Hit A Snag!

Making our way through Hells Gate!

Home on your own Island!

Burleigh Falls

Entering Hells Gate

Enjoying the falls!

Heading Up the Trent-Severn…….Hit a snag!

We started out the next morning like any other morning. We left early and were heading to Buckhorn Yacht Marina. Because of the heat, we had decided to stop at a marina and not anchor. We had wanted to go farther but we had a hard time finding a marina that had an open slip. Seems like everyone may have the same idea.
We weaved NautiNell through the tall red granite boulders in what is named Hells Gate. No matter the name, it was beautiful. There were islands after islands. What was so amazing was that there would be a house on the island all by itself. Can you imagine living on your own island and taking a boat to work every morning? This is quite common here. We also saw several little johnboat type boats running shuttle back and forth to the islands. What a life!
We made it to Burleigh Falls, Lock #28. This was just a small lock and we had no trouble UNTIL it was time to leave the lock. Our port engine wouldn't start. I guess NautiNell wanted some extra attention. Those at the lock helped guide us out on one engine. We tied up to the wall so Mike could investigate. Sarah, the Lockmaster, couldn't have been any more accommodating. They allowed up to stay there for free. Plus, she would come over and check on us now and then – bringing us cold water and Gatorade. After checking all other possibilities, Mike finally determined it was probably the starter. We decided that we needed to find a mechanic. Again Sarah came to our rescue. She gave us a name of one that just so happened to be at the marina where we had made reservations. Mike talked to Peter, the head guy there and was told they would send someone out within 30 minutes. Yeah right…… BUT in LESS time than that, here comes Ralph (the Russian) to check things out. He determined that the starter was shot and took it to Peterborough to have it rebuilt. Now this was on a Thursday – he said he would have it back to us on Saturday. That's service!!!
We made the best of it by taking long dinghy rides in the lake between the two locks. The lake is called Lovesick Lake. It supposedly got its name from a little Indian boy that was spurned by a little Irish girl. Anyway, the lake is about two miles long and is really pretty. Mike, of course, went fishing several times on it later. We also took our bikes into town. There wasn't much of a town there, but there was a restaurant and a general store. That worked for us!
On Friday, Peter called to tell us that the starter was too far gone to be rebuilt. It also had oil in it. Not good….. SO we had to purchase a new starter from someone in Peterborough and figure out how to get it to us. Peter said it would be a lot better (cheaper) for us if we could do that part ourselves rather than having one of his mechanics go get it. There again, Sarah came to the rescue! Her supervisor was coming to the lock this afternoon from Peterborough. He would pick it up and deliver it to us! Now isn't this going way beyond anyone's expectations! He brought it to us early Friday afternoon. Mike waited until Saturday morning to install since it would be cooler. Once it was installed, we were ready to go. Oh, back to the oil in the starter thing – Mike decided that he didn't want to take a chance and get oil in the new starter and have the same problem again. SO, we brought NautiNell to Peter to have them work on it. We got here mid-morning on Saturday. Of course, they wouldn't be able to do anything until Monday. They put us in a nice covered slip and couldn't be nicer.
When we got here we saw that Confetti was here. They are having problems with their transmission and are on their second week here. Sheeh! Hope we get to head out sooner than that!
We've been entertaining ourselves by taking the dinghy out to a restaurant that had a live band on the patio and borrowing Peter's car to go into town for groceries. We took a bike ride around Burleigh Falls. There is a place where the kids go and jump in the water and ride the rapids down the river. They have a ball. If I was only younger…… LOL! Of course, Mike has been fishing. I'm catching up on my reading and my blog! I'm hoping that I can get Peter's car tomorrow and do a little shopping – for something besides groceries!
It poured down rain this morning for hours. It was nice to be tucked away under a covered dock. It's been much cooler today too. I even had to break out a sweatshirt!
They have ordered the seal we needed. It should be in tomorrow. Hopefully, we will be fixed tomorrow and we can leave on Wednesday. Just making lemonade……!
Till next time!
Admiral "C"

Locking Through Lock #21



This Lock is huge!



View from above!

C

What a view from above!

Stacking us in the pan!

One big piston!

One Goes Up - One Goes Down

Up and Down!

Leaving Peterborough – Locking through Lock #21
This morning we made a brief stop at the marina to pump-out and then headed to Lock #20. Lock #20 is often referred to as the forgotten lock. That's probably because it is overshadowed by the great Lock #21. Lock #21 is a 65 foot lift. Lock #20 is only a 12 foot lift (average). We were anxious to get to Lock #21 and check it out. However, first we had to lock through #20 along with a rental houseboat and two go-fast boats. We've been told to always steer clear of the rental houseboats. (No news to us!) The 2 go fast boats were driven by French speaking boaters. They weren't very easy to understand – but it was interesting to listen to them. However, they really didn't want to be bothered with us. You know how people in those fast noisy boats are! LOL! Well, we should since we owned them for years!
Anyway, we got through Lock #20 and then made our approach to Lock #21. This lock is different from all the rest. It is what they refer to as a pan lock. It's hard for me to describe – so here is the wording (paraphrased) from the guide book ---
"Peterborough Lift Lock also known as Lock #21 is the world's highest hydraulic lift lock. It was opened in 1904 and is considered an engineering marvel still today. The hydraulic lift lock works like a simple balance beam scale. You enter a large, rectangular chamber shaped like a giant sheet cake pan. Parallel to that chamber, but 65 feet up on a huge piston is another chamber – a twin to your cake pan. There are 330,000 gallons of water that weigh 1500 tons in each pan. When the upper chamber is filled with an extra foot of water – (1 foot equals 130 tons) – the increased weight in the upper tank forces it to go down, while the lower tank rises on the piston, boats and all. It doesn't matter how many or what sized boats are in each pan. The boats displace their own weight. The front of your pan will drop down to spill a foot of water back into the canal. Boats enter and exit the upper and lower pans and the process is repeated."
Okay, did you get that? Well, anyway it was exciting to say the least! We locked through with the same bunch from the first lock and a tour boat. Yes, they added a tour boat! WOW! The view from the top was outstanding! It all happened so quickly. However, I must have been excited because Mike told me to settle down a couple of times. Can you believe that? I just wanted to be sure he took the right pictures! LOL!
When we were through, we ventured on to Locks #22-26. You know these are a lot of work. It was very hot and we it seemed we had to wait longer than usual for the locks to open. It seems that the farther along we go, the busier the locks are getting. We started looking for an anchorage after Lock #26 but decided that we needed to lock through Lock #27. ONE MORE LOCK! Sheeeh! We finally locked through and came on to Clear Lake. Now, it's named that for a reason! This is the clearest water we've seen for a long time. However, it is also pretty shallow! We did find a good anchorage though in a basin between three islands (Big Island, Tanner and Taylor). It still was pretty warm. The heat broke 19 records in this area today. Figures, doesn't it? We came north to get away from the heat. Oh well, it's not as bad as I'm hearing that Joplin is, at least. We can manage. We took a dinghy ride and Mike trolled for fish. It was a good way to cool off and we both needed that!
Tomorrow – Hell's Gate!


Till next time!
Admiral "C"

Hastings to Peterborough

NautiNell standing proud by the fountain in Peterborough

Cool place!  Hot Belly Mama's

Hastings Ontario
Well the storm predictions were right. A storm hit about 5:00 a.m. that woke us up with the wind blowing and the rain pounding. We had all the windows in the boat open because it had been so hot. You should have seen both of us scrambling around trying to shut the windows. It was raining in on all sides of the boat! We rocked and rolled a little bit but we were

hang on!



Hot Belly Mama's (great little bar!)

were really protected being tied up to the lock wall. The area lost power for about 3-4 hours. What a way to start a morning! Since more storms were forecasted, we decided to stay another day. It's easier to ride a storm out on the wall than in the shallow lake we needed to cross.
Mike took the dinghy out and fished a while on Rice Lake. He landed a huge small mouth bass. I was surprised that he didn't bring it home for supper. (He did take a picture of it!) Guess it's cheeseburgers again!
The storms didn't show like they were predicted, but it did rain early evening. It was probably a good thing we stayed. "A good sailor leaves nothing to chance".
Finally on the move again! The next morning Sweet Pea and NautiNell were on their way. We planned to anchor somewhere near Peterborough. Sweet Pea planned to stay on the wall tonight and then the municipal marina tomorrow night. We only had one lock to go through today so we figured we could go about 40 miles. It turned out to be a really pleasant day. The weather was nice and there wasn't much wind. The area is getting prettier all the time. The water is also getting a lot clearer as we go along. After we locked through at Lock 19 we ventured on to find a good anchorage. Sweet Pea tied up at the wall as planned. As we ventured around the curve that would lead us to the marina, we spied the 250' Centennial Fountain geyser! What a sight! Behind the fountain we also spied what looked like a wall that we could tie up too. We didn't see anything telling us not to tie up there, so why not give it a shot. It turned out great! We found out later that it belonged to the city and they used to charge. Now it's just a first come, first serve deal. Sweet! It was close to the town of Peterborough – only a few blocks away. We called Sweet Pea but they were already set up. They did come over in the dinghy later for a visit. Inconceivable was in the marina so they also stopped by in their dinghy for a visit. We took our bikes to town (have I mentioned how much I like my bike? It has pink rims!! Ha! ) Anyway, we checked out the town. We stopped for a beer at "Hot Belly Mamas". It's a Cajun place that looked like it would be a lot of fun later on in the day. We biked around some more – going to Boaters World, etc. We were looking for another depth gauge. One of ours shot craps. We really need to have a backup. Oh well, we may have to wait until we're back in the States.
When we got back to the boat there were several young kids swimming around the wall. They were having a ball and we had a ball watching them. If we hadn't spent so much time at our last two stops, we would have definitely stayed another day or so at Peterborough.
Oh well! Gotta keep movin' on!!
Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Campbellford Ontario

Campbellford Ontario

Part of the Trent Hills Area

The Guide Books said that Campbellford is a great place to stop for the weekend. Although it was only Thursday, we decided to spend some time here. We tied up on the wall where we were able to get power and water. If we stayed two nights, we could get the third night free. SO, why not! We hoped this way we would miss any weekend traffic going through the locks. A young man named Tom checked us in. He told us that his father had defected from Czechoslovakia and that part of the family had gone to Canada and the other part ended up in St. Louis! So he had been to St Louis just a few years ago visiting. From then on, Mike continued to call him the "Defective Chech"! Hmmmm.

When we arrived at the wall, there were several other Loopers already here. Since the west side was full, we tied up on the east side which turned out to be better anyway. The waterway cuts right through the town. Old Mill Park is right by the wall. It's a very nice area. The town has quite a natural charm about it. In the park is a giant 20 foot replica of the Canadian Two Dollar coin. The artist who designed it lives in Trent Hills area and the Canadian Mint declared Campbellford as "the home of the two dollar coin". It was quite a sight to see. They refer to this coin as the "Twonie". It's because the dollar coin is referred to as the "Loonie". The dollar coin has a "loon" on it. Canadians use the coins the way we use dollar bills. It took some getting used to, but it isn't a problem. Their quarters remind me of tokens. Our money and Canadian money is pretty much exchangeable at this time. However, they accept American money a lot easier than we accept Canadian.

There were several things to check out in Campbellford. Mike was able to obtain a fishing license there. In Canada you can purchase a license for the whole country. Makes it very convenient, unlike the States. One of the first things I wanted to check out was Dooher's Bakery. We had heard about this bakery all the way up the locks. I was not disappointed! There were over 19 flavors of muffins! How do you choose!! - Duh, by making several trips! There is also a cheese factory here – Empire Cheese. We had to pick up some of that as well. Especially the cheese curds – so fresh they squeak!

I managed to do laundry somewhere in between the bakery and the "World Finest Chocolate Factory". This place was fantastic. They advertise that that this is one of the few factories that make the chocolate from "bean to bar". There was so much to choose from that I think I gained weight just wandering around in their outlet store!

It was nice to stay a few days in nice weather rather than just waiting out the rain. We rode our bikes all over the town. There is a big box store – something like Wal-Mart in Canada called the Canadian Tire Store. We had to check that out as well. Of course, we met some very interesting locals. Canada is full of them – in a good way! One night we had dinner at the Rub (BBQ) with Rick and Carol of "Salt and Sand". Really good food!

The next night Mike and I went to this "little" pub named the Stinkin' Rose. Now by little, I mean little! It only seats 28. 29 if you count the bartender. This was a really unique place. There was a two piece band there – I use the word band here loosely. It was a young couple. The guy would sometimes accompany her with his "drum". It was just the skin or the top of a snare drum. Not the whole drum. Guess it's a lot easier to haul around. It sounded pretty good though! This place had only micro brewed beer and liquor. The only thing that we didn't like was that it was NOT air conditioned. It was so hot it there. They couldn't open the doors, because the mosquitoes would have a feast! It still was a neat place and we met several people there. We did find out there was a Bluesfest going on in Frankford this weekend. The problem was that we had passed Frankford a few locks before. Oh well, we'll find some blues somewhere I'm sure some day! We keep missing festivals, etc. by a weekend or two!

On Saturday morning, they have a Farmer's Market. I rode over to check that out. Wasn't really that much there. However, I found out that the Grindhouse, just a little coffee shop just a few yards from the boat was having a jam session. Every Saturday morning, they have a jam session and play cannabis informational movies. Yes, I said cannabis. We really wanted to get back to it to check it out, but we ran out of time. Just what is a cannabis informational movie anyway?

Sunday morning after topping off with fuel, we headed toward Hastings. That means six locks and about 30 miles. Along the way we heard Sweet Pea on the radio. They were only a few hours behind us. We hoped they could catch up. When we got above the lock, we tied up on the wall. Thanks to Simple Interest. They were tied up there already and saw us locking through. They went over to the wall and pretty much saved us a place. We had to make a few fishermen move. They weren't too happy about that but at least they took it better than the ones in Barnegat Bay!

We were all set up when we saw Sweet Pea locking through. Mike helped them in by helping save a spot for them. We finally got to meet their daughter, Ashley. She is the original "Sweet Pea" for whom the boat is named. We enjoyed talking and catching up on things. We ate cheeseburgers at the local burger joint just across the street. The forecast is for possible storms tonight. We may be here a while!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

We made it to Canada!

Our first trip to Canada has been quite an experience. We made it to Kingston, Ontario late Saturday afternoon. The post popular marina, the Confederation Basin Marina, was full. There was a huge sailboat race going on with sailors from all over – some nationally known. There was also the Taste of Kingston going on. So Kingston was very busy! We found a slip at the Kingston Marina just around the bend. We did have to wait for the swing bridge to open however. It opens on the hour and we missed it by 12 minutes. Our timing is not always the best! Anyway we floated around watching the sailboats and everything else going on. Finally the whistle blew and the bridge opened. We made it in to the marina without any problems, although the wind didn't help us any. We could have this slip for only one night because the person that leases it would be back on Sunday. No problem. We'd find another one. When we finally landed, Mike had to go make the official call to check in to customs. That's all it took, was a phone call. Now we are legally in Canada! After that he took a bike trip into town to see what he could see. He was back in about an hour and said the town was hoppin'! We planned to check it out later. However, that didn't happen. Too tired…… So the next morning we hopped on our bikes to give it a look.

We rode over to the Confederation Basin to see if we could get a slip. We knew of several Loopers who were there and were planning to leave. They wouldn't take a reservation but told us we shouldn't have a problem. We rode around for a little while then headed back to get the boat ready to move. Everything went as planned. The guy who needed his slip back was on the other side of the bridge waiting for it to open. We were also waiting for it to open so we could move over to the new marina. Sometimes our timing is good. We were able to get a slip immediately. No problem. This is a huge marina, but not really well organized. Pure Luck! Once we were secured, we ventured out again. They were having an "antique sale" more like a flea market in town. We rode over to see what there was. Of course, I bought some things – got to have souvenirs! We ate lunch at the Kingston Brewery House. Neat atmosphere. Food good too. While we were riding around, we ran into Steve and Jean of "SunCat". They had parked their boat right next to ours. Of course, we ended up having Happy Hour with them on their boat. Sorry, we stayed so long guys! I think they missed dinner! However, we really did have a great time visiting with them. They are more experienced and have knowledge of this area. We were really glad to learn what we could.

Monday morning we took another bike ride around town playing tourist. After that it was time to head out toward Trenton. However, we planned to stop in Pictan Bay to spend the night. We ended up on a mooring ball. Now this was an experience! The wind was blowing, of course, doesn't it always! We had never tried to use a mooring ball before and this one didn't have any type of rope to grab ahold of. First I tried my hand at the wheel while Mike tried to grab the ball – no success. So then I tried to grab it while Mike guided the boat around. Still no success! I'm sure we looked like rookies!! Finally the guy with the goofy hat sitting on the dock jumped in his dinghy to come out and give us a hand. He was really a nice guy and finally we landed the mooring ball. As he rode off – I could hear him saying "Only 4000 more miles to go!" Okay, maybe we were good entertainment for him. That evening we took the dinghy around to check out the area. There were some really neat boats there. It showered a little but there were no storms. It was a very nice night.

On Tuesday morning, we had no problem getting off the mooring ball. Thank goodness!! We left about 8:30 for Trenton. Trenton is the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway which takes us up to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. We made it to Trenton without any problems. Lake Ontario was our friend all the way across. We had heard that some others had some problems crossing with it being rough but ours was perfect. We stayed at Fisher's Marina. Craig, the dock master, was quite helpful and full of information. There were several Loopers there as well. Sweet Pea, Jeremiah, Dreamcatcher, SeaMoore, Salt and Sand, Coconuts and Bade Boomer to name a few. This is a popular spot to stop and provision up before on the waterway.

The first night Mike and I went out on our bikes to investigate the town of Trenton. We rode around for a while until we came across the Royal Canadian Legion. Now Mike is a member of the American Legion so we thought we would see if we could get in. Not only could we get in, we were welcomed with open arms. We met several locals there and were invited to sit at their table. We had a ball! These guys were a hoot! It made me miss the Joplin Elks Lodge. We met several locals there and were invited to sit at their table. We had a ball! These guys were a hoot! It made me miss the Joplin Elks Lodge. They were very interested in what we were doing and where we were going. They also provided us with a great insight to the town of Trenton.

Wednesday morning we had visitors. Mary and Jim from the Legion stopped by to visit and to see our boat. We had a great visit. Wow! We know people in Canada and they even came to visit! How cool is that! Mary, I hope you read this. We really did enjoy our visit with you and Jim. Please tell everyone back at the Legion hello for us.

The rest of the day, we spent shopping and visiting with all the other Loopers. A few had left out this morning. However, several were still hanging around. Most of us are not in any hurry……. We went to Tomasso's, a Greek/Italian restaurant. Dale went with us. Her husband had gone home for a few days. We had great food and great conversation.

Finally on Thursday morning we headed out under the bridge to the Trent-Severn Waterway. There are 44 locks on this waterway which extends just short of 300 miles. Some of the locks are less than a mile apart. The locks are also very small. Most of the time they only lock through two boats our size at a time. The way it worked out we ended up locking through with Coconuts. This is a beautiful 49 foot Kady-Krogen. It's fifteen years old, but you would think it was new. They are from Florida. We planned to stop at Campbellford. That is only about 30 miles away, but we had to lock through 12 locks! We made it but it was a very long day! The Trent-Severn Waterway is beautiful.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario

We're boating on Lake Ontario! After all the horror stories, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive. It has turned out to be great!

Friday morning (July 8) we headed out through the last lock and entered Lake Ontario. Sweet Pea decided to go north directly across the lake to Kingston, Ontario, Canada where they could check through customs. We wanted to take more time on the lake so we went around on the eastern shore to Sackets Harbor, NY. We spent the night there in Navy Point Marina. It was a nice marina but there was absolutely no one around to help you dock your boat! It was a tad bit windy and our boat acts just like a big balloon wanting to take off when the wind blows it. Anyway, Mike and I made it in. We had heard about the town and wanted to see it. We weren't disappointed.

If you remember any of your high school history (I don't, but I'm learning it again!), you will remember that there was a very important battle fought here during the War of 1812. Sackets Harbor became the headquarters of the U.S. military for the northern frontier. Had it not been for the decisive outcome of the May 29, 1813 battle, this section of the country might actually be a part of Canada today.

Madison Barracks is here and housed thousands of American troops until it closed after WW II. The old brick and limestone structures still exist. The town itself is a quaint little town full of Bed and Breakfasts and specialty shops. So no, I didn't spend all my time visiting the historical sights.

We rode our bikes around the town on Saturday morning and came across a full blown boys "Lacrosse" tournament. Lacrosse must really be huge in this part of the country. It's always on a television in a sports bar. There were hundreds of kids playing with as many parents watching. It was fun to stop and watch even though we know nothing about the game. It seems to be a lot like soccer only you have this huge stick, maybe more like hockey. I'm not sure. Anyway you would have thought you were at a Little League Baseball tournament – kids and parents are the same all over……!

We left the marina around noon. We didn't really have that far to go until we were in Canada. We planned to spend Saturday night in Kingston Ontario. CANADA!!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Heading Up the Oswego Canal – Locking Down

About 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning we left our free dock in Sylvan Beach along with Sweet Pea to begin the crossing of Lake Oneida. Lake Oneida is about a 20 mile stretch of open water. It tends to be a little much when the winds from the west kick up. The waves gather on the eastern shore which is where we would be beginning our journey. However, again we had a "perfect" day for it. The weather was calm with no wind. The waves were pretty non-existent. Along the way we had to stop and watch this fisherman bring in this huge walleye. Mike is just dying to do some fishing. He's done a little along the way, but nothing big yet. Maybe in Canada……

Since the crossing of Lake Oneida went so well, we were able to make it to Winter Harbor in Brewerton in just a couple of hours. Winter Haven is a good place to stop and replenish you galley and liquor department before heading to Canada. They even have a courtesy car – so no walking this time! We spent most of the day just chilling. This area is a lot calmer than Sylvan Beach. Although we loved it there, we also like the peace and quiet too. For dinner we all went to dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant. It was a really cool place that I would expect is hopping on weekends. Even on the day after the Fourth of July they still had a pretty good dinner crowd.

The next day both Jim and Mike changed to oil in the boats. While they were busy doing that, Dale and I took a car to the grocery store. Now this was a pretty cool store. There were lots of "extras" including an olive bar. I bought several things that really looked good - but I'm not even sure what they are! Now we're learning that every state has different laws when it comes to alcohol. How I miss Missouri – where you can buy what you want, pretty much when you want it. In New York they sell beer in the grocery store. Nothing new there, right? But we also wanted to get some liquor. We had to find a "wine and spirits" store for that. Since we were going to the "wine and spirits" store anyway, we waited to get the beer then. But oh no – the "wine and spirits" store sell just that – wine and liquor. They are not allowed to sell any malted beverages – no beer – no coolers. What's with that? Anyway, we spent about two hours going to the different stores. Finally when we got back, I found that Mike was still working on the boat. Oh, he had finished changing the oil, but he started another project. Finally we cooked dinner on the boat and just relaxed. We had planned earlier to leave when we were done, but we later decided to stay another night here.

So on Thursday, after topping off on fuel, we headed up the Oswego Canal. First we had to lock through our last lock of the Erie. Then it was up the Oswego Canal. Well, we were going north, but we're locking down the Oswego River. We were only going about 25 miles, but we had to lock through 7 locks. Lock #23 and then Locks 1-7. (There's no lock #4 – don't know what happened there) At about Lock #5 near Phoenix NY there is a great little park and a good size wall to tie up to. Also there are the "Bridge House Brats". These are young kids that volunteer to help boaters. We had to pull over to the wall to wait until the lock was ready so we got to experience it first-hand. Here they came – with lemonade in hand – helping up tie up and anything else we needed. They even offered to deliver us lunch from the local restaurants. Hard working kids! We were only staying there about 25 minutes so we opted out on the lunch.

Finally we made it to Lock #7. This is where we had to wait until 6:00 p.m. for it to open. They were working on lock at scheduled times. We had hoped to get there in time for the 2:30 opening but missed it. We had a nice little break for about 1 ½ hours. Finally at 6:00 p.m. sharp – the gates opened up. We locked through to Oswego NY where we tied up to a free wall. Gotta love those free walls! Here along the wall were several other boats. One was a brand new 541 Meridian. We talked to the captain who was delivering it to Canada from Florida. He was a Canadian and had several good tips for us as to where to go in Canada. Mike went over to the boat and visited with the captain, Lang, and the owner of the boat. I guess it might have been a touch nicer than ours…. You think?

After dinner we rode bikes to town to check it out. A nice little town with a lot of neat looking restaurants. AND a Hershey's Ice Cream shop – oh yeah, we stopped!

Friday morning we tried again to find charts. No was seems to have them. I guess the Loopers ahead of us are buying them up. Anyway we really didn't need them since we had the GPS, but we really like them for backup. About 10:00 a.m. we parted company with Sweet Pea for a while. They wanted to cross Lake Ontario directly to Kingston about 55 miles. We had planned to go to the east a bit and check out some of the other towns along the way. We headed out to Sackets Harbor. Lake Ontario is huge! It's about 200 miles long and over 50 miles wide. At one time we were in water over 300 feet deep! Again, we had great weather. The Lake was as calm as it could be. We made it to Sackets Harbor and stayed in the Navy Point Marina. We planned to check out the town in the morning.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Spending Time in Sylvan Beach

Mike and I decided that we wanted to spend the 4^th of July weekend here in Sylvan Beach. It is such a neat little beach town that we wanted more of it! When we got here on Wednesday, we found out there was an open air concert that evening. We arrived before noon so we had plenty of time to check things out. Happy Hour was held on Dream Catcher. They were all planning to leave in the morning if the weather was good. We had some good eats and lots of lively conversation. About 6:00 p.m. we said our goodbyes to them and headed out on our bikes to check out the concert. It was cold and windy! You wouldn't think it was July, it felt more like September. Anyway, we met a lot of the locals and listened to the bands for a while. They were pretty good for local bands. The turnout was rather sparse, but we were told it was because of the weather.

Thursday morning we woke up to a much nicer day, but it was still windy. Because of the wind, our fellow Loopers decided to stay and delay the crossing of the lake for another day. It was nice that they did! We weren't ready to say goodbye to everyone. We were also thrilled to learn the Sweet Pea was in route and would be spending the weekend here also. They were traveling with another Looper, Inconceivable. Mike and I rode our bikes to town to check out things. The town of Sylvan Beach is made up of a great sandy beach on (freshwater) Lake Oneida. There are several places to eat and drink. There is a good size Dollar General and a great little deli – several ice creams stops – and an amusement park. The amusement park has a cool midway and several rides including an old wooden rollercoaster. The town's boardwalk, the beach and the amusement park all remind me of the 1960s. It's like taking a trip back in time. You would expect to see the Beach Boys and Frankie and Annette there. There is volleyball, but no beach blanket bingo……

We found out that there was a good Happy Hour at the Crazy Clam - SO, of course, that's where we all went. Then after that we went to the weekly car show. Now, this was a really cool car show! There were over 200 cars and trucks there on a parking area overlooking the beach. How cool is that! These New Yorkers do like their cars - antiques to muscle cars. Also, it was a beautiful day and evening with the temperatures in the mid 70s.

The weather even improved on Friday. While the others took on the Lake Oneida crossing, Sweet Pea and NautiNell stayed behind. Mike and I took a ride into town to the liquor store, post office and Dollar General. We also took a dinghy ride up Fish Creek. This was a nice area that had beautiful homes and manicured yards. Of course, each had a nice dock and boat as well. We came back to the boat to take a rest. We sat on the back of NautiNell watching the parade of boats going up and down the river. It was like a cruise night only with boats – all types – cigarette boats to pontoons to bass boats. At about 8:00 p.m. Mike decided we needed to do something. So we rode our bikes to the American Legion for a beer or two. Now this was a hoot! We are finding out that people are pretty much a like everywhere. They just SOUND different! Sitting at the bar, I felt like I was on a sitcom that was taking place in New York or Jersey! The Yankees were playing the Mets on TV. That was causing quite a stir! There are die hard baseball fans here! These "New Yorkers" can only yell when they talk and always have a very colorful way of stating their opinions. However, they all welcomed us in like we were one of them. Like I said – it was a hoot! BTW – the Yankees won much to the dismay of the other side of the bar.

On Saturday morning, Mike took the dinghy out fishing. After that, we rode in to town to have lunch. We ate at Harpoon Eddies on the beach. Great food and a lot of fun! We were going to hang around on the beach for a while, but decided to take a dinghy ride instead. We rode clear out and around to the beach where several boats were anchored. People were bobbing around just like home at TableRock. We also rode over about another mile or so to the State Park in Verona Beach, NY. This was the same. Hundreds of boats anchored out and people bobbing around. What we did notice though, is that most of them anchored near each other, but didn't raft up to each other - probably because of the waves.

That evening Jim and Dale (Sweet Pea) and Mike and I went to dinner at Splash. It was a little disappointing. Mainly because they were about out of everything that we ordered. Especially poor Dale. I think she went from a prime rib to a Delmonico steak in a matter of seconds! The server apologized and said they had been slammed all day. Anyway, it was okay but not the best. We rode our bikes around and decided to all stop for ice cream. Now, the ice cream made everything better. How can you go wrong with a double scoop of "Muddy Sneakers"! Now that's goooood!!!!

Sunday was Mike's birthday. The guy turned 65! I think there might be a mistake because it seems just like yesterday we celebrated his 50^th with a lake theme at Champs! I can see Tom Fahrig coming in with his snorkel gear now!!! We pretty much just took it easy. We did go for a short bike ride. Sweet Pea had invited us over for dinner to help celebrate. We went over for cocktails and a wonderful spaghetti dinner. Dale can cook! Since there wasn't a really easy way to get a birthday cake or a cookie, I made Mike a no bake Cheesecake and put a candle in the middle. I also bought him a hat at Dollar General. Hey, you do what you gotta do on this trip!

Monday morning Mike washed the boat and repaired the fender "covers". By covers, I mean trash bags. The lock walls are so hard on the fenders that most cover them with covers or trash bags if that's all you have. Later we moved over to the free wall so the guy could move his boat back into his slip. He had been at the free wall all weekend. They all leave the marina and tie up at the free wall on party weekends so they don't have to worry about getting back to their boats. Since there is no power on the free wall, they have their own little Honda generators to run their lights, etc. Pretty nice setup! Anyway, he wanted to come back in on Monday so we moved over there. Better place to see the fireworks and it was free! No problem with us! We hung out on the boat most of the day watching the crowd – either the boat parade, the car parade or the people parade! We were a lot closer to the amusement park and the bars so there was always something to see. Later that evening Jim and Dale came over to watch the fireworks. We grilled hotdogs and carried on. A typical Fourth of July no matter where you are!

It is still hard to believe that Mike and I are doing this! We are in Sylvan Beach, New York on the Fourth of July - on our own boat – watching fireworks and eating hotdogs - with Sweet Pea. Amazing!

Tuesday we plan to leave out early and cross Lake Oneida. Hoping for a good weather forecast!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"