Cumberland River to Nashville, Sept 10 - 19, 2019

On Tuesday, Sept 10 we left Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, heading up the Cumberland River on our way to Nashville.  Our first day was a 60 mile cruise to an anchorage.  Jeff had an anchorage picked out.  At 4:00 we were heading into the anchorage, Barbie was at the helm.  There was indication on the chart that a shallow place was in the middle of the anchorage but it looked like it could be avoided.  However, Barbie went aground.  Jeff used the engines and maneuvered us off after about 10 minutes of being stuck in the mud.

We left that anchorage.  Jeff saw another possible anchorage on the chart at river mile 80.2.  However, he went aground again and put our engines in reverse to back out.  This time the propellers  sounded like they were hitting gravel rocks.  Jeff put the dinghy down to try and tow us off.  However, the boat was stuck too firmly and finally Jeff quit when the tow line got caught around the dinghy prop.  At this point he called TowBoat US for an emergency tow.

Five minutes later, a large tug and tow came past us.  Barbie said, maybe the wake will get us of the ground.  Jeff was skeptical, but as the wake rocked us, we did get free.  We started the engine and were back on our way at 4:40 PM.  We were very grateful and called TowBoat US to cancel the emergency request.

We went another 10 miles and anchored behind Dover Island at Dover TN.  This was a beautiful anchorage - easy to get in and fantastic holding ground. The town is a stop for a Riverboat which we saw as we went by.

Riverboat at Dover, TN

It turned out to be a lovely anchorage all night.  The current, of about 2 miles an hour, kept us pointed up stream.  The temperature was 83 and partly cloudy.  We enjoyed a dinner of pork chops aboard Aisling Gheal.  We slept very well.

The next day we went 37 miles to Clarksville, Tennessee.  Because of flooding that had happened in the spring, the entrance to the marina had shoaled.  Barbie kept very close to some "lily pad" fountain heads in the channel and we did not go aground.  Once past the opening it opened up to a lovely marina with a depth of 8 feet.  It was very hot, 94, we were glad to have AC.  Rick, the dock master, was very helpful.  The walk from the marina to grass was quite long and up a very steep incline.  When I told him we had two old dogs, he got us a cart so that we could transport the dogs from the boat to grass.  We rented a car in Clarksville and spent the next day exploring and eating at a lovely brewery.

Clarksville TN Marina

The next day, Friday, September 13, we cruised 43 miles to the Commodore Yacht Club in Nashville, Tennessee.  It was HOT - 93 - when we arrived.  We turned on the AC and rented a car.  We went to a restaurant that was close and Jeff thought it had good food.  As we entered the restaurant, Barbie noticed the smell of cigarette smoke and thought, "I haven't smelled cigarette smoke in a restaurant for a long time.  I guess we're in the South".  We sat at a table, ordered our food.  After our food came the people at the table behind us, started smoking.  It was unpleasant and the food wasn't that great.  After we finished our meal and were about to leave, the people behind us must have finished their meal and lit up an after dinner cigarette.  Barbie noticed that they would take a puff on their cigarette and then blow the smoke up so it did not interfere with them, but blew back on us!   Jeff looked up the Tennessee law about smoking in restaurants.  If the restaurant has a sign that says:   MUST BE 21 to ENTER that means there can be smoking inside.  After this experience we started noticing if there was a sign as we entered.  If there was, we did not go in that restaurant.

In TN this sign means the patrons can SMOKE!

On Saturday we visited a quilt shop and found the house at 3808 Nebraska Ave, where we had lived 40+ years ago.  When we lived in the house, it had a grate in the floor in the middle of the house that had the furnace below it in the basement.  This was Barbie's first experience of living outside of Boulder, Colorado.  We moved there in January of 1971 and moved to Towson, Maryland, in August of 1973.  After the first winter with ice storms, Barbie did not want to live where there were ice storms.  After the first summer, Barbie did not want to live where there was heat and humidity.  We got both in Maryland, but it wasn't as hot plus we started sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.  The house on Nebraska Ave looked as if it had been remodeled with new windows and probably AC.  It was a very nice brick house.

Our first house while Jeff was a graduate student

Sunday was our day to visit Vanderbilt University where Jeff did his undergraduate and graduate work and Barbie worked as the librarian in the Biology Department.  There were a lot of changes on the campus and the Biology building had been completely rebuilt.  Jeff tried to locate his mail box where he received letters from Barbie, but that was all changed.

Visiting Vanderbilt University after 50 years

We also drove past St. Thomas Hospital where Emily was born.  It was totally changed.  We were going to go to some downtown breweries for lunch, but we would have had to pay $12.00 to park.  We went back out into the suburbs and ate.

St Thomas Hospital where Emily was born 1972

We cruised back to Clarksville on Monday and enjoyed another meal at the brewery.  Tuesday we got the oil changed in the engines and Barbie did the laundry, which we do about every two weeks.  Again, the employees were wonderful.  Before we left on Wednesday we got a pump out.  We cruised to the same anchorage by Dover Island.  It was hot - 91.  Since we were anchored we had to run the generator if we wanted to use the AC.  We were able to run the generator for several hours before it stopped.  By this time the temperature was cooler outside. We opened up the companion way and hundreds of mayflies were all over the electronic screen.  They also started coming in the boat.

At anchor, swarms of Mayflies were attracted to our lights

We quickly closed the the companion way door and kept the hatches closed.  Luckily the AC had cooled the boat enough and the outside temperature was cooler so we were not too uncomfortable.  Jeff and Barbie had never seen a swarm of mayflies before.  They are related to dragonflies and live in the adult stage for only 24 - 36 hours.  They are attracted to light.  They do not bite or sting people.  The next morning Jeff swept up thousands of dead bodies that were on the deck and the cockpit. 

Mayflies were attracted to the anchor light

Thursday, Sept. 19 we cruised back to Green Turtle Bay Marina.  We took the golf cart shuttle to town and enjoyed dinner at the local restaurant.  The next morning Jeff spent several hours getting all of the mayflies off the roof of the cockpit and the boat and washing the boat.  The mayflies had been attracted to the anchor light we had when anchored at Dover Island. They were inches thick.  

Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland Rivers, August 30 - Sept. 9, 2019

From  the Illinois river, we had reached the Mississippi river at Grafton, Illinois on August 29.  We stayed one day and moved on 15 miles to Alton, Illinois, where we stayed several days to sight-see.  Alton is the closest marina to the St. Louis Arch since St Louis does not have a pleasure boat marina. We rented a car and enjoyed going to breweries and quilt shops in the area.

Both Jeff and I knew that the St. Louis Arch existed but after watching some YouTubes we learned a lot more about it.  The design had been chosen from a competition among architects held in 1945, but the actual building of the arch did not start until February 12, 1963.  It was completed on October 28, 1965. Like the construction of the Erie Canal, engineers had to solve many construction difficulties.  We were impressed that not ONE person lost their life in the construction of the arch.  We enjoyed watching this video on YouTube which is a one hour documentary about the Gateway Arch.

We went to the Arch on the evening of Memorial Day and it was not crowded. We made our reservation to go up the arch just before sunset so that we could see the sunset.  It was lovely to be that high in the arch at that time to observe the sunset.

Sunset from the Arch

Barbie taking pictures of sunset from the top of the Arch

Mississippi River and south leg of the Arch

At the quilt shop, Dora's Spinning Wheel, in Alton, Illinois, Barbie met the owner and learned that the owner's father had worked on the building of the arch.  He also was in some of the footage of the video shown at the Arch.  The mid 1960's had many good things accomplished in the United States: building and completing the St. Louis Arch, February. 12, 1963 - October 28, 1965, the signing of the Civil Rights Act, July 2, 1964, and landing on the moon, July 20, 1969.  

We began our journey down the Mississippi River on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 am and we were in the first lock at 7:20 am. Today we were going to go 84 miles.  We usually went 40 - 60 miles in a day.  

We cruised past the St. Louis Arch and tugs with barges.  There was a lot of commercial traffic near St. Louis.

Passing the St Louis Gateway Arch

The Mississippi River is a big river.  The Missouri and the Illinois Rivers join the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois.  With the currents from these other two rivers the Mississippi becomes the "Mighty" Mississippi.  We were given an nice 5 miles per hour push from the current.  Many places we saw and experienced the whirl pools and eddies of the river.  The river has many wide places but also meanders and has rather narrow places. 

Upper Mississippi River with our anchorage at Mile 21

Again, we were very glad to have A.I.S. (Automatic Identification System) so that we could see, on our navigational charts, the tugs with barges coming toward us up the river and ones that we were approaching and going to pass going down river.  We often contacted the tug by name and asked the captain if they would like a one whistle pass (I intend to keep you on my port, left, side) or a two whistle pass (I intend to  keep you on my starboard, right, side). 

We had two locks on this first day.  We were able to get into both locks without a long delay.  We used floating bollards that were in the lock to put our lines around.  Barbie always is at the helm and Jeff gets the line around the bollard from a midships cleat.  

We were traveling at 13 miles over the ground due to the push of the current of the Mississippi River.  We were tied up at the Kaskaskia River Lock wall by 3:05. We went 84 miles plus two locks in 6 1/2 hours.  It was very hot.  Supper was grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and boiled potatoes.  

We tied up to the Kaskaskia Dam just one mile off the Mississippi River

The second day on the Mississippi River we started cruising at 8:30 am.  We went through a whirlpool that sent the boat 45 degrees off course.  We had to follow a slow tug and barge system for 3 miles to a bridge before it was safe to pass.  This barge system was large -- 
5 barges wide by 6 barges long.  

At 3:45 we anchored at mile 21 (21 miles above where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi).  We anchored between two wing dams. Wing dams are jettys of rocks under the water and perpendicular to the shore to slow the current down.  It was a very pleasant anchorage and we were out of the way of the tugs and barges, but not their wakes, which didn't bother us.  This was a 98 mile day.  The push from the Mississippi River really helped us get down the river.  We had no locks this day. We only have 21 more miles on the Mississippi then we turn onto the Ohio River.  

The anchorage on the Mississippi river -- quiet except for the current!

Friday, September 6, was our third day on the Mississippi River.  We started cruising by 8:45 with a temperature of 74 degrees.  Barbie missed the cool temperatures of the summer in Canada when the high for the day was 74 or 78.  

We turned onto the Ohio River at 10:00 near Cairo, Illinois.  Since the Ohio is joining the Mississippi and the current of the Ohio is going into the Mississippi the navigational aids become red on our right (returning) and green on our left.  Just before we turned off the Mississippi River we were cruising at 14.3 miles per hour over the ground.  Once we turned into the Ohio, going up stream and against the current our SOG (Speed Over the Ground) went down to 8.5 miles per hour. 

The point where we reached the Ohio River blue water ahead

The wind was behind us pushing us but the current was against us,  but this condition still allowed our ride to be comfortable.  After about an hour we came to the Olmstead Lock.  We ended up waiting almost three hours for the lock.  It was a difficult and stressful three hours.  We tried to anchor but it was too deep and not good holding ground.  Barbie used the engines to keep the boat headed into the wind and waves.  However that meant the current was pushing us away from the lock so she had to keep going in reverse a little and try to keep heading into the waves.  

When we first got to the lock at 11:45, Barbie went below to make lunch and let Jeff steer.  Within minutes the boat was rocking from side to side and food and dishes were sliding making it impossible to prepare salads.  Barbie came back up to the helm and lunch was put on hold until finally at 2:40 we were in the lock with a tug and barge.  The temperature was 91 degrees. 

Olmstead Lock and Dam on the Ohio River before Paducah, KY

At 6:05 pm we were approaching the last bridge to Paducah, KY.  We were tided to the slip with engines off at 6:35.  The temperature was 91 degrees.  The dock is a floating dock.  The poles are three feet diameter!  You can see that they have had water to within 10 feet of the top.  The water is very low at this time, 15.5 on the river gauge.    However, February 2019 it had reached 53 feet!

The Paducah Transient Docks where we stayed three days

Taking the dogs for a walk

The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY

We visited the famous fabric store Hancock's of Paducah.  Barbie has ordered fabric from this business.  When she visited it she resisted the urge to buy any fabric.  There was just too much to try and choose only a few fabrics. 

The famous fabric store, Hancock's of Paducah

We were at the point where the Tennessee river joins the Ohio River.   From this point, the Tennessee river runs about 648 miles to Knoxville.   Jeff felt like he had "made it safely home" since he was born and grew up in Tennessee.  He now felt that since we had made it through the Mississippi River we could relax and go slower.  We ended up staying in Paducah for three nights.  We rented a car and visited several breweries and quilt shops. We also went to a farmer's market on Saturday morning.  

On Monday, Sept. 9 we traveled 34 miles from Paducah to Grand Rivers, Kentucky.  We were going into the current instead of being pushed by the current.  We also had about a 30 minute wait at the lock. There was very little pleasure craft vessels and only one tug and barge the whole day.  We were missing the cooler weather of Canada and Michigan where the high never was above 80.  We were now experiencing temperatures in the mid 90's.  

Illinois River August 23 -29, 2019

We have been anticipating (and Barbie has been worrying about) cruising on the inland rivers with the tugs and barges.  One barge is 200 feet long and 35 feet wide.  The barges are tied together, making a tow of 5 barges long and 3 barges wide, being pushed by a tug that is 65 feet long and 35 feet wide. Since they are so big they have very little maneuverability.  When Jeff found out about AIS  (Automatic Identification System) he immediately wanted to get it so that the tugs could see us and we could see them around the corner.  All commercial vessels are required to have AIS.  Pleasure Craft (PC) are not required to have AIS.  The AIS gives the name of the vessel, the width and length of the vessel, and the speed over the ground and other information.

Example AIS plot -- approaching hidden barge

In the 1800's, as Chicago grew into a large city, they had a problem with the garbage and sewage that they were dumping into the Chicago River.  It was polluting the source of their drinking water, Lake Michigan.  In 1892-1900  the Chicago River was dug deeper, reversing the flow of water so that it no longer drained into Lake Michigan. This formed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and opened the way for ships to navigate from the Great Lakes through the inland rivers.

On Friday, August 23, we left our marina in Chicago and within just a few minutes we were in the first lock that lifts you from Lake Michigan into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Lock from Lake Michigan to Chicago River

Chicago New East Side

Lake Street as we continue through Chicago

Going through Chicago was very interesting and luckily uneventful.  Within two hours of leaving our slip we were out of Chicago and going down the Illinois River.  We started at mile 319 and would travel all 319 miles to the Mississippi River.

About 2 hours down the Illinois River we saw a tug and barge.  We passed our first tug and barge with no problem.  Then we saw that the river was blocked by a barge going across the full width of the river.  Since we had AIS, Jeff knew the name of the tug and called them.  The captain told us that two barges had gotten loose and he'd have them under control soon, so come on down.  We started down and then noticed a tug coming in from a side harbor.  Jeff called this tug.  It turned out there were a total of three tugs involved. Eventually a tug captain asked us to duck in behind a space between barges on the side of the canal and wait until the barges and tugs got sorted out.  It took about an hour, but finally we were told it was safe to pass.  We untied from the barge and followed a tug.  However, we noticed a PC (Pleasure Craft) coming towards us at a fast speed.  This reckless PC  passed us causing a big wake.  Barbie steered through it, but was not happy.

Tied up to a barge to escape danger -- see video below

Video of the tug and barges passing

The US Army Corps of Engineers is currently in the process of upgrading several of the Illinois River locks. These locks are being worked on during the day which stops ALL traffic, but the locks open during the night for barge and pleasure craft to lock through.   Since barges have priority, the pleasure craft are given only two times to lock through -- 7:00 PM and 5:00 AM

Therefore, we had to be ready to navigate the river at night, in darkness.  We had often navigated at night in previous boats but never in Aisling Gheal.  We got through the first lock by 9:00 pm. Jeff sat on the bow with a strong flashlight looking for the channel buoys and Barbie was at the helm.  We used our "ears" (walkies talkies) to communicate to each other.  It was a anxious but uneventful passage.  We anchored out of the channel just before the next lock that would open at 5:00 am.  Jeff kept awake most of the night making sure we were out of the channel and that the anchor (or chain) held us.  At 4:30 we got busy pulling up the anchor and getting to the lock.  When we exited the lock it was still dark.  Again we had to navigate with Jeff on the bow communicating to Barbie at the helm.  We had a beautiful sunrise.

Night-time locking was necessary because of construction

Dawn after navigating the river at night

A third lock was also having construction work done. We called the lock keeper and he told us to wait over in the pool away from the lock.  We got over there and anchored, not knowing how long the wait would be. We waited a total of three hours while a tug and tow had to be locked through separately.  A second tug had to be called to help stabilize the tow while its tug was locking through.  When we finally were called to enter the lock, there was a loud noise of jack-hammers demolishing some of the old concrete and the lock grounds were a total mess with construction materials.

We had pleasant docking in Joliet where the town dock was free and close to the Mygrain Brewery.  In Peoria we rented a car and got the laundry done and found three very nice brewpub restaurants. 

After the 319 miles on the Illinois River, we arrived at Grafton, Illinois where we entered the Mississippi river. We stayed at Grafton Marina one night then we moved 15 miles to Alton, Illinois where we stayed several nights. We rented a car to visit St Louis since there are no marinas there.

South Haven to Chicago, beginning of The Rivers

We need to write the blog that highlights our travels in Canada and to Lake Michigan.  However, this blog will start at our last stop on Lake Michigan and our adventures through today, August 21 - 23.

We have had a wonderful time cruising down the west side of Lake Michigan.  On Thursday, August 21, we decided, after getting out of our slip in South Haven and starting cruising south, that the wind and waves were favorable to cruise across the lake from South Haven to Chicago.  It was a fairly comfortable cruise and Barbie even played Irish flute for about an hour.

80 mile passage across Lake Michigan

After 6 hours of cruising and 54 miles, we could see the skyline of Chicago about 10 miles away.  We were surprised that we did not have phone or internet coverage until we were about 7 miles from Chicago.  All through rural Canada and the west side of Lake Michigan we had coverage.

Landfall at Chicago

We stayed two nights in DuSable Marina which is close to Navy Pier.  We were very close to the skyscraper residence buildings in Chicago's New East Side.  We experienced cultural shock after we tied up in our marina. All of the tall buildings and traffic was very different than the small towns we had been in for two months. 

That evening we took a walk to a grocery store which was only a block away.   However, because of the three dimensional nature of the neighborhood, we had to walk through tunnels under construction, ascend stairs, navigate through parks, and finally arrive at a the Mariano's grocery.  That store, too, was arranged vertically.   After finding the upstairs, we had a much needed meal at their hot foods area.

DuSable Marina with Navy Pier in background

The next day we took an Uber to Ballast Point Brewery for lunch.  Then we took an Uber to Navy Pier, where we enjoyed a theater production of Wizard of Oz at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Uber ride to Ballast Point Brewery

Chicago Shakespeare production of Wizard of Oz

That evening we had a lovely sunset dinner in the Cite Restaurant on the 70th floor of Lake Point Tower on Navy Pier and we rode the Centennial Ferris Wheel on Navy Point.

View of marina from Cite Restaurant

We were served Bananas Foster at Ceti Restaurant 

Gorgeous sunset view from the restaurant

Evening ride on the Centennial Wheel

We enjoyed our two nights and one day in Chicago.  Friday morning we left the Marina by 9:15 and were on our way to experience the locks and rivers of Illinois.  Our first lock was a little bit stressful since the wind was blowing and the line to hold was very short.  We did make it through the lock and began going on the Chicago River through downtown Chicago.  We had a few commercial boats but it was just like staying in line with a car during rush hour traffic. 

Chicago harbor lock - bouncy from wind and wave action

New East Side from the Chicago River

Passing under Dearborn St

Looking up at Marina City 1967 iconic buildings

Lake Street with Elevated Train

Once out of Chicago we enjoyed the Illinois River. Parts of the river are very rural with trees lining the river.  Parts went past stinky petrochemical terminals where they load barges.  There was very little wave action compared to being on the Lake Michigan.

Very busy barge terminal near Lemont, IL

However, just after lunch, as were going past barges full of gravel or sand we noticed a barge and tug that was crosswise in the river and blocking the river.  Jeff radioed the tug and we were told that two barges had gotten loose but they would have them under control soon.  Then we saw another tug coming out of a side channel.  At this point we could see from our AIS several tugs that were moving.  It turned out that we were told to tuck in between moored barges and wait for one tug to pass us and then follow another tug going our direction.  We were having to use our engines to try and stay put with the wind and the current pushing us.  Eventually we tied to one of the stationary barges.

Tied up to a barge waiting for traffic

We waited for barge traffic to pass

It was a bit stressful, but Barbie was doing a good job of avoiding the wall and the barges and the tug. There were three tugs and several barges that were involved and three PC (Pleasure Crafts) staying out of the way.  It was getting all sorted out, Barbie was following one of the tugs when another PC was coming toward the tugs, barges and the other PC.  This PC was coming fast and causing a large wake.  He did NOT slow down and passed us and gave us a wake.  This was a very exciting and stressful 30 - 45 minutes.  We came out of it OK but it did give us some excitement.

Descending in Lockport Lock near Joliet IL

The next lock we went through was very uneventful although it is about 40 feet deep.  After getting through the lock we had less than five miles to go to the free Joliet City wall.  We enjoyed a lovely diner at the MyGrain Brewery.

Joliet IL -- Mygrain Brewery at Union Station

Tomorrow we will travel about 40 miles and go through 2 locks to Spring Brook Marina near the first of the two locks that are under construction with long delays.

Erie Canal to Oswego NY June 17 - July 3 2019

After our Grandkids left on Sunday, June 16, it was much quieter and a little bit lonesome.  We returned the rental car, left Brockport, NY and navigated to Fairport.  It was nice to return to the places that we had visited before.  Fairport businesses are very close to the canal so we walked everywhere. We discovered an ice cream shop named Moonlight Ice Cream and also the public library. Barbie enjoys looking through public libraries and seeing children's books.

Ice Cream in Fairport, NY

Tuesday, June 18, was a day of work on things that needed doing.  Jeff had the lovely job of working on finding out why our head (toilet in landlubbers terms) was having difficulties.  Both Jeff and Barbie worked on paying bills.  Even when traveling, once in a while, bills and maintenance must be done.

So far we were re-tracing our steps to places we had already visited earlier this year or last year.    Wednesday, June 19, we were on our way to Seneca Falls, which is a new stop for us.  We had to go through Lock 1 on the Cayuga/Seneca Canal.  Last year when we went through this lock Jeff watched the sky and clouds.  As we left he told Barbie where to steer so that he was able to drop anchor and get it set before a thunderstorm and winds of 45 miles per hour hit.  This year was very uneventful.  We continued on to Seneca Falls and tied up on the town wall.  Summer was finally arriving with a temperature in low 80s.

Church at Seneca Falls, NY

We stayed in Seneca Falls for several days exploring the area. We discovered several very interesting things that happened in Seneca Falls. On July 19, 1848 the first Women's rights convention was held organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and abolitionist Lucretia Mott.   Right across the river from where we were docked is the 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill.  During the Civil War 9,000 pairs of wool socks were made there daily.  The company refused to buy cotton from the slave states.  This building is being restored by the National Women's Hall of Fame to become the Center for Great Women in Seneca Falls, NY.

Seneca Falls, NY Knitting Mill

Another interesting thing was that Seneca Falls was the inspiration for the town in the movie "It's A Wonderful Life".

The movie was based on places in Seneca Falls, NY

On Friday, June 21, we enjoyed the Seneca Falls Community Band Concert in the park. that was a very short walk from our mooring in Seneca Falls.  

Concert in the Park -- Seneca Falls Community Band

Hans and Greta at the Community Band Concert

When we tie up in the evening there are two things that Barbie and Jeff enjoy looking for:  Jeff enjoys going to breweries and Barbie enjoys going to quilt shops.  If we plan to stay at a place for several days we often rent a car to explore.  Other times we explore with our small electric-assist bicycles.  When we were in Seneca Falls we rented a car for.  We discovered a wonderful Mennonite market that had a restaurant as well as many baked items and unusual canned items.  We found small sweet pickled beets. Barbie has added these to our salads and it is delicious.  We also visited many breweries since Seneca Falls is near the Finger Lakes, a region known for it's wineries and breweries.

On Saturday, June 22 we drove to a park in Ithaca, NY and helped Delight and Jim Scouten celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  There was lots of food, friends of Delight and Jim, and their children, Edith and George and his family.

Jim and Delight cutting their cake.

Delight and Barbara

On our way to the celebration we stopped at two quilt shops.  Barbie is doing the annual Row by Row, but also buying three different fabrics at the quilt shops and planning to make a quilt using the fabric.  Jeff usually buys beer at the breweries.  The boat is getting a collection of fabric and beer.  However, Jeff does drink the beer, but the fabric stays on the boat, waiting to be made into a quilt.  Barbie did bring a Singer Featherweight sewing machine and last year made a quilt top.

We returned the rental car and left Seneca Falls on Monday, June 24th.  We were planning to cruise two days and arrive at Oswego, NY marina where we would pick up mail and packages and have the oil in our two engines changed.  Oswego is on the shores of Lake Ontario.  When the weather was good we would cruise across Lake Ontario to Picton, Ontario, Canada.

However, the weather had different plans.  Areas near Oswego experienced up to three inches of rain on Thursday, June 20.  This meant the rivers going into the Erie canal were running high which made the Erie canal high.  We hadn't noticed any rise in the water at Seneca Falls and didn't think much about the heavy rain when we decided to leave on Monday, June 24.  We navigated through the lock at Seneca Falls and continued on our way to the lock at the beginning of the Cayuga/Seneca Canal,  When we got there we discovered that the canal was closed due to heavy and high flow of water from the storm of Thursday, June 20.  We had to wait behind Lock 1 for 5 nights.  The lockmaster did unlock an electrical station so we had electricity.

Cayuga/Seneca Lock 1 waiting 5 days

We were able to rent a car and drove to Oswego to get our mail and also stopped at a quilt shop on the way.  We also discovered there was a community band concert in the park so had supper at a local brewery and enjoyed the concert.

Oswego Community Band Concert

On Thursday, June 27, we drove to Auburn, NY which is known as the Prison City because the State penitentiary is there. The local brewery is called Prison City Brewery.  Their food was excellent.  We also stopped at a quilt shop.

Delicious Salad at Prison City Brewery 

We returned the rental car on Friday, since Enterprise is not able to bring us back to our boat on the weekend.  Friday we just stayed on the boat and did jobs.

The canal locks that we needed to go through to cruise to Oswego finally opened on Saturday, June 29.  We noticed more current before and after the locks as the rivers and dams near the locks were higher and faster than usual.  Barbie kept the speed up and steered madly through the current.  The experiences of last summer helped her know to keep speed up for efficient steering.

We stayed one night a Phoenix and had a wonderful dinner at the Lock One distillery.  They made a pizza coil and lollipop drumsticks which were excellent.

The next day we traveled through 7 locks and Barbie did an excellent job backing into the slip at the Oswego Marina.  We spent a few days in Oswego and enjoyed riding our bikes on a rail trail that went over the canal and river.

Rail-trail over the Oswego River

This was the end of our cruising time on the Erie Canal and we prepared to cross Lake Ontario for over a month of cruising in Canada before returning to USA.