Good bye Erie ... Hello Hudson!

It's hard to believe that we have actually completed the Erie Canal. I'm sure we have talked enough about it that you know as much as we do about the canal. But I must say it truly is quite the engineering feat! It had 35 locks, is 340.7 miles long (more than 7 times the length of the Panama Canal), and we did it all!
The last few days on the canal were very pleasant. The scenery became very pretty,  with rolling hills and nice houses along the banks.
Amsterdam was a quick overnight stay at the tallest wall we have been on so far, so tall we had to climb up a ladder to get on shore. There was also the main train line going right beside the dock, so all night long I swore that there were freight trains going right through the cockpit. Not a good night!
It must be a Dutch area, as we passed by Rotterdam the next morning!
Our next stop was Schenectady, where we had made a reservation at the Schenectady Yacht Club.
We woke up to a grey morning and rain in the forecast. We did quite well going through most of the locks staying dry (7 in total), but of course it rained through the last lock and absolutely poured as we docked at the yacht club. We did note that with all the locks we have done over the two weeks it was the only one we did in the rain! Pretty good record I'd say!!
Hugh and I took an Uber into town and did a little sightseeing ... we even managed to find a brew pub!

Schenectady City Hall

I was very excited about getting to Schenectady as we had arranged with our daughter Alyssa and her boyfriend Steve to meet us there and go down to the end of the canal together. They arrived in good time Saturday morning and hopped onboard. Our journey for the day included 6 locks, five of which are called The Waterford Flight. This is a set of locks that drop 169 feet in five consecutive locks. We were surprised to learn that this is twice the lift of the Panama Canal! Once you go in the first one you don't stop until you reach the bottom. This takes about ninety minutes and we thought it would be a great adventure  for them, and it would nice to have some crew to help along the way too!

Luckily it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and we ventured off down the canal for a few miles and one small lock until we reached the flight. We had to wait for a little while until we could enter, and then we were off and running (so to speak!) It really is quite spectacular entering the first lock, overlooking the valley that we will be going down into. Each lock is about 34 feet down and the fifth one opens up to the town of Waterford and the merge of the Hudson River and Erie Canal.
After tying up along the Visitor Centre wall, we went up to sign in and get the key for the washroom and shower, only to find it closed!! At 3pm on a Saturday?? After asking a couple of people we found out that it is run by volunteers and she had gone home. We all walked into town, and went to look at the lock from the "other side"! 

Lock 2 control panel 

Luckily the lock master wasn't busy and gave us a short tour of the locking system, which is the original from 1900's. Amazing!

Lock 2 Gates 

After swizzles on board Trekker we had dinner at the only nice restaurant in town and then the kids got an Uber back to their car in Schenectady. Great day and so great to see them!
So now we are traveling down the Hudson River!

The Egg

Our first stop was Albany, capital of New York State. We stayed at the Albany Yacht club, and after settling in, we took an Uber with Bob and Sheila into downtown and the State Capital Mall area. Very impressive place, with beautiful buildings and the coolest concert theatre I have ever seen called The Egg! But since it was Sunday everything was closed, so unfortunately no tour of the beautiful State capital building. But we did manage to find a brew pub that was open!!

Hudson Athens Lighthouse

I will miss the calm, quiet, serenity of the the canal.
Now it becomes very interesting, and a little daunting, dealing with tides, current, salt water and traffic. And of course being a sailboat again, and sailing!
All new experiences again.
Our next big challenges will be putting our mast back up, and going into New York City Harbour. I hear it is very busy with barges, ferries and cruise ships. But going under the Statue of Liberty on our own boat will be very cool!!
Stay tuned as we continue our journey ... one day at a time!