Batten Down the Hatches

Last night went a little later than normal, when lock master friend Robert brought us back to the boat and accepted our invitation to come aboard for a night cap.  I then stayed up and completed yesterday's blog at 2 AM.  We were underway by 10 this morning.  The locks at this point are still fairly close together, so covering lots of miles is difficult.  It will be like this at least through tomorrow and then the locks become more spreadout.  Today was a really short day in terms of miles, but not in terms of events. 

The first lock we went through today (#9) looked a lot like some of the ones we we went through yesterday, except here there is a highway bridge that shares infrastructure with the dam.

 

The locking process has become fairly routine for the now seasoned crew, but when it seemed time to depart today's first lock the lock personnel were busy with their boat hooks just beyond the lock doors.

We waited several minutes and eventually these guys got what they were after around the end of the lock and the doors opened.  When we exicted the lock we got a better view of what the problem was.

Logs continue to liter the water, especially near the down stream side of the dams.  This one had lodged itself against the lock doors and that prevented the doors from opening.

We came upon this interesting building and while the name on the building implies a power plant, that must have been in an earlier time because on closer inspection it appeared to not be operating as a power plant anymore.

Trains were a highlight today as the tracks ran along side the canal as did Interstate 90.

Lockmaster Robert had told us last night to call if we needed anything and as we approached lock 11 and the town of Amsterdam, NY we gave him a call.  I was in need of filling a prescription that did not get filled in Albany because Rite Aid was out of what I needed.  Robert lived near lock 11, so he graciously met us there for a quick ride to another Rite Aid.  At lock 11 is this "house", built in 1766 and now a museum.

While the man who built this house was a prosperous business man, he must have also been a loyalist to the English when revolution was in the air.

Amsterdam seemed like an interesting and historic town.  We didn't stop at Russo's, just across the street from the lock and museum, but it looked like it would have been our kind place.

 Between the lock and the main street where Russo's is located were railroad tracks.  As luck would have it, right when Robert arrived, the gates went down and we couldn't leave the lock until the trains passed.  There was a west bound freight and an eastbound Amtrak.

These pictures were taken from a spot a little closer than what was legal.

Back from Rite Aid we headed to the boat, which was tied at the lock wall as skies darkened.  Scattered or isolated thunderstorms were forecast so we did a quick on line check of the weather within a few miles of where we were and saw fairly heavy rain nearby, but it looked like it had already passed, so we headed out.

30 minutes into this leg of the trip the thunderstorms arrived - in force!  We made a quick attempt at anchoring, but couldn't get the anchor set.  The rain was hard, but the wind was extreme, if only for a few minutes and that's when the bimini on the upper helm brook loose.  One of the cross peices somehow came completely free and went over the starboard side and struck a salon window.  Mark and I were at the upper helm, while Ron was in the salon and barely missed the shattering window.

The storm was short lived, but in just a few minutes it had done some damage.  Ron focused on cleaning up glass and Mark tried to secure the remains of the bimini.

 Early in the trip, Ron had established a spot for himself on the front boat deck.  During the melee of the storm this chair went overboard.  Previously in my trip Denise had tied lines to these chairs to keep them safe and of course I gave her a hard time about it saying it was not necessary.  As usual I was wrong and she was right.

I kept driving, still dodging logs, and we found our way to lock 12 where we tied off on the lock wall.  The lock was actually not operating because of the storm and there was another westbound boat waiting for them to open again.  Eventually, they did open and we went through and then made the wise decision to tie up at the town dock in Fonda, NY when it looked like round 2 of the storm was about ready to hit.

One guide book explained that there was a connection with Fonda, NY and the actor, Henry Fonda.  Another guide book said none of that was true and Henry Fonda was from Nebraska and neither he or any of his ancestors had lived anywhere near Fonda, NY.

After a great steak dinner that Ron prepared we heard from our friend Robert again.  He said he had some things for us and would stop by with them on this way home from work.  It was about 11:30 when Robert came by with a care package and some better window patching material.  He had previously told us about how he and his wife had a special homemade pasta red sauce that they were thinking about marketing.  In the care package was a prepared pasta dinner with their special sauce along with homemade caramel, fresh blackberries, and some beef sticks for a snack.  He also brought a large piece of heavy plastic to use for our temporary window. 

This time Robert couldn't stay for a night cap because he had just gotten a call that his father was not well and he needed to go see him.  Robert is an amazing person.  The things he did for us over the past 2 days are way over the top.  Thanks again Robert!