Waterford, NY to Sylvan Beach, NY

These pictures are of the boats on the wall of the canal in Waterford. Then Shelly showing our looper flag on the Hudson River. Muriel and Shelly tending lines to hold the boat next to a wall inside a lock until we rose the 20 feet to the next level. The next picture shows a dam to the right and the entrance of a lock on the left as we approached. The last photo is looking out the front of our boat after the lock is filled and before the gates opened to let us continue along the canal.
We enjoyed Waterford so much we stayed several days. It was great to get back together with other loopers. There were several looper boats on the wall there and we quickly made new friends. We enjoyed the short walk into town for several meals and the Sunday farmer's market was a real treat. Muriel walked across a bridge over the Hudson River a couple of times to shop for groceries. The store would allow boaters to push the cart back to the waterfront and they pick them up on Saturdays. Muriel won a Waterford shirt for helping the dockmaster locate his keys.
On Monday, June 23, we finally got away from Waterford and began our trip through the Erie Canal. This began with five locks which raised us 169 feet. We ran a total of 9 locks that day. Muriel and Shelly handled the lines to hold the boat in position while the locks filled with water to raise us to the next level. We stopped for the night at Amsterdam, NY. There was not very much of interest for us there. The next morning we moved on through several more locks and stopped for the night at Little Falls, NY. We were joined there by a couple we had run with in the Chesapeake Bay. We are traveling with a couple from Tupelo, MS so the group of us met on the front porch of the visitor center for snacks and libations. We enjoyed a nice visit with the dockmaster who filled us in on the local history and community information. Afterward we walked into town for an excellent meal. The prices were low and we had such large servings that the pot roast dinners Shelly and I had served the three of us again last night.
On Wednesday we ran from Little Falls to Sylvan Beach. This is where the Erie Canal crosses Lake Onieda which is 25 miles across. Our three boats were able to tie up for free at the canal wall. We all enjoyed a walk through the town to locate the ice cream place and then return to the boats for dinner and then return for ice cream for dessert. This morning it was raining with "possibly severe thunderstorms" popping up around mid day. We decided to stay put but one boat decided to go ahead and cross the lake. They called back and said they had a very smooth crossing.
The canal countryside has been quite pretty. We have enjoyed the sights and the people have been very pleasant. I will try to get some pictures attached this time.