Erie Canal – July 16 to July 19

The west end of the Erie Canal is different than the east end because it more resembles what the canal was like when it was built. With stone walls, it is a narrow passage with many bridges and fewer locks. There are also tow paths on each side of the canal, where we occasionally see people running, walking, bicycling and fishing. Lady Royal's air draft is 13' 7” with her canvas, bridge and mast down. Boats with an air draft of more than 15' 5” can not travel this route. Instead, they go up the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario. If coming to Cleveland, they then take the Welland Canal up to Lake Erie. There are many ducks living on the canal. We also saw a fox swimming across the canal. Each bridge tender operates two bridges, going back and forth between them. We tied up after Lock 25 in Mays Point on July 16, which was a nice, quiet stop once the sun set. Prior to the sunset, it was really hot, and since we didn't have power, we couldn't run the air conditioning. The up-side was, it was a lot like anchoring, minus the anxiety of wondering if the anchor would slip.

Entering the West End of the Canal

Farming on the Canal

Corn Fields

Old Aquaduct

Towpath

Many Geese

Sunset – Lock 25

Low Bridge!

Our next stop was Fairport (July 17), which was the nicest town we've been in since entering the canal. This is what I expected more of the canal to be like. The town was between two lift bridges (one of which is in the Guiness Book of World Records because of its unique architecture and angles), and there are stores and restaurants on both sides of the canal. The real hot spot was Lickety Splits, an ice cream store that you would have thought was giving something away –– and a local told us that it's like that every night. We were docked right in front, and it was nice seeing all of the activity around us.

Fairport

Fairport

Lady Royal Docked at Fairport

Fairport from the Bridge

Fairport

Fairport (Bridge in Guinness Book of World Records)

We left Fairport, and after traveling for a few hours, stopped at Newark for lunch. It's easy to pull over and tie up on the canals, and the facilities and people are usually nice and accommodating. The building at the dock had unique architecture with murals, painted by art teachers, covering all sides. After lunch and a quick stop at the grocery store, we headed to Brockport, where we stayed overnight

Erie Canal Routes and Locks

Newark Dock Mural

Newark Dock Mural

Newark Dock Mural

Newark Dock Mural

Canal Boat

Rare Sight

Urger – An Educational Canal Boat

Low Bridge... Everybody Down!

Murals Under a Bridge

Brockport was similar to Fairport in that the tie-up was between two lift bridges, with a small town just steps from the dock. This college town (State University of New York) consisted mostly of restaurants, and bars, with a few shops in between. I've been working long hours all week, but did manage to sneak out before the stores closed to do some shopping.

We left Brockport with three other boats, which made it easier for the bridge tenders because we're all traveling at the same speed. Today's scenery includes more farm land (corn) than we've seen to date. And the song continues in my head... “low bridge, everybody down... low bridge cuz we're coming to a town...”