Little Falls to Brewerton, NY

6/16/2015
 


This is the CSX Railroad bridge that we hit with our anchor light in 2009
 

Last evening we learned that the Oswego Canal which connects the Erie Canal with Lake Ontario may be closed for a week due to flooding, and we were wondering what this might do to our itinerary, but we continued to move westward on to Utica this morning despite the overcast conditions with possible rain showers ahead.  It was a 21 mile trip through 2 locks, and there indeed was a lot of debris in the canal around which we had to dodge. Along the way we passed the “Gems along the Mohawk” Outlet Center on the water which features Central New York products (Revere cookware, Oneida Home Goods, Remington Arms, etc.), and quartz stones marketed as Herkimer “Diamonds” because of their sparkle. We arrived in Utica around 10:30 a.m. and tied to a floating dock at the “Aqua Vino” restaurant where we enjoyed lunch.  George was one of only three male diners in the main dining room which was filled with a large number of elderly ladies who obviously belonged to some organization that must dine there regularly.  During our meal it really began to pour outside, but by the time we left, the rain had subsided to a drizzle.  During the afternoon while Pat read, George decided to write and post an article about “Locking Etiquette” in the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association Daily Digest, and got a great response.  There are a few novice “Loopers” that we have observed in the past 10 days who just don’t seem to know yet how to “play nice in the sandbox” so to speak, but now they do!!  His article really struck a chord with a lot of people!

 

6/17/2015

 Going downhill starting with Lock 21
 

Waterway approaching Sylvan Beach 
 

 Waterway approaching Sylvan Beach



 

Our trip this morning took us through 3 locks over 29 miles to Mariner’s Landing Marina in Sylvan Beach, N.Y.  This is a resort town on the shores of Oneida Lake, and we had a great time here on our first “Loop” voyage in 2009.  “Reflection” was tied up by 11 a.m. and shortly afterwards Pat was on her way to the marina’s laundry to do the wash. However, she ended up not getting out of there until 4 p.m. because only one of two washers was available, and the two dryers they had didn’t really work very well, to say the least!  Afterwards, we took a long walk into town, and found out that the restaurant that we had eaten at last time had been closed for the last two years, but we found another one close by on the waterfront called “The Crazy Clam”! This place was really hopping because it was “Wing Night”, and well-drinks were priced at 2 for 1. We opted for fish and chips and salads, and had a great time not only eating, but also “people watching”.

6/18/2015

 

Free wall dockage at Sylvan Beach 

Waterfront restaurant where we had dinner last night

 

 

 Roller Coaster at Sylvan Beach

 

Entering Oneida Lake 



 Approaching Brewerton  

 

We had no locks to go through on today’s journey!! Instead, we did a 23 mile crossing of Oneida Lake, but we went carefully because a number of the charted buoys were missing or off-station. Luckily the wind and waves were light, so it was a smooth trip and we arrived at Winter Harbor Marina at 10:30 a.m.  As we pulled into its walled area lined with boats, we were delighted to be tied up right behind “I Think I Can…” with our friends Randy and Cindy Peterson aboard who were there to take our lines.   We decided to take fuel on immediately, but unfortunately the hose would not reach both of our tanks, so we played a game of moving our boat back and forth up the dock during the afternoon after letting the fuel level off between both tanks.  Later on we received additional word from the N.Y. Canal Authority that, barring any more rain, the Oswego Canal would now remain closed until next Wednesday!!  So everyone here is currently staying put, since we are in one of the closest marinas to the Oswego Canal – and none of us know how long this condition will really last.  We are safe, have access to a courtesy car, there is a laundry, liquor store, and a Wegman’s Supermarket nearby – so we are in a great spot!  There are approximately ten “Looper” boats here, so naturally we had a Marina “Dock-tail” Party tonight with passed hors d’oeuvres followed by our having Roast Chicken for dinner onboard!  

6/19/2015

Winter Harbor Marina

 

A “Looper” boat was towed in today from Ess-Kay Yard across the Canal because that yard could not take care of the mechanical issues that it had. Another “Dock-tail” Party was on the schedule for tonight, but several couples have decided to leave their boats here, but will return home to wait out the Oswego Canal delay. 

 

6/20/2015

Another boat was towed in today and placed behind us, and tonight’s get-together was cancelled because of showers.  However, we had invited Randy and Cindy over for dinner, so we had our own party aboard with Cindy’s Capresse Salad and Pat’s cheese and cracker tray as an appetizer, Pork Loin in Peppercorn Sauce, George’s Roasted Potatoes, and Corn as the entree, and a choice of Chocolate Chip cookies, chocolate candy, grapes, and/or cherries for dessert. It was a fun evening!

 6/21/2015

We had additional rain over-night, and George installed a new fresh-water pump today.  We also worked on our proposed itinerary. Pat then typed up our edited notes for the “Waterway Guide” 2016 Great Lakes/ Great Loop edition, and also worked on this blog.  George, meanwhile, scouted out the location of the laundry in town, purchased more liquor for our Ship’s Stores before entering Canada, and also picked up a menu from a local Chinese restaurant.   Klaus Loehr, aboard “Chinook,” stopped by in the afternoon to go over some Canadian charts and also to get some advice from us about travel in Canada.  Later on, only a few of us got together at the marina‘s picnic tables to chat, but  Chinese take-out food was on our menu for tonight’s dinner, so a short while later George got the keys to the marina’s courtesy car and returned with our meal, which turned out to be excellent!

 6/22/2015

This morning we were up early because we had a plan in place with Randy and Cindy to enable both couples to use the courtesy car in order to get laundry done, as well as to do another supermarket run to Wegman’s.  We met at 6:45 a.m., and by 7 a.m. we started our laundry at the local Laundromat.  Cindy stayed at the Laundromat to oversee things and to put all our clothes into dryers after they were washed, and we had Cindy’s short list along with our longer list of items, so we went to the supermarket to do all the shopping.  (Randy had stayed aboard his boat to finish installing a new heater, as well as to field some business phone calls.)  Afterwards, George dropped Pat back at the Laundromat, while he returned to the marina with the food and other items for both boats.  He then drove back to the Laundromat to pick up Cindy and Pat with the clean laundry – and we accomplished all our tasks in just two hours!





Kingston, NY to Little Falls, NY

6/10/2015

Downtown Kingston, NY

Esopus Lighthouse

Bridge sections being moved down the Hudson

Entering the Port of Albany

Downtown Albany



Troy Lock - Troy, NY



Intersection of the Erie and Champlain Canals

We left Kingston at 6 a.m. for a 64 mile trip to Waterford, where the Erie Canal would begin. The journey took us up the Hudson River through the New York State Capital of Albany, and then through the second of the 104 locks (and perhaps more) that we will eventually transit on our second Great Loop adventure – the Troy Lock.  Two other “Looper” boats were in the lock with us, but as we were leaving, the last boat in passed around us as we were leaving.  This is a definite “No-No” in boating etiquette, and a sign of a real novice, or a person with a big ego! Evidently he was in a rush to get a spot at the Waterford Visitors’ Center where we were all headed to dock before entering the Erie Canal.  This is a major gathering place for all boats making this trip, and indeed dock spaces were few, but we temporarily tied up at the pump-out dock until space became available when five boats moved out for the 2 p.m. opening.  We were happy to see our Banana Bay Marina friends, Randy and Cindy, here already to greet us, and we made new acquaintances: Lynn and Bob Bauers aboard “American Pie” from N.J., Bob and Pat Amidon from Maine aboard “Velo Mer”, and Mark and Vicki Hill aboard “Blue Willow” from Michigan at “Dock-Tail” time at the picnic table near our boats.

 

6/11/15

 

 

 

 

The walkway at the Waterford Welcome Center is a depiction of the New York State Canal System

 

 

We walked to the local laundromat this morning, and while Pat was busy with that chore, George walked up to the Lockmaster’s office to get our 10-day Pass for the Erie Canal.  Later we had lunch at one of our favorite places in town, “Don & Paul’s Café”, which has great food at 1970s prices!  Afterwards, in our new positions as Cruising Editors for “Waterway Guide”, we got some local brochures at the Visitors’ Center, and interviewed the Desk Volunteer regarding any new information about Waterford that should be up-dated for the next edition of the guide.  At 5 p.m. we met some of the same boaters as yesterday for “Dock-Tails”, and afterwards we had a lovely dinner out at “McGrievey’s” Pub and Restaurant.

 

 

6/12/2015

 

 

 

 

Waterford  Welcome Center

Tug and Barge entering lock E 2

 Guard Gate at the end of the five Waterford Flight Locks

 Waterfall next to Lock E7

George found out yesterday that we could not get through the lock this morning for the 8 a.m. opening because a tug and barge were scheduled to come through and they have priority over pleasure boats.  This issue was compounded by the fact that the tug and barge could not fit in the lock together, so that the process of getting them through the Waterford flight – a series of 5 locks in a row that are sequentially completed – took almost three hours – and now all of us who followed would have to stay behind these vessels until, or if we could manage to pass them somewhere along the Canal.  We led this merry band of travelers for most of the day, until a number of them broke off for the Schenectady Yacht Club, and we headed further on to Scotia Landing, a free municipal dock which we wanted to investigate.  It was located on a sheltered side creek near the town of Scotia, and we had the whole place to ourselves!  We managed to get there at 5:45 p.m. and were safely settled in before the heavy rainstorms with lightning drew near.  We watched the progress of these storms on the local TV station, and prayed that the possible high winds, hail, and even a potential tornado wouldn’t reach us – and outside of the heavy rain, they didn’t.

 

6/13/2015

 

Some scenes from the Erie Canal

 

 

 Our dock at the Greater Amsterdam Riverlink Park

 







“Reflection” left Scotia Landing at 7:40 a.m., and after transiting 3 locks and 15 miles, we docked at the Greater Amsterdam Riverlink Park Marina at 10:40 a.m., and again we were by ourselves.  The water was high all along the way with lots of debris in the water caused by last night’s rain.  At the park they were setting up for a charity benefit event, and music was being provided by a local radio station, there was a bounce park for kids, a tent with various vendors, and a huge barbecue area being run by the marina’s dockmaster, who also owned the café restaurant on the grounds.  Of course, we partook of the barbecue food for lunch and for dinner!  Eventually we were joined by Bob and Lynn aboard “American Pie”, and Klaus and Elizabeth Loehr on “Chinook”, and both couples had cocktails later with us aboard ‘Reflection”.

 

6/14/15

"Reflection" at the dock in Amsterdam, NY

Small cruise ship  on the Erie Canal

Tug "Grover Cleveland"

 Scenery on our way to St. Johnsvillle, NY

This morning we left the dock at 8:10 a.m. because a small cruise ship had passed our marina earlier, and we knew that it would have precedence before us in the lock.  Today’s journey would take us through five locks over 32 miles to the town of St. Johnsville.  Again rainy weather was predicted, so we were happy to arrive at the St. Johnsville Municipal Marina, a lovely spot right off the Canal at 1:10 p.m., and we were warmly welcomed by the dockmaster. Again, on our way we observed a lot of debris in the water, and the water levels were high in the locks as well as in the canal, and some areas of the canal have been closed off because of these conditions.  Shortly after we were settled in, we were joined by Klaus and Elizabeth aboard “Chinook”, who invited us for cocktails on their boat later that afternoon.

 

6/15/15

Lock E17 - The highest lift lock on the Erie Canal (40')
 


Park next to the Little Falls Yacht Harbor 
 

The Little Falls Yacht Harbor marina office - originally the 1918 Barge Canal terminal building

Another “Looper” boat stayed at the marina last evening, a 63’ Viking named “Special Request” from Tennessee.  After another night of rain, we left the dock at 7:45 a.m. and that boat eventually passed us on their way to the first of our two lockings today, which was fine with us.  The second of the two locks, Lock 17, is the highest lift lock on the Erie Canal (40 ‘), and is one of only two locks in North America where the entrance gate is lifted above the boat as you enter the lock – causing water to rain down on you!  Today’s trip was only 10 1/2 miles to Little Falls Yacht Harbor, which is right on the Erie Canal, and is a place we enjoyed visiting on our first “Loop” adventure.  Since we arrived here early at 9:45 a.m., we enjoyed a quiet day getting caught up on our itinerary planning, and on photos, phone calls, and the blog.    Several boats have joined us here including several sailboats, and a new “Looper” boat, “Pearl”, with Brian and Ellen Clarke from Connecticut aboard.  Later in the afternoon we invited Brian and Ellen over for cocktails and had a wonderful time chatting with this brand new “Looping” couple. Afterwards, we had pizza and an antipasto salad delivered to the boat by “Pizza Boys” in Little Falls – all the comforts of home!



Brick NJ to Kingston, NY

 

 

"I  Think I Can..." following us up past the Verrazano Bridge

 

Anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty

One World Trade Center from our anchorage

The Statue of Liberty from our anchorage

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge from our anchorage

The Statue of Liberty

One World Trade Center and lower Manhattan financial district

Ellis Island

Smooth ride up the Hudson past Manhattan

The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan

Captain George at the helm

Erie Lackawanna Ferry Terminal  - Hoboken, NJ

"Norwegian Breakaway" and  "Norwegian Gem" at Manhattan Passenger Terminal

Grant's Tomb

New Jersey Palisades

Sing - Sing Prison

Stained -glass windows in West Point Main Chapel

Stained glass window over the altar in West Point Main Chapel

View from below of some of the 3,000 organ pipes of the organ of the West Point Main Chapel - the  largest pipe organ in the world!

Sign in the West Point Main Chapel

Stained- glass windows in the West Point Main chapel which seats 1,500 worshippers

West Point Cemetary

Original West Point Chapel

Headstone of H. Norman Schwarzkopt, Sr.

Headstone of his son, General Norman Schwarzkopf

Monument of General George Custer

View from West Point over the Hudson River

The Civil War Monument - some of the honorees were classmates together  at West Point!

Statue of General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Statue of General Douglas Mac Arthur

Statue of General George Washington

Sophomore Cadets marching

Hotel on the grounds of West Point

Marina at West Point

Esopus Lighthouse - Hudson River

 

6/6/15

After spending almost 4 weeks at home, we departed at 5:10 a.m. this morning on the next leg of our second Great Loop journey.  This date is somewhat nostalgic because it was on 6/6/09 that we also began our first Great Loop trip. However, not only were the weather conditions different today, but since that time we have travelled some 23,000 miles aboard “Reflection”!  At 5:45 a.m. we met up with our Banana Bay Marina neighbors, Randy and Cindy Peterson, who are Canadians travelling aboard their Ranger Tug, “I Think I Can…”.  They had started their Loop trip in Florida, and were staying at a marina close by, so they would be following us out of Manasquan Inlet and up the New Jersey Coast to on a 46 mile trip up to New York Harbor, which are familiar waters for us.  The wind and sea conditions in the ocean had been unfavorable for a number of days, so we took advantage of today’s small window of opportunity with lighter winds, and waves of 1 foot close to shore, despite a southeast swell and occasional showers.  We anchored behind the Statue of Liberty at 11:15 a.m. and Randy and Cindy tied up to us.  Later that afternoon, their friends, Jean and Dave Chilman from South Carolina, anchored their boat, “Knot There”, nearby.  Everyone came aboard our boat for cocktails, and then we watched the Belmont Stakes to see “American Pharoah” make history by winning the Triple Crown.  Our evening was topped off by an unexpected fireworks performance at Liberty State Park.  Could this have been done in our honor?

 

6/7/15

We gave ourselves a break this morning and left at 9 a.m. for a 44 mile trip up the Hudson River to Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton-on-Hudson.  The journey north with “I Think I Can” was delightful with sunny weather and the lovely scenery past Manhattan that is often compared to that of Germany’s Rhine River.  We arrived at 1:35 p.m. and had a quiet afternoon.  There were many novice “Loopers” here in this marina flying their white burgees, and we’re sure that we’ll be meeting many of them at various stops on the Erie Canal shortly.

 

6/8/15

This morning we arranged a car rental in order to visit the United States Military Academy at West Point.  Its grounds and structures on 3,000 acres impressively stand on high cliffs over-looking the Hudson River where it was built in 1802. We took a two- hour bus and walking tour,  and not only saw and toured a number of its buildings and Military Museum, but also visited its Cemetery, where we viewed the headstones of many military persons of note. We also had the wonderful experience of hearing the Main Chapel’s organ being played, whose sound truly fits the definition of the over-used word, “AWESOME”!

 

6/9/15

Though today’s weather forecast predicted the possibility of storms, we made the early morning decision to move north to Kingston anyway.  George started up our engines at 5:50 a.m., and we ran “Reflection” at 15 knots with the current with us most of the way, and arrived at Kingston City Marina at 9:20 a.m. – a trip of 55 miles.  Having the ability to run faster than our usual “trawler speed” of 8 knots can frequently be a blessing, especially in great river conditions when you are trying to avoid some possibly bad weather, which we did!