6/17/11 Update

Hello, everyone! Hope all is well! After spending two weeks at home, we have resumed our Loop travels. We left the Troy Dock in Troy, NY on the 11^th after removing unneeded stuff from the boat and putting just as much stuff back on.

Gene hired one of the dock master’s helpers to finish waxing the boat. However, the “helper” was drunk most of the time, probably homeless, and did a lousy job! So, with a smudged boat, we began our travels on the Erie Canal. The first five locks are known as the Waterford Flight, a series of locks that elevated us quickly to a height of 169 feet. (That is a world record!) That took us to the Schenectady Yacht Club for a distance of seventeen miles. It took us five hours! We could have traveled the route in forty minutes by but hey!, we’re on a boat. The diesel fuel at this marina was the cheapest around, $4.19/gal. That should hold us until Canada. Needless to say, the motor boats are all traveling slowly to conserve fuel. We were treated to a wonderful breakfast at the marina, met up with former Loopers in their eighties and listened to their wonderful stories.

We are now at Lock 18 in Little Falls, NY. We have locked thru in downpours of rain, so spent most of the time (me, that is). That is still better than locking in wind and humidity. We have begun using our voice-activated, marriage-saving headsets. No more hollering like banshees! Should have used them a long time ago!

The towns and cities along the way (Amsterdam, Canajoharie, and Little Falls) have all suffered dramatically from the economy. The shops and tourist attractions are pretty much gone, and it looks like many restaurants are barely hanging on…how sad!

We have met up, again, with Loopers we met at the Rendezvous. That is fun as we share experiences and a glass of wine in the evenings .Interesting people from Ohio, Calif., Fla., S.C., so far. We are all looking forward to the beauty of Georgian Bay and Lake Michigan.

I have attached some pictures. 1) You will see a typical lock;2) the” Lollygag” from S.D., one of the more unusual Looper boats.3) “the Baby (Free To B)
4) a typical dam; and 5)  Lock 17 which is a guillotine style (instead of doors swinging open and shut, the door drops down. (There is only one other lock in North America, in Ottawa, with this design);

We are heading to the Rome, NY area today. We should be in Canada (Kingston) some time next week……Look forward to hearing from all of you!......Ginny (who has finally dried out!)