The Explorers left Seneca Falls after taking advantage of their wonderful facilities once again. The Explorers have made some decisions about their schedule. They have to be in Rochester in a week because Sidekick Sue is taking off for a few days to go to “girl’s weekend” with her college besties, and she is hitching a ride from her old roommate in Rochester. The Explorers will be in Rochester in one more day, so they could either park there, and hang out for over a week before heading to Buffalo OR they could use this week to go to Buffalo and back and then take their time in Rochester next week. They opted for choice #2, so they will spend only one night in Rochester for now (and see Captain Mark’s brother Dan and family), and then press on. With this schedule they can take their time once they get back to Rochester and then decide later whether to go back toward Seneca Falls and the lakes, or whether to try to visit a bit of the eastern canal before the locks close for the season.
With this in mind, they headed back through the double locks and the single lock that had taken them to the Cayuga-Seneca Canal and turned left to head west. Sidekick Sue had to attend an HOA meeting through Zoom, and to avoid the loud roaring of the diesel engine, she had asked Captain Mark to find a quiet spot where they could dock for a couple of hours. He found a nice empty public wall in Clyde, NY. While Sidekick Sue was having her meeting, Captain Mark headed into town in search of some frozen chicken (think Tyson chicken strips) to add to the salad that Sidekick Sue had made for dinner. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in Clyde except a Dollar General, and their entire freezer section was down, so he struck out with that task. Sidekick Sue was still on her meeting (which Captain Mark pointed out was lasting longer than planned), so he took advantage of the time to do some exercises.
When the meeting was finally over, they proceeded into Lyons, NY to stop for the night. They really didn’t manage many miles today, between a late start, backtracking to get off the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and stopping for a meeting that dragged on for 2 hours, but they still had a little time to walk around Lyons. While they were still tying the boat lines, a friendly fellow popped out from somewhere and introduced himself as a member of the “welcoming committee” of Lyons. The Explorers had never been greeted this way; apparently the boat traffic is very important to Lyons and they certainly go out of their way to make the experience positive. He gave the Explorers directions to Aldis and pointed them to the Fire Station where they needed to register and where they were allowed to use the bathrooms and showers. When he learned they had started in Massena, he mentioned some names of people he knew from Massena that went to Ithaca college with him many years ago. As it turned out, the Explorers knew the people… not really personally, but by name. (Massena is small, and has only gotten smaller over time).
The town of Lyons was charming; it would make a wonderful movie set for a film set in the 1950’s. The Explorers crossed a bridge over the canal and walked to Aldis and managed to find some chicken strips (not Tyson, but there was no room to be choosy now). They went back and heated up their chicken for their salad and enjoyed a quiet night in a new little town. They finally made it through the last episode of Ozark. Their review? It was a fun show, with plenty of action, suspense, drama and murder. But, it wasn’t as well-written as some other shows (Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, etc.) and it definitely had some plot holes that didn’t make sense, but it was fair entertainment and the Explorers made it to the end without completely losing interest (really had to push through the final season). They suppose, maybe 3 stars.
Getting back on the Erie Canal.
Back on the Erie Canal locks.
Parked in Clyde while Sidekick Sue took a Zoom call.
Checking in with the friendly Firemen in Lyons.
Town of Lyons, NY