The Explorers decided they are only going to Baldwinsville today. That will only be about 4 hours of motoring, leaving plenty of time to smell the roses. They started the day by walking into Brewerton to see the small town and buy gloves at Ace hardware to protect from the slime on the lock walls (which is also getting all over their docking lines and fenders). They ate a hearty (?) breakfast (Sidekick Sue may have eaten one of Cheryl’s half-moon cookies that she left behind) and cast off.
On the way out of Brewerton, they stopped for diesel. They pulled up on the dock next to a huge 50+ foot yacht which was on their annual trip down to the Bahamas for the winter. They were getting 500 gallons of diesel split between 3 tanks. The Wayward Explorer’s dreams were far smaller this year and they took advantage of the great price ($3.79) to put 70 gallons in their starboard tank and 60 in their port tank, both tanks had already been half full. The Explorer’s don’t have any fancy gauges, so they have to check a sight glass in their tank to watch the tank fill to make sure they don’t overflow. This will easily be enough fuel for the entire trip with fuel left-over and since they will be wintering the boat nearby, they can fill up again at the end of the trip.
The Explorers passed back through Lock 23 which lowered them back down, and returned to the intersection of the Oswego Canal and the Erie Canal. The short jog eastward had really been just to get gas, but the Explorers were grateful from a visit from their friends, so it was well worth it. Now the Explorers are finally heading westward; their original plan was to prioritize the westward branch which is closer to Sidekick Sue’s childhood stomping grounds and will be their priority if they don’t have enough time to traverse the entire canal before the locks close in October.
At Baldwinsville, they passed through another lock which raised them back up meaning the section they had just traversed must be a low section on the canal. The docking wall in Baldwinsville is wonderful, surrounded by parkland and it even has power pedestals to hook up to shore power. The Explorers walked around Baldwinsville, which was a cute little town. They found a lovely park and some walking trails around the lock area, but the trails were too short to bring out the bicycles. The Explorers have their folding bikes with them and have been a little disappointed to learn that some of the canal bike path follows the old, defunct parks of the Erie Canal, so they have not yet docked at an area with a bike path. They think that tomorrow, they will be within a mile of the path and can finally get their bikes out. Anyway, they finished their walk; Sidekick Sue found a Ken Follet book in a “Little Free Library” that she hasn’t read yet, and Captain Mark found the donation box for the $5 suggested donation for electricity.
It was a quiet night with no visitors. The Explorers cooked dinner, took showers (Sidekick Sue took an especially long one tonight to remove all vestiges of green and orange slime) and watched an episode of Ozark. The Explorers are two episodes away from finishing the series and are ready for it to be done.
Leaving Lock 23 outside of Brewerton
Low bridge. Navionics says it’s only 15 feet clearance, but Sidekick Sue climbed up on a cooler to watch over the top of the canopy and it was at least 19 feet. No worries.
Captain Mark took a picture of these “swans”, but Sidekick Sue suspects they are white geese because of their size and their necks aren’t curved. Does anybody know?
Signage at the intersection of the Oswego Canal and the Erie Canal. We are heading to Buffalo.
One of the walking trails in Baldwinsville.
Picture of the Wayward Explorer from Mill Island in Baldwinsville. The island is a nice little park with restrooms, showers and an outdoor stage (which was occupied by a bunch of high-school aged kids, hanging out).
That stinks that you really haven’t been on the bike path yet. But I distinctly remember there were plenty of places where the path wasn’t anywhere near the canal.
We think we have some longer runs coming up soon. It just wasn’t what we expected.