So I’m just sayin, I am not really a fan of locks. We have completed 19 of them so far with about 16 more to go on the Canal. It’s hard, hot, sweaty, dirty work. It’s even painful. Remember the ‘keep the arms and hands inside a all times’, well there are just sometimes when that simply can’t be done. I had to make a leaping reach for a stern line in one of the locks and got my finger caught between the tightening line and the cleat on the boat resulting in squishing my finger splitting it open at the knuckle. Thankfully it didn’t break but it is ugly and painful, especially when I keep hitting it on everything! I am now working 1 1/2 handed, but am still getting my part of the job done – well mostly.
The sights along the Canal remain beautiful with lots of geological landscapes and sights. We have generally been the only ones on the water with only occasionally meeting up with other boaters.
While traveling the Erie Canal one would think they were way out in the middle of nowhere. Nope.
We spent the last 2 nights at a little seawall marina in Little Falls, NY. It was another Canal side town that is trying to remake itself, but this one, not so successfully. We walked into the grocery store (with our little blue wagon) and through the town. Most of the businesses are closed up. The very few restaurants were only open either early morning or for a few hours at dinner time. There were; however, a lot of spectacular old buildings left over from days gone by. Many of them I wanted to buy and rehab, but…then what?
Today we just made a short trip about 10 miles up the Canal to another free dock for the night. This one is close to the original Remington gun manufacturer founded in 1816 and claims to be the oldest factory in the US that still made it’s original product and was the largest rifle manufacturer in North America. It developed or adopted more cartridges than any other gun maker or ammunition manufacturer in the world. The original business has undergone several changes, including a couple of bankruptcies, over the last dozen or so years which resulted in several sales and ultimately a breakup into two companies; Remington Arms and Remington Ammunition, which have moved locations to Alabama and Minnesota. (Wikipedia).
So, it was said there is a museum on the old manufacturing sight, but alas, that is no longer the case. However, all is not lost! There is a brewery, Heelpath Brewing Company (name derived from the original name of the Erie Canal), right here at the free dock. They claim to have 12 different beers on tap. I’m not a beer drinker, but it looks as though they may also have wine slushies. We’ll see.
We will be heading out again tomorrow to continue along the Canal with an additional few locks (oh yay!) before our 10 day stop in Syracuse. We will let you know how that goes. Love to all, Gina and Mike.
