Days 311 - 313 Oswego Marina  

Oswego, NY

Saturday, July 2 - Monday, July 4, 2011 

 When the water in the lock was lowered, we cleared this bridge

We put a line around the cable and tie the line back to the boat at midship to secure the boat during lockage.

Line around the cable and back to the boat

 Jeremiah ties to the lock cable

 Many canal walls show their age

 Along the Oswego Canal

 Canal runs on the upper level with the river below

 Lock #7 on the Oswego Canal

 Canal runs on the upper level with the river below

Last lock on the Oswego Canal looking at Lake Ontario

Docked at Oswego Marina

Sign over the entrance to Spencer's Ali

At Spencer's Ali with owner Robert, second from right

Entrance to Spencer's Ali

Linda on her bike in front of the Club House

All-American ribs and a flag for the 4th of July

We left Winter Harbor about 7:00.  With 8 locks we thought that it might be a long day.  It turned out to be even longer than expected since the seventh lock was not working correctly.  They had a limited number of openings per day, so we had to wait for more than 2 hours for a lockage.  Of course, in that time, the boats backed up so the lock was full when we finally went through.               

Oswego is located on Lake Ontario, and we positioned ourselves at Oswego Marina in order to wait for good weather to venture onto the lake.  

We walked to a nearby restaurant for appetizers and then to another restaurant for dinner.  We struck up a conversation with a group of people who turned out to be local residents.  When they heard our story about the great loop, Dave even offered to take us to the grocery store the next day!    What a guy! 

On Sunday morning at 10:30 he came with a car, took the guys to the store, and recommended a place to go for the Fourth of July celebration.  We all got on our bikes and rode downtown.  We had hot dogs while we watched the parade and then enjoyed a few beers at Spencer’s Ali, the place recommended by Dave.  It is a bar that is literally built in an alley next to the owner’s original (and ongoing) bar.   The owner Robert is a fun guy and generously gave us beers and can cozies.   We went back to the boats for an excellent dinner of grilled ribs, cole slaw, baked beans, and French bread.   The Oswego fireworks topped off our holiday celebration. 

We were up early on Monday morning and debated whether to go out on the lake.  The wind was up and the waves were 2 – 3 feet.  It wasn’t bad, but we couldn’t get a reservation in Sackets Harbor, so we decided to spend another day in Oswego.

        

 Total miles:    32      Total bridges:   16       Total locks:  8

Day 310 Winter Harbor Marina  

Brewerton, NY

Friday, July 1, 2011

Docked at Winter Harbor in Brewerton

Dream Catcher, Jeremiah, and Seamoore left Sylvan Beach about 7:00.  Oneida Lake was calm and beautiful. 

Winter Harbor Marina is a strong supporter of AGLCA so we wanted to be sure to support them in return.  It’s a beautifully landscaped marina, and they even offer courtesy cars which is extremely rare in this area.  The 6 of us took a car, stopped for lunch, and then headed to a Verizon store to get our services set up for Canada.  Were we in for a surprise.  The reps at the Verizon store told us that our 5GB data plan that we have for internet service in the U.S. will cost $10,000 per month if we use it in Canada.  Seriously.   Verizon charges $2 per MB in Canada, so 1 GB is over $2,000.  Once we arrive in Canada we will check on another plan.  We’ll try to use the WI-FI at marinas and restaurants.  We’ll have to work on it!             

 Total miles:  22.5        Total bridges:   5       Total locks:  0

Days 308 - 309      Mariners’ Marina  

Sylvan Beach, NY

Wednesday, June 29, - Thursday, June 30, 2011

Docked at Sylvan Beach

Lighthouse at Sylvan Beach

 We left the lock wall about 8:00 and arrived at Sylvan Beach about noon.   It was nice to only have 2 locks.   Sylvan Beach is the party place for the Fourth of July with lots of boats, restaurants, and even an amusement park on the waterfront.  We rode our bikes around town, enjoyed the restaurants, and checked out a huge car show.     

Due to windy weather, we decided to stay for 2 nights before crossing Oneida Lake.           

 Total miles:  24        Total bridges:   14       Total locks:  2

Day 307      Lock Wall Above Erie Lock #20  

Utica, NY

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

One of many control gates for water and winter ice on the Erie Canal

Guillotine lock gates are raised rather than hinged

Seamoore enters Lock #17 under the dripping guillotine gate

 Channel marker numbers are sometimes painted on the rocks

 One of numerous homes built on the canal wall



 Erie Canal

West Bound

Next Lock E-20 3.02 Miles

East Bound

Next Lock E-19 7.20 Miles

Docked at Lock #20 Wall

We waited for some repair parts to be delivered to Nauti Nell and did not leave the marina until 9:45.  We made it through another 5 locks and stopped at the lock wall above Lock #20 about 4:30.  We set a record for the number of bridges we passed under in one day.         

 Total miles:  36        Total bridges:   24       Total locks:  5