ZippySails

Moseying down the Mohawk river I have some time to chat, nothing to exciting. The sun is finally out making it a brighter experience today. Can you tell I am not fond of the dreariness? Those days have their place and my youngest daughter loves them but not when I am looking forward to a continuation of summer down the canal. I do enjoy baking some cookies though, warms up the cabin and the spirits. Despite the rain we have been checking out the towns along the way by bike. It is easy since we don't have to fold them up and store them every time, since we aren't sailing. The towns lack the quaintness of those on the Canadian shores of the Great Lakes but there is history here important to the development of the United States. We have some very useful guide books to help us plan our days. We met a couple in Brighton who had a boat they sailed in similar places to where we are and where we will be going. We ended up with a pile of books and charts from them that have been great so far.
The New York State Canalway Trail System is a series of trails that follow the canal. We spent a couple afternoons rollerblading along parts of the system when the sun peaked through for a bit. (Mind you these are the rollerblades that didn't make the cut of "things to take with". They were on their way to permanent storage when I snuck them out and stowed them away. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do sometimes! We are glad they are with.

One thing I am noticing is how much easier it rolls off my tongue to say I live on a boat. The words used to sound like they were coming out of someone else's mouth, not mine. This is in part due to growing up in a Midwest state, not your typical lifestyle choice in those parts. Along the waterfront no one seems to think anything of it. They find it interesting but not odd! I remember living in Northern California where the people thought it was so strange that we paddled canoes and portaged across land with them over our head. They had never heard of it. In our reading I came across a very well put observation. "What we take away from traveling without a doubt is an awareness that many ways of living exist that may be as equally valid as ours". Who are we to say that one way is better than another? There's a diverse world out there that begs to be acknowledged I believe.