Scenes along the Erie Canal

This is the Waterford dock near Troy, NY which is the beginning of the Erie Canal. Here the dockage is free for the first 2 nights, then $10.00 a night after that. Usually the boats stay a couple days and provision, etc before beginning the canal. In the foreground you can see the Canal boats which can be rented for $2800/week.
We are the first boat in line with Berge's rafted to us because the rest of the dock was full.


This is a view of the old canal. The original canal was only 4' deep and 40' wide. It was enlarged in 1862 to 7' deep and 70' feet wide. Today it is 123' wide and 12' deep. The number of locks has been reduced over the years, starting with 83 locks to 72 and today, just 34. As we traveled, we could see the remains of the original canal in many places. We will be on the Erie Canal for 150 miles on the way from the Hudson River to Lake Ontario.



These signs are at each lock along the way. The first 5 locks are within 2 miles and lift about 168'. It took us only 1-1/2 hours to go through these---which was faster than normal--probably because we were the only boat going through at that time ! There was very little traffic for the first 3 days...we shared a lock with one other boat only 4 times (in 20 locks).





Here is the remains of the original canal at the top of one of the locks... The original canal was built along side the Mohawk River because the boats had to be towed along by mules on the sides of the canal. As the boats became bigger and self propelled, the canal was enlarged and parts moved to the River.








There were many, many, many bridges along the way, and a lot of
trains.


The lock bollards, fences and grounds were all in nice condition and most were freshly painted.





Here is a tug...there is no commercial traffic any more so the only boats we encountered were other recreational boats, a few of these tugs and maintenance barges such as dredges and slag boats.





This is a guard gate and there many of these also. In case of flooding, they are lowered to control the flow of water in the canal.







Here is a picture of one of the locks and dam along side. In total, we will go through 23 locks on the Erie. Some are equipped with cables or pipes which you tie off to , others have ropes and this requires both of us to hold on to at each end of the boat.


This mansion is the Llenroc estate which is Cornell spelled backwards.



Our first day was pretty tiring...through 11 locks with wind that started building in the afternoon. We were happy to get to this wall where we could tie up to for the night. It even had electric ! The down side were the trains every 15"--but as tired as we were, we slept well. In the morning, the water was like glass so I had to take some pictures of it.
Our view from the front of the boat as we started up the canal....
Remember the mansion?--well this is another place on the water !
This is only one of 2 of these types of locks in the America's--the other is in Canada. Here the lock gate is lifted up above the boater--others have gates. The lift was 40'.

This is a view of the lock as we exited... Many of the towns we passed were very old---this is Amsterdam with one side of the town above the canal...the other side of town below the canal (we wondered if they have flood insurance!)
This was an interesting railroad bridge just immediately before the dam...from a distance it was hard to see the lock..........

Bob saw this deer along the way............We spent another night in Herkimer which is known for Herkimer diamonds...they are perfectly formed crystals with points on each end. The town was named for General Herkimer who won the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolution.
Another perfect reflection...We spent one night in Rome, NY and visited Fort Stanwix there. It is a reproduction of the original (all wood) right in the center of town. It was here in Rome that the construction of the canal was begun in 1817.
Here we are crossing Lake Oneida to Brewerton where we will spend the night. The canal to this point has mostly been along the Mohawk River. On the other side of the lake (20 miles) we will be on the Oneida River. From there it will be only a few miles until we turn onto the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario.

Hudson River-NYC to Waterford

Here we are leaving NYC on the 17th of June. This is the George Washington bridge on the Hudson River which was built during the depression in 1931. The second deck was added 30 years later and this is known as the Martha Washington Bridge. We passed Tarrytown on the way--here is its lighthouse. The town is also known as Sleepy Hollow. Some of the loopers who want to visit NYC stay here at this quaint town and take the train into the city.Here is a view of NYC as we are leaving with Darrell and Beth passing under the George Washington Bridge.Leaving NYC, the scenery soon changes. This area is known as the Palisades--the cliffs here are 300-500 ft high. The Hudson River is about 150 miles long and is very deep. We were fighting the current for several hours--didn't plan well for tide AND current. It is deep and not much available for anchorages until further up.
It passes through the Appalachian Mountain chain for about 10 miles, so we passed Bear Mountain, Dunderberg Mountain which are state parks.
Here we are passing West Point. It would've been nice to be able to go there for a tour, but since 9/11 it is not allowed.
This is another view of the mountainous scenery. It was a nice change from the flat country of the Carolinas. We passed Pollepel Island, also known as Bannerman's Island. Bannerman was a munitions dealer who built this replica of a medieval castle between 1900 and 1918 as his summer resort and storehouse. The state obtained the property in 1967 and offered tours of it until 1969 until the castle burned in 1969. Landing here is no longer allowed because of the deteriorating condition of the building.
We stayed at a dock in Newburgh for the night. This place was the headquarters for George Washington's headquarters during the American Revolution. This riverboat was giving tours when we were there.
The town is refurbishing its waterfront and this mural was painted on the cement wall holding the train tracks. It had just been completed in 2007 and depicts various places in the city.

There is also a statue of Columbus in the foreground............
The Hudson River is still used for commercial transport although it is not as busy as it once was. Tourism is being promoted to the riverside towns which once flourished. Here crushed cars are being carried down river.
Along the way, there were many, many huge beautiful estates. Roosevelt's Hyde Park is along the way (not visible).
Another estate....

This is the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, currently being restored near Kingston. The Catskill Mountains are in the background.
Another estate barely visible in the trees...
A New England town.....
And, still another estate.......... Here is the Rondout Lighthouse at the entrance to Rondout Creek and Kingston. We will stay in Kingston 2 nights because there is some weather coming..
I take my turn at deck-hand..........
Waterway entrance to Kingston...looks like a pretty town. While there, Bob changed the oil, fixed the head and replaced the thermostat in the refrig-it had been working so well it froze everthing !
We left Kingston early in order to make the 65 mile run to Waterford. Again, we had the current against us for a good share of the way. We pass the Saugerties Lighthouse.

And then the Hudson-Athens light. The town of Hudson is on one side of the river, Athens on the other.
Finally, we are approaching Albany...the capital of New York.
The state capitol buildings..........we went through the Troy Lock and we now docked at the town dock in Waterford. Docking is FREE for 2 nights, then $10 a night after that and includes water and electric ! Wow, what a deal ! With that kind of deal, we'll eat out. And we did, the first restaurant recommended for breakfast has the special of 2 eggs, toast and coffee for $1.79. We splurged and added hash browns--total bill $7.12. Next morning, we tried the more up-scale restaurant--price is up to $2.39 for 2 eggs, toast and coffee. We splurged anyway and added corned beef hash--total bill $7.82. Tried the up-scale Irish Pub for dinner...total dinner including a glass of wine and a beer-total bill $32.00. Tonight, seeing that we're still only paying 10.00 to dock, we'll go to the casual Irish Pub for dinner !!!

New York City sights

Here is the New York City skyline as we headed up the harbor to our dockage on Friday the 13th. We stayed at Newport Yacht Club and Marina on the Jersey side. This swan came to visit us at our anchorage at Liberty Landing State Park. Bob obliged with some bread...
Here is Lady Liberty as viewed from our anchorage in the morning before we started up the river.
Arriving at the marina about noon, we decided to visit Ellis Island that afternoon. So we took the fast train, then the shuttle bus to get to the Park, then by ferry to Ellis Island. It is huge with 3 full floors of displays about the immigrants who have come to the US. Here it is....

This is a view of the building fom the balcony. The display rooms were on the perimeter of the floors.

One of the things we wanted to do in New York was to see a Broadway play, so we stood in line at the TKTS booth to get half price tickets. We lucked out and got first row mezzanine seats for Mama Mia. It was wonderful !
New York traffic....Yikes! Horns blowing, people scurrying across the street in the middle of the block. It is quite the experience. And to think, that swan shown earlier was only across the river from here !
This is a sculpture in the garment district....There were people dressed in costumes of the various plays-Phantom of the Opera, etc. in the theater district. These were from Mary Poppins.

Here we are in front of the ABC studios in Times Square. You never know what you're going to see here ! This guy dressed in cowboy hat and boots and wearing just jockey shorts was playing his guitar in the middle of it all !
And here is a view of Times Square. Darrell and Bob enjoyed the scenery--real and otherwise !
We took a Grayline tour to get an overview of the city. We could hop on and off at various places. Here are some buildings in the government center.

This is the globe which was near the twin towers. Despite damage, it was transported to Battery Park where it is now on display.
We had to visit Wall Street and the bull, of course! I wasn't about to have my picture takesn at the other end.
Bob on Wall Street...
View of Wall Street from the Episcopal Church at one end..
This is a statue of Washington who took his oath of office at this spot on Wall Street.
This a view of Wall Street with the church at the end from in front of the Washington sculpture. I was surprised---had no idea that this church was in the center of the financial district. Services were going on and the bells were being played manually from the steeple. The church had been founded in the 1600's but was destroyed in the fire of 1776, and again in the 1800's. This church was built about 1886.

Alexander Hamilton was buried in this church yard as was Robert Fulton, inventor of the steam engine.
We visited Ground Zero. It was a very solemn experience. This ship, built with some of the steel salvaged from the twin towers, will be launched in 2009. A view of the actual site. A viewing platform and memorial is in the process of being built.
Next we visited St. Paul's Chapel. This church was built in 1766 and survived the fire of 1776 because townspeople formed a bucket brigade to save it. It is adjacent to the Twin Towers site and amazingly had no damage from the blast. There was a lot of debris in the church cemetary, but not even one window was broken! During the salvage operation, it served as a center for feeding and caring for firemen, policemen. Volunteers included food preparation and serving, medical personnel, physical therapists, masseuses, etc who cared for the salvagers. Visiting this church was a very emotional experience.
Inside of the church...it is still used for services, but is also a memorial to 911. George Washington's pew is on display here.
View from the rear of the church--cranes in Ground Zero can be seen from here.

There are many, many beautiful buildings of different styles of architecture in New York.
Chinatown....
St Paul's Cathedral...

Here are a couple views of Central Park....

This is a sculpture of Christopher Columbus down near the waterfront of the Hudson River.

Another sample of the beautiful buildings....

This is a sculpture of Teddy Roosevelt in front of the Museum of Natural History. There is so much to see here...! But one can only absorb a little at a time.....If we ever do come back, we'll know what more we want to see.

We went through Harlem which is now being renovated.

Our tour actually took the better part of 2 days. We visited the Macy's store which is over 100 years old---with the original wooden escalators still in use. Seven floors of shopping--too big for me !

On our last day, we got up early and were at the Today show by 7 AM. It took us an hour to get there on the subway even though we had practiced this mode of transportation for 2 days before. We didn't get right up to the front right away, but were able to move up. We did get a good view of Matt and Meredith.
This is a view of the crew working on this show---on the outside.



Later, we stopped in the NBC store to view pictures which had been taken of us at the time of the show. I just couldn't resist having our picture taken with Matt there. His suit was a little shiny....