June 24 - June 26, 2011

Danny, Susan, Dave and Joanne Going to the Farmers Market
Lets Buy Some Bread
This Little Girl does not Look Happy - I Think People are Paying for her not to Play - She Should Practice in the Closet
Coming Back from the Farmers Market - Some of the Purchases were Breakable
Cornell University - Ithaca is a University Town - It also is the home to Ithaca College
Cornell University - This is One of the Many Buildings - Apparently you have to Allow 4 Hours to do a Walking Tour of the Grounds - We Just Drove Around
Dave's New Friend - Downtown Ithaca
Downtown Ithaca - This is One Horse Danny is not Allergic to
Picking Cherries - My Favourite Fruit
Ithaca, New York - We had company for the weekend, Joanne Benson and Dave Rose from Port Colborne. Of course the weather did not cooperate so we did land stuff as they had a car. We did get to dinghy around the canal and go to the farmers market by dinghy. The farmers market here had over 150 vendors. We toured the city, went to the Cherry Festival and did the guys favourite thing SHOP.

June 23, 2011

Do You Think Will Make it Through? - No Pictures on the Way Down as I was too Busy Measuring
Measuring the Bridge - We have 5 1/2 Inches - Good Only if No One Wakes Us
No Wake or Suffer the Consequences
This Person takes his Hunting Serious - The Duck Blind is in Front of His House
Lake Cayuga - One of New York's Finger Lakes
Seneca Falls, New York to Ithaca, New York - Of course more rain, but warmed up nicely in the afternoon. Went through the low bridge again, and the water was up 1/2inch. The reason we know the canal has gone up because I again was on the roof measuring the clearance. Lake Cayuga is 35 miles long and one of the finger lakes. It has beautiful clear water and is warm. We were in a part of the lake that was 310 feet deep so we dropped our anchor with 300 feet of chain to wash the salt off. We stayed at Allen H. Treman State Marine Park, on our walk we discovered it has paved walking trails, 20 baseball fields, 4 tennis courts, skating rink which in the summer is used for in-line skating, swimming pool, soccer fields, all of which were in use. A beautiful place to stay for the weekend.

June 22, 2011

Goulds Pumps Office
This Definitely did not Fit the Area
This is the Town where Women became Equal to Men
We have Come Along Way - Thank Goodness we Only have to Turn a Tap On
Seneca Falls - Today it rained most of the day. Karen and Roger lived in this town, so we had some tour guides. Walked around the downtown area and there is some beautiful building and houses. Some were in a sad state of repair as everyone knows homes of this stature are a major financial drain for heating, cooling, repair and upkeep. Most have been made into apartments. This was once a thriving mill and manufacturing town, but the only significant plant left is the Goulds Pump Foundry and Assembly. We went to the museum, as this is where the Suffragette movement took place. Danny finally gave in and went to see a chiropractor as his back has been killing him. There also is a Chiropractor School here. Great stop.

June 21, 2011

A Channel into the Large Beautiful Homes
School is Out - These Boys Didn't Have Far to go to Amuse Themselves
A Cattle Farm on the Canal - Lots of Orchards Too
This Part of the Canal is Not that Clean
Would not Want to Travel at Night - GPS is Way Out
Baldwinsville, New York to Seneca Falls, New York - It was a sunny warm day, just the way I like it, not too hot. A lot of homes and cottages along the canal, all sizes, shapes, quality and of course price tags. I was on the roof of the pilot house today with a measuring tape to check the height of the bridges. None of the bridges were the same height as on the charts as some of the bridges have been replaced with new ones, except for one the Highway 89 bridge but we did have 6" of clearance. It was a stressful day.

June 20, 2011

A Canal Boat - This Looks Like a Great Adventure on a Boat without the Maintenance
Someone put a Mannequin on their Roof in a Kayak
Transport Caught up in the Wires
The View from the Bridge Downtown - Lots of Activity - Fishing and Kayaking
Brewerton, New York to Baldwinsville, New York - It was a nice warm day. We fuelled up in the morning, diesel is now $4.16 per U.S. gallon. Ouch! This was the first time we fuelled up this year. The lock master was in a hurry to get us in and out of the lock as a truck took down some wires as he was worried they were going to shut down the power. We checked out the town, it was nice with the lock in the town. We went back to the boat to prepare it for getting under a 16 foot bridge as you see we did have ulterior motive in fuelling as we also filled up with water to get our weight up. We did get the boats air draft to 15 foot 11 inches. We will see tomorrow if this works.

June 19, 2011

An Old Lock on the Erie Canal
Coming into Lock 22
Danny Figures this is Original Cement in the Lock because of the Size of the Rocks
A Get Together on Lake Oneida
Karen Anne and Potest Fieri Docked at the Free Town Dock in Brewerton
Sunday Action on the Canal - Everyone Heading for Lake Oneida
Sign at a Local Church
Stopping for a Cocktail on the Canal
Rome, New York to Brewerton, New York - It is a beautiful, sunny day. The canal is straight and boring. When we crossed Lake Oneida things changed, there is hundreds of boats and people out today as it is Sunday and Fathers Day. We stayed at the free town dock, took a walk around the downtown area and stopped at an outside patio for a cocktail. Another couple Frank and Carrie from California who are also Loopers stopped by our boat for a visit we met them in New York City. This was a nice stop.

June 18, 2011

Lots of Dredging Pipe
Railway Tracks before we get to the Lock - The Bridge is so Rusty I did not Think it was in Use - But Surprise a Train went Over Just as we Tied in the Lock
This is not Snow but Pollen from the Cotton Wood Trees
Little Falls, New York to Rome, New York - A beautiful day, sunny and warm. The canal travel today was strait and boring, but still had to keep your eyes open for the dead heads and debris. The canal belongs to the government, so I think its is a make work project and they will take there time cleaning it up. There was also a few extra buoys to mark shoaling that has recently formed. They do guarantee 12 feet of water but we did mark 7 1/2 feet. New York Canal system seems to have a quantity of dredges, tugs, and barges but perhaps not enough manpower or funding to use them all.
This is Saturday and we seen very few boats out, a few fishermen and that is about all. We arrived in Rome and tied along the wall with 6 other looper boats. We did have a get together so we could meet other loopers. Fun was had by all.

June 17, 2011

Still Picking up Debris
They Have Not put this Gate Down for a While as they have lots of Greenery
A Family of Ducks came up 40 feet with us
I Would not Call this a Boat - It was more like a Platfrom with an Engine
On Our Way to the Farmers Market
They Converted these Warehouses into Shops - Canal Park
Masonic Hall - Pretty Fancy
Downtown Little Falls
I Always Thought it was Wisconcin for Cheese but New York Boasts about its Cheese
Amsterdam, New York to Little Falls, New York - It rained most of the night, overcast in the morning but at least it was warm. The guys made a run for the hardware store which opened at 7.00 a.m. to pick up some odds and ends, when they came back we casted off the lines. We did five locks today. The train tracks and highways follow the canal and both were busy, but no traffic on the canal. Heavy rain between lock 16 and 17, but we lucked out as it stopped just before we got to the lock. Walked downtown in Little Falls, nice town with lots of history. We did go to the farmers market on Saturday morning, only 5 vendors, got spoiled by the Kingston farmers market.

June 16, 2011

In One of the Locks - Water is Leaking Through the Gates
Control Gates on the River - They Use These to Control Flooding
A Gaggle of Geese - They are Ruining the Lawns Here Also
Debris Stuck on a Bridge from Spring Flooding
Safety First - In the Bucket of the Tractor is a Ladder to the Second Story
Towing the Karen Anne
Riverlink Park - Where we Stayed
Waterford, New York to Amsterdam, New York - Hot and sunny with light winds. We did five locks today. Pretty scenery along the canal with little traffic. Roger picked up junk in the engine water intake ruining the impeller. We rafted together and towed the Karen Anne for about 8 miles even into one lock, he did get it fixed just before we docked at Riverlink. Riverlink is a very nice stop, clean and tidy. We dined in the restaurant and had great food. They treated us like royalty.