Days 80-86 - Waiting, waiting, waiting....

Current location: 42° 47' 17" N 73° 40' 49" W

In an unexpected turn of events as we have been waiting on a free dock (limit 48 hours) for 5 days now.  We left our interesting night on the free wall of Troy (we had to get up at 10:30 to retie our lines - at least it was 10:30 and not 2:30!) and went through Lock #1 to the Erie Canal.  It is a little more challenging than some as there is only one spot to tie the boat on so Bob needed to stay at the helm and keep the stern and bow in line while I held the line mid-ship.  Everything went well until I discovered I had the line OVER the railing instead of UNDER it!  When the line tightened our railing was in danger.  Bob came down and helped me re-do the line and hurried back up to bring the boat back into control.  Thank goodness we were the only ones in the lock.  Another lesson learned!  The good thing is that there are few locks like that.  

After passing through the lock we passed by this adorable family...

"Wait for me!!!"

The long awaited sign - we are taking the left turn.  We'd love to go right too, there's just not enough time.

We arrived at Waterford in just 90 minutes in time to wait for 2 boats to enter Lock #2 before we could tie up to the dock they had just freed up.  We needed to get water and re-provision some groceries before moving up the Erie Canal.  There was only one other Looper boat here at the time and our friends Jonathan and Rosa arrived later that afternoon.  Lots of other boats though.  One of the boats that left vacated the spot at the head of the line.  We didn't realize until later how special that spot is.  Very little current unless the lock opens.  We spent 5 quiet nights here.  We didn't get to celebrate Bob's birthday while we were at anchor so invited the other two Looper boats to join us and both accepted.  We went out for Chinese but were quite surprised to find it mostly oriented to take out and even served our meal in take out containers!  As our new friends stated - "hey - it's an adventure". Great to have friends that share our outlook on life.  We did all go out for a drink afterwards - not served in plastic :)

That night it rained, and rained, and rained some more.  Our new friends left in the morning but by noon the NY Canal System authorities announced several Erie Canal locks closed because of high water.  The dock here removed the 48 hour restriction as there was no place to go!  We were so grateful to have our spot on the dock as the boats further down the dock and those on the wall had to endure the current coming off the Mohawk River flowing into the canal carrying large tree limbs, several of which hit the boats - no damage though.

We walked to the grocery store between rain storms and got our groceries.  The grocery stores are about 8 blocks away and get so much business from the boaters that they allow you to take the grocery carts down to your boat.  They come pick up the carts every Thursday.  What a nice service!
The next day we took a bus to Wal-Mart to get a few things we could find there.  It was a 45 min. trip with one transfer.  We were very impressed with the service (Albany bus system).  For a $2 (Senior) day pass, we could travel all day on the bus.  We never had to wait more than 5-10 min. for a bus. It is a very popular mode of transportation and you could always see the bus stop because of the people waiting.  The bus drivers were also very helpful in answering our questions.

Wednesday the sun finally reappeared, but the water was now 4 feet above normal.  They announced the canal wouldn't open until Friday at the earliest.  With the weather improving I decided we needed a celebration so I organized a potluck.  We had 20 boaters (mostly Loopers but a few non-Loopers as well) come and share dinner together.  Lots of new people and a few we'd met before.  After a yummy dinner, we passed out the words to "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" or "My Gal Sal" or "The Erie Canal".  A little goofy but we had fun!

Waterford is a nice little town that has seen better days.  It is the oldest incorporated village in the US, incorporated in 1794.  One of the biggest employers in the are was the textile industry. Many beautiful homes were owned by the owners of these companies.  The current economy can no longer support the upkeep of these once gorgeous buildings.

This is the first site-poured concrete house in America.

This house is next door and was begun to be built by the owner of the house above for his daughter.  No reason was given why he didn't finish it and a mill owner finished it instead.  This is one of the few homes that has been recently restored.

This is my favorite house.  It seems to have been restored at one time but is in need of another one.  It is the Italianate style with a Mansard roof that was added later.  So unique!

 One of the many different churches in town.

                      
And now for the reason we are here - the locks!!  The Erie Canal was first opened in 1825 to transport goods from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes and cut transportation costs by 95%! Early barges were pulled by mules and horses.  Later these were replaced by self propelled boats or barges pushed by tug boats.  The railroad ended the commercial need for the canals and today the canals are used primarily by recreational watercraft.  They are still using a lot of the original mechanisms to control the locks.

These original mechanisms are highly cherished and maintained.

This boat is going through the lock we will go through on Friday.  I've sped up the film to twice the speed.  Notice the poor fish flopping around at the beginning.  As the water is emptied from the lock many of these poor fish are left high and dry.  

Bob and I with Sal the Mule

We have been informed the locks SHOULD reopen tomorrow and so in the terms of the TV Show MASH, it's time to "BUG OUT!"  There will be quite the exodus in the morning.  Meanwhile - have a good night!

Docked at Waterford free dock 6/4 - 6/8/17