Friday morning...June 26.... 8:45 Floyd and two friends took a taxi ride to hit West Marine when it opened at 9.... They were back on the dock shortly...where Floyd gave it two tries to fix the leak in the dinghy floor....didn't work so well....but since we have another kit and another idea, we thought it best to get on down the line.

Today we entered the Champlain Canal system.....67 miles and 11 locks...to Lake Champlain...then Canadain canal/locks to Montreal...Ottawa...Kingston...Trenton...etc...we had high hopes of going 37 miles today....6 locks...several 17' bridges...and spending a quiet night on a free lock wall in Fort Edward NY...said good-bye to Jorge and Barbara....Dakota's girl friends Mona and Lily...and off we went.

It was a calm, cool, clear ...beautiful...day to be boating...we've learned a thing or three about "locking thru"... And lock masters were courteous enough to be ready when we got there....and then....and then...we got a radio call from "BEAVER" (  though it sounded like Beva)... Seems he was a large empty scow headed our way...heads up! Of course we were in the narrowest, barge crowded, guard gate section of the canal...somehow, Captain found a small spot to tuck in and maintain while he passed by...still right on tap to make that planned destination.

5:45 PM...We round the bend, slip under two 19' bridges....to be greeted with the town carnival, tents of vendors and music...

yep, seems it is Heritage Days in Fort Edward....so much for peaceful night on the free dock. It was like being in the middle of Fredonia Homecoming without the parade...Riverfest Wichita at its finest...we joined two other boats who seemed to be there on purpose....had the best spot for people watching and scouting out the action...music was to our liking and not too loud...and then someone mentioned fireworks at 10...people people everywhere. Floyd got to answer lots of questions about how you get a boat this size outta Kansas, where we'd been, where were we going, etc....while I scored 2 purses, 3 headbands  and a tie-dyed t-shirt for the lil man...

10PM...right on schedule...the fireworks fired up...

loudest we'd encountered in quite some time...Dakota headed below...we oooohhhhed and aaaahhhhhed appropriately....and then poof, people are gone...music is over....carnival is quiet....

We plan to leave between 7-8AM on Saturday...weather the next couple of days is full of serious rain...we want to be tucked in safe and sound.