So much to tell you about. It feels like a lot of time has passed since we left what, 5 days ago? Not that time is dragging, or that it’s not been a lot of fun – it may just be that we’re packing a lot of livin’ into our days.

We sprung for a marina last night ($1 per foot, $34 total, no tax), which has WiFi, so we can update the blog in the comfort of the boat. This’ll be a big post to catch you up on what we’ve been doing.

Collins Bay, Kingston to Oswego, N.Y. (01-Sep-2012)

I already told you a little bit about our crossing of Lake Ontario – perfect day, no problems other than the biting flies. You may not appreciate how bad they were from this picture, but if there were a hundred flies on the boat, I swear every single one of them got a piece of us. It was bad, and we couldn’t find the fly swatter Phill’s Mom gave us (turns out it was buried under five layers of sails and cushions).

It’s been a pretty common occurrence on the boat to look for something and not be able to find it, or to go to do something only to find that you have to do five other things before you can get that one thing you wanted to do, done.  So we’ve taken to saying “Nothin’s Easy” (with a smile, of course; nothing is easy on the boat, except losing things and having fun :). Boat life should get easier when the mast is up and we can get the sails out of the cabin.

Here’s a little video to give you an idea of what crossing the Lake was like…it’ll also give me an idea of what it’s like to post videos.

SmallFileTest (right-click, save as…not sure if the .m4v format is right for everybody)

We tied up and asked another skipper where to go to clear in. He directed us to a phone with a video camera. We called in and got our clearance number and a one year cruising permit (which was faxed to the nearby marina office).

The dock we picked had a fee for overnight, so we decided to go through the first lock, Lock O-8 (a very nice thing about the New York State Canal System is that it’s free to tie up to most lock terminal walls for up to 48 hours). We walked to the first lock to buy our 10-day canal pass and talked to the lock master, Bill. Very nice guy! He picked us a grocery bag full of tomatoes he grew himself in the lock garden, and gave us some great advice about making our way through the locks. We just ate the last tomato this morning. They were delicious.

So we tied up south of Lock O-8, under the bridge. We got settled, then walked across the bridge into Oswego, and took in some of the town. We asked a local guy about a good place for dinner (we felt like we earned it), and he suggested “Azteca”, a Mexican restaurant with a very extensive menu. We had a good, inexpensive dinner, and Phill almost fell asleep at the table, so we went back to the boat and went straight to bed.

The next morning, we went to the Port City Cafe (no WiFi), did a few groceries then got moving.

P.S. we lost track of our stow-away. He made it across, but then we lost him. He must have jumped ship. We named him Monty – Monty the Mantis. Hopefully Monty’s somewhere in Oswego, and not still on the boat.

Oswego N.Y. to Lock 23 Canal Park (02-Sep-2012)

We completed the entire Oswego Canal (7 locks lifting us about 118 feet) and entered the Erie canal at Three Rivers. The Erie Canal will lower us back down to sea level.

We stopped along the way in Fulton, N.Y. at the Dunkin’ Donuts (but we already told you about that). Incidentally, we won’t need to hunt around for electrical outlets in fast food joints anymore thanks to the inverter Cathy & Ed gave us – thank you! Phill hooked it up and we can now charge all our AC stuff while under way.

It was dark by the time we got to Lock E-23 Canal Park. Very pretty place…it was a nice night. We ate dinner en route, so after we got settled on the west side of Lock 23, we watched part of a Deadwood episode on the laptop, then went to bed.

Lock 23 Canal Park to Rome, N. Y. (03-Sep-2012)

First things first. Happy Belated Anniversary Kim ‘n Wade!

So after we left Lock 23, we made our way to Brewerton (where we did our last post). Brewerton’s the town at the west end of Oneida Lake. We got fuel (8.6 gallons, $39.81), filled our water tanks, and took what turned out to be an illegal swim. All that happened before we went to the Brewerton Dunkin’ Donuts to update the blog.

While we were at the Dunkin’ Donuts, we checked the weather, and though the wind was going to be in our face all the way across the lake, the forecast for the next two days was going to be worse (rain & thunder storm worse), so we decided to go for it. The crossing was okay. It took us 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to Sylvan Beach (that’s what I wrote down, anyway – this GPS tracker thing might make a liar out of me). As expected, the wind was pretty much in our face the whole way; we made good time, considering. When we started out, it was windy, grey, and a little scary-looking, to be honest, but once we got going it wasn’t bad at all.

Sylvan Beach looked like a fun place to stop, but we decided to keep going to Rome, N.Y.

Motoring on the Mohawk River (right-click, save as…not sure if the .m4v format is right for everybody)

It was good and dark by the time we got there (it was later than the evening before when we stopped at Lock 23). Apparently people do night-navigate the canal system – the locks are open until 10 pm – but we found traveling in the dark to be somewhat nerve-wracking, so in the future we’ll aim to be settled in before sun down. Just after we tied up it started raining, so we buttoned up the cockpit vinyl, and watched an episode of Deadwood on the laptop in the cool, dry, protected darkness. I fell asleep sitting up before the episode was even half-over.

We woke up at 5:30 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Anyone who knows me would see that as highly unusual, but early rising is just one of the many side-effects of living on a boat, I guess.

We brushed our teeth then walked into Rome in the hopes of continuing the Riverboat Fantasy Tour of Upstate New York Dunkin’ Donuts. Rome doesn’t seem have a Dunkin’s, or at least not one in walking distance of the water. No place else we tried (Burger King, Wendy’s, etc) seemed to have Wifi, so we went back to the boat and got moving.

Big Lock in Little Falls (04-Sep-2012)

We motored without stopping all the way from Rome to Little Falls, N.Y., and enjoyed the views of the beautiful Mohawk River Valley.

At 40.5 feet, Lock 17 in Little Falls is the highest lift lock in the entire New York State Canal System.

Lock 17, Little Falls, N.Y (slideshow, if you’re interested)

The pictures don’t really do it justice – it was impressive. We tied up to the very high wall east of Lock 17 – that was a project to get the lines right and the anti-chaffing gear set up. We got off the boat and had a beer on the park bench nearby. We were thirsty. I’m so short I had to stand on a bucket to get off the boat – very precarious. Then the lock drained for another boat going east which created a lot of turbulence. It was like the boat was in a washing machine, so we moved it further down the wall and positioned it so that we could use one of the ladders to get on and off the boat – much less precarious.

Phill did some work getting spare engine parts and tools stowed under the v-berth, then we got ready to walk into Little Falls. We asked a guy at the lock about the easiest way to get to town, and he said, and I quote, “Well, the easiest way is if I drive you.” He was literally going to stop what he was doing and drive us into town. We’ve experienced a lot of this level of kindness and generosity on this trip. We said “No, we couldn’t trouble you, besides we need the exercise” or something along that line, then he showed the path to town. It was a long walk, but good for us.

We were in desperate need of a shower, so we went to the local YM/YWCA on Garden Street (we didn’t have our hot water tank hooked up yet – Phill just did that this morning). The ankle-braceletted man enjoying a smoke on the front step did not deter us, we were so hot and stinky. We asked the lady at the desk if we could please take a shower, and she said sure, they’re right downstairs beside the locker rooms. We asked her how much we owed her, and she said “Nothin, honey, that’s what the Y’s for”. Too nice!

So we were clean and refreshed, and we decided we should go out for a bite to eat. We asked a local guy who was sitting on his porch about a good place to go. He said the town had seen better days, and that there weren’t really any restaurants open this late (it was about 7:30 pm). We said a pub would be fine, so he directed us to “The Happen Inn” and recommended the burgers & wings. We also talked about hydro-fracking and what a problem it was becoming regionally. Interesting guy – he also told us about his idea for a solar furnace.

So the Happen Inn was pretty good. We caught them on 2 for 1 burger night, which is good for the boat budget. It was pouring rain when we left, so we developed a deep appreciation for our ponchos on the walk home. Went to bed pooped, but dry.

Little Falls to Amsterdam, N. Y. (05-Sep-2012)

We left Little Falls and had breakfast underway. At 10:27 am, a bald eagle flew over our bow – it was pretty cool to see one in flight.

On to Amsterdam – check out the volkswagen on the smokestack! It’s on the west side of the last lock before town.

We arrived at Riverlink Park in Amsterdam, N.Y. around 4 o’clock. As I mentioned at the start of the post, we decided to pay to tie up at the dock – $34 for shore power, showers, WiFi, coin laundry. All the comforts of home.

The park is isolated from the rest of town by train tracks (very well-used train tracks, I might add), so you get to town by climbing four flights of stairs (or taking the elevator) and crossing a pedestrian bridge. We asked a local lady about a grocery store, and she directed us North on Route 30. It was quite a hike in the hot sun. We came across a farmer’s market and had a good talk with a really nice family. We bought some of their tasty produce (garlic, onions, peppers, potatoes), then continued on to the Price Chopper where we parted with $126. We had too much stuff to carry back, even with our little boat-sized cart, so another nice stranger called us a cab. Seven bucks well-spent, and the cab driver told us a little about Amsterdam on the way home (home, that’s what we call the boat now 😉 ). Skyped Patti, had a nice dinner, watched a Deadwood episode (I fell asleep again), and went to bed.

Amsterdam N.Y. to ???? (06-Sep-2012)

We’re getting the most out of our $1 per foot! Phill hooked up the hot water tank, and the shore power heated it all up for us. We now have hot water! While Phill was working, I updated the blog (this post is becoming huge, let me know if I’ve overdone it – all feedback welcome).

Finishing up some laundry, then we’ll get moving. Maybe we’ll take it easy and just go to Schenectady today…not sure.

Until the next Dunkin’ Donuts!