July 27 -- Lyons, NY: From Fairport, we traveled 26.5 miles to Lyons, NY. We docked at a beautiful city park. The pics in the Q&A entry of the boat rigging were taken at that stop. When we tied up, Bill met some folks fishing off the dock. He told them how we'd been unable to refuel with diesel because a couple of the marinas on the chart where no longer in business. One of the guys, Jay, offered to take him to Walmart to get a 5 gallon gas can then to the local station to get diesel. Jay also worked at a local restaurant and brought us prime rib. What a treat! Bill used the bike to go back to the gas station a few more times to fill up the tank.
July 28 -- Mays Point, NY: We set off in the morning with a full tank of gas. The trip was slow going, due to the large amount of logs and debris in the water, washed down from the feeder rivers during all the local rain. In addition, there was a dense covering of what we called "pea soup" on the water. Looked like tiny little green buds. It was so dense that we had to clean out the sea strainer twice. Each time, the strainer was packed with the stuff. The buds also made it hard to see the logs, so we took turns keeping an eye out on the bow of the boat.
A "pea soup" of tree buds covered the water.
Around 1:30 the weather started looking pretty bad, so we pulled over at a lock. It was really quiet and peaceful, surrounded by woods. We had about 3 storms roll through, so we stayed for the night. At about 6 the next morning I went for a walk. Found a little campground, much like the one that my Dad and Patty stay in with their restored trailer. Walked a little further and came across a bird sanctuary with a large observation deck. What a beautiful spot to watch the sun come up. I sat there, taking in the peacefulness and beauty of nature and was overcome with gratitude. We are so lucky to take this trip...to be able to slow down and really enjoy our surroundings. When I got back to the boat, I met the lock operator who was just coming on duty for the day. We had a great chat and he offered me cucumbers and peppers from his garden, "to keep from getting the scurvy." I tell you...taking this trip and meeting so many nice people who are so generous to us as strangers is inspiring. Add in the fact that we haven't seen the news for about a month, and you can understand why our outlook on life is so much brighter. I highly recommend it! Turn off the news and start talking to everyone you meet...you'll be surprised what you learn.
July 29 -- Cross Lake, NY: This was one of our scheduled stops. The Erie Canal actually cuts across part of Cross Lake. I love anchoring out on a lake and this was our big chance. We set the anchor, made ourselves a beverage and jumped in to float on life jackets. Had quite a hoop-to-doo! Talked about writing a book someday on "Left Brain/Right Brain Cruising." Bill would write the Left Brain, full of all the nautical nuts and bolts...and I would write the Right Brain, with all the touchy feely stories. Sounded like a good idea at the time. We had dinner and realized we did not have an anchor light to put on, since the mast is laying down for a long nap. So we rigged up the stern light we have for the dingy. After it got dark, I went out to turn it on and the sky was chock full of twinkling stars. Again, I had I was overcome by the beauty of nature. Just wonderful.
View of Cross Lake.
July 30 -- Brewerton, NY: We made up for lost time this day, traveling 32 miles to Brewerton. For the first time, we found a marina that sold diesel so what the heck, we filled 'er up again. Late in the afternoon, we were surprised when Lonnie showed up. We all went to dinner then off to bed. (I now see why they say 8:30 pm is the cruiser's midnight.) Welp, around 1 in the morning, we were awaken by a group of drunk kids swimming off the tour boat that was docked right in front of us. It was pretty annoying, but then, kids will be kids. I was more concerned that one of them would get hurt, since they were jumping off the second story of the paddleboat. Eventually, they got cold and left. Finally...some sleep!
Saw this seaplane at a dock on the way to Brewerton. Don't see that every day, do you?
July 31 -- Crossing Lake Oneida: Ok, this was a relatively big step for a couple reasons:
- the lake is 22 miles wide
- the canal is dredged through the middle of it, which is fine, but there are VERY shallow parts that come up on either side of the canal
- the buoys that mark the canal are over a mile apart
- if it's the least bit foggy, it's hard to locate the buoys (of course, it was foggy plus we got our daily dose of rain)
- with our mast down, we weren't sure how the boat would react to any kind of wind that might kick up to take us off course or rock the mast in its cradle (wouldn't you know, the wind did kick up to 15 knots)
Bill was pretty nervous about the trip, but of course, with his knowledge and nautical tools we did just fine. We got over to Sylvan Beach on the other side in about 2 hours. I'm going to do a separate post about Sylvan Beach since I have several photos to upload.
Picture of Bill and Judy's boat (one of our fellow travelers) as we started off across Lake Oneida. Nice and calm at first. But of course, that didn't last!
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