Journey to Spencerport

(Warning...it's a long one!)

Wednesday morning started a bit overcast, but delightfully cooler.  At 6:30 a.m. we headed out for our morning walk.  We had gotten away from doing this the last couple of days as we have been busy and the weather has well shall we say not been cooperating. It felt good to get back to some of our "routines". 

After our walk we returned to the boat for breakfast.  Bagel for Mike and a fruit smoothie for me.  Here I go again photographing food.  After breakfast Mike headed out to the store to purchase a new water hose. Yep we were still dealing with "nasty" tasting water. I cleaned up the galley and picked up around the boat, packed our lunches for the days cruise which would be about 5 hours and then of course took a well deserved shower. 

The cloudy morning I awoke to had soon turned into a spectacular morning.  While Mike worked on readying the boat for departure I headed over to the dumpster to dispose of the old water hose and to alert the marina staff that we would need assistance with pump out.  Everything was going smoothly and by 10:00 a.m. we were on our way to Spencerport, our first stop on our westward journey.

It seriously could not have been more perfect weather, clear, 72 degrees and just a hint of a breeze.

Passing under our first bridge.  Check out the cuties in the back window of this truck.  

The canal is the perfect place for all types of boaters.  We came across these two in their canoe.  Yes they were paddling faster than we were cruising in our boat.  Whew that is some serious arm strength.

Yes with pristine skies and little to no wind made for great reflection photos.

Some more boaters, kayakers this time.

Our first town we came to was Fairport.  This town is to me one of the busiest towns on the canal, at least that I have seen so far.  We have stayed there only a couple of times as its usually pretty busy and getting a spot can some times be a challenge.  Who knows maybe on the way back we will check it out again.

Mike saw a friend he had met at the marina, Fran.  Loved this house boat!  Look at all those yummy colors.  

As you can see from the photo above, Fairport is a busy place.

Mike contact the Lift Bridge operator requesting west bound passage and quickly we were on our way.

The amount of colorful Adirondack Chairs along the canal is astounding.  They can be seen in all colors and in all places, big and small. 

I noticed several of these small day cruiser boats, I think Mike called them Picnic boats.  They were perfect for a day on the canal.

These guillotine like devices are a bit daunting to cruise under, but their structures are always fascinating. 

The next town we cruised by was Bushnell Basin.  We have yet to stop here but hope to on our way back.  

The traffic on the canal was crazy.  Not so much with boats as we really only came across 5 during our days journey but the water fowl was everywhere.  

These guys were reluctant to get out of the way.  They would fly up ahead of us and then we got too close to them they would fly a little further away.  I am sure they were irritated with us disrupting their morning commute.

The next town was Pittsford.  We have stopped here once before many years ago.  The town itself is quite nice, but their facilities for boaters is "skimpy".  

As we were coming out of Pittsford I noticed these gentlemen working diligently on the bridge above us.  As we were approaching the bridge one of the guys said.  "Hey fellas my ride is here time to go" and pretended like he was going to jump into the boat.  We laughed and said if he could make it we'd bring him along.  

Next up was the Pittsford Lock.  This is a 25 foot lock, meaning it would raise the boat 25 feet to the next level.  We had passed this tour boat (located behind us in the photo) back in Pittsford.  They would be joining us on our journey up the lock.  Not sure if you can tell from the photo but the boat is filled with elementary school aged children.  They all seemed so excited to be going through the lock.  Since we were the first in the lock Mike pulled the boat as close to the front of the lock as I felt comfortable.  You see I am the one at the bow (front) holding the lines as we ascend the lock and the water gushing in well can be a bit daunting.  While in the lock I kept hearing voices, no I am not going crazy.  As the boat came up past the wall of the lock we were greeted by about 10 what we call gongoozalers.  In other words people curious about watching folks in the locks.  It's always a tiny bit nerve racking when folks are watching, but since this was "not our first rodeo" and the weather made for perfect locking we talked with the folks and answered as many questions as we could while keeping the boat (and us) safe.  As we were leaving the lock the tour boat with all those "littles" were chanting "Kismet, Kismet, Kismet".  So Mike gave a toot on the horn and the boat erupted in joyful laughter and cheers.  It made our day!

The pile of timbers on the side of the canal is debris they canal workers have removed from the canal.  Oh so thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly keeping the canal in such good shape. Below is the the equipment they use to remove all this debris.

As I stated earlier it was going to be a 5 hour cruise today.  Miss Millie usually spends her time with us up top safely in her kennel with plenty of shade and her bear.  There were a few times I took her out for some water and to stretch her legs.  For her safety we choose to keep her in her kennel as we are cruising as she is much calmer and seems to feel safer there.  Along with the fact that it keeps us calmer knowing she is safe.  

But today she came up front with me for a while as Mike was driving.  She is such a good girl!

One of the boaters we came across today was this gentleman.  He had taken an old sailboat and made it into a small cruisers.  What you can't tell is he is laying in a hammock he had rigged up.  I just love the things that folks do to their boats.

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Okay one more shot of the cutie!

Next on our journey was cruising by Rochester and the Genesee River.  We have come through here many times cruising the canal.  Like other days it was very uneventful, but quite beautiful with all the bridges.

We arrived in Spencerport about 3:30 p.m.  We docked behind a hire boat that was from our marina along with a much larger Carver cruiser.  We saw no one from the Carver cruiser, but Mike did meet the young couple from the hire boat for a quick minute.  

As I stated earlier the day was perfect and well the evening was even better.  After a dinner of spaghetti and roasted vegetables we took our chairs and sat in the grass by the dock and enjoyed the evening.  Since our boat is docked right next to the canal walking path we had a great time "people watching".

Several small boaters came by, but the one that caught our eye was this young lady.  She was leisurely paddling her kayak along with the help of her helpful pup on board.  

Can I say the clouds were PERFECT this night and the reflections just stopped me in my tracks.  

I loved how the clouds in the photo just lined up perfectly with Kismet.  

As I write this entry I can hear the vehicles cross the metal bridge just down from our boat.  Our plans for the day is to head over to Brockport, one of our favorite places.  Thursdays they have concerts down at the canal, Summer Serenades I believe is what they are called.  We also have plans to spend some time with some of our favorite people "The Skoogs" on Friday (and hope to see them tonight too) .  Then hopefully on Saturday morning to enjoy the Arts Festival that is happening in town before we leave for our next location.  

Well you made it to the end.  I told you it would be a long one.  Thanks for stopping by and remember if you leave a comment please leave your name.  We love your comments!!!!!