Tonawanda, NY to Cleveland, OH
We got to Tonawanda, NY on July 18, which is known for it's boat-friendly downtown area, with free dockage. Unfortunately, we got there late in the day, and there was no dockage availability since it was Canal Fest, a large carnival-type event, so we continued to Smith Boys Marina, just around the bend. We took a walk, had dinner on Lady Royal, and headed to Dunkirk, NY the next morning.
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| Locks 34 and 35 – Last Locks on Erie Canal |
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| Leaving Locks 34 and 35 |
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| End of Erie Canal, After Locks |
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| Canal Fest – Tonawanda |
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| Final Lock, Entering Lake Erie |
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| Approaching the Peace Bridge |
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| Peace Bridge |
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| Final Stretch! |
We spent the next two days at Dunkirk, at Chadwick Bay Marina, which was really run down. It was hotter than hot, and although there were a few restaurants around, nobody used air conditioning and we couldn't get a break. Because of weather, we stayed for two nights. The highlight was listening to a great concert on the City Pier, just next to the marina.
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| Dunkirk, NY |
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| Sunset in Dunkirk |
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| Live Concert on the City Pier |
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| Dunkirk Shops |
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| Dunkirk Lighthouse |
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| Dunkirk, NY |
On our final stretch, we entered Presque Isle Harbor, the most protected harbor on the Great Lakes. It was beautiful, as was the Erie Yacht Club. The docks were perfect, the people were nice, and the restaurant/facilities were top-notch. It was ironic to see Perry's Monument when pulling into the harbor, since there is also a Perry's Monument at Put-in-Bay, which was within the first two days of our trip. The next day, the weather started getting rough... and we didn't want our tiny ship to toss (words that I was banned to say on the whole trip!), so we rented a car and came home for a few days. We got back on July 26, and had a perfect cruising day on the 27th for a long run.
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| Perry's Monument |
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| Erie Yacht Club |
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| Sunset in Erie |
When leaving Erie, we weren't sure how far we would make it the next day, but since the weather was good, we went the distance to complete the loop, pulling into Edgewater Yacht Club around 4 p.m.
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| Perry Nuclear Power Plant |
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| Cleveland in the Distance |
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| Cleveland! |
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| Cleveland! |
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| Cleveland! |
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| Cuyahoga River Lighthouse |
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| Edgewater Yacht Club |
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| Crossing our Wake! |
My thanks and love go to Captain Rob for making this once-in-a-lifetime journey possible. We created memories that will last a lifetime.
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