The Explorers left Weedsport early. There is not much to see at this particular docking wall as it is located in the weeds behind what appears to be a defunct restaurant or event venue, separated from the dock wall by an orange construction fence. Pretty ugly.
The Explorers arrived in Baldwinsville before noon, parking for a few hours to take advantage of the power pedestals to charge the boat batteries (which had run low in Weedsport where there was no electricity on the wall). They considered staying for the day, but also figured they would be spending more time in Baldwinsville this fall and next spring because this is where they are “wintering” the boat. Captain Mark did a little research and figured out they could take a side trip across Onondaga lake to the Inner Harbor in Syracuse. There was limited information online, but many boaters warned against this trip because of a low bridge and low water depths (as low as 2 feet) in the Inner Harbor channel. However, there was also conflicting information saying that the channel was dredged four years ago, and is now accessible to many larger boats.
Being the adventurer that he is, Captain Mark decided to take some chances and make the trip. What could happen? So, the Wayward Explorers turned off the Erie Canal to head to Onondaga Lake. There was one little bit of engine hesitation, which quickly resolved, and the Explorers wrote it off as possible “junk on the propeller”. Crossing Onondaga Lake was easy; and the boat traffic was sparse. The Explorers had to stop in the lake to fold down the boat canopy before entering the channel to the Inner Harbor. As it turned out, they probably could have made it through by a few inches, but after the disaster in Tonawanda, decided the risk wasn’t worth it; they didn’t want to trash their canopy any further. It was definitely the lowest bridge of the whole trip (discounting the one in Tonawanda where they went through the wrong opening).
On the way across Onondaga Lake, Sidekick Sue texted with a friend in Syracuse to see if they were available for a last-minute visit. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, but she did let the Explorers know there was a festival going on at Inner Harbor. This made them question their choices, because (assuming the water didn’t become too shallow), there might not be any parking when they got there. As it turned out, all their worries were for naught, as the water was deep enough to get to the docks and there was only one other boat parked on the dock. Sidekick Sue used her boat pole to measure the water depth at the dock and it came out to 5’2” (same height as Sidekick Sue). Apparently, many boaters have not gotten the message that the channel has been dredged or they don’t want to take chances with the low bridge. The Explorers did have to manually pull the boat down the dock to find an electric pedestal that was actually working.
The festival at Inner Harbor was larger than the Explorers expected. There was a full carnival there with a midway, a ferris wheel, the Scrambler, and many other rides. The best part was, that arriving by boat brought the Explorers in the back door, so they were already through the entrance gates. Lots of festival-goers were interested in the boat, as it was clearly larger than what they were used to seeing. Little kids asked the Explorers if they were doing boat rides, but they had to explain they didn’t have the proper license to do that. As they were finding a place on the dock, they got a lot of questions, which, on one hand was welcoming and friendly, but on the other hand made them a little hesitant to leave the boat. One of the online reviews about Inner Harbor indicated that someone had their boat untied during the night and ended up in a swamp the next morning, so the Explorers took the precaution of attaching their locking cable and making sure the cabin doors were locked before heading out to explore the festival.
They walked through the festival, but didn’t partake in any of the carnival offerings. There was another section of the festival with craft booths, food trucks, beer trucks and bands performing onstage. The Explorers need to eat, but decided to pass on the fried Oreos and Twinkies, and the other fast food options. Instead, they walked to the famed Dinosaur BBQ which was less than a mile away. It was ironic that they were able boat so close to the Dinosaur, because a group of Sidekick Sue’s sorority sisters had just met up there the night before to enjoy one of their favorite North Country college bands, Double Axel, that has been performing for over 50 years. Sidekick Sue never imagined she’d get so close to attending the event, as the chance of being in Syracuse at all, or being there at the right time was slim… yet Captain Mark’s decision to risk the trip into Syracuse put her in the vicinity only a day late.
Walking home from the Dinosaur BBQ, the Explorers found the Empire State Trail along the Onondaga Creek, which they should have been able to follow back to the lake, but they encountered a “bridge out” sign and had to double-back a bit to get back to the Inner Harbor. Despite their nerves, all was well with the boat when they returned; it looked completely undisturbed. From the boat, they enjoyed the remainder of the music from the festival, and watched as the crowd slowly dissipated. The festival morphed into a quiet night, except for the sounds of the crews disassembling the carnival.
Hanging out in Baldwinsville, charging the batteries.
Approaching the low bridge. Captain Mark could only reach up and touch one part of the bridge, whereas he can easily touch the canopy when it is up… so the Explorers “think” they could have passed through without taking he canopy down.
Under the bridge. Nobody had to duck.
Dinner options.
Food stands, beer stands, craft booths. Can’t believe the Explorers forgot to get pictures of the carnival rides.
Captain Mark at the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse.