Friday – Day 42 – 9/12/08Today it rained and rained and then rained some more! Surprisingly it wasn’t a bad day on the canal. We only passed one boat going the opposite direction. It turned out that we actually enjoyed the rain pocked flat water that we quietly glided through. For those of you that have camped in a tent with rain continuously falling that was what we heard all day. The ducks loved it and other than getting a little wet while we locked through five sets of locks, we didn’t think it was so bad. We are now tied up in a location that is two locks away from entering the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, gateway to the Finger Lakes! Tomorrow - rain or shine we will move ahead. Every day we see more color in the foliage an indicator of what’s to come!
Typically we found a free place to tie up for the night at a small city dock in Lyons, NY. No water but two 30 amp circuits was furnished! A small sign at the dock asked that we check in at the fire department at street level which we did. We were then offered the use of their washer and dryer and shower and washroom facilities! Barb and I can’t get over the generosity and kindness of the people we have encountered on this canal. And of course, the locals recommended a very good restaurant for dinner.
As the rain stopped late in the afternoon a very large boat came along side ours, and I went out to help them tie up to the wall. For those who love boats this steel 40 ton sailing vessel is 68 feet long with a 17 foot beam. She does 7.5 knots using her 6 cylinder 100 hp Perkins diesel. The boat is being moved to Muskegon MI to be completed - which will take two more years.
