Thursday, 17 August 2017

Upper New York State

Saturday, after our exciting day in Syracuse we had a lazy day in Baldwinsville, N.Y. We walked over to the Ace Hardware store because Bob and I needed some supplies.  In particular I needed some washers which I swear are made of a material my Dad referred to as Bakelite for the port over the galley that would not stay open.  A quick Google search reveals that Bakelite was an early plastic developed in 1907 and used for its electrical non-conductivity and heat resistant properties, neither of which seem relevant to a port.  Anyway, Ace didn't have Bakelite washers but did have fibre washers that worked just fine thank you!  To reward ourselves for walking to the hardware store we stopped at WT Brews, a local B'ville craft brewery.  If you haven't noticed, we are really enjoying sampling the craft brews at each new town we visit!  After dinner Sheila and Bob came over and we played Bananagram ... the girls put the boys to shame.

Sunday we motored to Brewerton, located on the west side of Oneida Lake.  We arrived early afternoon and walked into town, looked in a couple of "Antique" (junk) shops and at the blockhouse Brewerton's first settler Oliver Stevens built in 1794. We then repaired to the Waterfront Tavern patio for beers (surprised?). We had to celebrate Bob and Sheila being off the dock for one month. Any excuse!


The docks we were on were quite a tourist attraction so we spoke to several families about where we were from and where we are going.


Entering Oneida Lake
Monday morning we left for a long day of crossing Oneida Lake and then continuing down the canal to Utica.   Thankfully Oneida Lake, although a little windier and rougher than forecast, didn't cause any problems for Her Diamond or Trekker.  It was pretty late when we got into Utica so except for Sheila, no one was keen on exploring. Sheila was up bright and early Tuesday and discovered Utica's Union Station which, judging by her pictures was quite spectacular.  Lesson learned ...


Entering one of the "up" locks
Tuesday we had a short trip with two locks to Little Falls N.Y.  The only real excitement on the trip was that a dredge was working just west of Lock 18.  The captain gave us explicit instructions to stay close by his pontoons and keep any marks to port, and we made it by uneventfully.  The geography has become much more interesting with the foothills of the Adirondacks pushing up around us.


Adirondacks with the Erie Canal in the foreground

Little Falls is hailed by Skipper Bob as one of the nicest stops on the  canal. Certainly it's terminal building and harbour master Mark were fantastic! Mark drove us around town and pointed out historic landmarks and scenic views like that above.

Wednesday we stayed to do some shopping and in the afternoon Karen and I went to the local museum and browsed Canal Place, a couple of restored mills full of "antiques". We went to dinner with Sheila and Bob at the Copper Moose Brewery whose owner gave us a ride back to the harbour.  Another example of how considerate Upper New York State folks are.  Back at the harbour terminal building we played Euchre. So far 2 for the boys and 2 for the girls!

Next stop Amsterdam!

2 comments:

  1. So great! Amazing how generous and kind the people you are meeting are! I love that the Harbour master gave you a tour and the brewery owner gave you a ride back to harbour!

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  2. And we should have given thanks to Captain Cantankerous Dick who keeps his boat on the canal in Fairport and gave us a ride to Wegmans and back and took Bob to get diesel fuel!

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