Well, we are finally undarway on the Erie. We pulled the stick this morning and headed down the Erie. The mast came out well and the cradel I built seems to be working fine. We made it as far as Lockport and tied to a free wall in town. Grocerie store only 2 blocks away, so life is good! We'll lock through tomorrow morning and head for Medina. We'll be in no hurry to travel the Erie. Lots of fun places to see, so we're figuring a month before we hit the Hudson. The weather has been great the last couple days. The 97F heat was a bit much. It's been mid 80's with a nice breeze. We were entertained this evening by a bunch of local kids jumping off a 30 ft. bridge just across the canal from us....Oh to be young again.....TTFN