Wayward Explorers

The Explorers left Holley right after 7:00 AM when the lift bridge opened for the morning.  They quickly negotiated several other lift bridges on the way to Albion.  As they were waiting for a bridge opening, another boater (aka Grumpy Guy) pulled up alongside the Wayward Explorer to scold Captain Mark for driving too fast and “waking” him and the two other boats that he was traveling with as they were leaving their dock.  The idea that the Wayward Explorer could actually “wake” anybody with its speed limitations is somewhat humorous, but the canal IS narrow in parts and the water can get a little crazy as the waves bounce off of the sides back and forth, so Captain Mark graciously apologized and slowed down a little whenever he was passing any docks (which happened more and more as they got closer to Buffalo).  That didn’t stop Grumpy Guy from referring to Captain Mark as Speedy Gonzales when communicating with a bridge tender over the radio. 

Still not happy, Grumpy Guy later radioed Captain Mark to let him know “you can speed up now”, to which Captain Mark replied “this is as fast as my boat can go”.  Sidekick Sue wondered if Grumpy Guy had second thoughts about the “Speedy” nickname he had assigned to Captain Mark.  She also hoped that Grumpy Guy wouldn’t try other parts of the Great Loop where the Wayward Explorers have experienced what it REALLY MEANS to get waked by another boat, which usually involves being passed by a speed boat travelling on plane (not a trawler running at 5-6 knots).

So, Grumpy Guy’s impatient group of three boats passed the Wayward Explorer.  Captain Mark gave a friendly wave to each of them, and each one of them ignored him and refused to wave back.  A short time later, the Explorers caught up with the Grumpy Gang as they were waiting for a lock to open.  The entire group was stuck there for quite awhile because it was a double-lock, and they were currently locking through a tour boat.  That meant that they all had to wait while the tour boat was raised twice (and they were tall locks), and then both locks were emptied to make room for the next load of boats. 

Grumpy Guy was shouting out orders to his two travelling companions (ie. who should park where, who should leave the lock first, etc.).  The lock was easily big enough to hold all four boats, and luckily one of Grumpy Guy’s friends moved up far enough to leave room for the Wayward Explorer, so they took their spot on the starboard side in the back of the lock.  They thought it was somewhat amusing that the group pretended like the Wayward Explorer wasn’t even there; Sidekick Sue figures they were either furious over the alleged “wake” or they were embarrassed at the way Grumpy Guy had behaved.  Either way, the Explorers were happy when the Grumpy Gang pulled into their home port near Lockport.   

When the Explorers started this journey, they admittedly did very little planning and weren’t even sure how far west they were going.  They assumed the endpoint was in Buffalo proper.  However, a few nights ago, when they were visiting with Captain Mark’s family, their sister-in-law told them that she had done a tour on which she was told the Erie Canal officially ended in Tonawanda.  The Explorers did some research and learned that she was correct; they learned that the Erie Canal used to parallel the Niagara River to the Buffalo River to Lake Erie.  However, with the advent of modern powered-vessels, that were capable of navigating the Niagara River, the portion between Tonawanda and Buffalo was abandoned; the canal was connected to the Niagara River and water traffic now uses the Niagara River to navigate in to Buffalo.  The formal end of the Erie Canal is now Tonawanda where the Erie Canal meets the Niagara River.  The Explorers decided that since their goal was to traverse the Erie Canal, their canal trip should end in Tonawanda where the formal canal ends.  They may have also been influenced by the fact that the Niagara River is fast-moving, the Wayward Explorer is slow-moving, and they know that the Niagara River ends in a huge waterfall.  While they undoubtedly could have made it into Buffalo without incident, they were happy reaching the end of the canal.     

There are not too many locks in the span from Holley to Tonawanda, but there are numerous lift bridges.  Some of the sights they passed were a vineyard and the only road that runs UNDER the canal.  Captain Mark noticed lots of people touring on bicycles.  By the looks of the bags and loads they were hauling he assumed they were bike-camping.  He talked to a few of them, very interested in what they were doing, as the Explorers also do some of their exploring on a tandem bike with their camping equipment in tow.  In order to get through all the lift bridges on the way to Tonawanda, the Explorers did not stop to bike today.  (The time spent during yesterday’s bike ride prevented them from getting to Albion last night). The Explorers decided to power through to Tonawanda and then take a rest day, when they could do some walking and biking to make up for the missed exercise today. 

As the Explorers approached the dock in Tonawanda, it was very busy, and there weren’t a lot of open parking spaces.  It appeared that there were a lot of folks watching the Buffalo Bills game at the shoreside bars.  The Explorers passed a few potential spots that would have taken significant maneuvering to squeeze in between two boats.  Captain Mark thought it looked like there were more spots right under the bridge ahead.  This is when the Explorers hit their worst disaster of the trip (so far). The Explorers were so busy hugging the dock area, looking for a parking spot, and they had gotten so comfortable knowing they could fit under all the 15’ low bridges, that they didn’t notice the particular span of the bridge they were passing under was lower than the main span to the left (where they were supposed to go).  At the very last moment, they noticed how low the bridge was, and they were just (barely) clearing it by a fraction of an inch.  Unfortunately, their luck did not hold out and about halfway through, their canopy started scraping against the bottom of the bridge.  Chunks of rusty bridge were raining down on Sidekick Sue.  Captain Mark did his best to back up (which caused additional problems as the back of the canopy caught the underside of the bridge), but they were able to back the boat out from under the bridge and maneuver under the correct bridge opening.  To the Explorer’s embarrassment, since Tonawanda was bustling with canal-side activity, they had an audience to watch their faux pas, and emerged from the bridge to jeers and slow clapping.  Ugh. With their tails between their legs (if boats have tails), the Explorers pulled into a parking spot to evaluate the damage.

When they parked, they realized the canopy frame was a little crumpled and there were some tears in the canvas top.  It was a disappointment, but not enough to deter them from their original mission.  It was getting late and Captain Mark was tired from driving such a far distance, so they decided to ignore the damage until morning since they had conveniently planned a break day, so they would have time to deal with it.  The Explorers found a highly-rated local restaurant and indulged in some “Beef on Weck” as was recommended several days ago by their friend, Sue (in Cayuga), who grew up in the Buffalo area.  The Explorers were hungry and enjoyed the roast beef, although Sidekick Sue had to peel some of the kosher salt off the Kimmelweck roll because it was just too salty for her taste.

After dinner, the Explorers checked in at the Visitor Center; the parking and electric in Tonawanda were not free, but the fee was well worth it to have a safe haven for a couple of days, along with clean restrooms and showers.  There was no TV watching that night; the Explorers hit the hay early, exhausted from driving all day as well as the incident at the bridge.  Sidekick Sue’s “magical thinking” hoped that somehow, the canopy would be healed overnight. 

In the morning, Captain Mark got to work taking the canopy down piece by piece and doing his best to straighten out a few of the supports that had bent. The Explorers had some flexible solar panels on the top of the canopy, which were a bit scratched from the bridge, but by some miracle, they were still putting out some power (reduced, but still working).  Sidekick Sue helped him put the canopy back together, and beside a few rips in the canvas, it looked almost back to normal.  Sidekick Sue was worried that she would have to add “sew a new canopy” to her task list, but Captain Mark indicated that if it was to be replaced, he really wanted to install a hard top, so he could mount more efficient rigid solar panels, so Sidekick Sue breathed a sigh of relief. Still, it goes to show that a few minutes of inattention and carelessness on the water can result in very costly repairs.  Luckily, no one was injured, and it just meant living with a few more cosmetic blemishes on the canopy for now (which actually matches the condition of the rest of the boat with its peeling paint and leaky teak decks). 

After the canopy was fixed to their satisfaction, the Explorers took a bike ride further in the direction of Buffalo.  They initially hoped they could bike all the way north to Niagara Falls, but the bike path didn’t go that far, and they would have had to navigate city roads, which is not very relaxing.  They preferred to stay on the bike path, so instead they went south toward Buffalo. They went 7 miles out to Black Rock Canal Park, which almost brought them to the Peace Bridge to Canada. They could see rain in the distance over on the Canadian side and they didn’t particularly want to get caught in it, so they turned around and headed the 7 miles back.   Along the route were signs for the historic canal that used to run parallel to the Niagara River.  They stopped a few times to read the plaques and look at the sites, but there wasn’t much to see as the historic canal had been filled in many years ago. 

Once back to the boat, they took advantage of the nearby Tops to stock up on groceries and came home to make salad with chicken chunks for dinner.  Captain Mark made a second trip to the grocery store to stock up on beverages while Sidekick Sue did a bit of work on the monthly bills and took a long shower in the shower room provided by the city of Tonawanda.  She was a little disappointed because she was hoping for a better shower than the boat, however, it ended up taking forever to get any hot water, and the pressure was no better than the water pressure on the boat shower.  At least she had room to move around instead of the tiny half shower on the boat. 

They settled on a movie, watching Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, another pick by Captain Mark.  It was a fairly stupid movie but Sidekick Sue enjoyed picking out all the actors and actresses doing cameos and spent most of the movie looking at IMDB figuring out which parts each actor played in all the other Adam Sandler movies.  For example, there was Otto, the homeless guy, who was the same Otto, the homeless guy from Happy Gilmore.  Al Pacino played himself, and the Explorers wondered how Adam Sandler ever got him to agree to play the part (ironic as the whole movie was about Adam Sandler trying to get Pacino to do a commercial for Dunkin Donuts).  Another day in the books, another bad movie watched.  Sidekick Sue is not sure how many more times Captain Mark will be trusted to make movie choices before she picks a new streaming series to watch.  Feel free to leave recommendations.

Passing Albion where the main street bridge is being rebuilt.

A bunch of geese trying to get out of our way.

Passing a vineyard.

The only road running UNDER the Erie Canal.

A couple of riders doing a bicycle-camping tour.

Following the Grumpy Gang under a long bridge.

And there’s the whole Grumpy Gang!!!

Our canopy looking a little crumpled.

Chunks of rusty bridge that hit our deck.

Sidekick Sue at Black Rock Canal Park. The storm is gathering; rain is falling in Canada.

Plaque about the old Erie Canal (which is just a field now).

Awesome bike path and park along the Niagara River.

The Wayward Explorer with its canopy straightened out. Notice the rip on the front right corner. 🙁

The Explorers left the dock in Pittsford, already looking forward to hanging out in Pittsford again on the way back. It was a very comfortable dockage right in the town center with lots of businesses around.  They passed through Lock 32 in Pittsford and Lock 33 in Rochester.  Passing through Rochester, the canal is much more defined, with rock ledges on both sides.  There are numerous low fixed bridges (most around 15’ clearance) through Rochester. 

As the Explorers crossed the intersection with the Genesee River, Captain Mark stopped to wait for some scullers to pass by.  It reminded the Explorers of the scullers on the Charles River in Cambridge when they lived in Watertown. Unfortunately, as Captain Mark pulled out to cross the Genesee, there were other sculling boats that had been obscured, that he had to negotiate around.  It was unintentional, but nerve-wracking for Captain Mark, and probably just as nerve-wracking (and annoying) to the rowers. 

The Explorers stopped in Brockport with the intent of riding west to Holley NY to see a waterfall that is fed by a spillway along the canal to control water levels.  In this area of the canal, the bike paths are much more developed.  The surface alternates between asphalt, brick and packed gravel, and was easily wide enough to pass pedestrians and other bikers (or in the case of the Wayward Explorers on their folding bike with small tires, it was wide enough for others to pass them).  The Explorers encountered many friendly bikers and pedestrians before reaching Holley, where they had to cross a bridge to pass through the town and then down a hill to the park where they could see Holley Falls.  It was a lovely place to take a break and enjoy the natural surroundings.  After a pleasant break, they biked back.  Sidekick Sue enjoyed all of the ride except for the initial hill to get out of the waterfall park. The total distances was about 12 miles with Captain Mark using the waterfall as “a carrot” to motivate Sidekick Sue to bike 2 miles more than their daily rides had been.

Back in Brockport, the Explorers cast off with hopes of making it to Albion for the night.  They arrived in Holley (were they had just biked to) around 4:00 PM and needed to pass the lift bridge they had just biked across. However, they were advised by the bridge tender that he would not be opening the bridge for them because they didn’t have enough time to negotiate all the lift bridges to Albion before they closed for the day, and there were no public docks along the way.  Apparently, they don’t want boats stuck in between lift bridges where they would have to anchor in the canal  LOL.  So, the day’s trip landed them in Holley for the night where there was a nice dock wall, next to a park. 

Captain Mark walked to the Dollar General while Sidekick Sue did some writing. The Explorers have noticed during this trip, and also their prior experience in the North Country of NY, that many of these small towns have no grocery stores and depend on chains like Dollar Store, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree to server as their “general store”.  The Explorers complain sometimes about their small, limited grocery store in their hometown in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but trips like this remind them that they are actually lucky to have more than their Family Dollar; they not only have their small Price Chopper, but also a hardware store for those last-minute purchases.

Once settled in for the night, the Explorer watched a bad Jennifer Aniston movie (Dumplin’).  Maybe it wasn’t really “that bad”, it just wasn’t the movie for the moment.  They were expecting a comedy, and instead got a movie with very serious and sad undertones.  At least it ended on a positive note, but they failed to understand why it was labelled a comedy. They called it an early night, intent on getting up to go through the lift bridge when it opened at 7:00 AM.

Just a few of the low bridges in the Rochester area.

Giving some room to some scullers while crossing the Genesee River.

Docked in Brockport, getting the bikes ready.

Captain Mark at Holley Falls.

One of many lift bridges in the western side of the Erie Canal.

A heron that paused long enough for a photgraph.

It was a very chilly morning when the Wayward Explorers awoke, their first preview of Fall weather.  Sidekick Sue pulled out some cold weather clothes, while Captain Mark (still wearing shorts) ventured out to use the facilities at the Fire Department and mail his mother’s birthday card.

The morning was relatively uneventful.  The Explorer navigated through three locks without incident.  As they passed through Newark, they made a mental note that it looked like a nice location and they should stop there on the way back east.  Sidekick Sue enjoyed watching a great blue heron that kept flying up ahead every time the Explorers got close enough to disturb him.  They finally lost sight of him when the canal opened up wide in Port Gibson; he must have taken a left turn away from the canal channel.

The Explorers were starting to see signs of a semi-consistent bike path along the canal, and planned to stop in Palmyra for a bike ride.  The dock in Palmyra was hidden off to the left-hand side in a small basin that jutted out from the canal.  It was a nice little park area that even had restrooms, water and electric, but the Explorers did not need this for a short daytime stay.

The Explorers unfolded their folding bikes and started east along the canal path.  After a very short time, they encountered a piece of construction equipment (no one aboard), surrounded by yellow tape in the middle of the trail. There was another side trail, so it was easy to get around.  About a mile up the path, a truck came by to let them know the path was closed for construction; apparently, that was the intent of leaving a little Bobcat on the trail.  So the Explorers turned around and biked the mile back.  They picked up the trail in the western direction (which had a construction detour, but was passable), and biked out 4 miles.  Part of the bike path was on the functional Erie Canal, but part of it steered back to the old canal towpath.  They passed some relics of the past:  an old aqueduct that the old canal used to pass through, a bridge that crossed nothing but a grass field (that used to cross the canal), and finally an old historic lock where they stopped and turned around for the day.  They biked the 4 miles back, negotiating the detour in reverse, and only once getting off the correct trail, only to be re-directed by another construction worker.

As the Wayward Explorer approached Fairport, NY, the walls of the canal were more consistently stone and rock instead of looking more like traditional riverbank.  The area became more urban with a lot more boats on the canal, and a lot more people on the paths.  The Explorers also encountered a lot more rented canal boats, which moved a few knots slower than the Wayward Explorer. All afternoon, they would pass the canal boats, only to have to wait for them in the next lock.  In Fairport, there was also a lift bridge that the Explorers had to radio to ask for a lift. 

The Explorers stopped for a night in Pittsford.  The area was nice with comfortable recreational boat facilities on one side, and commercial traffic parked on the other.  The restaurant across the canal had live entertainment and the Explorers had a nice walk around, exploring the area.  They even ran into the occupants of one of the canal boats they had passed all afternoon.  Captain Mark’s brother, wife and son came for a visit and brought some delicious snacks.  We had a nice time catching up and enjoyed all the people-watching in the area.  The whole area was alive with activity, music and people, but it seemed to abruptly stop exactly at 10:00 PM.  Captain Mark’s family headed home and the Explorers headed to bed. 

At the dock in Palmyra.

Sidekick Sue along the trail.

A bridge the Explorers crossed while biking.

Another old preserved lock.

Historic Lock 60

Lift bridge in Fairport.

A bridge to nowhere. The Erie Canal used to run under it.

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

In the morning, Captain Mark walked to Dollar Tree to get some Diet Coke, while Sidekick Sue did a little work to get ready for an HOA Zoom meeting the next day.  Shortly after casting off from Baldwinsville, the Explorers saw some interesting contraptions, floating down the waterway, removing algae blooms from the water.  It was finally a nice sunny day, so Sidekick Sue accompanied Captain Mark up on the flybridge for longer lengths of time. 

Like the day before, the Explorers approached another low bridge and Captain Mark asked Sidekick Sue to climb up on the cooler and make sure there was clearance.  And just like yesterday, the bridge was higher than posted.  Sidekick Sue speculates that officials do that on purpose, because they know that some folks will push the envelope and try to “squeeze” under bridges that they shouldn’t…. therefore they set the the numbers artificially low to decrease incidences of collision.

After navigating Cross Lake, the Explorers stopped for a bit at a wall in Weedsport because it looked to be “somewhat” close to the bike trail on the old Erie Canal.  They put their folding bikes together and rode through a place called Brutus which seemed to mainly consist of a race track.  After about a mile of biking they joined the bike path along the old Erie Canal.  The trail itself was not very sophisticated; it was really just a worn-out groove in the grass, with puddles every now and then that created mud puddles that threaten to suck their tires into the muck.  Luckily, the Explorers had thick tires and managed to plow through without incident.  In spots, the path widened a bit, sometimes with even a little gravel or asphalt, mostly near the road crossings. 

After biking another 4 miles, they reached a great spot where one of the old Erie Canal locks was preserved.  The vegetation was purposely groomed so that the Explorers could walk right down into the ditches of the former canal.  The lock had two passageways, possibly the eastbound and westbound traffic each had their own lock instead of taking turns locking east and west.  After a short visit at the lock, the Explorers turn around and biked the 5 miles back to their boat. 

The Explorers cast off from Weedsport and headed to Seneca Falls.  To reach Seneca Falls, a boater must enter a smaller “side” canal off of the Erie that connects to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes.  It passes through the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge which is mainly a big swamp.  The Explorers saw some majestic birds: white herons, great blue herons and a couple of bald eagles.  They passed under two more bridges which required Sidekick Sue to once again climb up on the cooler for a bird’s eye view of whether the boat canopy would pass under the bridge.  Both of them had a minimum of 2-3 foot of extra clearance, despite the warnings. 

The Explorers parked on the dock wall in Seneca Falls.  Most people in New York State know about Seneca Falls for two reasons…. it was an important location in the fight for women’s rights and it is rumored to have been the town on which Bedford Falls was modeled for the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  The Explorers have been to Seneca Falls before by car, even attending the “It’s a Wonderful Life” Festival several years ago, the highlight being the night-time 5K run/walk through the town lit of by Christmas lights which followed a route through the neighborhoods where residents burned bonfires and handed out shots of Peppermint Schnapps. 

The amenities for boaters are wonderful in Seneca Falls.  The Visitor Center hosts a wonderful museum with exhibits about the canal, industry, women’s rights, historic route 20, and the changing waterway over the years.  Under the Visitor Center is a special area with free restrooms and showers and a coin laundry just for boaters.  The wall where boats can park has free electricity and water spigots. Seeing this wall on earlier trips to Seneca Falls was one of the sparks that motivated this adventure down the Erie Canal… the Explorers are delighted to have actually reached the town by water after dreaming about it years ago. Due to their love for Seneca Falls, the fact that they have been motoring every day for a week, and the need for clean laundry, the Explorers decided to take a little break and hang out in Seneca Falls for an extra day.  The only negative attribute of staying on the wall was that their Starlink kept cutting out, presumably due to the trees lining the dock wall. They figured they would have time to turn the boat around in the morning or part on the opposite wall for better reception.

Because the Explorers decided to take the extra day in Seneca Falls, they reached out to a college friend who has a lake house on Cayuga Lake.  She and her husband offered to come out and meet them in the afternoon of the following day.  So the Explorers headed to bed to get an early start in the morning.

The next morning, they took a long walk around downtown Seneca Falls, enjoying the stores and landmarks dedicated to “It’s a Wonderful Life” including the Bedford Falls Bridge on George Bailey Lane and a collection of bell sculptures with sayings from the movie.  They also walked by the famous statues of Susan B. Anthony and the Suffragettes and walked a short path along the canal dotted with mostly woman-created sculptures recognizing women rights or the history of Seneca Falls.  On their way home, the Explorers found a liquor store to pick up some wine for the afternoon and visited a café that helped put together an offering of wonderful desserts to bring to lunch. In the remaining time before lunch, Captain Mark went on a 12-mile bike ride past Waterloo and heading toward Geneva, while Sidekick Sue took a shower and did some writing.  Captain Mark showered as well, and the Sidekick Sue climbed out of the boat, onto the tall wall above to wait for her friends. 

A short while later, Sue and Dave arrived.  After a quick tour of the boat, they headed back to the lake house on Cayuga and had a delightful lunch, with wine and desserts.  They all spent a relaxing afternoon sitting outside on the deck enjoying the views on the lake and the unpredicted burst of amazing weather.  As the day wore on, they headed back to Seneca Falls for dinner at Parker’s Grille & Tap House. The beer was delicious and they enjoyed more conversation; they even got involved in helping their neighbors at the bar who had signed up for trivia. 

After dinner, Sue and Dave dropped the Explorers back at their vessel.  It was already dark and too late to try to move the boat to improve the Starlink reception.  They still managed to watch an episode of Ozark while doing laundry at the Visitor Center.  They may have even munched on a few left-over desserts from lunch. In the morning they will set out west towards Rochester.

The contraction that was “harvesting” the algae blooms.

The first chamber of a double lock heading into Seneca Falls.

Crossing Cross Lake

An old section of the old abandoned segment of the Erie Canal that still had some water in it.

Inside Lock 51 of the Old Erie Canal

Wise words from Clarence.

The Wayward Explorer on the wall in Seneca Falls

Sidekick Sue making friends in the sculpture garden.

Walking George Bailey Lane

Many of the industrial buildings have been knocked down. The Seneca Knitting Mills building is being renovated to be the new home of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Downtown Seneca Falls.

We owe a lot to the brave women that came before us and started a movement (which continues today).

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).

The Explorers cast off from the lock wall in Oswego after a short sprinkle in the morning.  Sidekick Sue was completely horrified because every time she touched the lines to untie the boat, dozens of black spiders fled (some of which were decent-sized).  Between the spiders and the slimy lock walls, she has decided that she needs a pair of gloves.  All the pairs aboard are too big and the extra bits at the top of each finger constantly get caught up in the lines, so she has been going bare-handed.

The Explorers passed through Locks 7 and 6 without incident.  After the rough lock-through at Lock 8 the prior day, they took the time to review their plan, since they were a little rusty for the season after navigating over 40 locks in Canada the year before. Having a planned procedure in place makes things run a lot smoother.  The Explorers saw François’ sailboat tied up on the wall before Lock 5, exactly where he said he planned to park.  He had told the Explorers that he was going “in a few locks” before parking to avoid being near the “city” of Oswego, where teenage punks are known to mess with the lines and set boats adrift “for fun”.  The Explorers have heard this about several locations along the Loop, but have never seen it actually happen or experienced any vandalism.  They don’t know how much is truth and how much is urban legend, but they use a cable lock to secure their boat to a cleat while in populated areas, just in case.  There didn’t appear to be any activity on François’ sailboat, so the Explorers moved on.

There was no Lock 4 in the Oswego Canal.  Obviously, there was one at some time in the past, but the Explorers have learned that many of the sections of the NY canals have been moved and re-engineered, so they have seen gaps in the numbering sequences before. 

The Explorers had wanted to stop after Lock 3, so they could walk into Fulton, NY to get some exercise, get Sidekick Sue some gloves at the hardware store, and pick up some snacks for the evening as they were making plans for some friends to meet up with them at Lock 23 near Brewerton.  However, in talking to the locktender, they realized that he was responsible for both Locks 3 and 2.  He has to let the southbound vessels through Lock 3 and then jump in a car to drive down to Lock 2 to let the same vessels through. Then he has to let the northbound vessels through Lock 3 and run back to Lock 2 to let them through.  Parking in between would have created extra work for the locktender and left his locks “out of sync”, so the Explorers decided to press on through, thinking they could still walk into Fulton from Lock 2.  After docking past Lock 2, they figured out that it would take at least 30 minutes to walk each way to Fulton plus time to go shopping.  While this is normally an acceptable walk for the Explorers, they didn’t want to arrive in Brewerton an hour and a half later than planned, since they had friends coming, so they cast off again.  The gloves could wait (Sidekick Sue would get slimed again), and the snacks would just have to work themselves out. 

The Explorers got quite a welcome as their boat was raised at Lock 1.  Just as they rose above the lock wall, a band started playing.  Apparently, there was some sort of running race or something going on in an adjoining park.  The Explorers liked to think the music was for their arrival, although it was obviously for the racers who were finishing the race.

A few miles later, the Explorers reached their goal… the Erie Canal.  They turned east, although they really plan to do the western end first, but they wanted to go to Brewerton to see their friends and to load up on diesel fuel at the best price they’ve seen in all of NY.  They arrived at Lock 23, the Brewerton Lock which had originally been their goal for the night.  It was rural and desolate, and not exactly a great place to meet friends. The Explorers realized they would have to walk for 1.5 hours to actually get into town.  They did a little quick research and discovered that there were two free docks in Brewerton, right in town, so they started the engines back up, cast off, and headed into town, finding a lovely spot in Riverfront Park.  This location was a win-win, because they could conveniently meet their friends right in town, and they were parked very close to the place they had planned to get diesel in the morning anyway.

Sidekick Sue’s sorority sister Cheryl, and her husband Ron showed up first, bearing loads of snacks (including some delectable half-moon cookies), so the snacks did indeed “work themselves out”.  They had drinks while waiting for another one of Sidekick Sue’s sorority sisters, Jane, and her husband Andy, who was one of Captain Mark’s fraternity brothers, to arrive.  After a quick happy hour, they all went to the Wild Horse Bar and Grill for dinner and conversation.  It was great to get together with old friends to talk about old times, shared friends, families, retirement plans, and to ponder how the Explorers and their friends got so old.

After the gathering the Explorers reflected on how lucky they are to be able to make this trip and how wonderful it is to rekindle friendships they made 40 years ago. They settled in for a little TV time and a nice peaceful night in Brewerton.

Lock is ready to enter. Green for “Go”.

Informational sign at Lock 7. Each lock has information on how high boats will get lifted or lowered, and the distance to the next lock on each side.

A spill-way at the top of the lock that looks a little too close for comfort.

A lock with its neighboring dam.

Typical view going down the Erie Canal.

Friends stopped by to visit and have dinner and drinks. Cheryl, Jane, Andy, Sidekick Sue, Captain Mark, Ron. Had a great time!

The Explorers rose early to get a 7:00 am start.  They planned to cross a section of Lake Ontario to get to Oswego, and they wanted to get an early start, knowing that there would be nowhere to stop mid-way, and not knowing exactly how long it was going to take.  François, from the sailboat next to them had already left with about a 45-minute lead.  The Explorer’s had not had a good night sleep because the wind and water were rough, and even though they were at a dock, the fenders and lines squeaked and creaked all night.

After the Explorers rounded Cape Vincent, the water was a bit rough…. but not as bad as the day before when it was covered in whitecaps.  The winds were in their favor, as the forecasts had predicted, but the waves were still fairly rough.  Sidekick Sue was feeling very nauseous and alternated between sitting outside to get fresh air and keeping an eye on the horizon, and going downstairs to the cabin to warm up.  It was a miserable cycle, but it worked.  Even Captain Mark admitted to getting a bit queasy sitting up on the flybridge the entire time.  There were no other boats on the water until they got close to Oswego, and they never caught up with François, even though he claimed he planned for an 11 hour crossing, while the Explorers were only expecting 8 hours.

There was only one major incident during the crossing.  As the got close to Oswego, Captain Mark started reading ahead about the obstacles ahead (locks, bridges, etc.) and realized that some of the bridges in Oswego were too low for the Explorers to pass under with the mast up.  This old trawler, the Wayward Explorer, has a mast for a “stability sail”.  The Explorer have never actually tried to use the stability sail (although Lake Ontario probably would have been a great time to try it), but they generally keep the mast up when they motor, just because it is out of the way.   Sidekick Sue took the controls while Captain Mark tried to bring the mast down, wrapping the rope around a horizontal bar to act as a pulley and ease the weight of the mast.  It was a little challenging to manipulate while in motion, so they decided to put the boat in neutral, thinking they would just bob around peacefully.  Big mistake.  It worked for about a minute, and then the waves turned the boat sideways and it starting violently rocking from side to side. Captain Mark couldn’t even stand in one place, much less handle the mast.  The Explorers could hear stuff crashing down below in the cabin.  Sidekick Sue put the boat back in gear and started moving forward again which slowly put the boat back on course.  Captain Mark was able to lower the mast, and all was right in the world again.  Lesson learned… do not stop in open water. 

The Explorers arrived in Oswego and proceeded through the first lock of the Oswego Canal (Lock 8).  This was their first real lock of the season (as they were able to pass through the Iroquois lock without stopping) and it was a little awkward.  There were no cables to wrap the lines around, only ropes to grab onto.  Sidekick Sue usually wraps the stern line around a cable, cleats it and then moves up to the bow to grab another cable. Captain Mark uncleats the stern line and handles it while locking and Sidekick Sue holds the bow.  In this case, there were no cables, so Sidekick Sue grabbed a rope from midship, and the stern started to turn out so Captain Mark could not grab a rope from the back.  Luckily, he was able to throw a line to the lock tender who helped pull the stern in (and kindly suggested it was the wind’s fault, not the Explorer’s).  Another crisis and embarrassment averted.

The good news was that once they were through the first lock, the water was immediately calm, and the hard part of the day was over.  The Explorers docked on the wall between locks 7 and 8, so they could get out and walk around Oswego.  They walked to Fort Ontario, which they mostly viewed from the outside because it was closing up for the day when they arrived.  They peeked inside long enough to grab a few pictures.  They stopped at Subway to grab a bite and then crossed a pedestrian bride over the Oswego River to grab a few groceries at the Big M.  The highlight of the day was a visit from Sidekick Sue’s sorority sister, Maria, and her husband Jim, who stopped by for a quick drink and to share stories from college as well as talk about plans for retirement, as this is Maria’s first year of retirement from teaching.  She and Jim are in the process of looking at RV’s which is very similar to the Explorer’s experience with their “RV on the water”.    The Explorers were so glad to see some friends along the route, as they hope they will get to see many more along the way, having grown up and gone to college in upstate NY.  After their company left, they settled in for a nice quiet night with no waves, wind, squeaks or creaks. 

Rounding St. Vincent. Passing the Tibbetts Point lighthouse that we hiked to yesterday.

Smoke from the nuclear plant smokestack. The first thing we could see as we started approaching the shore at Oswego.

Sidekick Sue manning the controls during Captain Mark’s lunch break.

Lock #8 where the Explorers almost caused an incident.

A peek inside Fort Ontario before they closed for the night.

The outside wall of Fort Ontario

Sidekick Sue was happy to wake up to find there had been no visits from the local police for their illegal overnight stay.  The dock house was open in the morning, so Captain Mark went to talk to the dockmaster to “see if we owed a docking fee”.  After a finger-wagging about “no overnight parking”, Captain Mark put some money in the donation box and thanked the dockmaster.  Sometimes Captain Mark is right about “begging for forgiveness” working out better than “asking for permission”.  (Although sometimes there are tickets and fines involved).  It’s good for rule-following Sidekick Sue to leave her comfort zone now and then, and it’s good for Captain Mark to have Sidekick Sue around to set hard limits when he goes too far.  It’s all about balance.

The Explorers didn’t have far to go today, so they waited out a predicted rain, that never really developed into more than a weak mist.  The plan for the day was to only go as far as Cape Vincent, which was about a 2-2.5 hour trip.  Cape Vincent is at the opening to Lake Ontario.  Boats like the Wayward Explorer have to be very thoughtful about crossing big lakes.  Trawlers don’t have a big heavy keel like a sailboat, so waves and wind can toss them around like a cork, floating on the water.  Because the Explorers are on the eastern side of Lake Ontario, they would prefer easterly winds (blowing east to west) so that the wind doesn’t have a long distance to travel (fetch) over the water to kick up the waves. Unfortunately, the winds were currently blowing from west to east and the lake was full of whitecaps, so stopping for the night at Cape Vincent was the only reasonable choice.  Additionally, the Explorers expect the crossing to be at least 8 hours, so they want to start the trip fresh in the morning.  Winds tomorrow are expected to change and favor a crossing.

As luck would have it, Cape Vincent turned out to be a great place to stay for an extended visit.  The public docks were available for up to a 48 hour stay, they had water and electricity, and were free (with a recommended donation that the Explorers were happy to pay).  That gave the Explorers a long day and night to get ready for a crossing…. getting the batteries fully charged, filling the water tanks, making ice cubes for the cooler, etc.  It was nice to have a long day without consideration to conserving battery power or getting kicked off the dock.  The actual docking was a bit hairy as the Explorers were trying to get into a space at the end of the dock in front of a sailboat and the wind was blowing away from the dock.  Captain Mark mastered the docking after a few failed tries. 

The Explorers met some nice people on the dock, including another Canadian, François, who was also planning to cross down to Oswego the following day on his sailboat that had the masts unstepped (down).  He had wanted to take the Great Lakes down through Chicago, but there were locks closed for repairs that weren’t going to open in time for him to go south, so he was heading back to the Hudson River and the East Coast.  Given that he seemed to have a lot more experience on the Great Lakes than the Explorers, they were glad to know that he was planning on the same weather window. 

After the Explorers got settled, they used the afternoon to walk (6 miles out and back) to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse on the tip of Cape Vincent.  It was a beautiful walk with gorgeous scenery, and a great view of Lake Ontario all churned up from the wind.  The state of the lake confirmed the Explorers made the right decision not to continue onto Lake Ontario today. 

The evening ended with dinner, hot showers and some TV, all supported by the endless electricity available on the dock with the luxury of keeping the batteries fully charged for the next day (which will be a long one). There was a beautiful red sunset (red skies at night, sailors delight) which gave the Explorers hope for a nice calm day on the lake tomorrow.

Walking up to the tip of Cape Vincent. A view of the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River on a very choppy day.

Whitecaps in the headwaters of the St. Lawrence. An army of windmills across the water in Canada.

The lighthouse at Tibbetts Point. You can’t climb the lighthouse, but there is a little Foghorn Museum and Visitors Center.

A map of the Explorers walk today.

A dramatic sunset over the St. Lawrence, predicting fair weather tomorrow.

Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue slept peacefully and woke up in their cute little protected anchorage.   They used to sleep poorly at anchor, waking up throughout the night, worrying about dragging, but they’ve gotten used to it now. 

After some breakfast, they pulled up anchor and ventured back out onto the St. Lawrence, passing under the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge.  It was a little chilly and windy in the first part of the day, and Sidekick Sue spent some time in the cabin trying to catch up on some computer tasks.  After the internet challenges of last year in Canada, the Explorers invested in a Starlink system (thank you Elon Musk), so connectivity is not a problem this year, even as they ping-pong back and forth across US and Canadian waters.  It is working great and they can turn the service on and off with ease, so they only pay for the months they need it.  It is also portable and can be moved to the sailboat if that voyage ever gets underway. 

Sidekick Sue surfaced from the cabin as they approached Alexandria Bay.  The number of tiny little islands dotting the St. Lawrence increased significantly, including the one holding the famous Singer Castle.  Traffic on the water increased, but mostly big boat traffic; it seems that pleasure craft boating ended rather abruptly with Labor Day weekend.  The Explorers considered doing a loop around Boldt Castle, but changed their minds as the water started to get shallower.  Instead, they settled with a half loop around the island, but the trees interfered with getting a good picture.  The Explorers had done the castle tour earlier in the summer (and were amazed at the restoration progress over the last decade or so), so they opted to find the public dock in Alex Bay and have some lunch.  The public dock in Alex Bay looked clean, new and nearly empty as boating season is winding down.

On the dock they met a delightful couple from Canada that couldn’t say enough wonderful things about boating on U.S. waters.  Apparently, they are fed up with the fuel and food prices in Canada, and come down to cruise U.S. waters as much as the rules allow.  There are a lot of crazy rules for Canadians to follow… checking in with border control (through an app) EVERY time they stop the boat, people having to leave the country before 6 months is out to re-set the clock, and having to move the boat to international waters before a year is out to re-set that clock.  The Canadians were a wealth of information about the next few towns we were stopping in, so the Explorers tried to absorb all they could (which isn’t much anymore LOL).  As luck would have it, they have documented some very helpful information about the NYS canal system online (If anyone is interested, it is: Cruising New York State Canal System, Erie, Cayuga, Seneca (pcmarinesurveys.com)

Following this interaction, the Explorers headed into Alexandria Bay for some walking.  It was much calmer and quieter than during their visit (by car) earlier in the summer.  Last time, the streets and restaurants were packed with tourists.  Today, it was mellow, but a fair amount of establishments were still open. 

After getting about half their daily steps, they returned to the boat and cast off for Clayton, where they planned to stay for the night.  Clayton had a very nice public dock located right in the middle of town.  As they were docking, they were approached by a kind fellow, who was out walking his dog, who offered to  help them with line-handling.  The Explorers were pretty much finished tying up, but they engaged in conversation, only to find out that that he and Captain Mark shared the experience of growing up in Massena.  Turns out he was the cousin of one of Captain Mark’s dearest, life-long friends and Captain Mark went to school with his younger siblings.   Seems like things like this commonly happen up in the North Country of NY.  Anyway, the guy runs some garment print shops in upstate NY and has some shared experience in boating, so they talked for quite a while. 

Clayton was a pleasant surprise for the Explorers; they had never been to Clayton before.  It was quite the opposite of Alexandria Bay which has a tourist, party-type atmosphere.  Clayton was a lot nicer and classier; beautiful tree-lined streets, upscale shops, gorgeous homes, and super-nice restaurants on the water.  A good comparison might be Disneyworld (Clayton) with it’s clean walkways, green grass, lush landscaping compared to the County Fair (Alex Bay) with it’s wine-slushies, deep-fried Oreos, trash on the ground and kitschy souvenir shops. The Explorers really enjoyed their walk around Clayton and would love to return for more exploration.

It was getting dark as they returned to the boat.  The dockmaster’s office had been closed since their arrival, so there was no one to talk to about staying.  While the signs clearly stated that boat parking was only 3 hours, the Explorers decided to stay for the night, hoping they wouldn’t get woken up by the police banging on the windows in the middle of the night (actually, only Sidekick Sue worries about these things; Captain Mark lives by the code of “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission”).  The Explorers tried to stay inconspicuous watching TV in the dark. Later, Sidekick Sue spent a few hours working on her computer in a small corner of the sleeping berth with a small desk light.  By lights-out, it appeared that no one was going to enforce the rules, so the Explorers enjoyed a night on the dock (although the water was not as calm as their private anchorage the night before).

The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge to Canada

Singer Castle

Boldt Castle hidden behind the trees

Walking around Alex Bay

The “carnival” atmosphere of Alex Bay.

Clayton was a bit cleaner and nicer than Alex Bay.

Billy’s cousin Tom, who entertained us for a while.