, but also own and operate the little marina.  Fran is a cabinet designer and he runs a heating and air repair with his son.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

This day we had reservations for one night at the IVY (Illinois Valley Yacht Club) in Peoria Heights, IL  Weather was in the 60's and calling for 90% chance of rain.  We had rain for the first couple of hours, but it cleared up enough then that we could leave the front window open.

The next lock, Peoria Lock, is only 10 miles below IVY.  The lock is currently on a restricted schedule because they are working on the problem up here with Asian carp.  They have infested the river and everyone wants them gone!!  They eat smaller fish and feed off the bottom.  But when a boat comes by causing a certain vibration in the water these fish will rise to the surface and jump all over the place...including onto boats!  They are very thin skinned and will usually injure themselves or die immediately.  And the worse part: they bleed all over whatever it is they hit.  We found out what that is like as we cruised today because we had 2 jump in the dingy, 1 on the swim platform, and one on the back deck.  Looked like we'd slaughtered something!!

 

Anyway, Peoria Lock is only open now from 3PM to 7AM and all day on the weekend and Wednesday.  We could have made it through the lock today...but then there's the issue of where to go after that.  No good anchorages and the nearest spot to tie up is 70 miles down the river.  So Wednesday is our time to approach the lock.  

When we got to IVY Joe, the manager, met us to help tie up.  We asked then whether they'd had any cancellations for Monday and Tuesday since they were booked solid when we called for reservations.  He said he'd go up with us and look again.  Glad he did, because we can now stay on Monday...still nothing for Tuesday.  Our option will be to go to the free dock in Peoria on Tuesday and hope there's a place to wait there.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Making use of our 2nd day at IVY by ordering grocery delivery from the local Kroger.  Have yet to find out if anyone has cancelled for tomorrow night...more later...

Last bit of Lake Michigan...

Thursday, September 1, 2022

 

 

After four nights at White Lake Marina we finally pulled out at 7:15 to ride down to Holland, MI, and the Eldean Boat Yard.  Our sailboat friends next door were headed down that way and we followed them out of the lake since they'd been out once before already.  It was 5 miles from the marina to the entrance to the lake...

We didn't have small craft warnings...but it was an uncomfortable ride.  Waves were hitting on the side of the boat and rocking us back and forth, side to side.  Yuk!

We got to Eldean Boat Yard at about 1:15 and had an awful time finding our assigned slip.  And they didn't have any help rushing out to assist and direct, as we usually find.  We were assigned a slip on Z dock.  As we came in there was a sign on A dock and the rest of the docks seemed to go far, far, down the waterway.  We called to make sure we were going to be headed in the right direction and they answered in a way that left us clueless still.  "Don't go in the direction of the fuel dock sign."  Well, turns out that's exactly the way we had to go."  And..."It's right there by our other buildings."  Everything around us looked like houses???  Finally, after roaming and finally spotting dock boxes with Z numbers we found our spot...tucked in among the sailboats.  ;-)

Hooking up the electricity, we discovered that we needed a splitter for a 30 amp that would then feed two 30 amp plugs.  With that kind of setup you only get about 1/2 the power you would find at most marinas.  They were kind enough to loan us one that we returned the next morning before we left.

This section of Holland was obviously a well off section of town.  May be that the whole town is well off!  Maggie and I walked around to see lots of nice homes, cars, and well-heeled people.  ;-)  Of course, the area we covered was very small compared to the map I saw.  

Enjoyed a quiet afternoon with very pleasant breezes...

Friday, September 2, 2022

 Sunrise as we left Holland..

Today we left around 7:30 and headed down to anchor in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, MI.  We had tried to make reservations for the night but they were having sailboat races on Saturday and were booked.  We'd even called several days to see if something had, by chance, opened up.  So...what's one more call, right?!  Wayne called and they had a cancellation!!!  We had a slip at West Basin Marina!!  Wayne always says, "Think good things will happen and they will!"  ;-)  

We had a very pleasant, calm trip down to St. Joseph.   Another lovely Michigan town, St. Joseph.  The marina is one of the many run by the state of Michigan...and it may be the best we've seen.  Well kept grounds with a park, picnic tables, and gas grills available.  Lovely neighborhood with sidewalks that Maggie and I enjoyed.  And, oh!  The laundry!  Now, remember me getting all excited about the laundry that had a dryer that would run 40-45 min. on fifty cents???  Well, this marina charged nothing for the laundry, had those high efficiency machines...and furnished the special detergent you have to use.  Guess what we did that afternoon!! ;-)

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Being among all the sailboats that were going out this morning, we got an early (7:15) start.  

The weather was safe for us today...but again we had wind and waves blowing us around to the point that we hesitated to go up and down the stairs a lot.  About an hour or two into the trip I went downstairs and, on the way back up, noticed that the dinghy was dragging the motor end in the water!  Wayne went down immediately to see what the problem was.  Meanwhile, we slowed to idle, but kept the gear in forward so we were barely moving.  

After about 1/2 hour of working on the problem he discovered that a part of the hoist that lifts the dinghy was broken and would need to be replaced.  We decided to continue on to Michigan City, but at a much slower pace.  I was at the helm and Wayne kept his eye on the dinghy

 

 

Getting to the marina by 1 PM was necessary today.  The surgery group I deal with at UT for the colon cancer has me signed up for blood draws every 3 mos. so the research company, Natera, can monitor a DNA factor that will, according to the surgery group, detect cancer about 8 months sooner than the CEA test which measures blood antigens in colon and other cancers.  (My oncologist at Vanderbilt does a CEA test every 3 months, as well.)

So.  It's time for my Natera blood draw.  The company sends me a blood draw kit with all the equipment the phlebotomist needs...Then they find a phlebotomist in the area I'm in and we schedule a meeting place and time.  My kit had already been sent to the marina in Michigan City.  Now all I had to do was schedule an appointment at the marina with the person who would do the job.  Being Labor Day weekend, there were some extra issues thrown in.  The phlebotomist had to send the blood samples by FedEx on the day it was drawn.  FedEx was closing today at 2 PM so 1 PM was the latest we could do the draw.  When we started out today we would have had no problem getting there by 1PM.  With the dinghy situation we slowed down considerably...to the point that we would arrive at 12:45.  We could still do it...we just didn't need anything else to happen to delay us.

We inched the speed up to about 6.5mph instead of our usual 8.5mph.  That seemed to be the best setting to move forward without bouncing the dinghy a lot.  When we were about 1/2 hr. away I looked down to see the estimated arrival time was 11:30!!  Then it dawned on us both that we were now in Central Time Zone!!  I sent a text to the Trish, the phlebotomist telling her a 1PM meeting would be perfect.  That way we could take on fuel and get situated into our slip before I would meet her at the marina office.  

Bottom line, all went well.  We met at the marina office and asked where we could go to do this procedure.  We were directed to the ladies restroom, which, fortunately had a table and chair.  One of the marina workers came in and saw what we were doing and said we could use the conference room instead.  Much better!  We were through in about 10 minutes and by the time I need the next one we should be in Knoxville. ;-)

Washington Park Marina is a big one, right on the edge of Lake Michigan.  We're going to stay here until Thursday morning so we can check off some items on our to-do list:  get a part for the dinghy lift and fix it; get a grooming for Maggie; and grocery shop.  Next move for us will be to finish our Lake Michigan journey by going from here to the Calumet River, about 10 miles below Chicago, and stay at a marina not far "down the road."  Ta-ta for now.....

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

 Wednesday, August 31, 2022

At last the weather is looking good for moving!  The weather at the dock has been great for the last couple of days...cool breeze, sunny.  But the small craft warning has still been out for our area of Lake Michigan because of winds in the 20's and waves near 6 ft.  Our sailboat friends next to us went out on Tuesday morning and came right back in.  Waves were too high for them and the wind was whipping.

So...while here we've done a lot of walking....which is good!  Grocery store twice (well, they have some very good "made in the store" chicken salad); Dollar General, hardware, and any other store that looked like it might have a micro SD card...and struck out.  As I mentioned before, Uber doesn't seem to have a presence here and Walmart doesn't deliver to this address so we'll order from Amazon and have it to Michigan City, IN, by the time we get there on Saturday.

Got the oil changed yesterday and the fellow who did it also helped Wayne move the (heavy) couch so they could clean out the filters for air conditioning.  

We've got our routes set up for Thursday-Sunday.  We'll be anchoring on Friday night.  It being Labor Day weekend, there's a lot going on and there were no slips to be had as we got closer to the weekend...

Tomorrow's looking like a bluebird day and we're ready to be moving!  We'll check in later...

Speaking of anchoring...We've been telling Maggie to "use" the potty pad when we can't make it to shore.  So far, she hasn't quite understood the message.  She does find it comfortable for napping, though...

Yikes, Michigan!

 Monday, August 29, 2022 -

We were pretty sure, when looking at the marine forecast last night, that we likely would want to stay another day in White Hall Municipal Marina.  Then when the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain started right at bedtime we checked to confirm that there would definitely be a small craft warning through Monday.

We slept late and woke to stormy skies that have sprouted little WINDY storms all day. Having time on our hands we made a grocery list and walked something less than a mile to the closest grocery. (Tried to get an Uber...but never made a connection with a driver).  When we walked our with our 4 big bags we decided to try Uber again...no luck, again.  As we were standing there thinking of searching for a cab a nice lady walked up and asked if we needed help.  We told her that our eyes were bigger than our ability to carry it "home."  She immediately said she'd be glad to give us a ride back to the marina and we gratefully accepted.  We told her we would "pay it forward" by helping someone else.

After lunch I decided to hunt down a haircut.  I know, I know, I was going to let it grow out...But when I took the scissors to it last week and still wasn't satisfied I knew I had to let someone with skills do the job.  I found a salon that said it was open on Mondays and walked about a mile to find that it was no longer in business...had been replaced by another salon name...and is closed on Mondays.  Walking back to the boat I passed a different salon.  The windows looked dark, no hours posted on the door...but when I tried the door it opened!  Turns out the owner was in doing books on Mondays since they're closed.  I think it was the condition of my hair (the winds are still way up today) that caused her to say she would do my hair if I could do it right then.  You betcha!!

Well, the cut was a great one!  I can actually stop wearing a head scarf from the time I wake until I go to bed!

Weather outlook is not so good for tomorrow...And at this point in time they are predicting Wednesday to be rough, too.  BUT...Thursday and Friday look really good.  We'll try to do some marathon days then!

We're enjoying our days even if we are spending a few more days in places we hadn't planned to stay because we're around the people/pets we most enjoy being with, doing what we want to do.  And, just like the two pleasant surprises today (sweet lady driver and finding a stylist in a closed salon) we seem to have the sun shining down on us most of the time....and we're very grateful.  ;-)  (For you, Laura...:-)

Whoa! Michigan!

 Sunday, August 28, 2022

Last night we looked at the marine forecast , as usual, with the idea that we might just go a little ways down the coast from Pentwater to White Lake...about 32 miles...today.  Yes, the winds were going to be 10-15 with some 20 MPH thrown in.  And, yes, the waves were predicted to be 1-3 ft.  But we've never tried this boat in that kind of weather and decided we'd like to see how it takes those conditions.  There weren't any small craft warnings out and we would definitely be within 5 miles of the shore so it couldn't be that bad, right?

Hmmm.  Actually, it was pretty darn uncomfortable towards the end of the trip.  The wind did pick up and was coming at us...sometimes on the nose and sometimes slapping the side of the boat.  My first inclination was to grab the arm of the chair and try to keep myself upright in the seat.  I finally figured out that it was much easier to place my feet against the bottom of the "helm" to steady myself and then let my upper body swing and sway from the waist up.  I think I now have a great idea for a work-out machine!!

We turned into White Lake, finally, and it took about 3 miles to then get to our marina, White Lake Municipal Marina.  Then the fun really began!  The wind picked up and we ended up, at one point, completely turned crossway in the slip with the dingy up against the dock!  Fortunately about 6 people ran out and helped us get straight and tied up!  Exciting!!! 

We're likely going to be here through tomorrow as the prediction, at this time, is a small craft warning with conditions worse than today.  Even though we're trying to get off Lake Michigan asap, we're not going out in something worse than we had today....

Maggie and I walked into the part of town near the marina and park and it looks a little run down. But...it has a Walmart within delivery distance and we may take advantage of that tomorrow.  Keeping us stocked with food and necessities is a job in itself.  We pretty much eat the same things everyday for breakfast and lunch and try to "spice it up" a little at supper with something we haven't had in two days.  The larger refrigerator on this boat has really come in handy...but we always seem to be out of something critical.  Like half and half.

That's it for today!  I'll let you know if anything exciting happens tomorrow.....;-)

On down Lake Michigan...

 Saturday, August 27, 2022

After 2 nights at Arcardia we were ready to move.  Waves were predicted to be 1-2 with wind gusts up to 20mph...coming from the SW.  We had 3 routes ready so we could start out with the closest stop, Manistee, and continue on to Ludington if that looked good...or go all the way to Pentwater, 63 miles, if conditions would allow. We did the latter.  Left Arcadia at 7 and go to Pentwater, Snug Harbor Marina, at 1:30.  Not bad at all...with most waves coming in the last 10 miles.

Snug Harbor is a fantastic marina!  We were met at the "wall" we'd be staying on by 3 guys who did everything...down to mounting (drill and screws involved) a step on the dock beside us to make it easier to get on and off!

Pentwater has a gorgeous little harbor.  Tonight they are having a boat show with vintage boats floating by.  Maggie and I strolled the street by the harbor where all the shops were having a 50% off sidewalk sale.  And Wayne and I walked to the Italian grocery about a block away to gather some goodies for the days ahead.  Last time we were here we anchored in the harbor...

Two more sad dog stories today!  First was a call out to the Coast Guard about a golden retriever who jumped off the boat.  We didn't hear the ending, but assume they were able to find the dog...paddling like crazy...and bring it back to the owner.  Then, this evening, we met a couple on a sailboat with a dog much like Maggie in that it was small and a barker.  Maggie and I were walking back from the stroll down sidewalk sale when we heard the dog barking, (their boat was near ours), and then saw Walter run out of the marina area and race down the STREET away from his frantic owner.  Scary situation...and we still don't know the outcome.  

Don't know if we'll go tomorrow or not.  Depends on the weather predictions.  We really won't know until tomorrow morning whether we'll try it or not.  In preparation for that unknown we have 3 routes ready.  We'd sorta like to know what it would feel like to take on 3-4 ft. waves...

Oh!  And one more thing.  Since we were staying at Arcadia two nights we decided to do some laundry there.  Like you all, we rarely use a laundromat for our laundry.  So far, we've paid as much as $2.50 for a wash and $1.00 for a 20 minute swirl in the dryer...and it usually took $2.00 to complete the job.  Arcadia Marina charges $1.75 for the wash and $.50 for a 45 minute run in the dryer!! Unheard of!!

We'll let you know where we end up tomorrow....

Photos

Lovely Charlevoix 

These are just a few of the "mushroom houses" built by Early Young.  

"Earl Young Mushroom Houses" https://www.visitcharlevoix.com/Earl-Young_

Other photos along the way...

Down Lake Michigan

Monday, August 22, 2022

Got up our usual early and traveled a short 2 hours to Mackinaw City.  We've been to Mackinaw City before and it's stayed pretty much the same over the years...except that it looks more and more like Gatlinburg.  I'd love to know the fudge shop count for the two cities!!

We stayed at Straits State Harbor in Mackinaw City.  Having never stayed at that marina before, we had a bit of a hard time seeing how to enter the marina.  Then, suddenly, we saw it and understood everything the guy had told us to observe.  Funny how the picture gets clearer as you approach. 😂

Wayne's still working on the navigation issue and worked on that today with someone from Raymarine.  We'll see if it will work when we try it again tomorrow!  

We all took a walk into town to see if we could find a restaurant where dogs were allowed in outdoor seating so we could lunch together.  We found a restaurant...bur it was all breakfast and we were looking for hamburgers. I busied myself going for groceries (we never seem to have all we want or need!)  and shopped a bit before settling in for the afternoon and plotting our next destination...Charlevois.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

 Traveled this morning to Charlevoix...one of our favorite Michigan cities.  We left at 7:45 and got here at 2 PM.  The water was flat and the winds were calm...beautiful day of travel!

We're staying at the Charlevoix City Marina which is located right "downtown" and in front of a large, beautiful park.  That evening the city orchestra gave a two hour concert in the orchestra shell at one end of the park.  The place was full of couples, families, people listening from their boat...it was pretty amazing.  And good!

Took Maggie for a walk up on the main street and was amazed to realize, as she dragged me forward with a purpose, that Maggie remembered where we ate when we traveled by car to Michigan last summer.  We had a great meal sitting outside.  They probably gave Maggie a treat.  She never forgets the source of a treat!

I had been trying to find a place to have labs done for my nephrologist.  She's going to call me on Sept. 10 for a video or plain call (depends on the reception I have that day).  When we pulled into Charlevoix I called the hospital lab there and asked if they could do it.  Yes, they said. but I would need to get in by the time they closed at 4.  As soon as we got the boat situated I took off walking (18 min.) to the hospital.  Got registered in no time...but there was a delay.  I finally got out at 3:40.  ;-)  Mission accomplished!

BTW, the navigation system still isn't working with regularity....sigh. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

 Traveled 46 miles from Charlevoix to Leland.  "Fish Town," as they like to call it, was hopping that day, especially around the marina.  Little shops were open for food, shopping, you name it.  

We went to the town grocery store and got almost everything we needed...and you can imagine what the total cost was with it being "the only game in town!  Ah, the joys of cruising! ;-)  You just need to smile and hand them your credit card.

Thursday looked like a good travel day, but Friday looked a bit rough for travel.  We wanted to make Thursday really count and go as far as we could down the coast of Michigan.  We picked out several marinas within 40 miles or so...but they were all booked.  Apparently there is a fishing tournament this weekend.  We ended up heading for Arcadia and it's small, isolated marina, Veteran's Memorial Marina.  Joe, the dockmaster, was very helpful in finding us space on the fuel dock for one or, most likely, two nights.  

Turns out we'd been to Arcadia on our first loop trip in 2008...but neither of us remembered it or how it looked. (Age, again?) It's another beautiful place, small lake tucked behind a wall of rock and land.  It has a small beach within easy walking distance of the marina and a "bit" of town on the highway several blocks away with daily food truck and an ice cream store.  What more could we ask for?

As we went to bed we checked the weather again and it still looked like a two-nighter at Arcadia....

Thursday, August, 25, 2022

We slept in late this morning anticipating a day of rest...and we got it!  The weather inside our little nook was calm, but winds picked up pretty quickly.  We're protected...but some of the fishing boats that went out early this morning came back in no time saying it was too rough.  There's a small craft warning out until this evening.

As of now, it looks like we can move again tomorrow so we're going to aim for Pentwater, 56 miles from our location.  And we might end up having to stay there until Tuesday of next week...unless the predictions change for the good.  Our back up plan, should tomorrow's weather turn nasty as we're traveling, is to duck into Luddington, MI.

As a treat today, we went to the food truck for a delicious burger and fries...Then we topped it off with an ice cream cone.  Can naps be far behind???

Cheboygan

 Sunday, August 21, 2022

Up and out by 7:45...weather looks good.  In fact, it was so good it was almost boring.  Not only did we not have waves jogging us in our seats, but we had nothing but WATER to look at until we had finished about 3/4 of the trip.  We both took turns napping!  And Maggie always naps.

Traveled 57 miles to Cheboygan, MI, and got here around 2 PM.  We're docked at the Cheboygan County Marina for one night.  The marina is the closest one to the lake and the furthest from the city....though it is walk-able.  We're done for the day, though, and will enjoy our evening in the boat. ;-)  

Tomorrow we will go to Mackinaw City and stay there at least one night, maybe two.  We are STILL having issues with the navigation system and hope to solve this before we leave (or before we get home!)

I forgot to mention yesterday that we had a little 1.5 year old cockapoo on the sailboat next to us.  His name is Sailor.  He and Maggie had barked at each other but hadn't met until this morning's walk when we met Sailor and his 'mom' as we walked down the dock.  I was explaining to her that Maggie gets very protective (crazy?) when she is on a leash and meets a dog.  Well...they'd no sooner touched noses than Maggie went raving mad trying to snap off the pup's nose!  You just can't let her get close to other dogs when she's on a leash.  😎

 

Lake Huron

 Friday, August 19, 2022

Leaving Port Austin we made our way to Harrisville, MI, and maybe our favorite marina and town on Huron.  The weather was good...but the direction of the wind caused us to swing back and forth with the boat.  Waves were coming in on the side of the boat.  Wayne and I both took Bonine and tried our best to get Maggie to do the same.  Not even in a ball of banana would she consider it.  And...she was just fine.  It was a 53 mile trip today and we arrived at about 2:30.  

Harrisville Harbor Marina has a great location in town and is one of the most accommodating marinas we've ever had the pleasure of using.  They even have a courtesy van with which they will gladly take us to and from restaurants, or, in our case, to the grocery store in town.  I walked over for the exercise and called for a ride back with my loot.  

That evening we spent washing clothes.  Hey!  Do we know how to live or what?!  The marina has 2 washing machine and 4 dryers.  Perfect ratio for a large laundry job.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

We woke up this morning and the weather prediction for open lake travel (we were going to stick close to shore when possible...but would be passing by Thunder Bay and be in the "open lake."  Last night the forecast called for wind 5-10 and waves under 2 feet.  This morning it was wind 10-15 with gusts up to 20 and waves 1-3.  Hmmm.  We really wanted to go so we decided to start out and if we had trouble or it was too uncomfortable we'd duck into Alpena for the day.

Turns out, it was a great day for traveling where we were headed.  We had what is called a "following sea," which means the waves were hitting the back of the boat and taking us for a gentle ride.  Normally we'd be going 8.5 or 9.  Today, with the push from waves, we were going 9-10 mph almost the whole 57 miles.  We got here at 1:30 and docked among sailboats and catamaran.  

This place is so unique.  Looking at it with binoculars as we got close we saw the marina, building, and a whole lotta trees.  After we docked and started walking around we saw there was more.  Specifically, a deli right across the road with pizza, sandwiches...and ice cream!!  Oh, and there were about 2 houses in sight.  Feels very remote and very relaxing...

Tomorrow we're headed for Cheboygan, MI, about 57 miles from here....

 Tuesday, August 9, 2022

So...having the second full day at Erie, PA. we did some walking around and plotting further travels.  Erie looks like a town that is working hard to "come up."  Everywhere we looked (starting with our view of the marina from our deck) we could see road work and building projects going on.  Gannon University is right downtown, there's a gorgeous city library a couple of blocks from the marina...and it looked well used the afternoon I walked in to visit.  Across the street is the Erie metro transportation building (also new looking)...and I was impressed to see that the public library had signs posted there inviting those who had to wait to come visit the library!  The library is connected to a maritime museum and they share a "store" that was closed on the day I was there. ;-(

Maggie will miss the rabbits here when we leave.  We can't go out in the morning without seeing one.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

We're OFF!  The weather looked good for travel so we left Erie, PA, and cruised (with some rolling around) down to Geneva State Park Marina at Geneva-on-the-Lake.  Left at 7:30 and got here at 2.We had stopped here on our last trip across Lake Erie...though neither of us remember being here.  Age??

It's a beautiful setting with fuel, restaurant and small ship's store.  The park in general is gorgeous and well maintained.  There's a lodge within walking distance to the marina and it looks very upscale.  Checking rates I see that we could get a room for two adults at $278/night with a two night minimum.  

As we checked in to the marina we received our long awaited "chip" from Navionics that we hope will solve our navigating issues...

Weather looks very "iffy" for leaving tomorrow so we'll probably get to work on that then...

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Well, sure enough, we're here for another day.  We might get to leave tomorrow afternoon and make a short trip over to Grand River on the lake.  We're learning to be flexible...and patient (that's the hard part, "patient"!)  Wayne's upstairs talking to Navionics and I'm hoping we get that issue solved today.  Meanwhile, we'll work on some other small chores and maybe do lunch at the little marina restaurant...

Now for some pics....

 Shot of Buffalo as we left...

 

 View of the Buffalo Harbor from our marina....

 

 View of the Erie Basin Marina dock in Buffalo...

 Beautiful flower garden by the Erie Basin Marina...Samples of various plants, labeled...

 

 

Dunkirk Yacht Club, Dunkirk, NY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growth in the water...

Entering the harbor area at Erie, PA, heading for our slip at Wolverine State Park Marina...

 

 

Came in through this entrance at Geneva...The green and white "light

house" was our marker for getting into the entrance.... Took a while to 

spot it!!

 

Pics from our walk yesterday afternoon ...

 

 

Walk to the lodge...

 

 This morning from our spot in the marina....Red skies in the morning.....

 

 

 

 And scenes of the waves spilling up over a little barrier at the beach...

 

 Thursday, August 4, 2022 - Friday, August 5

Left North Tonawanda, NY, this morning and headed on down to Buffalo, NY, where we had reserved a slip at the Erie Basin Marina for a couple of nights in the hope of collecting a number of Amazon deliveries.  The trip “up” the river to Buffalo involved going through a lock which bypasses the Niagara River, on which we’d  be traveling against the current and in really rough waters.  The lock only operates on the hour (down bound) and half hour (up bound).  We were there about 5 til the hour so had a bit of a wait…but transiting the lock was easy.  On to Erie Basin Marina….

Checked in and had a few pieces of orders waiting on us.  As that day and the next passed we had one more little order, but the things we really wanted to arrive…didn’t.  Everyone seemed to have trouble finding the place.  Usually things are delivered to the marina office.  In this case, the marina office was so far away from the entrance that it couldn’t be seen.  We tried to have delivery services (we had ‘em all…UPS, USPS and Amazon) meet us at the entrance gate…but that never happened.  We had to cancel about 8 items and reorder them to be delivered on down the way.  Bummer!

We did fill our need for a beef on Weck, which is said to have originated in Buffalo.  “A Weck or Wecken in this dish is short for Kummelweck which is like a kaiser roll topped with salt and Caraway seeds.  Then the sandwich is piled high with roast that is not overcooked.  The top bun’s dipped in a bit of beef au jus before you top this marvel.   Serve it with some french fries a side of hot horseradish, a cup of au jus for dipping, and a dill pickle spear.” ’Twas delicious!

Saturday, August 6, 2022 -

Traveled today from Buffalo to Dunkirk Yacht Club, Dunkirk, NY.  Friendly little club sitting right on the edge of Lake Erie.  We’re still using the iPad to show routes and manage changing course to the “auto pilot.”  Ah!  but soon we’ll have the replacement chip in our hands….sigh.
 

Sunday, August 7, 2022 -

Traveled to the Wolverine State Park Marina n Erie, PA.  The waves were a problem today.  They were at least 2 feet and coming from the West so they were right on “our nose.”  Wayne and I both took a Bonine for assurance that we would not become incapacitated.  We questioned giving Maggie part of one…but decided to talk with the vet first.  Turns out, she had no problem with these conditions… 

This marina turns out to be right next to the town’s conference center and in the company of
a couple of hotels, convention center, etc.  Oh.  And there’s a huge reworking of roads right here. We're dodging all sorts of equipment just to get out of the driveway.
 

Took a look at the weather outlook for near shore cruising on Monday when we planned to leave for Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH.  Wasn’t looking too good, but we’ll check on Monday morning.

Monday, August 8, 2022 -

Yep, Small Craft Warning today for near coast marine travel.  Ah, we’ll have “stuff” that needs to be done anyway.  Staying here another night and rearranged plans for tomorrow.  One of those things to do was order groceries for delivery…which we did.  As I took Maggie for a mid-day walk, though, I remembered that the whole marina parking lot was being torn up and there seemed no way for a delivery person/vehicle to make it through.  I mentioned this to the lady construction worker and she assured me they’d get ‘em through.  This seems to be a pattern for us and deliveries!!!

Our other project for today was to clean out the water strainers on the boat.  There's a lot of “growth” in the waters up here and the systems that use water (air conditioning, for instance) can gather pieces of plants, etc., in the strainers and cause a problem.  The strainers are in the engine room…which is under the salon floor.  We removed all three sections of the floor to access the strainers…but could only actually get to one.  These had just been cleaned at Ess-Kay Marina when we had the oil changed and the strainer we could reach didn’t have much in it.  We decided to put the floor back down and wait a while to clean the other, as of now unreachable, strainers.  We started putting the floor down with the slimmest piece which fits under the unmovable couch.  It wouldn’t go.  We were both dripping with sweat and effort and thought we were going to have to “call someone.”  Then we decided to at least put down the other two pieces.  Having that done, we realized we could sit on those pieces and push on the little one with our feet and got it in!!  Ah, the small victories…

Tuesday, August 9, 2022-

Same song, second verse: no going today because of wind and waves.  Tomorrow really looks good for now.  Needless to say, we’ll check it out tomorrow morning for the “real” data…

Pictures for this blog will come later.  Internet too slow!!

 

Day 4 in North Tonawanda, NY

Yesterday we collected our laundry, with the help of an Uber.  Then we tackled the issue that’s been with us since we started this trip: our navigation system doesn’t work as it’s supposed to.  We should be able to pull up a route that we’ve set up on the iPad and have our boat automatically follow the route.  Apparently, there was a problem with the “chip” installed…and we had to lift the upstairs helm panel (HEAVY!!!) to get the minuscule chip out and then spend hours talking to Navionics…and this morning to Raymarine.  Part of the issue was fixed, but as of this moment it still doesn’t work right.  Wayne’s upstairs now working on it with phone in hand…

Meanwhile, Maggie and I had our morning walk and came upon a “watch cat” at one store window.  The cat had been snoozing until Maggie stopped to check it out, at which time the cat sprang into attack mode and slapped the window with it’s claws extended…







Walking back to the boat I snapped this picture of how things are during the week here.  We’re the lone boat at the very end of the left bank….





Oh, and that bridge behind us with the huge cement “masher” poised above the boat (at least it is in the picture…)?  That’s a bascule bridge built to allow tall vessels to pass under when the concrete block is allowed to lower.   See more about it here:
https://theniagarabranch.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/bascule-bridge-at-north-tonawanda/

Speaking of that bridge…kids have been jumping off the bridge every day we’ve been here.  Sunday there were about 8 or 9 kids repeatedly jumping…until the police arrived and took “information” from all of them…which I bet included parents’ address.  Then, today, again more jumpers….

Wayne's still at work with the navigation system....sigh.  You might want to see what has to be done to the upstairs helm to access this teeny, tiny chip...

 Saturday, July 30, 2022 - The best laid plans...

So, our aim today was to go from Brockport to Lockport and spend the night there.We hadn't identified a specific place in Lockport...but, it being the location of the Erie Canal Discovery Center, we were sure there must be space available for overnight dockage.  Wrong.  

Early in the day we got behind a boat named Cat Nap and followed it until they left the Erie Canal.  The areas we passed through today were very much agricultural with fields of corn and large farms.  Beautiful!  Cat Nap was going to try for Buffalo this evening so we were both interested in going as fast as we could and still be mindful of areas requiring "no wake."  It made for a longer day.  We got to Lockport and Maggie Jo looked for a good place to tie up on the lower side of the locks (there are two locks connected, a flight it's called) and found only one area with a park...but there were woven wires running along the docking wall and we decided to go on up the locks with Cat Nap.  That is until we hailed the lock and were told we should tie up to the wall and wait until signaled to come in.  Obviously they were having a problem with the lock.

We did as told and waited there about 1/2 hour until a truck drove by with the replacement lock tender.  He said he would check on it and let us know what's going on.  He no sooner got there than he called back and said we could come on in...which we did.  Into the first lock...up a good ways...gate opens and we sail into the 2nd lock, a bit shorter ride... and out of the locks on the Erie!! Last locks!!

We tried hard to find a place to tie up for the night but it just wasn't there.  Might as well go on over to North Tonawanda NY and spend the night in the Gateway Harbor there.  It was 6:30 before we reached the harbor (we left Brockport at 7:30) because it was mostly "inhabited" waters we passed though and we were constantly in "no wake" zones.  

When we finally came upon the harbor it looked completely full...just like it would be on the Saturday night it was.  We went up and down and finally spotted a place but got beat out by a boat that crossed the harbor to land it first.  Glancing across the harbor we saw a smaller boat leaving and the space left looked big enough for us.  We crossed the harbor and, wind playing with us all the way, Wayne got it in there!  People were gathered to see the show!  

We settled in for a stay of 2 nights...maybe more.  $35/night with water and power.  The upper deck was a perfect hang-out to take in all the activity and relax at the end of a LONG day!

 First, a view of us parked in the North Tonawanda Basin

 

 

 

And photos gathered along the way from Brockport...

 

 

Brockport main street

 

 

Oh, if only we could go 40mph!!

 

 

Horse statues are everywhere up here to acknowledge their  part in the early days of Erie Canal when barges were pulled along by horses on the path alongside.

 

Sunday, July 31, 2022  

This morning we lazed around a while after both having a good night's sleep.  Then we decided to get an Uber, drop off our laundry for wash and fold, and let the Uber drop us off for groceries.  Baskets full, we called another Uber and made it back to the boat in pretty good time.  This afternoon we've relaxed and settled into watching the boats and people passing time.

One thing to mention here: Maggie May has learned she can jump from the boat onto the wall or dock we're tied to.  So far, she's still with us...but it's added a whole 'nuther aspect to having her aboard.  Needless to say, she can't be on deck by herself!

We've signed up for a third night here so we have another day of rest to look forward to. ;-)  Then we'll head to Buffalo for several days.

On to the eastern side of Erie Canal…

 Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Woke up this morning to 58 degrees!!  At last!!!  We did our usual get ready routine and left for Lock 23, which was relatively close to us.  We were leaving the lock at 7:30.  Eight hours later we are tied up below Lock 25 having gone 53 miles. Needless to say, it took a while to transit the rivers between locks.  For one thing, much of this water had houses and docks along the side…read: slow going.  And then there’s always the time it takes to ready the lock when you approach and then to lock through.  But…we didn’t get hot until we stopped. ;-)

Again we had a lovely “back yard” for Maggie to romp around in….

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Got out early again and traveled to Fairport, NY, today going though 5 or so locks. (They’re all alike now!)  The scenery was more remote…not as many homes by the water…so we made good time.  The only thing that started slowing us down was the railroad bridges we had to fit under.  Our boat measures 15.5 feet.  The bridges up here don’t have depth gauges so it’s hard to tell whether the water level is up (easier trip under) or down (will we still have a bimini top on the boat when we’re through).  One of the lock masters warned us of a 15.5 ft. bridge coming up. Gulp.  Turns out there we at least 6-10 inches (as it looked to me as I was standing on the back of the boat while Wayne drove slowly under.  AND A TRAIN CAME THOUGH, to make it worse.  We survived.  But we are going to have to go through a practice session on letting the bimini top down.

While in one of the locks, as we’re hanging on to our nasty lines and trying to fight the wind, the lady in the boat next to us started asking questions about our boat…and finally asked if they could come see it that evening in Fairport.  I told her that would be fine…but that we don’t make up the bed when traveling like this.  ;-)  

We got to Fairport and found a nice place on the wall right beside the bridge.  Great deal here for docking, water, and electric $14/night.  If you want to stay more than 14 days you need to talk to the dock master for info.  I was just getting ready to take Mags for a walk when Janet and Peter came to see the boat.  They have a Mainship, too, but it’s smaller.  It’s a sedan, i think.  Anyway, they came through to see our size and layout because they are interested in buying one. Nice people..from Florida…who want to live up here in the summer and store the boat in Brewerton, NY.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Today was a nice catch up day.  Fairport has a a UPS store within easy walking distance, so I was able to make Amazon return.  I also got a few necessary items from the small grocery store nearby that sells mostly locally made foods…and visited my favorite store ever, Crafts Bits and Pieces.  It’s a thrift store that benefits elderly population here.  They also have a tool thrift store. I came away with two storage cases for my collage papers…and an antique tool that enlarges an image for drawing.  

AND…I visited the public library which is in the same shopping center as the UPS, craft, and tool stores.  I was hoping they had bags or t-shirts  that I could buy…but no.  The library has an interesting story about how it came to be in the shopping center.  They had a building that had been erected back in the 30's and by the 70's they needed more space.  The town decided to lease space in the shopping center.  In 1978 the library was moved by over 400 local residents, a box at a time.

For lunch we had hamburger from local restaurant and it was delish!  There was a nice breeze today and it felt especially good if you stayed in the shade, which is what we did.  Tomorrow we’re going to go under the lift bridge and head on over to Holly, NY for the night.  We’re planning on being in Buffalo, NY, August 4 and 5 to catch prescriptions and Amazon stuff.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Well...plans have changed.  Instead of going to Holly, NY, today we're going to Brockport, which is only a few miles from Holly.  We've been to Holly and decided to do Brockport this time.  ;-)

The trip was easy and pleasant.  Temps in the mid-70's and a good breeze blowing kept me in long sleeves until we tied up to the Brockport wall.  Cost for the night is $20 and includes water, electric, wifi (open, of course), and laundry.

The only grief we suffered today was going under a TON of bridges and sweating out clearing many of them.  It's a good thing water is down a bit on the Erie Canal or we'd be boating in a convertible look (top down!)  We also had several life bridges, beginning with the one in Fairport.  Easy, peasy.  Call the bridge tender and request a trip through.  One little hang up in Spencerport.  The bridge tender didn't answer our call.  We finally tied up to the side of the basin and Wayne went off to find the person in charge.  Meanwhile, Maggie and I took a short walk.  Bottom line, the bridge tender missed the call out (he came back to his office just as Wayne was going into town to find our if the bridge opened on request...or only on the hour, as some bridges do.  Anyway, we all got back to the boat and made it easily through.

Beautiful scenery as we went...and I'm just going to put some of the photos in now...

 Another stay on lock wall

Artful arrangement on by the lock

Fairport with boats on both sides of the

canal.  We're way back on the left side with 

beige top...

Ben, we found your boat...