7/7/16 – 7/27/16          Brewerton cont’d and back to Brewerton    

 

7/7/16 – 7/20/16          Brewerton, NY cont’d

In case you've never seen a diesel motor, here's ours while our heads were being re-surfaced and new injectors were ordered.

 

 

We had a wonderful visit from Denise and Bill. While they were with us, we were treated to a wonderful rainbow right over the boat yard owner’s house and our boat which was right behind it. Maybe this will be a good luck sign for us and our repairs.

 

 

Since we couldn’t do any boat trips with them, we went to a few places so they could see what our trip has or would have been like.

Our first trip was to the next lock we would have had to go through. Unfortunately, no boats came through while we were there. However we were joined by a Chicago tour boat when we actually went through on the 21^st.

 

The next day we went back to our previous stop so they could see Sylvan Beach. I won’t boar you with more pictures of this stop.

 Our next outing was to Clayton, NY. on the St Lawrence River. This would have been one of the stops we planned to do with them.  From there we boarded one of the sightseeing cruises to Bolt Castle on Heart Island. This castle was never completed since the man having it built for his new bride, stopped work on it when she died. What is complete today boasts what it would have been in that day and age.

In the forefront is the playhouse, including bowling alley

This is the boat house on the mainland

View from patio near the roof

0782  Heart Island is also the home of US Customs for boaters

 

The cruise to the castle took us up the US side of the St. Lawrence River, and the return was in part of the Canadian side. This area is known for its Thousand Islands. Below are some sights along the St. Lawrence River.

Canadian Side of St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence

Also in Canada

 A less auspicious trip took us back to Ilion NY to visit the Remington Museum and Armory. They still produce arms at this sight.

 

After Denise and Bill left us to head for Niagara Falls, we waited for our motor work to be completed. We saw some amazing boats go by as we waited.

 

We also made good use of the courtesy cars. We used them mostly for shopping and eating.

I had a really unique experience while we were in port. I had a butterfly come to visit and when he couldn’t find his way off the boat I was able to pick him up by his wings and set him free. I never thought I’d be able to catch a butterfly!!! Well I got a chance to do it again a day later when another butterfly did the same thing. Unbelievable huh! 

 

7/21/16 – 7/22/16        Oswego, NY

Finally on our way, after one false start, we headed up to Oswego on Lake Ontario. This trip took us up to and through the Oswego Canal and it’s 8 locks. Our destination for the night boasted a wonderful waterfront restaurant, Alex’s on the Water.



Us sitting in front of Alex's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were entertained our first night by a free concert held just across the Oswego River. The band was very good and the crowd was amazing.

 

We also had music on our second night from Alex’s where we were docked.

Here are a few pictures from Oswego and Lake Ontario.

Lake Ontario beyond the marina

Alouette Spirit a Canadian tank barge    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7/23/16 – 7/27             Brewerton, NY

On our way back down from Oswego our motor started smoking, so we are back at Winter Harbor. We are waiting for an oil analysis to see if there is fuel leaking into the oil, which may indicate that one of the new injectors is leaking. If it’s not that then ??????

We did pass a really cute tour boat on our return trip. Check this out.

 

 

Check back in another couple of weeks, hopefully we will be well on our way back to Baltimore.

 

6/24/16 – 7/6/16          Through New York to Croton on Hudson to Brewerton, NY

6/24/16                        New York to croton on Hudson

Crossing from Staten Island and entering the New York harbor is an impressive sight. Once again we did not stop in New York, but just passed through. But here are a few shots of the harbor and of course the welcoming lady herself.

 

Our stay for the night was at Half Moon Bay in Croton on Hudson. This was a return visit for us. So this may look familiar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/25/16                        Catskill, NY

We headed further up the Hudson River to Riverview Marina. This was a very picturesque trip and I hope these shots give you an idea of the beauty of the Catskills as seen from the river.

 

We also dined again at the Port of Call Restaurant.

 

6/26/16                        Waterford, NY

We continued up the Hudson River to Waterford. This marks the beginning of the Erie Canal. The first lock is actually on the Hudson before turning left into Waterford. You can continue straight and take the Champlain Canal however our boat is too tall for that route. We stayed the night right on the wall and got an early start the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/27/16                        Amsterdam, NY

If you are interested in knowing more about the Erie Canal locks, check our original posts,  July last year. Our first day on the Erie took us to Riverlink Park where we again stayed on the wall.  

Typical Lock on Erie Canal

 

6/28/16                        Ilion, NY

This portion of the Erie Canal is made up primarily of the Mohawk River and numerous sections of manmade canals.

Here are some scenic shots along our way.

 

We arrived at Ilion Marina in the rain. We stayed the night on the wall. Our welcome here came with a bagpipe serenade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived and shut of the motors, we were unable to restart one motor. We’re not sure how bad this is but we’ll have to wait until we get into Brewerton to find out.

6/29/16                        Sylvan Beach, NY

We headed out on one motor today and so far it hasn’t been bad. We are still able to motor along at about 8 – 9 mph. We arrived at the high point of the canal system at lock 20. We had been lifted a total of 420 feet. We also started our way back down.

We stayed on the wall at Sylvan Beach. This is a very interesting little resort town, complete with a beach and a full amusement park.

 

6/30/16 – 7/6/16          Brewerton, NY

Our trip across Oneida Lake on one motor was actually quite pleasant. We arrived at Winter Harbor Marina and have had the motor checked out. It seems we blew a headgasket. So we will be here for another week or two. Both heads are out for resurfacing and then they will be reinstalled.

 

The Brewerton Speedway is just up the street and we went to the races with several other loopers on our first Friday night.

 

The marina has two courtesy cars, so we haven’t been limited to just where we can go by bike. That has been a great help. There are quite a few little restaurants fairly close, so we have checked many out already. We were able to enjoy the 4^th of July fireworks from our back deck.

We are expecting Ken’s daughter and her husband, Denise and Bill for a visit, so we are planning to do some sightseeing in the area. So we will have more of our Brewerton stay to share later.

 

Check back in another couple of weeks for more of our adventures or misadventures as the case may be.