sometimes exiting the lock is interesting as well...these guys were working hard at painting several of the lock/canal boats and barges...as we passed by he offered to paint us too...Captain wasn't interested...but I thought that red would really pop!!!

Have a few things to show and tell...like the difference between locks that are ready...and locks that aren't...notice the turbulence around the gate...this lock master is letting out water before opening gates so that we can go up...some times this creates interesting currents in that narrow canal for the Captain to manage...he says causes it to gee and haw....

Brewerton is delightful. Susan and Carolyn are here aboard Sojourner plus there are 5 other Looper boats lined up. The water is suitable for swimming...which we have done every day. The marina had two of the cutest kittens to play with. There are two loaner cars available. They are clunkers at best...but they get you there and back. While we had a pretty disagreeable evening at one of the local restaurants (air conditioning issues that were never addressed), we are enjoying a very pleasant down time. Sadness abounds today as we must take Hilary and Bob to the airport this afternoon. They have certainly been a fun crew and a great help as we traversed the 22 locks on the Erie Canal. What great memories we've made....We will miss them.

We started the Erie Canal on Friday in jeans and sweatshirts to keep warm. We even spent time driving the boat from below to escape the cool wind. the last three days however have been brutal. Heat in the high 90s ... The last two days we ran with the generator so that we could keep the air conditioners running. Easier to keep things cool than to cool them down once they get over heated. We even left Utica this morning at O'dark thirty to beat the heat. Got on a roll...decided to spend one long day in the heat instead of two short days. We arrived in Brewerton at 2:30 today. A day early...but so worth it. There are six transient boats lined up with Looper Flags flying...and our friends Susan and Carolyn are among 'em. They are off visiting friends and will return on Thursday. We are here until Saturday...resting, re-stocking, visiting West Marine and Target....oh, I think we'll manage. NEWS Flash...water in this area is suitable for swimming...so for the second time since we started all this boating, we donned swimsuits and swam around the boat. Delightful....WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Loved loved loved the Erie Canal...until we hit lock 19...those boys needed a little lesson in work ethic...we called on the radio three times at 5 minute intervals...no response. We called on the phone...rang rang rang...no answer. I whistled whistled whistled...no sign of life anywhere. Finally in desperation, Floyd laid on the boat horn...hhhhhooooonnnnkkkk...finally...over the hill on a riding lawn mower...here he came. Seems he didn't take his radio to work that day...and obviously nothing else caught his attention. We'd still be sitting there....waiting. Unlucky for those guys, we happened to run into their supervisor at Lock 20 this morning and filed a complaint. Sure don't want to be those guys for awhile. Seems other boaters have complained as well.

One stop at Little Falls was pretty special. The town dock was called Rotary Park. Seems that the original man power to turn an old warehouse into a dock house was supplied by the local Rotary Club. Lots of locals using the park facilities...and a short walk to town. Too bad our timing was really off...(1) seems they had celebrated the Fourth with fireworks on Friday (before we arrived) (2) we walked to the grocery store only to discover they had closed 15 minutes earlier for the holiday...we managed to find a few hot dogs and scrounged together our 4th of July BBQ...

Locks Locks and more locks...TUMBLEWEED set a new record...10 locks in one day...then the next day we did 7...sure makes the days with only 3 or 4 seem like a piece of cake. These Erie Canal locks are smaller ...we think they are just cute. One even had a huge door that lifted over our heads as we went in...dripping water the whole time. Lock masters have been very friendly and have taken care to be prepared for us...we hardly ever have to wait...just drive in...hang on...going up!!!!