May 27 - Athens, NY

We left Waterford, NY making it to the Troy lock on the Hudson River before 8 am.  At the entrance of the lock was a tree trunk about 15 feet long and one foot in diameter.  Rusty crept up slowly veering slightly to dodge the log.  At that moment the wind and current grabbed the stern of the boat and swung it within six inches of the side of the lock wall. For a few seconds we thought this was the end of our trip.

This is a view of the water from the Troy lock

About 4-5 hours later we were docked at the Athens NY town dock.  Athen's first settlers were the Dutch and then in 1684 the English took over.  The town was engaged in shipbuilding, ice harvesting, brick and pottery making, ice-tool manufacturing and it bustled.  After the ferry across the Hudson River stopped running, businesses closed and people moved away.  Recently there was been interest from residents of New York City to make this town a weekend getaway,  houses are being rehabilitated, and a few restaurants opened up.  There are over 300 buildings on the National and State Historic Registers.  A couple gals (from NY and now residents of Athens) were putting together an art show at the Cultural Center and gave us a brochure with a self-guided walking tour.  Come along with us:

 Victorian Stick style

 



Second Empire style

Does anyone want to buy and restore this beauty?  Built in 1803 in an Early Classical Revival version of the Federal style

 

This is the Jan Van Loon House, built in 1706. Jan Van Loon owned much of the property in the village of Athens by 1685.  Town was originally called Lunenburg or Loonenburgh.  The Hudson River is in the background.

 

 

 Haight-Gantley House, Federal style, designed by Barnabas Waterman

 Second Empire

 

 Second Empire

 

 Second Empire

Former Trinity Episcopal Church, dissolved in 1970, sold to individual. Stick Style Ecclesiastical architecture. 

Brooks Opera House, built in 1889, now a pub restaurant.

Owned by the Titus brothers, farmers and wealthiest citizens in 1870 with a combined worth of $200,000

D. R. Evarts Library, 1907, Beaux Arts style

First Reformed Church, 1826, still going strong.

Crypts built in side of hill in the local cemetery.  The green on the first roof is grass.

Site of the Clark Pottery Kiln. Pottery is collectible, has Dutch blue design.  Will need to check this out.

 

 Stewart House, 1883, hotel and restaurant, undergoing restoration, hoping to reopen summer 2013.

 The view from our boat.  Nice park setting.  Thank you, Town of Athens!

 

 

to May 26 - Brewerton to Waterford NY

Our first week on the water has been one of weather contrasts.  Cool, cold, very cold at night with days gradually warming or not warming, and over six inches of rain falling this week.  Nevertheless, we have been comfortable and are thankful for the heater/air conditioner on the boat.

Crossing Lake Oneida was a non-event and when we arrived in Sylvan Beach we opted for the town wall.  There was enough time that afternoon to touch up the bare spots on the teak with a bit of 216, sandpaper, 216, and one coat of cetol.  Sylvan Beach is known for party boats.  Here is a photo of a group of boats rafted together behind us.  The red objects on shore are two Honda portable generators.

 
The next day we headed west and stopped at the Herkimer town wall. The white building is a store offering products by NY merchants.  It was a pleasant enough spot and we were delighted to be able to tap into the power for only a $10 bill.

We ended up spending two nights in Canajoharie. Again a wonderful town dock with power and water.  That's our boat behind the tree.  Two things stand out about our stay there.

First was Perruzi's Meat Market.  John Peruzzi is a third generation Italian area resident and opened up his meat market and store some years ago.  It was a gem.  You have to either be Italian or have grown up around Italians to understand that they take their food and food supplies seriously.  He had items that I would have a difficult time finding in Naples except at the pricey stores.  He had a slim selection of vegetables and fruits but it was all fresh and priced right.  The meat looked so good we bought a week's supply and then went back the next day and bought another week's worth.

Second was having a boat almost twice the size of ours raft up to us.  We don't raft up.  It is just something we have not embraced.  Well, it was getting late and with the locks on a reduced schedule, Art and Julie's HUGE boat could not get through the next lock and the Canajoharie dock was going to be it.  The dock was full and there was no room.  Rusty, bless his heart, invited them to raft to us. (I was out buying the second week's worth of meat).  I was gone only about 30 minutes and the entire process was started and concluded by the time I got back to the boat.  Within minutes, Art knocked on the door and handed us a plate of homemade cookies, just out of the oven.  In short succession, came two containers of homemade soup, just made, a bottle of ice wine (they were Canadian and heard I grew up in the Niagara peninsula), a bottle of Australian wine, and treats for Gigi.  They were so grateful to be tied up for the night.  What a class act! 

That night the weather turned nasty and we were just happy that it worked out for all of us.  The next few days we dodged debris.

 

We got to Waterford, NY on Thursday and ended up spending four nights at the town dock.  It was so cold and wet that all we could think about was keeping warm.  Below are the makings for split pea soup.  It was yummy.

 

 

Even Gigi was content to curl up under the covers.

It is Sunday evening and the rain has finally stopped.  Below is a picture of the floating dock that is about four feet higher than it was a few days ago.

 

We enjoyed the company of new boater friends while waiting for the weather to break and tomorrow we will head off in different directions to resume our respective adventures.





to Friday, May 17 - Naples, FL to Brewerton, NY

Friday, May 10, we headed over to Enterprise to pick up the SUV and before we knew it we were engaged in a Laurel and Hardy comedy moment.

The lady:  Oh dear, I will need your card again.

The lady:  "keystroke, keystroke, etc. etc. etc.

The lady:  Ok, I think it is going to work.

The lady:  We will be charging for the extra driver.

Me:  There is no charge for the extra driver per the reservation

The lady:  Oh yes there is.

Me:  Oh no there isn't.

The lady:  Well, let me see.

The lady:  The total charge is $170.

Me:   The reservation was for $164.

The lady:  That rate was applicable for the station on the other side of the building.

Me:  I will go to the other side of the building

The lady: The other side is closed.  It is only open during season.

Me:  So I couldn't have gotten the $164 rate anyway.

The lady, very matter of fact:  No, but I did waive the extra driver fee.

The trip from Naples to Brewerton took five days/nights and along the way we spent time getting reacquainted with boater friends, Steve and Beth Westgate, Gemini, in Savannah, GA.  Always good to see them and we hope that sometime down the waterways we will cross wakes again.

We were fortunate to meet up with Rusty's children as well as a dear friend while transiting DC. We enjoyed some fine meals and good conversation, and really treasure the moments when we can see one another again.

Before we knew it , on Wednesday afternoon,  we were at the marina in Brewerton.  And it went something like this:

She:  You're early, aren't you?

Us:  We were going to be splashed tomorrow. 

She:  You're not on the list.

Us:  (no comment)

She:  Well, we'll get this sorted out.

That afternoon, the boat was hauled out of storage, and the hull was cleaned.  Thursday morning, we decided to check on things and we ended up spending the day doing minor repairs. Impellers on the engine and generator were replaced, radar reflector was installed, and cosmetic repairs done via marine-tex.  That was us.  The boatyard installed the spur, replaced zincs and polished the hull.

After lunch, Rusty was ready to repack the stuffing box.  His body was half way in the back of the stern of the boat.  One of the workers warned me that the lift was coming over the top of our boat.  I didn't think anything of it.  A few minutes later, I peeked outside and realized that the worker bees were getting ready to strap our boat in the lift.  I roared outside (all 5 feet) and yelled,  Hello, are you putting us in the water?  Don't worry, not yet.  (five minutes later) You have 5-10 minutes to get off the boat.  Rusty, are you packing the stuffing box, because we are going in the water. 

In the water we went.  That evening we did some laundry and had a good nights rest at the hotel. Early the next morning we called the car rental company (Enterprise) to extend the rental period for another day. Well, somehow when we filled in the paperwork in Naples, the reservation got switched to Alamo.  Don't ask, because I don't know.  Alamo said sure we could get an extra day and the total revised price would be around $290.  I asked how that was possible if the weekly rate was $170.  They said it was because there was a charge for the extra driver.  A phone call to Naples took care of the problem.

And now it is the end of the day, we had a wonderful dinner  (chicken and salad from Wallyland) with a $7 bottle of Malbec, and we cannot believe we are back on the boat.