Locks,
Locks, Locks
After
traversing 52 of them thus far with their slimy lines and numerous bugs there
is threat of mutiny from the crew. The
Captain must now do it alone, holding the boat against the lock wall with
engines and thrusters. Leaving
Schenectady there are 6 more to go, 5 on the Erie Canal and one on the Hudson
River at Troy. The last 5 on the Erie
drop us 150’ in a lateral distance of 1.5 miles.
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| Erie Canal Lock 6 Begin Waterford Flight |
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| Erie Canal Lock 2 End Waterford Flight |
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| Sharing Troy Lock with a barge |
We
spent the night of Aug 24 on the canal wall in Waterford, NY. Once a thriving port town at the juncture of
the Erie and Champlain Canals and the Hudson River, it now gives the appearance
of a town well past its prime. The
Visitor Center is well done and people welcoming, but the town itself had
little to offer.
Our
next stop, Catskill, was a different story.
Here we found a main street with some interesting shops and attractive
restaurants. One antique store had a
Columbia bicycle that was a match for the one Jim owned as a kid. They wanted $500! (And it wasn’t in such good
shape) We stayed 2 nights and had a
great lunch at The New York Restaurant.
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| Bear Mountain Bridge Built in 1924 At the time the largest suspension bridge in the world |
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| Piercing the Allegheny Mountains Hudson River |
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| Esopus Meadows Lighthouse 1871 Catskill Mountains in background |
On
to Poughkeepsie Yacht Club. Seven miles
north of Poughkeepsie this member run club was friendly enough, but the interconnected
floating docks were a challenge to walk on in the numerous wakes from boats on
the Hudson. In addition the birds made good
use of them for their toilet. We stayed
2 nights so that we could visit the Roosevelt Homes and Museum. One of the great leaders of WW II, FDR was an
interesting character. Many now question
his handling of the Great Depression, but he did leave us with Social Security
and the FDIC among other things.
The original family farm house had 17 rooms. FDR expanded it in 1938 to 35 rooms. At one time the estate consisted of 1600 acres. FDR had "Top Cottage" built in 1937 as an "escape from the mob". It was built to accommodate his disability. A very simple and austere cottage he never slept there. Rather it was used as a daytime retreat high on a hill several miles above the main house. He did entertain the King and Queen of England there in 1939
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| FDR's Family Estate "Springwood" Hyde Park, NY |
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| FDR's "Top Cottage" |
Two
more days of travel brought us once more to New York City. Based on the weather forecast it looks like
we will remain in the area for at least a week.
