Boy can it rain! It rained so hard early Monday morning, I thought sure we would be floating by the time it stopped. The other thing that happens with storms is the heavens rumble forever; I never saw lightening but the thunder was non stop for several hours (or at least it seemed like that at 5 am!) We haven’t had the best weather but when it is nice it is so beautiful.
Today we took a ride on the Erie Canal and through Lock #E18. Lock 18 is one of two locks on the canal that operate with the original 100 year old equipment. We have done so many rides through locks that I’m not that interested but the weather was beautiful and a ride on the river was very relaxing. We almost didn’t get on the boat! The boat was scheduled for 3 pm and advanced reservations were recommended but we thought a Wednesday afternoon in Herkimer NY, no problem! It was, we arrived about 15 minutes before departure and they only had 3 spots and we were 6! The very nice lady called the captain and he allowed the six of us to purchase tickets and come aboard! There was a family of 8 that came in as she was calling to the captain and they didn’t get to come along! The good news is they saved $19 per person!
The canal is only 12-14 feet deep and is used for mostly recreational use. Originally it was built to move freight from NYC to Buffalo and into the Great Lakes.
Our captain said these cruises go from Rhode Island to Chicago! That might be interesting to do one day.
Fort Herkimer Church is along the banks of the Erie Canal and is the second oldest church in New York and the oldest building in Herkimer County.
Inside lock E18! Now we get to go up river and turn around and go back!
On the return trip through the lock we had company; there were three boats all from Ohio. They were doing America’s Great Loop and are know as Loopers. They are much like us only they use their boats to adventure around the rivers, canals, and lakes of the Eastern part of the USA. America’s Great Loop can be started anywhere along the loop and takes about a year to do the whole thing. It is about 5-7 thousand miles and includes Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, The Canadian Heritage Canals, the Erie Canal, Mississippi River, Tennessee River, Hudson River, Okeechobee Waterway and the Illinois River. Paul thinks he wants to do this someday! I think living in an RV and traveling America’s highways is interesting enough!
Another great adventure in New York!