Year 2 Day 91

First lock entering Erie Canal

Today is Tuesday, June 25th and we had another rather long day leaving Waterford about 9:00 AM heading into the Erie Canal.  There are 5 locks immediately after leaving Waterford and they're called the Flight of Five where they raise you 169 feet which is the greatest height in the shortest distance.

I was extremely nervous when we first left because we have only been through 2 locks since leaving Texas and I was still unsure of the proper way to hold on to the pipes, lines or cables.  However, it only takes one or two before you get the hang of it.  The weather wasn't exactly in our favor today as it was cloudy, rainy and chilly.  We ended up going through 10 locks before stopping at Riverlink Park in Amsterdam (Kirk Douglas was a former resident).  We only have 19 more locks before arriving at Lake Ontario.

Inside a lock before filling with water

Tying off to a line inside a lock

 

Kathy at the helm

We've run into very few other loopers and attribute it to two factors - the economy and fuel prices.  There are no other boats here on the dock and it's a beautiful place.  The only downside is the train passing through frequently.

So far the Erie has been very pretty but we haven't seen many people, birds or animals.  There are few homes on the hillsides and this is an example of one of the larger ones.

Sunset at Riverlink

Handling the locks is very tiring and since we went through 10 today, we're worn out tonight and have decided to take it easy tomorrow.