Thank you to all military veterans…living and deceased who have enabled us to live the lifestyles we do.  And thank you also to the active military and families who are currently sacrificing their lives.  We will not forget you….

            —————————————————————————————-

BREWERTON NY to
OSWEGO NY

WINDY and cold…but what would you expect…we’re in Oswego!  I went to school here when they put stakes in the ground and attached ropes so students could find their way in snow storms,  No cancelling classes in the ‘old days’…wonder if they still have those ropes.  Wow…do I sound old.  OK…so that’s all the “In my day….” talk.  We will wait here until Ontario has a good weather forecast for our crossing – this should be done in one day…whereupon we will be reunited with our treasured – and dearly missed – river family.

By the way….after I put coffee on this morning, I went back to our cabin to find the “STAR” from Kressers taped over our cabin entrance.  Well, SOMEONE thinks a lot of himself.  Come to think of it, at my class reunion last year, Ted was the only non-class member to get an award certificate (something about going above and beyond the call of duty being married to me). Hmmmm, must be a good thing.

We completed the last 8 locks today just before they closed.  It really was touch and go and we passed ‘Gone To Far’ (Tim & Margie Williams) docked on a wall just before the last lock.  Pretty sure they think we’re stalking them since we always seem to turn up wherever they are. 

SO WINDY

THE WILLIAMS

TOOK PICTURES OF
PICTURE TAKERS

STARBOARD VIEW
OSWEGO LIGHTHOUSE

The Oswego Yacht Club is attached to this marina and we were invited to join their cocktail hour.  We did so with the understanding they would give us their wi-fi password.  Turns out this is quite a club.  The members run it and we were their guests.  We were welcomed and treated like ‘family’ and Kimberly who was the hostess could not do enough for us.  She introduced us to other members…one standout being Anne who is a sailor on her own boat “Crazy Lady II”, crews for others, teaches a sailing course for women, and is a world sailor.  Wow…fascinating woman.  She was “Officer of the Day” and we are so glad to have met her.  She boasts the club hosting the Lake Yacht Racing Association for the last 3 years.

OSWEGO YACHT
CLUB

ANNE

 

VIEW FROM
THEIR CLUB

Rain…unloading boat…making appointments…picking up mail…sorting mail…putting winter STUFF away…already arguing disagreeing with Time Warner…and more rain.  Did I mention ‘COLD”?   However, it feels good (kind of) to get the house (a little bit) in order – although in the evening we go back to the boat to sleep.  There sure is a lot to do…and lot of “catch-up”.  We will live on the boat for the summer but occasionally come down to Syracuse for a few events and volunteer activities…and in a few weeks Dad Stark and Miss Eve will be staying with us when we celebrate nephew Jeff Stark and Sara Shirley’s wedding.

Home….with

…little bits
of river around

 

The day ended on a happy (?) note with dinner at the Waterfront with long-time friends Terry & Roseann Kresser along with Joe Meyers.  Joe is such an impressive and personable young man.   I’d say the Kressers were terrific too BUT they presented Ted with a large gold star for ‘putting up with Betty’.  I too received a gift…a roll of duct tape to make myself a new ‘outfit’.  I’ll excuse them for their bad taste in gifts…they are new (and delirious) grandparents of Jameson Donovan Kresser and, I’m sure, just a little confused.  If you recall, they live on Oneida Lake and visited us on the boat in October when we were delayed by Sandy….they were so nice back then.

He got a STAR?????
and I get DUCT TAPE???

Weather permitting, after a grocery trip to stock the house (and a few more projects), we will be cruising our last leg….to the Bay.  It looks very windy the next few days…and we REALLY don’t want wind crossing Lke Ontario!.

Thank you for Ted’s birthday wishes. Save for a little log that wrestled with his propeller, all else went well…and the birthday messages made him feel a lot better. Eventually I even heard a few laughs.

Because we couldn’t make the last 2 locks by closing time yesterday (5:00) we completed them today, then cruised across Oneida Lake to Brewerton. The locks went from up to down (the majority went from down to up). I think if I sang “I’ve got a mule…her name is Sal…15 miles on the Erie Canal” one more time, I would have been thrown overboard (but Sister George Maria would be so proud). If something mysteriously happens to me, my duct taped rain pants can go to the highest bidder – proceeds to go to DBO (Desperate Boatwives Organization). 8 more locks to go when we leave Brewerton to go to Alexandria Bay.

STORM RESULT   YIKES !

LOOK FAMILIAR?
(BUT WARMER)

TOP OF
THE LUCK

GOING
DOWN

 

OPENING

AND WE’RE OFF
….AGAIN

 

LOOKING
BACK

We are staying at Ess-Kay’s Marina. Their lift was available and the props were changed…while Ted cleaned the ‘mustache’. We used the marina car to go home and get ours. The ‘plan’ (and you know how THAT goes) is to unload winter (and some summer) boat clothes, open up the house, get groceries for home, then head up to the St. Lawrence, Alexandria Bay and our home marina at Bonnie Castle – this should all take place over the next few days. This saga will not be over until Simple Pleasures is settled in her slip. Meanwhile…what a mess…it’s like moving!!!

SICK OF
SEEING THIS!

LOWER RIGHT
BLADE

RAIN…
AGAIN

MUSTACHE
CLEANING

 

KIM OF
ESS-KAY’S

ETHAN OF
ESS-KAY’S

 

AT ESS-KAY’S

JLKJLKJKJ

FONDA NY to
ROME NY

Last night we had a big thunder and lightning storm….45 minutes to an hour.  We heard many of you experienced the same.  NPR dedicated the evening to “most romantic songs” and we sat on the aft and watched the storm.  It has been many years since I’ve seen such lightning and I love a storm.  Ted, on the other hand, says I’m ‘nuts’.   But…we awoke to find our power cords under water….they were on a lawn the night before.  The canal was filled with logs and debris.   When we traveled east on the canal in the Fall – after Sandy – there was no debris compared to today.

DROWNED
POWER CORDS

MORNING ON
THE CANAL

 

BOTTOM OF
THE LOCK

GOING UP

AND WE’RE
UP

OLD CANAL
HOUSE

Shortly after we completed the first lock…and as soon as I said “What could be better than this on your birthday…cruising on the boat”… we hit a log, damaging the ‘new’ starboard propeller.  Though we told ‘Beyond The Sea’ to go ahead, they hung back as we limped along.  You may recall that we had the props changed 2 weeks ago.  It really would have been nice if we could have finished this part of the trip with no ‘events’….but now you can really see the ‘joys’ of boating.  Mike Bresnahan gave Ted a job at the Miami boat show….Mike, do you have a dishwashing job this summer at Admiral’s for him?  Too many prop repairs!

MY BIRTHDAY
MAN

FLOOD
GATE

PORT VIEW
TONIGHT

STARBOARD
VIEW

AFT VIEW

 At least we completed 8 of the 10 locks…so only 2 tomorrow.  Don’t know if we’re going to get the props changed at Sylvan Beach or Brewerton.

So, obviously and sadly, we did not make it to Sylvan Beach.  Thank you to those who called …it would have been SO much fun at Captain Jack’s…a real party.  No one was more disappointed than Ted (and me).  But….here we are….on a wall in Rome .  I made beef stroganoff for the ‘birthday boy’ and he ate the last piece of the birthday cake from the Schmidts (thanks again). 

THE LAST PIECE
OF CAKE

WATERFORD NY to
FONDA NY

Perfect day for locks…warm but not too hot.  It is humid this evening though…need rain to break this humidity.  We went through the locks with ‘Gone To Far’ and ‘Beyond the Sea’ (Bob & Margaret Kane from Buffalo).    Tim & Margie (GTF) left us at Amsterdam.  We are on the Fonda wall with BTS but it does have power, though limited.  There is nothing around us….pretty desolate.

We completed 11 locks today in the hope of completing 10 tomorrow.  Cousin Jim said that when we turned left to go on the Erie Canal we were already on our street.  Our condo community is on the Erie Canal.  We passed Auriesville so I had to take a picture.  When in Blessed Sacrament Grammar School we went to the shrine at Auriesville on our 7^th and 8^th grade trips (good times).  Also, the Peckinpaugh Barge pictured below is the last working barge on the Erie Canal.

GOODBYE
WATERFORD

APPROACHING
ANOTHER LOCK

INTO THE LOCK

GOING UP

WORKING HARD
IN THE LOCKS

THE DAY
PECKINPAUGH

AURIESVILLE

THE FONDA WALL

BOB & MARGARET
KANE

“BEYOND
THE SEA”

AFT
VIEW

 

PORT VIEW
LOOKING FORWARD

Ted said there were spiders and flying bugs this morning…pointing out the fact that we have had no insects in these 7 months of travel….not a spider or a fly.  He believes New York State is the refuge for bugs, spiders and mosquitos.

If plans fall in place, we hope to be at Sylvan Beach tomorrow night…Wednesday…May 22^nd which is Ted’s birthday.  If you’re in the area and would like to join us at Captain John’s Restaurant we would LOVE it.   Feel free to call my cell later in the afternoon when we should know if we will make Sylvan Beach,  Captain John’s and the time.

CORNWALL NY to
WATERFORD NY

An early morning saw us on the water and 96 miles later we had cruised the Hudson River to the entrance of the Erie Canal.  We went through our first lock – the Federal Lock.  Only 30 more locks to go.  ONLY????  Stopped for the night at the entrance of the Erie Canal.  Tim and Margie Williams (boat:  Gone To Far-see pic) are here and helped us tie up.

GOODBYE
CORNWALL

MORNING ON
THE HUDSON

 

ALBANY

NYS
THRUWAY

TROY

HELLO 1st
LOCK-THE FEDERAL

 

MAKING A LEFT
(SNIFF)

AFT VIEW

 

GONE TO FAR

SP & GTF

The 4 of us walked up to Whiskey River Tavern for a bite.  Pics today are from the Hudson.  You may have noticed that some pictures look familiar because we saw the same sights on our trip south.  BUT,  the difference?….the lush greenery and the warm weather!

TIM & MARGIE
WILLIAMS

 We’re already feeling the anxiety of going home….unloading the boat…opening the house, and many many appointments.  I know.  I’m whining.  OK.  I’m over it.   kinda….

The day started out with fog, rain and lots of trains.  Love hearing the trains (almost as much as the ocean’s surf) and they didn’t blow their horns or whistles during the night…or did I just not hear it? 

MORNING
FOG

MORNING
TRAIN

We usually turn on the TV at each port and get whatever comes over the airwaves.  If marinas do have cable, we don’t bother hooking it up.  Well in Cornwall we get about 10 stations….most of them Korean.  Some are dubbed or have English captions.

At noon Ken & Margaret Schmidt picked us up and took us to their home in Cornwall-On-Hudson for a barbeque.  Well, first they took us to a grocery store as Ted reminded me there may not be many stores going up the locks and we needed more essentials than those I told Katie Thursday (though she did surprise me with the important stuff…Wegman’s triple crème butter brie).   I’ve given Ted a list of things I want to eat when I’m dying and that’s right up there (what a shame if I don’t have much of an appetite).

The Schmidts took us for groceries and motor oil and then to their home where they wined and dined us with appetizers and a delicious steak dinner (too damp and cold to eat outside).  In addition to their beautiful grounds and pool,  you may notice they have a piece of the ‘rock’ in their back yard.  Now THAT’S a rock !!!  After dinner they even surprised Ted with an early birthday cake.  We told old stories and new stories and …. as always….laughed till it hurt.  Thank you!!!  It was a fun, wonderful, special day with two very special people.  And Ken, we love the picture of you on your first day of teaching.  Hope you saved that jacket!

SCHMIDT’S
HOME

“THE SCHMIDT ROCK”

 

HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES
IT TAKE TO FLIP A STEAK?

FUTURE
PRINCIPAL

MANASQUAN NJ to
CORNWALL NY

Best day on the ocean yet!  It was absolutely smooth….hard to believe.   We traveled 102 miles in 10 hours.  There was a fishing tournament in NJ and boats were out all the way up the NJ shore.  Ted said we could stop in New York City but we were headed for Cornwall to see friends Margaret and Ken Schmidt.  Hard to pass up NYC but would have been difficult to just have a couple of hours with all the hookups and ‘unhookups’.  When we arrived in the New York Harbor the water totally changed.  So many speedboats, ferries and tour boats were on the water it was really churned up and things started flying.  We did see the spire on top of the World Trade Center – which was not there when we toured the Memorial (a “don’t-miss”) in the Fall.  It still needs some finishing touches but I still thrill to see it as well as the skyline.  We have now added NYC to our “must visit” again list.

GOODBYE
MANASQUAN NJ

THE CALMEST
OCEAN DAY

NJ FISHING
TOURNEY

NEW YORK
HARBOR

THE VERRAZANO

WORLD TRADE
CENTER

A LITTLE MORE
TO BE DONE

EMPIRE ST BLDG
& PIER 57

UP THE
HUDSON

YONKERS

THE THAYER

WEST POINT

We are here in Cornwall and I love the scenery.   Mountains of trees and running trains surround the area and it is beautiful.  And good wi-fi!  Must house hunt.  

CORNWALL
PORT AFT