Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Fort Edwards Village Yacht Basin, and BIG Decision


July 17 – 19, Fort Edwards Village Yacht Basin, plus BIG Decision


After leaving Troy, NY Municipal docks, the next step was to transit the Troy Federal Lock. We left at 8 the next morning, and transited the lock with Viva la Vita (Mike and Jille). We parted company with them as they turned off to head out the Erie Canal, and we went north to go up the Champlain Canal. We are so excited to finally be taking the trip through Canada that we have been anticipating for 2 years!

That day, we transited the Troy Lock plus 6 more on the Champlain Canal. We were alone in every one of the locks. Each lock lifted us about 20 feet. The procedure is pretty simple. The lock master opens the gate, gives us a green light, and we drive the boat in until the First Mate (Gena) can grab one of the lines hanging down from the top. The Captain (Dan) has to do a little maneuvering to keep the boat in place, as Gena holds on tightly to keep the boat next to the wall. Once the boat is up at the top, lock master opens the gate, Gena drops the line, and we cruise on to the next lock. We decided to stop for the night at the village of Ft. Edwards, which offers free dockage, electricity, restrooms, and showers for 48 hours! Yippee! We will stay two nights, so both of us can get some needed rest.

We arrived on Monday, and every single restaurant in town was closed! Next morning, we had breakfast at a diner, complete with a long dialogue (almost just a monologue) from the owner, who seemed glad of an audience to hear about his 4 years with the Marines back in the 1960’s!

BIG DECISION:

Dan and I had both been thinking. His symptoms are not getting better, in fact, by some measurement, they are worse. Just walking about 2 city blocks to the diner was a painful experience. This is not the way we want to travel. So, rather than continue on, we are turning back, retracing our steps back to the turnoff to the Erie Canal, and going across the Erie Canal to Winter Harbor, the marina and boatyard where we had already planned to leave the boat for the winter. They said they could fit us in and get some work done that we wanted. So, we’ll take the 4 or 5 days to get the boat there, and then go home for Dan to recover and see his own doctors. We are disappointed, but know this is the right decision for us at this time.


flotsam does collect on the waterways

approaching a lock

entering a lock

inside a lock - the water line is where we'll end up!


our home for the night - free!!  right by a park in Ft. Edwards Village

cool building, seemed to be connected to a church next door

cool mural depicting downtown



lovely old home, with a terrific porch

pretty home, another porch!

a little cluttered,but patriotic!






Three quick stops on the Hudson, Shady Harbor, Albany Yacht Club, and Troy Municipal July 14 thru 17

 

July 13 – 17, three quick stops


July 13-14, Donovan’s Shady Harbor Marina

We had heard so much about this marina! So, even though we missed it last time, we decided to give them a try this trip. Two dock hands met us to help us land successfully in the current and wind. Gena made use of their pool and showers. We passed on their restaurant since it started to rain. Not much to say about this stop – it was fine, no issues!


July 14 - 16, Albany Yacht Club

We continued on the next day to the Albany Yacht Club. We had stopped there last trip. Nice docks, nice people. That night, there was a dinner and vodka tasting, which we did join in!

We had “run off” of all our charts and guidebooks – good grief! So, the local West Marine did have some charts that we wanted. Uber to the rescue – it was quite a ride, but we really wanted those charts!

the following pictures are on the way to Albany...




We share the waterways with these big ones!

Those bad guys are what we try to avoid!!


July 16- 17, Troy Municipal Marina

The small town of Troy has a long dock for transient boaters, so we made that our next stop. We were happy to see another Looper boat parked just in front of us. Jille and Mike were lots of fun. Jille and I went to lunch, then the four of us met for drinks and then dinner. We had so much in common with them – both Gold Loopers, both from Michigan, both couples are grandparents, and both men are handy with mechanical and all boat things!



street in Troy, NY

had a nice beer and burger here, Troy, NY

cool building - hope that ivy doesn't take the building down!



cool little place - closed for a private party

I like the way they made their place private!

cool murals in an overpass

River Place, their main street

Vive La Vita, very nice couple, we spent a few hours with them, then parted ways in the morning.

Beautiful house beside the canal




Next stop on the Hudson, the Hudson River Maritime Museum on Rondout Creek, Kingston, NY

 July 13, 

Next stop on the Hudson River, the Hudson River Maritime Museum, on Rondout Creek, Kingston, NY

We enjoyed this place on our last trip through these parts. The museum is an interesting place, with about 4 buildings. One is the actual museum, with displays about the history of the area, nicely done. Other buildings include a boat building shop, and a place to hold classes for rowing. The revenue from renting the slips goes to the charitable group that runs the museum. The town has been nicely brought back from being deteriorated over the years. There were some interesting restaurants and bakeries. We had a delicious barbecue dinner at Old Susannah that evening. Next morning, we walked a few blocks to a bakery for breakfast. Across the street was another bakery advertising “Fresh Donuts”, so naturally, we had to check it out. The donuts were not just freshly made that morning...no, they were made to your order when you walk to the counter!! Delicious!

On to the next stop, Donovan’s Shady Harbor, a stop we somehow missed last trip.


Rondout Landing - cool place with interesting history

love the colors in this mural


cute building down on the docks

no longer an antiques shop - a cute sandwich and coffee shop

main street in town

Love that they captured this remark ....totally unjustified, of course

AMAZING coffee shop, where they make your donuts to order on the spot!!


More pretty houses overlooking the Hudson

I love the variety of bridge styles

bridge over the Hudson

lovely house spotted on the Hudson

seen on the banks of the Hudson

lighthouse at the turn off to Rondout Creek



































First stop on the Hudson River, the Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson, NY

July 12, Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson, NY

We had visited this marina on our first go around, the first stop on the Hudson River after NYC. The dock master is eager to please, and we landed there successfully. Another Looper couple was next door, always a treat to meet these people who have a love of this boating looper life. Their boat was named “Call Me Curley!”, and we enjoyed a couple of hours talking, laughing, and telling stories.

While sitting there, Sharon, the wife, noticed a big red spot on Dan’s leg. She was quite adamant that it looked like a tick bite, and we’d better get to Urgent Care right away. I knew it must have been bothering Dan already, because he readily agreed that we should do just that.

Long story short, we did get to an Urgent Care, they supposed it is a tick bite. Asked if he’d had any unusual aches and pains lately. He had had some fairly significant pains in his legs and butt lately, to the extent it has been hard for him to get out of bed. We thought it was just his age (!), and lots of unusual ups and down stairs and in and out of engine room. They drew blood, gave him a prescription for antibiotics.  We filled it right away, so he could get started on the treatment that evening.

He probably does have Lyme disease, the treatment for which is just antibiotics.

Next morning, we continued our trip up the Hudson River. Next stop, on Rondout Creek, the Hudson River Maritime Museum.


The views along the Hudson are absolutely beautiful!

Bridges that are functional as well as lovely



Interesting homes with a great view

so pretty with all the trees

Dock your boat on the water...could be a job to get to the house!


West Point is a magnificent, impressive sight!

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West Point!

Huge and impressive - very interesting to tour

West Point up close

I believe this is their athletic complex

island in the river

another pretty bridge

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busy train tracks on both sides of the river

home in the trees!


interesting structure