SMALL TOWNS CHARM

 We are very much enjoying our stops along Lake Huron. It is way less developed than Lake Erie, and Lake St. Clair . Our first stop was Harbor Beach, middle of no where, but oh so quiet at night and the stars were magnificent!From there we continued to Harrisville.....a small town stereotype. Friendly people that love where they live, well kept modest houses , and a highlight of theirs is to walk the docks in the harbour, have and ice cream cone in the evening and look at boats and the lake.

We walked into the one dinner restaurant in town... Shotmakers. It was full of locals on a friday night. We sat at the bar, and instantly became engaged in talking to the people sitting at the bar. It was so much fun. We heard lots of local stories.

Next stop was Presque Isle. In the midst of wilderness, with no wifi, and lots of small fishing boats. We are so far north, that the sun doesn't set until 9:45 and rises at 5:30. Everyone is truly up at the crack of dawn.

Last night we arrive to Cheybogen MI. We were met at the dock by boating friends from home, June and Tim Schnieder. We had a great steak dinner on their boat and shared lots of sea stories. We are still in port today due to high winds and rain.

GETTING A RIDE TO WALMART WITH JUNE AND TIM SCHNEIDER ON THEIR RV IN CHEYBOYGEN MI

(boating friends that also live near us in Texas)

PUSHING FORWARD EACH DAY

Since the last post, we've been to Erie,PA.....wild and crazy marina on a wknd, Mentor, OH.....nice and quiet, Put In Bay ,OH...a really fun time with friends Greg and Sue, Jefferson Beach Marina in St. Clair Shores....another wild and crazy place on a wknd, Gross Pointe Yacht Club for an evening with long ago friends, Rob and Vanessa.....afternoon by the pool and a trip up to THE OLD CLUB on Harsens Island on their friends gorgeous boat, St. Clair, MI....quiet, and tonight Port Huron, MI waiting out very strong winds from the North and mega waves. Hoping to head up Lake Huron tomorrow. Hoping for calmer weather.

FIRST STOP IN PUT IN BAY....GREAT MOJITO

WELCOME TO DETROIT MI/WINDSOR CANADA

MAY FLIES COVERED EVERYTHING

WE THOUGHT WE WERE IN THE CARIBBEAN IN PUT IN BAY

GREG AND SUE'S PLANE, THEY FLEW IN FROM OHIO

MEDINA, TONAWANDA, BUFFALO NEW YORK

 Had great stays at the above towns . Medina was quiet, Tonawanda was lively, and the Erie Basin by Buffalo was filled with many, many boats.... we literally rocked..........................not a good thing.

TONAWANDA CASTLE

WE SAW HUNDREDS OF GEESE FAMILIES

THE PARENTS ALWAYS ARE IN FRONT AND BEHIND THEIR BABIES

ONE OF THE MANY LIFT BRIDGES ALONG THE CANAL

BRIDGE OPERATOR HOPS IN HIS CAR TO GO BETWEEN BRIDGES

CRUISING DOWN THE NIAGRA RIVER TO LAKE ERIE

                                 

                                  SERIES OF SCENIC BRIDGES ALONG THE CANAL

6 NIGHTS IN NEWARK NY

 So....as luck would have it, Lock 29 continued to be an issue with very shallow water. There were severe depth issues due to a stream between the old canal and the new Erie canal. A dam between the two, collapsed.We finally ventured after two "canary" boats left yesterday and made it through,

Tonight we are tied up  on the lock 33 wall just west of Pittsford , NY. Once again, all is good. Many of the pictures below are compliments of Mr. Erie Canal, Bob Stopper. A friend to all doing the Loop.

Sadly, the Erie Canal is showing its age,having been around since 1817. The locks and their mechanisms are regularly failing. Every day another issue pops up somewhere. It's such a priceless historical attraction. We feel fortunate to be experiencing it.

                                               ENTERING THE LOCK FROM HELL #29

                                                MY CAPTAIN AND HIS FIRST MATE RELAXING AFTER A                                                                                           ROUGH DAY

                                              

                                                OUR WALK HOME FROM THE GROCERY 

                                                STORE ALONG THE ERIE CANAL PATH

                             TYPICAL CANAL BOAT REPLICA THAT YOU CAN RENT

NEWARK  HAD ALL SORTS OF BEAUTIFUL MURALS AROUND THE WATERFRONT                                                                DEPICTING THE CANAL HISTORY

                                           ACTUAL ORIGINAL LOCK

STUCK!!!!

 As luck would have it, there a a few malfunctions at some of the Locks. This will be our 3rd night in Newark, NY. It's pouring down rain today, in the low 40's and no where to go by boat. We are hoping things improve soon, We've got plenty to do for a couple more days, and there are restaurants, walking trails and grocery stores nearby. We are fine, but raring to go.

ADVENTURE CONTINUES WESTERN ERIE CANAL MAY26,2021

We left Winter Harbour to Lock 23. It was a gorgeous and relaxing day.

That evening we tied up to the lock wall at May's Point. Pastoral, rural setting with lots of area to walk Rusty.

May 27,2021 we continued west to lock 28B, when the lockmaster told us that the 2 locks ahead were temporarily closed. We spent the night tied up in Newark, NY...a delightful stop! Had all the amenties and FREE.

Yes, ice cream steps away from KNOTUGAL! Guess what we do every night ???

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

 Evidently, I haven't posted in a LONG time! I am going to start up again.

In June 2019, We left our boat at Atlantic Yacht Basin  in Norfolk to be stored until summer 2020. Starting July 2020, we left AYB to head North. We had an uneventful but great trip, stopping at:

Hampton Roads, VA

Deltaville, VA

Solomons, MD

Annapolis, MD

St.Michaels, MD

Rock Hall, MD

Chesapeake City, MD

Cape May, NJ

Mannessquan,NJ

NYC,NY

Croton on the Hudson, NYKingston,NY

New Baltimore. NY

Waterford, NY

Schnectady, NY

Utica,NY

Brewerton NY

This was the farthest we have traveled north so far. We had had a lot of apprehension for the Delaware Bay, going on the Atlantic around NJ and through NYC. Happy to say it all went perfectly and was a fabulous trip. We arrived at Winter Harbour Brewerton NY early August 2020. Having completed the Eastern portion of the Erie Canal, we left our boat in heated storage until May 2021. BTW, we had no problems with covid related issues.