Day one~Leg II

We left Brewerton NY yesterday morning in a magical mist, and headed west on the Oneida River (all part of the New York canal system). Once we got to Three Rivers Junction (this place has always been easily identified and in the early 1700's the Indians used it as a meeting place) we headed north on The Oswego River. Construction on this "canal" began in 1826, one year after the Erie Canal was completed...(to connect Syracuse to Oswego). Just like the Erie canal, the Oswego canal was origianlly only 4' deep and had 18 locks. Today, the Oswego canal has a depth of 14' and we went through only 7 locks. My locking abilities were tested immediately, as well as my ability to "take orders"...a little rusty, I must admit, I bent my boat hook because I did not listen to my captain..."Honey, keep your boat hook above the railing!" So, Day one~ Leg II: Lesson one~boating 101, The Captain IS always right!

At Three Rivers Point (mile 133 of the Erie Canal) one could choose to turn left and cruise the Seneca River where you can actually travel down two of the the Finger Lakes to either Ithaca NY or Watkins Glen....or continue onto Lake Erie.

Most of the trip was very peaceful. There were two other "loopers" with us that we met at Winter Harbor. We saw lots of fish jumping, beautiful birds...rolling hills down to the river's edge...charming summer bungalows along the shore...and spotted some of the remains of the original Oswego canal along the way, too. Between locks 3 and 5 (there is no lock 4--long story), we passed Battle Island where a historic battle between the French and Bristish took place on July 3rd, 1756. 252 years ago to the day! As always, the people we met at the locks were fabulous....a special thank you to the Lock master at #23...(we forgot to buy a canal pass-it was free last summer) and Casey the wonder dog (I think he was at lock 6) who wanted to play fetch! An older couple in Phoenix NY had just gotten married, she was from Brooklyn, now living upstate and had never seen the boats lock through before.

Meeting friendly people carried over to today as we walked into town and got caught in the pouring rain and took shelter at The Oswego Fire Department. Five great guys on duty invited us in and let us hang out inside the station until the rain let up! I told them they'd make the blog!Thank you again guys! By the way, a great place for breakfast or lunch in downtown Oswego on the west side of the river is The Port City Deli and Bakery.

So far, so good. All forecasts predict a window for crossing Lake Ontario at first light. I think we may have 3 or more fellow loopers crossing with us...everyone is waiting for that window! We've got reservations at Waupoos Marina near Picton Ontario. Hopefully they have Wi-Fi so I can blog and we can stay connected...And so, till next time, thank you all for travelling along...may we all discover our "Ithakas". Amen.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July...and God Bless America!