I’m trying to get excited about the completion of the Erie Barge Canal but I’m viewing this as just another step in our march forward. Perhaps it has something to do with how quickly Melissa and I were snapped back to reality upon tying up at the dock here in Albany. We had a brief hug to “celebrate” before the screaming and crying kids demanded intervention. 🤷🏻‍♂️

The entire experience was cool. It’s really been hard for me to form an articulate description of the experience. The locks were and are awe inspiring. But became tedious and exhausting. The shoaling along a section of the canal was stressful and unpleasant. The scenery was both dull AF and really lovely. What I’ll take away from this experience is a happiness that we’ve left and started our adventure and some pride that Melissa and I navigated a (mild) challenge together successfully. We really make a great team and there is no one else I’d rather do this with.

In all we spent 5 days transiting both the Erie and Oswego canals over 6 days. We spent 3 great nights in some wonderful spots. Our first night was spent at Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton at the completion of the Oswego Canal. We then took our lone day off before transiting to lock 20 and spending a night tied along the wall just yards away from the lock. This was a great stop and allowed us a tour of how the locks work from the lovely lock master. The mosquitoes were intense and drove us inside our boat in the late afternoon but it was a wonderful stop.

Over the last week we wisely leveraged our family’s rhythm of early to bed, early to rise. We were off the dock/wall each morning no later than 6:50. Our earliest departure was 6:30. This allowed us to get a jump on others and made our lock transits really quick. We learned to call ahead and have the lock filled and open for our arrival. The lock masters were, mostly, lovely people and happy to accommodate us. We endeavored to keep each day to only 6 hours though that started to creep longer as we became more and more eager to get the transit over with. The driving, for me, was exhausting. The canal required constant attention and I wasn’t able to use the auto pilot. Not a complaint, just a reality. Melissa was, as always, a star keeping everything running smoothly, managing the kids, and giving me breaks along the way. It makes one wonder how important of a role I play in the entire thing…I suspect once autopilots become just a bit smarter I will be completely irrelevant.

We had 2 stops in truly lovely towns, Little Falls and Amsterdam. It continues to be difficult for me to balance moving slowly with my innate drive to keep pushing hard. I’d have loved to spend days in each town, exploring and learning the history and evolution of each. Of course I’d have been miserable the entire time as well, wanting to cast off and keep moving forward. The kids enjoyed both and while they aren’t experiencing these towns the same way we are they are definitely astute observers and learning why towns are settled along rivers, the importance of industry, immigration and the evolution of the modern economy and its impact on industrial towns. Oliver and I also experienced a truly fantastic civic works project that the town of Amsterdam should be incredibly proud of. It did a great job explaining the evolution of Amsterdam, from the earliest human settlements all the way to modern day. No wonder it received recognition as one of America’s best public spaces. Check it out: https://www.amsterdamny.gov/our-city/things-to-do/mohawk-valley-gateway-overlook-bridge

I sit writing this update from Albany, NY. Today is an off day for the Hills. We plan to go visit the USS Slater and the Schulyer Mansion. The kids really need some attention and we can all use a break from the boat. Tomorrow we’ll be off bright and early and head to Catskill, NY where we’ll put the mast up at Riverview Marina. I plan to spend some time getting the mast and all of its fittings lubricated with anti corrosion coating and heat shrinking all electrical connections. Perhaps another coat of wax for the mast and boom as well. Exciting stuff for me!!! After the 2 or 3 days in Catskill we’ll be a sailboat again and begin our trip down the Hudson, to NYC, the promised night on anchor at the Statue of Liberty (pending weather and river conditions) through the East River and in to Long Island Sound.

We’re really enjoying things now. While it’s not all puppy dogs and rainbows and the days in the canal were long and tedious at times, it feels really great to be moving forward. We’re all much happier as we’re experiencing new things each day and finally living the reality that we had been dreaming about. Perhaps when I’m more rested I’ll write an eloquent post about how cool this all really is. For now I’m focused on moving forward and getting the rig up.