Clay and I were on our own now for the Erie Canal. We bought a ten day pass, but hoped to get through the system in half that time. We went through 20 locks elevating us 420 feet and then went through 10 more locks lowering us 175 feet to the level of Lake Ontario (245 feet above sea level). We spent a day in Wateford before heading into the first flight of locks. We didn't leave until about 9 :30 a.m. (very late) but still managed to get through 13 locks and 60.5 miles under our belt. At one point I slipped out of my croc and it went overboard in the lock. Fortunately they float and I was able to retrieve it with my boat hook. Of course Clay had to grab the camera. We stopped for the night in Canajoharie on a free town dock beside a beautiful park. Unfortunately the skeeters came out at dusk, so we didn't get to do much exploring. We left at 7:00 a.m. to make the first opening of Lock 14. There wasn't much traffic on the Canal, so most of the locks were ready for us, so we didn't have much wait time. Sylvan Beach was the stop for the night. This is a beach town complete with amusement rides on the shores of Lseake Oneida. We were hoping for good weather to cross, because it can get nasty quick. We walked around the water front. Clay's keen sense for ice cream never fails to amaze me but boy it was expensive. I thought his jaw was going to drop to the floor when the clerk asked for $12 for two cones (he did get a double scoop with a homemade waffle cone).

Another early morning but we were very pleased with the flat seas and the wind at our back. We had 30 miles to go and it was a very smooth ride. We re-entered the canal system at Brewerton and then at Three Rivers Junction made a right onto the Oswego Canal. Oswego is just 24 miles long with seven locks. We locked through the last lock that took us into Oswego Harbor where we would be putting up the mast. We tied up to a town wall and read the sign that it was not free. That wasn't a problem but it was pretty beat up and smelled, there was a free dock right before the last lock with picnic area that looked really nice, so we called the lockmaster and asked if he would mind letting us go back through. He was very nice and said no problem. He then told us that it happens quite often. We no sooner got tied up when a good storm hit and we were safe and secure. The next morning we locked through again and went to the marina to have the mast stepped. We basically watched while a crew did the work. Clay just handed them clevis pins as they attached the stays. By noon we were headed out of the harbor onto Lake Ontario crossing to Sackets Harbor. The sails went up and we had a nice sail until the winds fizzled. We found the quaint little harbor at Sackets, into a slip at Navy Point Marina where the boat will stay while we rent a car and drive back to the cottage in Milford, attend the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic and then back to the boat.

p.s. I forgot to mention - we made it through in just 3 days. Clay was really anxious for the boat show!