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1500 miles completed, only 4500 miles to go! Time to slow down and smell more roses. A couple of highlights from the month of May are: Going under the lowest bridge. Onslow Beach at Camp Lejuene, NC. Going past Lady Liberty Completing the Eastern section of the Erie Canal with 22 locks. This video shows a lock from above while I was standing on the gate itself. We are currently at Brewerton, NY.  Just a few miles west and we turn up the Oswego Canal for a little over 20 miles and see Lake Ontario.  Time for some maintenance on the Goose. Hope you enjoyed following us in May. If there are questions or comments you would like to make, please do so. We always like hearing feedback. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl comments in this font Paul comments in this font  

One of the things we were hoping to learn at the rendezvous in Norfolk was a way to gauge time and distance on the Erie canal.  We just didn't know how far you could realistically travel, how long it took to transit the locks and, generally, how to plan the passage.  Today, we learned a lot.  You can go 50 miles in a day.  No, we were not in a rush, but we were looking at places to stop and the guides were not too informative.  So, we pressed on. We did 7 more locks in addition to the 50.6 miles.  Most of the locks looked very similar to yesterday. This is one of the "guillotine" flood gates.   We've seen several, but this one was well landscaped. Now, this is different!  Lock 17 is a big lift, about 40 feet.   Instead of the two swinging doors, it had its own "guillotine" door! We really felt like we were in a DEEP hole this time. The door goes straight down, counterbalanced by the big weight at the top of the picture.  The gate and the weight are connected

After yesterday's flight of five locks, we were ready for more locks and miles.  41.3 miles and 8 locks to be exact.  Union College, where my old college fraternity started.  One of the founders was well hung.  For mutiny while a midshipman in the Navy. This is Lock 8. It had a rise of 14' and obviously work being done on the bridge. We enjoyed getting to see some waterfall action today. The thing at the end of the line (rope) is a rubber weight to hold the line in place and make it easier for us to grab when entering the lock. The right-hand picture shows some plant life in the lock, between concrete wall sections. Leaving Lock 8. This is the typical view traveling the Erie Canal.  So far, calm water and tons of green trees. Very peaceful. We are enjoying it. Most of the canal we will traverse is actually the Mohawk River.  It really is lovely. In case you were curious, yes, I drive the boat too. Thank goodness for fast shutter speeds before I rush to grab the wheel! Just kidd