June 23-25                               Oswego, New York

We left early from Brewerton and with some trepidation approached the next lock.  Dave was gone and the responsibility for the lines and fenders was now mine alone.  Following his instructions, I positioned the fenders high and low on the starboard side and prepared to catch one of the hanging lines with my bow hook.  All went well.  Again we were downlocking and there was much less turbulence than we had experienced when uplocking. 

We have been amazed by the consistent excellent maintenance of the New York Canal System.  Apparently, the workers spend much of the winter when the canals are closed to clean, repair, and paint.  The bright royal blue and gold colors of the NYCS are displayed on the boats, work barges, railings, gates, etc.  We saw nothing faded or rusted.  Everything was pristine!

We exited the lock to a beautiful scene.  The banks were lined with pine trees and lovely large homes, some with little gazebos in front (in Holland, they are called tea houses).  We were grateful for another sunny, beautiful day with little wind.  Large faded red barns with adjacent silos told of the rural history of this area.  Another reminder of days long ago was clothes lines with laundry hanging from them.  Flocks of Canadian geese were common sights and it was  amusing to see them diving in the river with their rears sticking up like little white flags.

To our dismay, a tug pushing a small barge came into view before the next lock.  As commercial vessels have priority, we had to follow it all day.  The locks were not large enough to accommodate the tug, barge, and our boat, so we were forced to wait at each one.  Most waiting times were 15-20 minutes and required us to tie to a bollard on shore and keep the bow thruster engaged to make sure we did not hit the concrete walls.  Approaching the junction of three rivers (Seneca, Oswego, and Erie), we made ready to exit the Erie for the Oswego. We were hoping the tug and his cargo would continue on the Erie Canal but this did not happen.

Several smaller boats accompanied us in most of the locks and were not happy with our diesel fumes.  I wasn't happy with the fumes either.  I was subjected to a blast each time I moved toward the stern to adjust the fenders or pull on a line.  After nine locks, it was a relief to reach the port city of Oswego on the shore of Lake Ontario. We docked at the small Oswego Marina and decided it was a good place for more R & R.

The following day gave us an opportunity to put the radar arch, antennas, and canvas in place.  Brian, an affable young man from the marina shop came to help us.  We had been assured we would not encounter more low bridges on our journey. Our satellite television reception was immediately restored and we gained improvement in the accuracy of the GPS. 

It was time for some personal grooming.  We walked several blocks to a lovely little day spa.  David received a needed haircut and I had a pedicure.  Roughing it is not my style!  Just as we finished, the sky darkened, lightening cracked, and thunder echoed.  We hurried to the boat and made it just before a torrential rainstorm hit.  We had a very dirty boat and I was glad to have it washed by nature and not by me.  David made a wonderful clams and spaghetti dish for dinner and we enjoyed the rain.

It continued to be stormy on Wednesday so we delayed our departure from Oswego.  David was often on the phone with his office and I worked on my blog and cleaned the interior of the boat.  Unfortunately, the storm had blown loose the canvas over the bridge.  There was a tear in it which would need repair.  Nothing could be done while it was wet.  We were hoping a nearby canvas repair shop could do a quick job for us the next day.