In the morning, Captain Mark went for a 10-mile bike ride along the Onondaga Lake Trail while Sidekick Sue showered and prepared for the day. The Explorers were amazed that every carnival ride had been disassembled overnight and most of the rides and attractions were packed up and gone. Just a few loaded trailers remained, waiting to be towed away.
The Explorers got on their bikes and rode into downtown Syracuse to visit the Erie Canal Museum. They arrived about 15 minutes before opening time, so they spent time looking at outdoor exhibits that explained how the old Erie Canal went right through downtown Syracuse. The museum was attached to the old weighlock building where the canal boats would enter, and the water would be drained until they were resting on a scale where they could be accurately weighed. The tolls charged for using the canal were based on the weight of the boat. Sidekick Sue thought that was a rather complicated way to charge a toll, and remarked that the length of the boat would be a fairly rough estimate of its weight and its cargo capacity…. and would be much less involved to measure. Today, the canal does not charge any tolls, but common boat operations like dockage and storage are often charged by the length of the boat.
The Explorers were the first people in line to enter the museum. Having spent multiple weeks on the canal system, the museum was actually very informative, and answered a lot of the questions the Explorers had pondered on the trip. It was really amazing to think about all the work that went into digging the canal by hand, the many new inventions that were developed out of necessity during construction, the many canal expansions and re-routings, and the relatively short lifespan of the canal for commercial operations as it was quickly replaced by the railroad. Sidekick Sue was happy to find a Christmas ornament for their tree, which is her traditional souvenir for their travels.
After visiting the museum, the Explorers biked back to the boat and prepared to leave back through Lake Onondaga. They once again, lowered the canopy to assure passage under the low bridge on the Inner Harbor channel. Once they were out on the lake, they stopped to raise the canopy again, as it was a very sunny, hot day. Crossing Lake Onondaga, the diesel engine started to act up. It sounded like it was going to stall. Captain Mark called Sidekick Sue up to the helm so he could go down below and switch the values to pull from the other diesel tank. That seemed to do the trick, and there were no more problems getting across and out of the lake. Captain Mark made a mental note to change the old filter on the first tank that evening.
Back out on the Erie Canal, the Explorers stopped at J&S Marina, where they will be storing the boat for the winter. The place looks very run-down, but there seemed to be plenty of boats there. While Sidekick Sue was securing the lines (and watching her footing because the dock looked so bad that she was afraid her foot would go through in some spots), an older gentleman pulled up on a golf cart to ask the Explorers if they needed help. Captain Mark explained that he was looking for Dee so he could pay for his winter storage and make arrangements for the boat to be pulled out the following Monday. Dee was not working that day, but it turned out the guy was the owner. He was 86-years old, a former Navy sailor who had served at the Portsmouth shipyard in New Hampshire, and who claimed that he was still working 7-days a week. He had been running the marina since he left the Navy, and it appeared that he had given up on maintenance and upgrades many years ago. He took all the necessary information from the Explorers, but told them to pay Dee next week. Once the information was relayed, the Explorers resumed their journey, with their fingers crossed that their information would be relayed to Dee and that they really had a reservation for Monday. Although the place looks rather unkempt, it was the only marina that returned Captain Mark’s calls and it fit the bill for what the Explorers needed… somewhere where they can store the boat that will let them do repairs and sand and paint the bottom of the boat themselves in the spring.
The Wayward Explorers continued east on the Erie Canal through Lock 22 to Brewerton, which had been their first stop on the Erie Canal when they had come south down the Oswego Canal. This time, they parked in a second public docking area on the opposite side of the canal. They were lucky to grab a spot at the ONE electric pedestal available in town (one of the perks of traveling off-season). Once settled, they crossed walked across the bridge into town to stop by Kinneys to get a birthday card for a niece and then walked to the post office to mail it. There were no real grocery stores in walking distance, so they stopped back at Kinneys to pick up some soda… which was actually a far better price than the grocery stores. Back at the boat, Sidekick Sue did some writing, while Captain Mark changed the clogged oil filter. They enjoyed a night with shore power, using the internet and watching Murder Mystery 2, another Adam Sandler, Jennifer Anniston movie. Sidekick Sue thought it was silly, but she didn’t hate it. She thinks it is finally her turn to pick the entertainment again.
The Erie Canal Museum
Wall mural outside the Erie Canal Museum.
A map showing the path of the historic Erie Canal… it came right down the road that Sidekick Sue is facing.
While the lower level of the museum was dedicated to the construction and workings of the canal, the upper level had a lot of artifacts from early 1900’s America.