All good things...

June 15, 2009

Like all the blogs I've read before...
Whose info I could not ignore,
I'm glad you read along,
You wanted to belong,
I hope it wasn't a bore.

To all the followers out there,
Who followed me with care,
I wish that it weren't true,
That I can't continue,
But that wouldn't be quite fair.

You wonder why I sing this song,
You wonder just what has gone wrong,
That's someplace I won't go,
It's on a need to know,
Let's just say it was time to bang the gong.

So all good things come to an end,
My best wishes I have to send,
Good luck to Zig and Eve,
My blessing you receive,
Without us you will have to fend.

OK, the trip is over for Alex and I. This blog will shut down in a few days. If you want more pics like the ones posted, contact me at davechesney@gmail.com.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Waterford

June 13, 2009

End of the Erie Canal, at last! Tomorrow we lock through the Federal Lock and we’re on the Hudson.

Tied up at the wall in Waterford. Nice place for boaters, although the showers could be hotter. Wore my NY Erie Canal Corporation t-shirt all day; only one lock attendant noticed, and he asked if I wanted free passage. I told him I bought the shirt in a thrift shop in Buffalo (didn’t want to get Chris in trouble). I asked if I got free beer with the shirt. That set him to laughing. All the other lock attendants were very officious – I suspect the lock operator network was at work. “Hey, one of Carmella’s stooges is on the Pleiades. Look sharp.”

Went into town (two blocks – whoopee) to an Irish pub for burgers and beer. Alex and I explored town while Ziggy and Eve went back to the boat. Wasn’t much to explore, but we saw a few bars and ended up back at the Irish pub because the rain was too intense to comfortably make the trek back to the boat. One beer later, we went to leave, only to be met at the door by Chris coming in looking for us (see previous post). He had been tracking our progress all day and knew we were tied up in Waterford. Figuring us to be the boozehounds we are, he went looking for us. (Side note: MS Word accepts “boozehounds” in its spellchecker.) So, back into the Irish pub where I bought a few rounds and we all made plans to meet up again on the return trip. Chris has promised an official Erie Canal cap for me and a sweatshirt for Alex.

Farmer’s market is on tomorrow where we’re tied up. Going to re-provision and then supplement with supermarket fare. Then we’ll be casting off for the run to Catskill on the Hudson, where we can step the mast and start looking like a sailboat once again.

Goin’ back to Russo’s, Russo’s, Russo’s

June 13, 2009

So, we did manage to make Amsterdam last night in time for the Wings game thanks to a favorable current and good weather. Got a hot tip from the operator in Lock 12 to tie up before Lock 11 in Amsterdam and hoof it over to Russo’s, a little bar and grill across the tracks from the tie-up wall. Alex and I got to the bar for the first intermission – not bad.

The place was like freakin’ Cheers. I flagged the barmaid down and asked if we could put the Wings game on one of her three TVs. She asked, “Which one would you like?” I picked the closest one, naturally. A couple of guys at the bar said “Are you boaters?” Then, “Hey, we got boaters!” One of the guys peels off the bar; I thought he was going to hug me at first. He introduced himself (Chris) as the self-appointed canal ambassador and actual lock attendant and asked how we were liking our trip so far. Somewhere it came up that we hadn’t received any of the voluminous pamphlets available to canal travelers at the locks and he went around the corner. Turns out he had a mini-office there in the bar with all this literature. We now have about five copies of each. He kept going back for more and bringing the same stuff. He was really put out that no one had offered us any of this stuff to this point; he wanted me to call Carmella M. (Director of Locks, NY Canal System) and complain.

I mentioned that we had been rating the hot wings at each bar we had stopped at and that currently Pony’s in Middleport was the best. Chris immediately turns to Barbara behind the bar and orders us 20 wings on him. Then Mike bought us a beer. Then I bought them a beer. Then…well, you know how that goes.

Made the mistake of asking Mike what his job was. I was regaled with about two hours of intricate detail regarding the collection of back taxes in NY followed by a complete history of the NY State House, the major players, the power grabs, and a bunch of other arcane stuff. Now you have to picture Milton from the movie “Office Space.” Ziggy thought he looked like Wimpy from the old Popeye cartoons. Anyway, he followed me around most of the night providing yet more details about NY finances.

Meanwhile, back at the bar…Alex and Eve were sort of the center of attention. It didn’t help when they were dancing on the chairs to “Single Ladies (Put a ring on it).” Alex insists that standing on the chair rung is not the same as dancing on the chair. Whatever. Their songs were done and Chris put some Sinatra on. And then here came the Coach. Now the Coach looks a lot like Charlie Rich (Duane will understand). Maybe George Jones for the rest of you. Think smooth gray hair, sixty years old. Coach must have finally got enough booze in him to ask Alex to dance. They actually did pretty well; Alex must get her dancing talent from her mother. I wish I would have had the presence of mind to snap pics with the iPhone, but Mike was deep into the tax code by that time…

Sinatra gave way to Dean Martin on the ‘box. The song was “Houston”. If you remember the lyrics, the chorus goes: “Goin’ back to Houston, Houston, Houston.” We were all singing along and changed the lyric to “Russo’s”, Hence the title of this post.

Watched the last best hope for the Wings clang off the top bar. Found out from Tom that Phil, Mardo, and Adam were down at the Joe for the game. Tickets were $400. Too bad it didn’t have a different ending.

At the end of the night, well after the Wings game, Chris slipped a t-shirt into my hand. Turns out to be an official NY State Canal Corporation shirt, same as the lock operators wear. I’m wearing it today; hope it’s not illegal or something. Also got a business card from some guy who insisted that I call him if we needed anything for the trip. I mentioned offhand that our half-and-half had gone bad; they immediately went into a huddle (seriously) to debate where the closest grocery store was and how long it would take to get there and who could deliver half-and-half to the boat in the morning. I had to intervene and insist that we were capable of stopping at a store down the canal and assure them that they had been more than generous already.

Russo’s – my kind of place. A little bit goofy and the wings ain’t bad - second place behind Pony’s. I asked the girls for three words to describe the company last night: “creepy, old and creepy.” Overly harsh, I think.

Bye, bye, Baldwinsville

June 11, 2009

So, plans changed. We weren’t making as much progress as anticipated yesterday out of Newark, so I called Alex and re-routed her and Madeline to Baldwinsville. We had intended to stay at the marina there – even called ahead for a slip. Tying up was an issue, though. Pleiades bottomed out at the dock, the docking was very crowded, and getting out could be a real issue if the wind shifted onshore. It was a great place for the girls to find us, however; just a half-mile off the 690 freeway and with docks visible from the street. We actually only beat the girls by about a half-hour. After doing the pickup (and transfer of goodies – thanx, Vicki) we bade farewell to Madeline and shoved off.

The next lock was less than a mile away, and after waiting for them to open for a few minutes, we decided to bag it and tie up at the town wall overnight. Drank beer and got to the closest restaurant just after they closed the kitchen, so back to the boat for spaghetti and vino (Captain’s Choice, from Trader Joes!!). I made the spag and even got a compliment from Alex. Didn’t have any appropriate meat, so I cut up a bunch of dried sausages (like Slim Jims, just not as spicy) and threw them in. Pretty good, I’d say.

Got up early and were on the canal by 8:30. Hit a bit of a rainstorm crossing Oneida Lake. I was helming and saw what looked to be two piles of sticks in the middle of the lake. Got closer, and saw a bow wave (!). Turns out these were two replica ships like the Nina and Pinta with their masts down for canal passage. Sure looked strange head on, though. Talked to a couple of guys at Lock 20 who were canoeing the canal. They confirmed Pinta (or was it Nina?) and said that it had actually been the ship seen in the movie “1492”. Apparently, they had talked to the crews in the lock.

The other pic is of one of the last remaining sections of aqueduct left on the Erie Canal.

Spent the night just outside Lock 19, since it was rainy and getting dark. Ziggy was on the bow with a flashlight to watch for buoys and flotsam. Currently in Ilion, NY, which is the headquarters of Remington arms manufacturing. Probably will stop on the way back and take the tour.

Wifi getting real spotty (go figure – we’re getting closer to NYC!!). Even the AT&T drops out once in awhile. As a consequence, the daily updates may turn to every other day or something. It’s not because I’m tired of typing…

Newark, redux

June 9, 2009

Beautiful day for sailing, if we were sailing. We’re tied up at the wall in Newark, killing a day doing some needed stuff. Ziggy and Eve took both their laptops and are hoofing it down the road a ways to a computer repair place. I’m sitting on a swing with Arlene. (Wish it was Aaaarr-Lene from the Galley.) (Vicki – you didn’t read that.) Made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast this am and only burned the bottoms a little. (Again, the crew survived all his attempts to poison them and take the treasure for himself and Aaaarr-Lene).

We have to do some soldering of a new GPS coax today, and will take advantage of the free laundry. I’m taking advantage of the down time to clean up my email and pictures folders.

Found out the local library had a $3 per bag book sale; all the books you could pack into a plastic shopping bag for $3. I restrained myself – only bought one bag’s worth. I was wondering where I would be able to replenish my supply of boat books – those throw-away novels that I would never, under other circumstances, consider reading. I think I’m set for the trip, now.

Watched the Wings lose with a bunch of guys at a bar. Yuengling is pronounced “Ying-ling”, much to my consternation.

We pick up Alex tomorrow evening, at Brewerton (North of Syracuse; West end of Oneida Lake).

Fairport

OK, another out-of-sequence post, but I just had to submit another post about bridges. No, we’re out of Tonawanda County, so no more mental images of libidinous steel structures.

This is the famous (on the canal, at least) slanting lift bride in Fairport. As you can see from the pics, it sits at an angle over the canal to match differing street heights on either side. When it lifts up, the north side lifts more than the south, producing a level bridge when fully raised.

Fairport looked like a real neat town; too many boats to count when we went through. Looked like it had a lot of history and activity. Hope we get a chance to stop there on the way back. (Yes, Vicki, Marta and Marty – I do remember Munising).

Newark

Monday, June 8, 2009

“Gee, Tony, ‘ya ‘tink I should go whack dose guys?”

“Sal, if I told ‘ya once I tol’ you a ‘tousan times, we don’t ‘whack’ anymore – dat’s so old school.”

OK, we’re in Newark, and not the one that readily comes to mind from the opening credits of The Sopranos. This place just spruced up its canal frontage and sports a brand-new tie-up wall, free wifi, showers, laundry, etc. By far the best facilities we have encountered to date – and possibly the friendliest chamber of commerce representative who gave us the grand tour of the facilities. The down side is the town has nothing going for it. It’s a bland, white bread, inbred redneck town. Even the chain stores and motels are the second-rate ones. It does have, apparently, a top-notch ambulance service; the sirens have been going off every hour since we tied up. Maybe the lack of excitement finally pushed someone to go postal. Sirens and horns went off again as I type. As Eve notes, “Something is seriously wrong with this town.”

It didn’t help that we had a meal at this place that was recommended to us. The food matched the town and was way overpriced besides. Tony Soprano would not stand for this…

I miss the wings at Pony’s in Middleport.

Maybe pics tomorrow.