BUFFALO - MORE THAN I EVER EXPECTED

There are a lot of places you go where you really have no expectations.  With Buffalo, New York, however, I had some preconceived notions derived from a number of sources, all of which, I am glad to say, were completely and totally wrong.  We came here because it is a staging point for a crossing of Lake Erie.  It was logical, and fuel and services were readily available.  We ended up stuck here for several days while the winds on Lake Erie stirred the lake into a place unfit for man or beast.  As such, we had plenty of time on our hands to explore and discover.  We were so pleasantly suprised having discovered a city that is interesting from the inside out and from the outside back in. 

Buffalo is one of those cities we visit as cruisers with no means of transportation other than public, so seeing everything is all but impossible.  Nevertheless, we availed ourselves of what was available and believe that we ultimately derived a flavor of what this city is about. 

It is amazing how this city truly melds the old and the new; how it is not hung up with being homogenous and straightforward; but rather, how it values a rather eclectic style coupled with wonderful green belts, parks, and victorian style neighborhoods.  Buffalo truly shines from its wonderful archetecture and parks, to its championship sports teams, to its famous art collections and exhibits, as well as the popular events it holds in its parks and along its waterfront. Buffalo is a gateway to one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, and a center of the potential for extraordinary commercial development as well as a plethora of cultural activity.  From the moment we got to Buffalo, we found it an easy city to negotiate.  There are lots of great restaurants and bars, not to mention museums, and other things to do. Buffalo is certainly a colorful and diverse city.  We met some great folks while we were here.

This is a city which derives most of its history and culture from industry.  Whether it is farming, or the manufacturing of steel and other hard goods, or the fabrication of electronics, or hosehold foodstuffs, Buffalo is a working city. There are numerous factories and plants as well as energy production units throughout this region.  Unfortunately, like so many other places, these places are strongly affected by this steeming pile of dung we call an economy.  As such, go a couple blocks off the main streets, and you will find desperation and despair.  You also find neighborhoods divided.  I understood there to be often conflicting factions in this city - those seeking progress and those seeking to retain the old.  As such, and due to the ongoing conflicts and the seeming unwillingness to compromise, at least several very important economic opportunities that would have employed thousands and thousands of people were reportedly lost.  Those who do have jobs, find this situation untenable and, as a result, there is a lot of talk of "they" did this, and "they" didn't do that.  It's all so ironic.  A city that earned "All America" status is steadily leaking all of its life out over supercilious conflict fed by personal motives.  Nevertheless, the potential is all there, and, as I said above, it is still a very cool place to visit.

Contrary to the assertions of some, Buffalo is a city rich with culture and history despite the speed of its assention and its decline. The city’s rise began in 1825 with the opening of the Erie Canal, which opened trade with the heartland.  By the 1950s, however, Buffalo’s economy had already embarked on a path of disintegration. The completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, which created a more direct route to the Atlantic Ocean, made the Erie Canal obsolete and thus deprived the city of much of its commercial lifeline. Moreover, the city's economic decline was severely exacerbated by race riots in the late 60's and the subsequent "white flight" to the suburbs. By the mid-1970s the inner city was being abandoned.  Even today, few people actually live in downtown Buffalo.

The aforemtentioned notwithstanding, perhaps the most important and revered characteristic of the city managed to survive. No city we have visited on this cruise has demonstrated the same level of inspired architecture as this Buffalo. 

Buffalo is home to some of the greatest American architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Here, you can see works of construction designed by such fellows as Frank Lloyd Wright,  Louis Sullivan,  H.H. Richardson, and Eliel and Eero Saarinen, as well as the park systems designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.  Buffalo has been called the birthplace of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.  As if this is not enough, you can also see buildings by Richard Upjohn, Stanford White, Lord & Burnham, Charles Atwood, and America’s first female professional architect, Louise Blanchard Bethune.  One of Buffalo's claims to fame is its tradition of architectural experimentation. The architects who worked here were apparently among the first to break with European traditions;  they created a style of their own, rooted in American ideals about individualism, commerce and social mobility.

It has been said that poverty is good for preservation if for no other reason than, the poor don’t bulldoze historic neighborhoods to make way for fancy new high-rises. This is seemingly the impression you get when you visit Buffalo.    Today, there is a real strong grass-roots movement to preserve this tradition.  This movement is not by Disney-inspired developers, but rather by a bunch of part-time preservationists, amateur historians and third-generation residents who have made reclaiming the city’s history a deeply personal mission.

 Although much has been accomplished, they still have a long way to go and the present state of the economy is not helping.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed a vibrant farmer's market as well as music played in a larger plaza in the middle of the city during lunch time hours.  There are city squares with ponds that will freeze into ice rinks, and outdoor spaces in the middle of the city seeming designed to inspire people to move back into the city.  Again, there is still quite a way to go.

 So, we are sitting around the boat one evening and the phone rings.  From completely out of the blue, the call is from our friends Ed and Annette.  Ed says, "Where are you?"  I said, "We're in Buffalo."  He said, "We are in Buffalo, too."  Within minutes, we had agreed to get together.  Ed and Annette are in Buffalo visiting one of Ed's son's and his family.  So, we got together the following evening at a place called The Anchor Bar.


It turns out, The Anchor Bar is the origin of the chicken wing, and specifically, the Buffalo Wing.  It is a fabulous place and the food turned out so good, we went back for lunch the next day.  Ok, back to our visit with Ed and Annette.

We know Ed and Annette from Channel Islands Yacht Club back home.  I have always known Ed to be, without any doubt, the smartest man I have ever known.  His wife Annette is, without any doubt, one of the sweetest, kindest, and smartest women I have ever known.  The two of them combined equal......well, let's just say there is no equal.  They are wonderful friends, and it was exemplary to get to spend some time with them 3500 miles from home.


Well, it would appear that Ed and Annette follow the blog and knew we were close by, so they called.  That was such a welcome suprise.  We got together with them, Ed's son and daughter-in-law, and their three children for dinner at The Anchor Bar.  A hundred or so wings, a couple pizza's, some beer and wine later, and the evening was effortless.  I have to say that Ed's son and daughter-in-law have done a wonderful job with their three kids.  They are delightful.  Ed's son and his wife are wonderful too.  They could not have been more friendly and warm hosts. 

So, we talked and talked and ate and ate.  It was really fun.  What makes this so cool is that Ed and Annette are cruisers, too.  They are on their summer time soujourn away from their boat which they left in good hands down in Mexico for the summer.  Soon enough, they will return to their boat, and take it and them to a new place.  They too, understand the blessing cruisers experience when locals take them in, and even more so, when they meet long time familiar friends in strange and far away places.  As I believe we have said before, what we are doing is sometimes very hard.  Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder just where the hell you are.  You sometimes cannot recall the name of the town you were in yesterday, and generally, have no idea, or at least very little, as to where you will be tomorrow.  We face new challenges each and every day.  Ed and Annette understand this, so it is really nice to get together with folks who do.  They understand the challenges and make it easier to talk about it.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, thanks Ed and Annette.  It was great visiting with you.  Thanks for dinner.  Thanks for listening.  Fare thee well on your upcoming voyages or should I say, fair winds and following seas.  And, by the way, as Perry said, "Don't Give Up the Ship."


We spent a good amount of time wandering around in this city.  The train was close by and was easy to hop on and take it up the line for several stops and then get off and walk down, or simply walk around, stop for a coffee, and then ride it back.  We saw so much, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  We even went all the way up to where my mother went to school for a year when she was just out of high school.  Things have changed so significantly since then, I doubt she would recognize the place.  Nevertheless, it was fun to go there for nastalgia.

One morning, when the wind was really kicking up, I heard a couple guys conversing outside on the dock.  It had to be around 0500.  So, of course, I went out on deck.  Just as I got out there, I noticed a couple guys eye balling my dock lines and it looked as if they planned to attempt to move our boat a little.  Well, these guys came in the night before.  Brenda and I didn't notice them when we got back to the boat.  Nevertheless, it got really windy during the night, and their bow rail met my anchor.  Luckily for them, I had the small Bruce on the bow, and no damage was done.  However, they were concerned about the welfare of their boats.  So, the goal was to separate the vessels a little bit more.  No problem.  I hopped down, and we moved our boat back a couple feet so there was plenty of clearance between them.  Thereafter, we got to talking.  I am lousy with names, and honestly cannot recall the names of the two guys I was chatting with.  However, I will never forget them.  These two guys and their wives could not have been more hospitable.  You know how sometimes you meet people with whom you simply click and feel very comfortable?  Well, this is how it went with these folks.  By the end of the morning, we exchanged phone numbers.  They were going home and asked that we keep an eye on their boats since we would be around.  No problem. 

The following evening, they came down with their wives and several other friends and their wives.  We had something of an impromptu dock party.  They brought their boats down to the dock to have a place for the weekend of concerts in the park.  Alice Cooper was playing on Friday night.  I met several really nice folks.  We all enjoyed the evening just talking, drinking beer, and enjoying what can only be described as perfecting weather.  These folks drive school buses, are maintenance engineers, and professional drivers.  They work in factories, operate machinery, and make an hourly wage.  I was so intrigued to talk with these folks. These people remind me of folks such as those Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bon Jovi, as well as Woody and Arlo Guthrie glorify in their songs and poems - the men and women who work in the factories and in the yards, operating machinery, and maintaining the strings and springs that allow our world to move along.  I have such respect for these folks.  I cannot help but admire how they love their familes and friends; how they seemingly put all of life's bullshit aside for those few precious hours, during which the value of spending quality time with friends and family is paramount to all else.  Perhaps I am not doing a good job explaining the kind of admiration I felt getting to know these fine people.  There was something so different, yet so admirable.  I guess it was just refreshing to meet folks who are a part of the American Dream I only knew from songs and movies.  You see, that is the beauty of travel.  You meet all sorts of wonderful people.

As much fun as we were having in Buffalo, and as much as I was tempted to stay and party with the folks we met on the docks at the Alice Cooper concert, we had a great weather window we had to jump through.  It was time to, again, continue our trek westward.  I hope to someday return to Buffalo.  But if I don't, I will always harbor a special place in my heart for this city and its people.

NIAGARA FALLS - ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

When life throws you lemons, you make lemonade.  The wind on Lake Erie is simply not letting up.  This is the 6th day in a row where the USCG has issued a small craft advisory for hazardous seas.  The wind has not been under 20 and the seas have been in the 5-7 foot (and bigger) range.  So, we are not going anywhere. 

We did manage to move from Tonawanda to Buffalo.  That was interesting.  To get to EBM, you have to run around 10 miles up the Niagara River to the Black Rock Canal, transit the Black Rock Lock (operated by the USACOE as opposed to the NYCC) and then run up the canal a little further to Buffalo Harbor and then into the marina basin. The weather was not bad when we left and it did not look to get to bad for the trip down to Buffalo. However, just as we were approaching the channel to Black Rock Lock, the rain started falling so hard, that visibility went to almost nothing.  Radar gets confused in this kind of weather.  So, we were close to a green marker, so we decided to simply stick to it until visibility improved.  At least we knew where we were and did not risk total disorientation.  Within 20 minutes it cleared well enough so we could see our way into the lock and get tied up for the 8 foot lift.

We left Tonawanda for the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo for essentially two reasons:  fuel and staging to start our crossing of Lake Erie.  The EBM was convenient to the entrance to Lake Erie and from there it would be essentially a straight line to Dunkirk, our next planned destination.  Unfortunately, this marina completely sucked, especially for the money they charged.  The staff was discourteous and disinterested.  Moreover, they told us they had a slip for us, but when we got there, they told us we would have to tie up to the bulkhead - a lousy steel wall that happened to be covered with spider webs.  This meant there would be tons of spiders.  This also meant that there would be a lot of food for the spiders - BUGS BUGS BUGS!  And, you know just how much Brenda loves BUGS.  So, it was not a really happy place to be.  We had to keep all the windows closed.  This was not a real problem since it rained almost nonstop.  However, when it did clear for a little bit, we didn't want to open the windows for all the bugs outside awaiting their chance to make their way inside.  Not good.

The weather looked like it was going to lie down enough to get from EBM to Dunkirk.  So, we left the wall at 0615 and headed out.  We had not even made it out of Buffalo Harbor when it became obvious that the weather was not as forecast.  The wind was just starting to pick up - it was hitting the high teens and then the low 20's.  White caps were all over the place as we got closer to the outer harbor breakwater.  So, we turned around.  Brenda and I both agreed we did not want to go back to EBM, but we had no other plan at that time, and it was still only about 0630.  I recalled a dock I saw behind the Naval Park that had what appeared to be power poles and a couple boats tied up.  So, we went and took a look.  When we got there, there was plenty of room, so we tied up.  We figured we could at least stay there until we figured out another plan.  However, we saw a sign that described transient dockage, a price per foot per night, weekly rates, etc.  So, we decided this was a pretty good place to be so we plugged in.  This dock, the Erie Canal Harbor, is much better.  So, here we shall stay until the weather lets us leave. Which leads me to my next story about how we got to Niagara Falls.

Originally, we wanted to go there when we were in Tonawanda.  However, Taxi transportation was cost prohibitive for us cruisers.  So we tried to take a bus.  However, it turns out, the buses didn't run on the necessary route on Sundays.  All the rental car agencies we called were closed for the weekend. So, we sort of gave up.  That, however, is how we ended up finding the Carousel Museum, which turned out to be a total blast.

Anyways, we were investigating a rental car to go to Niagara Falls.  We figured we had a day since we planned to leave Buffalo for Dunkirk on Tuesday.  Well, the cost was just to much to justify for a half a day's use.  So, we decided to take a walk to the city.  As we got into the city, we discovered that Buffalo has a "real" system of public transportation.  Shortly, we found the transit center.  There we met a nice person in the information booth who told us how to get to Niagara Falls State Park on one bus for a grand total of $1.75 per person each way.  And, the time to get there was less than 2 hours.  So, it was all about lemonade at that point; a tall, cool, refreshing glass of lemonade.

The Falls at Niagara are about 12,000 years old.  The Falls were formed when melting glaciers formed massive fresh-water lakes (the Great Lakes) one of which (Lake Erie) ran downhill toward another (Lake Ontario). The rushing waters carved out a river in their descent and at one point passed over a steep cliff like formation (the Niagara escarpment). From the original falls going over the Niagara Escarpment, the water began to wear its way back up the river. The path that it left is known today as the Niagara Gorge (a deeply-cut and very scenic river path).



Currently, Niagara Falls wears its way back another approximately 1 foot/year. The Niagara River flows at approximately 35 miles/hour (56.3 kilometers/hour). There are actually two waterfalls in Niagara, the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is the combination of height and water flow that makes Niagara Falls so beautiful. The Horseshoe Falls are 180 feet (57 meters) high and allow 6 million cubic feet (168,000 cubic meters) of water over the crestline every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.  That is about a million bathtubs full of water every minute!).

Hydro Electricity generated in Niagara Falls at the Sir Adam Beck1 and Sir Adam Beck 2 power stations

from redirected waterflow serves the electrical needs of Southern Ontario and Western New York.



Water that flows over the Falls at Niagara ultimately ends up in Lake Ontario - from there,

water drains by way of the St. Lawrence River in to the Atlantic Ocean.



The word Niagara comes from the word "onguiaahra" which means "a thundering noise".



The Niagara River is about 36 miles in length and is the natural outlet from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The elevation between the two lakes is about 326 feet, half occurring at the Falls themselves. The total area drained by the Niagara River is approximately  264,000 sqare miles. The average fall from Lake Erie to the beginning of the upper Niagara Rapids is only 9 feet. Below the Chippawa-Grass Island Pool control structure, the river falls 50 feet to the brink of the Falls. The deepest section in the Niagara River is just below the Falls. It is so deep it equals the height of the Falls above, 170 feet. 

Now that's something we cruisers from California don't see every day - a group of Amish folks enjoying an outing at Niagara Falls. 

More than 6 million cubic ft of water go over the

crestline of the falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.

Annie Taylor "Queen of the Mist" , a school teacher from Bay City Michigan was first person to travel over the Falls in a barrel on October 24, 1901. Since her feat, many stunt artists have challenged the mighty Falls usually in home-made barrel-like contraptions. More recently, a couple of foolhardy individuals have attempted to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls in a kayak and a jetski - they both perished.

This couple went over the falls in .........

THIS!  Both of them survived. 

I'll write separately about Buffalo later.  Niagara Falls was such a great thing to see, it deserved its own write up.  There sure is or was a lot more going on around there above and beyond the falls.  We hiked somewhat off the path and explored Goat Island and the Three Sisters Islands.

Goat Island was named by John Stedman in the 1770's.  Stedman used to raise a herd of goats during the 1770's. He had cleared approximately ten acres of land on this island. During the extremely cold winter of 1780, all but one of the goats died.  In 1801, Stedman lost possession of his land including Goat Island to the State of New York.  Now it is a beautiful park and you can see the Horseshoe from the American side.

The Three Sisters Islands (actually four islands exist) are located approximately 500 yards east of the Horseshoe Falls along the south/east side of Goat Island. In 1843, these islands were called Moss Islands because the rock surfaces of the islands were covered in moss. The Sister Islands were named after the three daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney. General Whitney was an American commander during the War of 1812 who, following the war, became a very successful and prosperous businessman. He owned and operated the Cataract Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. In the Spring of 1816, General Whitney took his three daughters to visit the islands. On this visit, General Whitney and his three daughters became the first to visit the third outer most island. This was possible because an ice jamb upstream of the Falls had reduced the dangerous rapids which normally prevented safe access to this island to a mere trickle. At the time no bridges to any of the islands existed, but Whitney and his daughters were able to walk to the outer most island by crossing on the ice. General Whitney was so proud of his daughters feat that he asked the owners of the islands, Peter and Augustus Porter, to rename them after his three daughters and his infant son.  Today the Three Sister Islands are named as follows. The first island is called ASENATH (a-see-nath), the second island is called ANGELINE, the third island is called CELINDA ELIZA. The fourth and smallest is known as Little Brother Island named SOLON.

SO HERE'S THE SITUATION:

The weather right now is keeping us stuck in Buffalo.  The combination of a major hurricane in the southeast, and a massive low pressure system in the midwest, and the interaction between the two is creating very hard and unpredictable weather.  Right now as I am writing this, the wind is blowing 30 knots in the harbor and the rest of the afternoon holds the probability of thunderstorms and hail.  There was a twister in Wisconsin yesterday that killed someone.  Locals say this is the worst late summer weather they have ever seen.  So, we'll stay put for now.  We are hoping for a weather window on Friday.  In the interim, we're fine and if we don't get out on Friday or Saturday, I understand that Alice Cooper is playing in the park right next to us on Saturday and it's been a long time since I've seen Alice Cooper.  It's all good.  Just frustrating sometimes.

TANOWANDA AND THE END OF THE ERIE CANAL

Like its sister town, Waterford, New York, Tanowanda, New York is the western gateway to the Erie Canal.  We spent a day and a half there putting things back together and having a day of wind down time. 

You can see the railroad lift bridge in the background?  Well, it was built around the turn of the last century.  Someone had the idea that there should be lift bridges to allow taller vessels in.  Well, the idea was not popular.  Nevertheless, the lift bridge was built, it was operated one time, and has never been opened since (like, over a hundred years ago).

Tonawanda means "swift waters," and is the name given to the area by Neuter and Erie Indians and probably refers to the Niagara River current.  Tonawanda sits at the intersection of the Erie Canal and the Niagara River.  The area, because of its location at a confluence was an important crossroads in terms of America’s westward expansion. Construction of the Erie Canal in the 1820s brought a wave of people, and with the opening of the canal and the resulting increase in trade and traffic, the area developed swiftly.

Today, there are few historical reminders.  Most of the early structures are gone, although there is a newly formed Tonawanda Historical Museum Group putting together museum with items donated by long time area residents.  At the moment, it sort of has the feel of a consignment shop, but I suspect that with a good museum director, the bits and pieces can be brought together to tell an interesting story.

The waterfront area is very popular with boaters.  Not only is Tonawanda a gateway to the Erie Canal, it is also a very popular place to bring the boat and the family for weekends and holidays.  The city runs the docks on both sides of the canal.  There is probably room for a couple hundred boats to tie up, rafted or otherwise, and to have easy access to the north and south sides of town.  You pull up wherever there is space and plug in.  Then you walk over the the harbormaster's office and pay.  It's really inexpensive (compared to where we are now in Buffalo). There are many restaurants and bars within short walking distance, all of which offer live music almost every weekend, and several during the week.  We enjoyed walking the streets and poking our heads into interesting little stores.

Perhaps the highlight of the stop, however, was discovering the Herschell Carousel Factory Museum.  The Allan Herschell Company, the most prolific maker of carousels, specialized in producing portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators. The Company produced over 3,000 hand carved wooden carousels and out-produced all of its rivals in the carousel industry. Each hand-carved wooden carousel featured striking yet simple horses.



All of the original animals would have been made of wood.  Today, some are cast from fibreglass.



The Allan Herschell Company had a worldwide reputation for quality rides. Carousels from this company were shipped throughout the United States and Canada, as well as to all parts of the world.  In fact, one such carousel is in Santa Barbara at the Chase Palm Park.

There is actually a practical story concerning the idea of grabbing the brass ring.  During midievil times, knights were trained to fight on horseback with a brass ring which hung from an arm mounted on a rolling platform.  The ring swung back and forth, and the knight had to aim his lance accurately in order to put the point through the ring.  In the early days of carousels, however, most of the outside row horses were "standers" meanind they did not go up and down, but rather, remained fixed.  Most people preferred to ride the "jumpers" on the inside rows - they were considered more fun.  Carousel owners needed a way to get riders on the outside rows, so they came up with a variation of the old brass training ring.

This is the carving room at the Herschell Museum.  Volunteer carvers come in to this day and work on wooden carousel horses.

This is a Wirlitzer Band Machine.  You cannot see the labels, but this machine plays for 16 violins, several trombones, several trumpets, as well as the two drums seen on either side. 

This is actually a "copy machine".  It is used to make copies of original Wirlitzer Music Rolls.

Ride operators thus devised a game whereby outside row riders would make attempts at stretching out and grabbing metal rings from a long armed dispenser positioned just far enough away to make it challenging.  Most of the rings snatched in this way were steel.  However, every so often, a brass ring would be caught.  The brass ring could be traded for a free ride on the carousel or kept as a good luch charm.  Today, however, insurance companies have put the whammy on this old school game and it is no longer done. 

There's Brenda pretending she's reaching for the brass ring.

So, after a day and a half in Tonawanda, we headed out of the Erie Canal, and onto the Niagara River, into the Black Rock Canal, and tied to a wall in the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, New York.  We are waiting for the wind on Lake Erie to settle down and let us out.  We have been buried under one passing storm after another, and the wind the follows has whipped the lake up into something of a frenzie making it no place for man or beast.  So, we'll wait.  In the mean time, we plan to rent a car and go see Niagara Falls.  The place we are tied up sucks.  It is beyond rolly when the wind is blowing on Lake Erie which it seems to be doing incessently.  Our fenders and lines are taking a horrid beating.  Oh well.  All part of the game.  At least the sunsets are pretty.

More later.

Brenda took this picture of all the tourists in Lockport taking pictures of us as we locked through Locks 34 and 35, the final locks of the Erie Canal - a combined 50 foot lift.

ERIE CANAL - PART 2

The canal is unique in that it is completely different each and every day. When I wrote of part one of our Erie Canal journey, we had gone only as far as the town of Little Falls. Now, however, we are almost 130 miles further along the line, so to speak, and to say you wouldn't recognize the place would be an understatement. First and foremost, once we passed the Oswego Canal junction, and entered what is called the "Western Erie Canal", the environs changed completely. 

I don't know.  Maybe it's just me, but the first part of the canal, the Eastern Erie Canal, seemed comfortable.  This first part of the western side, on the other hand, seems eerie and almost foreboding.  The simple fact of the matter is that this part of the canal has never really been carefully charted for purposes of recreational boating.  So, there are many variances and inconsistencies.  It would seem that the electronic charting issues common in Mexico are common here.  For most of the last two days, my chart plotter has been showing me running on land about 100 yards inland from the canal.  Then, there are many marks shown on the canal guide that are missing.  There are marks that are so damaged you can hardly know what they are until you are right up on them.  Then, according to the NY Canal Corp., the controlled depth for the Western Erie is supposed to be 12 feet.  Hah!!  I have seen everything from 6 to 41 and just about everything in between.  It is rare to see the actual controlled depth.  This makes bridges a little more nerve wracking. 

The controlled bridge heights for the Western Erie Canal are lower than for the eastern half.  Most typical cruising boats can clear the bridges on the eastern half where the lowest bridge may be around 24 feet.  On the western half, however, there are a couple 16 footers.  So, we have taken down our outriggers, and our mast, as well as folding down the antennae to make sure we can clear the lowest bridges.  The problem is this.  We know that from the waterline to the top of the radome antenna is just under 13 feet.  No problem, right?  Well, if the controlled depth is 12 feet, and the controlled bridge height is based on the controlled depth, then there is no problem.  But if there is more water in the canal, then, one of two things is going to happen:  either the water gets taller or the bridges get shorter, or both, right?  Right.  So, if the water is 14 feet deep where it is only supposed to be 12, then theoretically, a 16 foot bridge is actually a 14 foot bridge, right?  Not much room for error.  This is just insane.

The sun finally came out today.  For the past few days, it has been overcast and, actually, cold.  Believe me when I say, I am not complaining.  It went from the mid 80's to the low 60's during the day.  I actually put on a long sleeved shirt and we pulled out the jackets to go out yesterday.  It rained all day yesterday.  So, why not put on 60 miles if all it's going to do is rain anyway?  It didn't rain hard, and there were no storms - it just rained all day. 

So, we left Little Falls and stopped in a town called Hirkimer because it was advertised as having 50 stores and a diamond mine.  Well, we sure got suckered.  Nevertheless, the dock was free and it was a cold and rainy Sunday, and we had nothing better to do, so we stopped.  When we got there, we discovered what was advertised as a mall, was actually a single building that comprised both the mall and the bar and grill.  The cruising guide said there was shopping with over 50 vendors.  However, what we discovered was that there was one room in this building that had 50 booths.  Ok.  So, we spent about 1/2 hour going through that.  Then, we learned the diamond mine was a long, expensive taxi ride and involved renting tools so you could go and beat on rocks in hopes of striking it rich.  Well, have you heard of DeBeers?  I don't think their diamond holdings extend to the lower Adirondacks, and I don't think anyone got rich striking the same quality diamonds as those found on $30 saw blades.  So, we skipped that.  So, what to do, what to do? 

I broke out the trusty Droid and, low and behold, we discovered.....this town has a WalMart!!!  Not just any old WalMart, but a Super WalMart!!  So, we went.  We spent a couple hours wandering the aisles in WalMart.  We did walk out of there with some needed items (i.e., short pants and t-shirts), but we also discovered things never seen before - the "Ass Bra" is one thing I never knew existed - actually, I never imagined anyone could think of such a thing.  Then, it's amazing that you can go to a Super WalMart and get everything from lipstick to an oil change; from bait to batteries; from pizza to tires for your 4 wheel drive; from eye glasses to airline tickets.  Nope, folks, there is no place quite like it.  And, in the absence of anything "touristy" to do, WalMart certainly fills a bill.

We did, however, spend a nice evening getting to know the bartender in the bar and grill.  The drinks were fine, and she actually sold me an egg.  The restaurant was Italian, so the smells in there got me thinking of what I could do for dinner.  On board, we had an egg plant that was reaching critical mass, and I had some bread crumbs, some motzerella cheese, and some sauce, so, egg plant parmesan was in the works.  However, I lacked one critical item - an egg.  (I know, I know, we were just at the WalMart Superstore which, you know, sells groceries, too, and well, hell, I forgot to buy eggs.) So, I asked the bartender whether or not she could accomodate a rather strange and unique request: I asked if I could buy an egg - not a dozen, mind you, but a single, solitary, lonely egg.  How can you possibly baste egg plant with italian bread crumbs if you don't have an egg?  She came through, and actually, she didn't even charge me.  She just handed me a styrofoam coffee cup with a lid on it, and told me she would deny everything if anyone ever asked.  We agreed and took our contraband egg with us back to the boat.  The egg plant parmesan was excellent......thanks to that egg.

The following morning, we took off.  We had no real plan where we would likely end up, but we knew we had to make some miles.  From Hirkimer, we travelled almost 40 miles to Rome.  Yes, Rome.  Interestingly, we have been seemingly on somewhat of a European tour having passed through Amsterdam, Belgium, Rome, Frankfurt, Danube, Manheim, Rotterdam, Greece, Sweden, and Troy.  We stopped in Rome because it is a place where we could visit a Revolutionary War time fort - Fort Stanwix - named for Mr. Stanwix, who was ordered by George Washington, to refurbish it in hopes it would be useful in the defense of the northern flank in the war with the Brits.

Actually, this place was constructed more than 20 years prior to the Declaration of Independence.  It was originally a place where colonial troops fought against the French and Indians.  Later, when the war ended with the Treaty of 1768, the fort was used to settle disputes between indians and British settlers. When the Revolutionary War broke out, however, Washington wanted the place refurbished.  Once it was ready, Washington stationed a regiment of soldiers there and they did well fighting indians and withstood a single English siege.  After this siege, however, the soldiers sat around there for about another year and a half doing basically nothing but drilling, and repairing.  When the war was over, they all left and the fort rotted.

Hundreds of years later, some archeologists discovered the remains of a fireplace at the sight that was once Fort Stanwix, and started a big deal.  Next thing you know, what was an otherwise complete and built up several square block area of homes and businesses, were removed so these archeologists and historians could build a replica of Fort Stanwix.  So what we visited was merely a replica.  It was very nice to see, and we actually learned a thing or two, but, not unlike Hirkimer, the experience was somewhat of a let down.  However, we made the best of it and found a super market so we could get a couple necessary items - i.e., eggs - and then we headed out.

Again, it was raining and sort of miserable out, so there was no point sitting at a dock in the rain, so we threw off the lines and headed further west.  We actually started our crossing of  Lake Oneida at 3:30 and made it to a dock in the resort haven called Brewerton at around 6:30.  There was nothing to do there, but there was a nice bar and grill and we got to watch a little pre-season football over a couple day ending cocktails.  I also got to eat some Little Neck Clams.  So, we accomplished over 60 miles, picked up groceries, got clammed, and got "historied", all in one day.

We left Brewerton early, having decided that we would be covering at least another 60 miles with a plan to land for the night at a place called Clyde.  The cruising guide said there is a nice free dock with free water and electricity.  Who could pass up such a deal?  Plus, we had to do a little laundry and we need a hose to do that.  So, here we are.  I am writing this wondering whether or not we will go into town and discover what, if anything, there is in Clyde. 

More later.

Clyde was really nothing more than a stop for the night.  The town was not close by so we did not take off on a hike.  It was late in the afternoon, so we just hung around on the boat and did a couple loads of laundry and some other boat chores.  In the morning, however, I had the pleasure of speaking with a local guy.  Well, actually, he's not a local, but a transplant from East Texas.  He was interesting to talk to.  He described how he moved up here to retire so his daughter could keep a better eye on him.  But he loves it because he goes fishing on the canal every day and enjoys walking his dog on the tow paths.  We talked for around a hour about a variety of topics, but it was time to move on.  I did take a moment to look up Clyde and learned there are a couple of interesting things of note, particularly, that the first typewritter was invented here.  You have to keep in mind that many of these canal towns developed and prospered when the canal was in use for commercial purposes.  When that stopped, many of the industries looked to other means to move their products, i.e. the railways, and so their canal traditions faded away.  Also, again, this town is like so many others we have seen - it is taking this piss poor economy on the chin and is really suffering.  Taxes are overwhelming most folks.  Most people are leaving.  But, the elderly stay behind to retire quietly, planting flowers, restoring this or that, and hoping tourism will spark their all but dead economies.

We left Clyde and headed back out onto the canal.  Our next stop was the beautiful Hamlet of Pittsford.  The further east we get, the closer we get to larger metropolitan areas such as Rochester and ultimately, Buffalo.  As such, things are starting to change.  Even as little as 50 miles further west, there is a little more in the way of prosperity.  At least on the surface. I think Pittsford is a good example. 

This was once a canal town that prospered in flour. Today, it is rather touristy in flavor.  I have a theory on this.  I do not think there are enough recreational boaters stopping there to support this many gift shops.  While there may very well be lots of unusual things to visit and see for the traveler here in upstate/western New York, again, I am not sure it is sufficient to support all the restaurants.  What we have here, I think, is a confluence of road, rail, and canal; kind of like the big truck stops on I-5 in California.  There are clusters of things to see and to do; to eat and to drink; and the ability to stop and walk, all along the canal which runs along side the highway (or throughway, as they call it here).  So, businesses hope the weary traveller will stop, drop, shop, eat and drink a while, before moving on.  The other part of the theory is that there are a lot of retired folks living in these parts.  There has to be something to do when families come to visit their retired elderly relatives.  If not, then it would be a lot tougher to bring the family to visit Grandma, so to speak.  So, there are stores and restaurants that seemingly cater to a younger crowd.  I could be completely all wet in my observations, but they are mine. Pittsford was very pretty, however. 

We had a great time cruising the streets and a wonderful dinner at a natural food place.  Lots of Greek food here.  And, we sampled local wines.  New York wines are quite different from California wines.  They are more acidic, but their noses are more flowery.  We had a chardonnay that, at first struck me as "off".  However, a second sip led me to conclude it was just different.  Glad we tried it, but I think California wine is better.

Not long after Clyde did we lose all chart coverage of the Erie Canal.  We picked up the New York Canal System Guide - THANK GOD!  The western part of the Erie Canal simply has never been charted.  It was kind of strange using a canal guide to navigate with, but it is very similar to a chart.  I mean, it's pretty much like running in a tube.  There are no intersections, or places where you can get lost.  The towns, bridges, locks, etc. are all well labeled and marked, so it is pretty easy to know where you are.  You just have to pay a different kind of attention.  You find yourself navigating with a highlighter pen keeping track of where you are so you will know when you get there, whereever that may happen to be.  It's like saying, we will be at the town dock in Pittsford, not in 20 minutes, but rather, after we go under three more bridges and around one big bend to the left.  Given that we have a canal guide, it's probably one step ahead of what Columbus had.

Canal boat charters seem to be big here.  You can come over here and rent a 40 foot canal boat - like a dutch barge - and cruise up and down for whatever time frame you want to pay for.  I think it's like $2500 per week.  The boats look pretty nice, too.  They are tiller boats with small engines.  They are made of steel.  We have some experience in these from when we chartered in Ireland.  They go slow, draw very little, and are a wonderful way to see the countryside. 

So, even without "nautical charts" you can't get into much trouble.  The water depths are controlled so if you did not have a sounder, it wouldn't really matter.  Nobody is moving very quickly.  Radar is useless given all the bends.  It is a little unnerving, however, not having numbered marks so you can pinpoint your location a little better.  I guess the best you are going to get is to be able to say you are between this bridge and that bridge.  Hopefully, you were paying attention and marking them off as you went along. 

We left Pittsford not too early.  We had to have coffee first.  We have been running a lot of miles each day in an effort to make sure we get out of the can before the expiration of our canal pass, and because we are on a mission to get across Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan before winter sets in too hard.  If we can make it to Chicago or thereabouts before the middle of October, we will be just fine.  Unfortunately, we doddled too long in other places and took side trips to places such as Washington, Philadelphia and Providence that cost us big time in terms of our ability to gunkhole it in the New York canals.  However, I really do not feel like we are missing that much and there is always "next time".

Today's run on the canal was interesting.  We had locks and we had bridges.  We had sunshine and we had driving rain.  We did rural and we did urban.  Ultimately, it was a very interesting day, if not very long and arduous.  This leg offered us few opportunities to tune in the auto pilot, so there was a lot of hand steering.  We have not seen too much traffic, but we did encounter a friend of ours we engaged in Miami.  In fact, they let us stay on their dock for a couple days - yes, that's right, Tommy and Coral in their Diesel Duck.  I recalled talking with Tommy about their plans to come up here where they had stored their boat for the winter, but I did not recall what their plans were with any sort of specificity.  They were just leaving the dock and heading east as we were waiting for a bridge and heading west.  It's too bad we couldn't have known where they were.  It would have been fun to sit a while and talk.

Finally, we stopped for the day in Medina, NY.  August 18 is our anniversary.  This year, while on this trip, we celebrated our 21st anniversary.  I suggested at the time of our 20th, when we were in the final preparations to depart California on this trip, that we were sort of celebrating the end of the first 20 years and the beginning of the next - and what an extraordinary transition it would be. Well, we have not been disappointed.  This first year of the next 20 years has been amazing.  We had a wonderful dinner at a place called "Zambistro's".  It's less than a quarter of a mile from the town docks.  The food was good and the service was delightful.  We had a nice walk through town.  The buildings are very cool.  While they are not all restored, the folks here have not seen fit to tear anything down and replace it with newer architecture.  The nice thing about that, is that you get a flavor of what a canal town used to look like.  For example, once upon a time, advertisements were painted on the sides of buildings, as opposed to mounted on bill boards.  Some of these remain and are interesting to see.  Again, like in so many other towns in upstate New York, buildings and homes are constructed of the ubiquitous Hudson River Valley bricks make of Hudson River mud.  They look great and seemingly age well.  There is a main street that runs north and south, and a secondary "main" street that runs east and west.  There is also the intersection of the highways (or throughways) and the train station, and the town docks.

One of the things we have had out here on the western end of the Erie Canal is lift bridges.  There were none until the other day.  I have absolutely no idea why the powers that be decided to build lift bridges.  As it is, the bridges crossing the canal are no big deal.  Out here on the western side, many of them are rather low - I thing we squeezed under a 16 footer the other day.  So, if you can build them that low, what's the point of having a lift bridge?  I don't know.  But, they, like the locks, are owned and operated by the New York Canal Corporation.  Also, like the locks, these lift bridges are accompanied by a small park and a wall boats can tie to for free.  They tend to be painted blue and gold, the colors of the NYCC, and function quite efficiently.  They have what are called "roaming operators."  This means that one bridge operator may actually control more than one bridge.  In this part of the state, you travel through a number of counties and townships in a day.  Each one has a couple bridges and a couple locks.  It's easy to imagine how the labor is divided.  It's therefore really important to remain calm and courteous when passing through an area because the person who just opened this bridge will be hopping in his or her car and driving a mile or so up the way to have the next one open or ready to open for you when you get there.  Usually, at some point in the day, one of the bridge tenders or lock masters will take down your canal pass number and ask you where you will be heading for the day.  Of course nobody will hold you to it, but this is how they keep track of you and, to the cruiser's advantage, they have locks and bridges ready for you when you get there.  They call ahead.  Sometimes, they use the vhf radio and sometimes they use the phone.  When they use the radio, you can hear them talking about you and you know it.  It's all good, however and the passage through the Erie Canal has been a highlight of this trip.

We will finish up the Erie Canal in the town of Tonowanda, which is very close to Buffalo.  We had thought to go to Buffalo, but I have not heard good things about it from a cruisers standpoint.  We will likely go into town and visit, but it will be from the town docks in Tonowanda.

More later.