Our pumpkin on the bow has been a big hit with other boaters and lock tenders. One lock tender asked me if that was the Captain so I said, yes that is Captain Jack and we blame all our mistakes on him! I think I forgot to mention that Chris (Rubaiyat) drew the skeleton/pirate on the pumpkin for us. Thanks Chris! We have had lots of people comment on it and take pictures of it.

Each day the color in the trees change, getting more colorful and picturesque. Finally does feel like autumn is here. The pics we have taken do not really capture the beauty of it all. I would image in another week or so they will be at their color peek.


LITTLE FALLS, NY

We liked Little Falls so much we stayed there for 2 nights. Great showers! Gene, the Harbormaster, was yet one more person on the Canal that was so helpful, informative and an all around great guy.

AMSTERDAM, NY

Bill spoke with his Mom last night and discovered that his Grandpa Stewart was born in Amsterdam. We walked into town hoping to find a big statue in the center of the town honoring him but didn't find one. We did find the Professional Wrestlers Hall of Fame. No, we didn't go inside - it was closed. Went to a take-out pizza place and sat at a park bench across the street and ate our pizza. Like so many of the little towns on the canal there were lots of empty stores, making the town look very depressed.

We went through 7 locks today, the most locks in a single day for us.

SCHENECTADY

This will be our last day of the Eric Canal. We are at the Schenetady Yacht Club, which is actually east of Schenectady. We pulled in next to another sailboat and met Greg & Anna aboard 'Jolly Mon'. Looks like they will be here until at least Monday when they will be hauled out to fix the damage a log caused to their prop shaft. Dean and Chris's friend Jimmy from Albany drove up to see them. Jimmy took us all out for a rib dinner. Thank you Jimmy!

Today we will go the last 6 locks on the canal. The final 5 are called the Waterford Flight. We are required to go through all 5 locks without stopping in between. The guide books indicate it takes about 2 hours to get through the 5. It will drop us down over 150 feet to the Hudson River.

I ordered the next round of chart books and cruising guides which should be enough to get us to Florida. They are supposed to be delivered to Waterford Visitors Center for us to pick up on Monday. We will probably stay in Waterford for a couple of days then head down to Hop-O-Nose to have the mast re-stepped.

Something I have been forgetting to mention here. Bill and I wanted to say a big thank you to Jim & Linda at the Silver Bay Marina for giving us the batter board and chart books for Lake Erie and the Erie Canal. All have been a huge help for this part of our adventure.