Wiley’s nightmare of going over a chasm actually came true, and we discovered that going over a chasm is not so bad when you do it with the assistance of a wonderful Lock Master (John) and two massive locks that are engineering masterpieces. We thought that we were supposed to get our Erie Canal permit before we entered the lock (this turned out not to be true). There is a wall 1/2 mile before you reach the locks and we maneuvered the boat to pull up alongside this wall. The maneuver wasn’t very pretty because there was a strong wind behind us and all that we could see to tie up to was huge bollards (originally designed for huge barges) which are 100 feet apart. Merry jumped up and out of the boat - throwing her body on the top of the cement wall - with lines. She was able to throw a line around the bollard - Wiley helped out with the stern line and we exchanged some words of advice for each other. To say it was not a graceful exercise is a major understatement - but in the end we were tied up. We walked into Lockport to purchase our permit and see the locks to help ease our fears. Fortunately we were able to purchase a season’s permit ($75.00) and unfortunately we saw the locks - two drops of approximately 25 feet each right next to each other seemed daunting. However, John - the Lock Master - kindly talked us through the experience and we were successful.

We decided to stay at Widewaters Marina just outside of Lockport because they had hot showers and we had been showering on the boat for the past 3 days. We were the only transient boat in the whole marina and while they had electricity they did not have water hook ups. They did have laundry facilities, a shower, and their sign said they had a pump out - so we thought we were in business. However, we discovered differently. Merry went in to take her shower at 7:45 and was undressing when a man came running into the ladies room shouting, “I am not waiting for any shower! I am locking this place up - you will be locked in! Get out now!” Merry was embarrassed and scurried out of the shower and in her strongest voice said to this crude man - “You don’t have to talk to me like a child!” He responded, “Well, you don’t have to get so upset!” Merry tearfully ran back to the boat and took her shower - well, at least this time the water was hot on the boat because we had motored from Tonawanda through the canal. However, there was another issue - if you are a boater you understand that when using the "head" you must be sure to keep the valve in the correct position when done - if not the holding tank fills with water. Someone, who will remain nameless, left the lever in the wrong position. You can imagine how delighted we were each morning when they opened the bathroom at 7AM and continued to be dismayed that they only stayed open until 8PM. Most marinas provide you with a key or code to use the facility - but they said, “We could never do that!” These people would not last two days in Chicago- they would be killed and eaten!

Merry feeling boat fatigue thought that getting her hair done would be just the treat she needed. She went to the Blue Door Hair Salon, which was “upscale in comparison with Super Clip” and they said they were willing to squeeze her in. The girl who was styling her hair kept saying, “So, you are on this boat trip - you should have a ‘windy cut’ so it can be messy and still be in style!” The results are that Merry now has a very, very, very, short and windy style! We are now spending some of our time ashore shopping for cute hats!

Upon preparing to depart this marina we asked again about a pump out for our head. We discovered that it was on display in the marine office like an artifact of some long-lost civilization because it had been “out of commission for about a year”. The part had been “ uptown” and no one had ever gotten around to “fixin it”. The men who worked at this marina, with the exception of one gentleman named Mike, were limited, slow, and lacked any initiative. Mostly, they sat outside of the marina at a picnic table and talked with the locals - ALL day. Prior to leaving we asked to purchase some ice - and we cleaned them out - all 4 bags - they said, “Yeah, well I guess we will have to call the ice company soon.” Again - in Chicago they would be killed and eaten within two days.

We motored up to Gasport to purchase some diesel fuel as listed in the Canal Guide. Craig, at Gasport, said he would get us some diesel if we needed it. That meant that Craig and his dog Bear would get his barrel of diesel that he purchases at a truck stop and using a dolly roll it over to where we could fill our boat. They did have a pump out - thank goodness. He has refurbished a tug boat hull and built his boat around this hull. It is impressive work. Craig is an obviously resourceful and nice guy. He recommended that our next stop be at Holley, New York because there were nice facilities and a waterfall there.