Another Day in B-Ville

We walked over to the showers this morning. Unusual doesn't begin to describe the showers... you pay a quarter to get IN, but there's no charge for the use. However, the force and the droplets were something else... picture yourself riding a motorcycle naked in the rain... and driving 120 miles per hour! The water came out like NEEDLES! My skin was beet red when I got out. That's one way to keep the water usage down.

Joan said she thought we should put the camperback on because of the predicted rain. I went to work on that, and about 5 minutes later, the sky opened up and it poured... buckets... dogs and cats.





In between the marauding thunderstorms, I went down the dock to visit with Dave and Jan. Then walked around to get a shot of the boats on the wall here...



Joan and I decided to walk into town. During the walk, we went by a pizza place, offering (what else?) New York style pizza. We went in for a slice and a cannoli... just trying to fit in. Before we could get the pizza down, the sky turned BLACK. We took the cannoli to go and hauled butt back to the boat (about 6 or 7 blocks away). Almost made it before the sky opened up again.

All things considered, it was a good day to kick back. I took a short nap with the sound of the rain on the cabintop. When it let up again, I went down to see if Dave and Jan wanted to do supper out again.

Then, about 4:00 we saw a Ranger Tug come through the lock. When I mentioned it to Joan, she said, "Maybe it's Leonard and Doris?" (friends of ours from Port Isabel) I couldn't believe it - it WAS! They were looking for a space on the wall... nothing left with power. I called them on the radio and told them they could raft off to us. They decided to go for the last spot left at the very far end of the wall... one cleat and a fence post to tie off to. It was great to see our friends from home! Joan and I were invited aboard their Ranger, and minutes later it started pouring again. We visited for a while... until a bright light shined in the front window. It was Dave on their boat - time for supper! We made it a table for 6. Leonard and Doris told us about the fun they had with their boat in New York City. Looks like we have another destination.



After supper, the 6 of us visited out on the dock. A kick-ass band at the park across the canal fired up... about the same time the mosquitoes moved in. Time to call it a night, or at least head for the boats. Fun day... more proof to not judge a day by the weather.

So, what are the odds that three boats from Texas would all wind up at the same small town on the Erie Canal at the same time?

We did a whole 38 miles on Thursday. Through three locks, out of the Cayuga/Seneca Canal and into the Erie Canal. Much of today's route was through unpopulated areas, occasional camps by the Seneca River, and then more and more homes as we approached Baldwinville. We decided to stop for the day at the wall west of the lock. The guidebook says there are tie offs, but no power. We were pleasantly surprised twice as we approached the wall... first, we saw another C-Dory on the wall... second, there were power connections (new since the book was printed). We tied off in a light sprinkle and got to meet Dave (Toyman) and Jan from Fan-C-Dory! Two C-Dory owners from Texas have to come to New York to meet in person. We were also introduced to Snack, their Yorkie... smaller than Izzy, and she loves attention.

We spent much of the afternoon visiting, Dave and me on their boat, Joan and Jan on ours. We walked to a nearby restaurant for a nice meal and more good conversation. Dave and Jan have lived and traveled all around the world, and have some great stories. After supper, we came back to the boats and took chairs out onto the dock for sundowners. Izzy and Snack got to meet up close and personal - nose to nose. Sorry I left my camera in the boat, 'cuz it was pretty cute. Snack wanted to play, Izzy wasn't so sure.

A gentleman from the city came by and collected $5 for the power connection - seemed like a pretty good deal to me. He told us that there is a Jimmy Buffett tribute band playing at the park across the canal from us on Saturday. Decisions to make.

Back to the cruising... most parts of the canal have a 10 mph speed limit, occasionally there is a 30 mph limit in river sections where there are no docks or other boats... but there were plenty of docks, making for speed-up/slow down conditions regularly. And speaking of other boats: you could count all the boat traffic we saw today on one hand... if you had 6 fingers on that hand. 8) I was surprised at how little traffic we've encountered so far.

Some photos...

Leaving Seneca Falls, the church along the water...


In the canal; the weather was gray, occasional rain; made for some pretty reflections...


Locking through...


Going down...


There are many signs along the canal stating "No Wake"; some more forcefully than others. Quite a few of the "We're boaters, too - please, no wake". This one lets you know where the owner stands...



Jan and Joan staying out of the rain in Wild Blue's cockpit...

It's gray again this morning, but no rain, yet.

And, We're Off...

Wednesday, July 22nd. Fresh fruit and pastries for breakfast, a hot shower; I put the truck in long term parking, and we are ready to head out. It is a gray morning, with a bit of fog. We untied the dock lines and shoved off.
Coming out of the marina, a right turn puts us immediately in the Cayuga/Seneca Canal, a branch off the Erie. We are not planning to go far today... just want to get a feel for it, go through a lock, and stay at a free dock with power and water. That’s the plan.



This canal has homes along one side and is mostly undeveloped on the other.
About 5 miles down the canal, we came to our first lock. We called the lock tender on the radio, and he told us it would be about 15 minutes before we could enter... no problem; we pulled up to the wall and tied off, waiting for our turn.



That post you see in the photo above is called “the blue line” - you can also see the blue line on the seawall... it’s where you line up to go through the lock. Shortly after we tied off, we were greeted by a couple feathered folks - ducks.



I thought it was odd that they didn’t seem spooked by our presence. It soon became very obvious why they were hanging out there. Yep, a nest full of eggs. Seems like a rather public place for them to leave the kids.



In no time at all, it was our turn to enter the lock... no photos because we were concerned that we’d have our hands full. As it turns out, it was very easy: pull up to a line, wrap your line around it, take a wrap on a rear line. Then wait for the water to raise or lower. Heading this direction, we are going down. Within minutes, we were 15 feet lower.

When the lock doors opened, we motored out, heading towards the free docks at Seneca Falls. Four miles later, we picked out a spot on the dock with power. We tied off, hooked up and fed Izzy... it was just lunch time.


Then it was our turn; we took the bikes off and rode around town. One of the first things we came across was a small farmers market. We picked up some cheese and fresh fruit... no problem with provisions on this tour!



We stopped for lunch, then rode back to the boat; sat on the park bench in front of the boat, checking out the cruising guide for tomorrow’s route.



Izzy got her turn out of the boat, too. Joan put her on the leash, but this was different for her - the boat is NOT in the same place, so it’s a whole new scary situation.



After that time outside, Izzy needed a nap.



Come to think of it, I could use a nap, too. It has turned out to be a beautiful day - a bit warm, but the sun is shining and very little breeze.

Back in the water and ready to cruise!

Wild Blue is in the water and ready to go cruising again. We are spending a couple nights in the marina at Seneca Lake State Park and will head out on Wednesday. We have a season cruising pass for the Erie Canal (all of the New York Canal System), plenty of time, and no schedule.


It takes a while to go from trailering mode to water cruising mode, thus our time in a slip. In the meantime, we have explored the area a bit, gotten some work done (I-86 in western New York is miserable - the road is so bad we found 2 busted brackets on our trailer... got those welded today), re-supplied, boat loaded.

Izzy even got to play in the grass...


We visited a couple nearby towns and checked out the locks.

A long day; we covered about 450 miles. We picked up the water pump from a West Marine along the way. OK, about 6 blocks out of the way. It was early evening by the time we got into the RV park we're in tonight... the new pump is installed and functioning. Nice to have hot and cold running water again.

Getting closer.

Rolling, Rolling

We're now about 1225 miles from home, the boat is our RV while on land. After 3 days of HOT, today has been pretty pleasant, temp-wise. We are just outside of Louisville, KY. Last night we stayed at a marina on Kentucky Lake (in Tennessee)... well, in an RV site at the marina:


We visited with some nice folks from New Jersey in a Winnebago next to us; he commented, "I never thought of using a boat for an RV - that's a great idea!"

Well, it has its moments. Certainly, it is more functional on the water than on land. Especially when the fresh water pump decides to crap out... again... this is pump #3. We made a few calls around and located a pump along our route. We'll pick it up tomorrow. In the meantime, we have made do with the wash down pump in the cockpit. It's not the most elegant solution, but it does give us water when necessary. And, of course, the pump crapped out while I was washing my hair.

Right now, we are just trying to make miles, but yesterday we did get in early enough to take little Izzy for a walk in the grass, something she hasn't had a chance to do for a while...



Only another 775 miles to go before we will launch Wild Blue again.

Out and About Again...

We left home today, heading for the northeast with Wild Blue in tow. We're at a nice RV park in Victoria, TX... the lady here remembered us when I called to get a site..."You're the only folks who've ever stayed here in a boat."

Yep, that's us.


Little Izzy has been doing great... she settled in immediately in the truck... not so sure about the boat, yet. Lots of new noises and stuff to check out. Here, she's zonked out on the floor...