Nancy and Rick Unplugged

July 26, 2017  Wednesday

Short cruise today, seven miles from Fairport to Pittsford. We stopped at the Pittsford Free Dock in order to walk part of the Canaltrail and to see the remains of Lock 62. We had a great day from start to finish, we love seeing people out exercising and taking advantage of their environment.

At Schoen’s Place, a newly rejuvenated canal area just across the canal from the Pittsford Free Dock, we had lunch at Simply Crêpes Café, watched the kids feed the ducks, and went for a walk on the Canalway Trail, taking a detour to see the remains of Lock 62.

The original canal went right through downtown Rochester at Locks 62 and 63, however, with the 1918 upgrade of the Erie Canal it was rerouted through Pittsburg, Locks 32 and 33. Lock 62 was built in 1857 as a single chamber lock. In 1873 a second lock was added, and in 1888 the second lock was enlarged.

At one of the specialty shops in Fairport, we purchased some homemade Pierogies, we had to Google “Pierogie” to know what they are. Pierogies are made by wrapping pockets of unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and then boiling, sautéing, or baking them. We had Pulled Pork Pierogies with veggies. Fun evening cooking on Andiamo, and yes, we loved them.

July 23, 2017  Sunday

Leaving Seneca Falls we retraced our trip on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, going down the staircase Locks CS3 and CS2 – both 25 feet, down Lock CS1 – 7.5 feet, and back to the Erie Canal. On the Erie we transited an addition five locks; Lock E25 – 6 feet, Lock E26 – 6 feet, Lock E27 – 12 feet, Lock E28A – 20 feet, and Lock E28B – 12 feet for a total rise of 56 feet. Eight locks in one day.

On our way to Newark we passed Clyde and Lyon, both villages that offer free docks to boaters on the Erie Canal, Lyons was known for being the home of one of the most successful and prestigious businesses in the world. The H.G. Hotchkiss International Prize Medal Essential Oil Company, at that time peppermint oil was in common use as a home remedy for digestive, respiratory and other common ailments.

Tonight we are at the T. Spencer Knight Canal Port, Newark. We had just enough time for a lovely walk around the village and dinner at a local pub before the rain started. We particularly enjoyed the lovely murals on the Veteran Bridge which represented stories about the Erie Canal.

July 21-22, 2017 Friday & Saturday

July 21-Friday: Today was a lovely day, beautiful homes, small river homes, farms, corn, hay, herons, kingfishers, otters, eagles and more, great cruise down the river. The sad part is that they have had so much rain that many docks are under water and the water is inching towards their homes.

As we transited one of the locks, I asked the lockmaster if there were any female lockmasters on the Erie, we had not seen one. He said he thought there was one or two but should be more. He then disappeared into his building and came back out with an application form for me, maybe my new calling.

At Mile 201.38, canal junction of the Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, we decided to take Lee’s advice and do a side trip to Seneca Falls, which is about 8 miles south of the Erie Canal. To get there we had to transit Lock CS1 – 7.5 feet and the ‘stair case locks’ at CS2 and CS3 – both 25 feet, they are called stair case locks because you go directly from one lock into the next lock.

In the early 1800’s Seneca Falls was a thriving mill town, when Seneca River was dammed near the current Locks C2 & C3 it created a 50-foot deep lake, Van Cleef Lake, that submerged many of the mills and much of downtown Seneca Falls. We are looking forward to visiting the town as it is known as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement, houses the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and claims to be the town that Bedford, from the 1946 film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” was modeled after.

Tonight we are at Seneca Falls Free Dock and plan to stay until Sunday, most of the free docks have a 48-hour limit.

July 22-Saturday: This has been the coolest day we have had in months, it was so pleasant. We spent most of the day exploring the town and visiting several of their museums, starting at the Seneca Museum which showcased the development and reform movements of the area.

The First Women’s Rights Convention took place at Wesleyan Chapel in July 1848. Outside the chapel is a waterwall with the Declaration of Sentiments engraved in stone. This document is recognized as the founding document of the women’s rights movement and is modeled after the Declaration of Independence, boldly proclaiming that “all men and women are created equal.”
The Seneca Falls Historical Society is located in a 23 room 1880 Queen Ann Style Mansion, unfortunately, by the time we made it there they were closed. While looking at the Historical Society buildings we were chatted-up by a local couple who shared much of the town history with us. She was born in Clyde, NY he, an ex-FBI agent in Seneca Falls. They shared stories about the town and showed us the street that led into the valley before it was flooded. Fun day!

 

July 19-20,2017  Wednesday & Thursday

July 19-Wed: Anxious to move on, we left Ilion Marina and headed for Sylvan Beach, home of the only amusement park on the Erie Canal. However, we were not headed for the amusement park but for a place to stay while we waited for the right conditions to cross Oneida Lake. Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York State, 21 miles long, 5 miles wide with an average depth of 22 feet. In a sustained west wind, the waves can become 4 to 5 feet, creating an uncomfortable crossing. It looks like Sunday will be the best day but we are hoping we can leave before then.

Before arriving at Mariner’s Landing we transited four locks. Lock #19 – 21 feet, Lock #20 -16 feet, Lock #21 – 25 feet, and Lock #22 – 25 feet. Locks #21 and #22 are our first down locks on the Erie so although we transited 87 feet at the end of the day we were only 13 feet lower.

July 20-Thur: After checking the weather forecast late Wednesday, we decided an early morning crossing of Oneida Lake was do-able. By daybreak, we were ready to make our crossing. The wind was a little more than predicted, waves were one-two feet for the first half of the trip and almost zero for the rest of the crossing and we were in Brewerton by 8:00 am.

At Brewerton, we transited Lock # 23 – 7 feet, the last of the down locks when going west. The junction of the Erie and Oswego Canals is at mile 160.45, decision time, stay on the Erie or take the Oswego to Canada, we stayed on the Erie. Our last lock of the day was Lock #24 – 11 feet at Baldwinsville. We tied up at the Baldwinsville Free Dock, or as some call it Graveyard Dock, just in time for a rain storm.

The past two days we have been locking with Nellie Bell, a 25-foot Nimble. Tonight her captain dropped by and recommended a side trip to Seneca Falls on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. We’ll have to give that some thought.

 

July 18, 2017,  Tuesday

The rain and debris continue to keep us in port. This morning we had breakfast with the crew of s/v Solitude, Dale and Carol, at the local Farm House Restaurant, we have had a great time trading books, sharing information, and telling tall tales.

The big news of the day was that the replicas of Christopher Columbus’ Ships, the Niña (65 feet in length), and the Pinta (85 feet in length), stopped for the night at Ilion Marina. Wow, talk about ‘word of mouth’ although the stop was unexpected, by the end of the evening we think every family in town came by to check them out.

Starting in 1492, Columbus sailed the Niña across the Atlantic on three voyages to the new world. At over 25,000 miles, this makes our trip look like a kid’s birthday party. Built by hand from 1988-1991, the current Niña is considered the most historically accurate replica ever constructed. The ships belong to the Columbus Foundation and serve as museums to educate the public on 15th-century sailing. They are currently traveling along the Erie Canal on their way to Oswego, NY.

July 17 , 2017  Monday

Today we visited the Remington Arms museum, which is part of the original E. Remington Company in Ilion, NY. It has a nice selection of the rifles, pistols, art work, and other products made during the early history of the company. Before 9-11 you were able to tour the plant to see how arms were made, but now, in lieu of a tour, you can watch videos to see the process of arms making and to learn the history of the company.

At 23, Eliphalet Remington hand-made a flintlock rifle that he used in a shooting match, although he came in second, his gun so impressed other shooters that many of them requested a rifle of the same quality be made for them. That was the beginning of what would become E. Remington Company. By 1861, Remington had established itself as a premier firearm manufacturer and received many government contracts to supply arms for the civil war. After the Civil War, without government contracts, the company struggled to survive. It was during that time they turned to the manufacturing of other products such as; bridges, bicycles, typewriters, and other various items, some of which can be viewed at the museum.

Our original plan was to visit the museum and then continue on the canal, but it seems that Mother Nature has decided to make this an unusually wet summer which translates into an unusual amount of debris in the canal. The boats coming into the marina were recommending not going, we took their advice and stayed another night at the marina.

July 16, 2017  Sunday

What we like about renting from Enterprise is that they will pick us up and drop us off at our marina. This time the car was a little pricey so we rented it for only one day. Since the Herkimer Enterprise office was closed on Sunday we needed to find a different way home, since it was such a nice day we decided to drop the car off, tour the town, have lunch, and walk the 3.7 miles back to the boat.

During the American Revolution, the residents in this area were protected by Fort Dayton. In 1777 General Nicholas Herkimer mustered the Tryon County Militia here to march west in order to aid Col. Peter Gansevoort at Fort Stanwix. They were all fatally ambushed at Oriskany, five miles short of their goal. In 1788, after the Revolution was over and Fort Dayton was dismantled, the Village of Herkimer was established and in 1788 Herkimer became the county seat.

On our tour of the city, we passed many beautiful homes, churches, and public buildings. Four of Herkimer’s most historical buildings can be found at the corner of Church and Main Streets: the 1834 Herkimer County Jail, the 1834 Herkimer Reformed Church, the 1873 Herkimer County Courthouse, and the 1884 Suiter Building.
In 1906, Chester Gillette was interned at Herkimer County Jail during his famous trial for the murder of Grace Brown, the trial was held at the Herkimer County Courthouse with Gellette being convicted of murder. This murder was the basis for the novel “An American Tragedy” by Theodore Dreiser. The 1834 Reformed Church was built on the same site as the 1722 church that was built by the Palantine Germans that arrived in this area after fleeing religious persecution in Europe and is still active. The 1884 Suiter Building is now the home of the Herkimer County Historical Society.

The current Folts Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing was originally The Folts Mission Institute, which opened in 1893 as a training school for young women.

A more recent icon of Herkimer, the Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, housed in a 1952 Vintage Mountain View prefabricated diner, was our lunch destination. Our first lunch in a classic New York dinner was just what we hoped for, excellent food, good service, and a fantastic people watching location. After that lunch, we needed that walk back to the boat.

July 15, 2017  Saturday (con’t)

Saturday was a busy day, after leaving Little Falls we visited the Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, New York.  Completed in 1762, Fort Stanwix, a colonial star fort, was built to guard the Oneida Carrying Place, the portage path between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, during the French and Indian War. Today, Fort Stanwix National Monument occupies that same location. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation for the creation of the national monument in 1935 but it did not become a reality until 1976, just in time for the United States Bicentennial celebration. A great place to learn more about the fort and the monument is at the National Parks website.

The American Flag was first authorized by Congress June 14, 1777 and according to local legend, on August 3, 1777, the first stars and stripes were created out of “a soldier’s white shirt, strips of fabric from a woman’s red petticoat and the blue straps from Captain Abraham Swartwout’s cloak.”