October 14~17 AGLCA Fall Rendezvous

After dropping off the rocking chair at Josh’s & Jessica’s new home, we headed for Rogersville Alabama & Joe Wheeler State Park.  Along the way we had to leave Duke at a kennel outside of Rogersville as pets were not permitted at the State Park Lodge.

If you’ve never been to an AGLCA Rendezvous, you should attend.  If you are in the loop planning stages the Rendezvous is where you can get most of your questions answered; what kind of boat, how to prepare, what kind of equipment, what about pets, etc…    I think you get the picture.  But the Rendezvous is also a great place to catch up with friends you may have met on the loop recently or years ago.  We had a lot of fun going out to eat at a Mexican restaurant with Blue Moon, Charis, and Sun Gypsy.  The same crew had last eaten together (also Mexican) in Kingston NY, almost 4 months ago.  We really missed seeing Spritus again; they were already headed down the Tombigbee for home.  You can attend the Rendezvous with or without your boat as accommodations are on site.  On the last evening of the Rendezvous is a musical get together....this year we had a hammered dulcimer, a guitar, a mountain dulcimer, an autoharp and a keyboard.  The musicians are pictured below:



Jan Matuska

Eva Stob

Ron Stob
















 

 

October - Blue Ridge Parkway

One of the trips we always wanted to do was drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We came close several times before but it was always winter, when the Blue Ridge was closed.

We left early and headed for Sweetwater, TN where we took the Cherohala Skyway over the mountain.  We had the company of dozens of motorcyclists enjoying the twisting mountain road.

 



After following the Cherohala Skyway to the end, we went to Cherokee, on the east side of Great Smoky National Park.  There we picked up mile 0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  All of the visitors centers were closed due to the government budget shutdown. The only consolation was very light traffic on the Parkway.  Jan was really disappointed that the Blue Ridge Music Center was closed. We plan to stop there when we head back to Brewerton in the spring. 

 

 The high point, literally, was Mount Mitchell.  It's the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in the eastern United States.  The fall colors were just starting to come out.

 

When we reached the end of the Parkway, we headed for Nashville.  Jan's son, Josh just bought a house there, and we delivered an antique rocking chair to the still empty house.  They hadn't arrived yet from California.

 

 







Late August / early September, Brewerton to Home

One of the reasons we stopped at Brewerton was to take advantage of a nearby Cummins MerCruiser dealer.    The engine developed an exhaust leak and it took some time to diagnose the source.  We learned that the factory left off the copper gasket seal at the base of the Cyl. #4 Fuel Injector.  Luckily this was warranty work or it would have been a $2,000 expense.



We wanted to wait for the Cummins engine tech to deliver Fuel Injector and finish repairing the engine.  But since our cruising for the season was finished, we wanted to return home to Dunedin as soon as possible.  We finished up winterizing the tug over two days.  We then loaded the truck with the kayaks, bikes, and an amazing amount of stuff we had squirreled away on the tug.  An easy two-day drive, with one fuel stop (I love the auxiliary tank) on the pickup, and we were able to fill up with the cheapest diesel on the east coast in South Carolina.  We were back home the first week of September.  Shortly after we arrived home, Brewerton Boatyard staff called to confirm that the engine work was done and the tug was getting pulled from the water for inside winter storage.

8/29/13 Brewerton

I can't believe that it is almost September.  We've been living on the boat since May 1st, although the first few weeks were spent in New Jersey preparing for our journey.  Ron returned to NJ yesterday to pick up our truck.  He will be back in Brewerton later this evening.
While he was gone, I took numerous piles of sheets, towels, and clothing to the laundromat followed by lunch at a restaurant on the Oneida River. Thanks to Ken and Ann (Charis) for the loan of their car.

Charis & Adagio, finally together



The water here is yucky.  It is cloudy and has lots of surface algae.  Duke really wants to swim, but I've kept him out so far.
Because the marina has only one road in and out, we've been able to allow Duke some freedom. Today when I let him loose, he headed for the Ship's Store and went in to request one of the dog biscuits.  He's a schemer!

8/28/13 Brewerton

Since Ron is going to be gone a couple of days, it seemed like a good time to clean the boat and assemble the laundry.  Although I feel better than yesterday, I overdid it today and took a long nap.  This boatyard is very quiet.  The only time I saw another person was on my way to the shower this morning.  Brewerton Boat Yard has a female dog named Bear.  She has a collection of bones around the property and Duke has taken 6 of them and brought them aboard.  Every time I go to shore, I return one. 

8/27/13 Brewerton

"Daybreak/ Daybreak.....Adagio"
"Channel 17"
Adagio this is Daybreak"

We had the above conversation several times a day as we traveled with Jeanne and Kenny during the past 8 weeks.  We miss our traveling buddies!!







They're sailing away, we've been together since Kingston NY



I developed pain in the right side of my back last night which progressed to aching and fever today.  I spent the entire day in bed. 

Ron plans to  take the train tomorrow from Syracuse to NYC.  Wayne has agreed to take him to the train at 0620....now that's a nice boatyard owner!

8/26/13 Minetto NY to Brewerton, NY

It was a short day with 3 locks on the Oswego Canal and a couple on the Erie Canal.  We pulled in to Brewerton Boat Yard while Daybreak fueled up at another marina where fuel was significantly cheaper.  Wayne, the owner of Brewerton Boat Yard is a great guy.  We settled in our slips and went out to dinner at AG's, a local restaurant.  It was very good.  This will be our last evening with Jeanne & Kenny (Daybreak).



They will continue East on the Erie heading toward the Hudson River and eventually back to Delaware, while we will stay here for at least a week.  We haven't decided yet whether we will head west on the Erie for a few weeks to visit the Finger Lakes. 

Sacketts Harbor, NY to Minetto, NY 8/25/13

Since we couldn't get reservations last night at Tin Pan Galley, we opted for breakfast there today.  Kenny got the single stuffed French toast which looked like a huge dessert.  Jeanne and I had huevos rancheros, and Ron settled on the breakfast sandwich.  Great food!

We knew bad weather was predicted for tonight so we wanted to cross Lake Ontario while things were relatively calm.  We were bounced around a little with 1-2 footers, but the water calmed down as we approached Oswego.

Tugboat "Frances", his barges came from Trois Riveries, Quebec

  We passed through 4 locks on the Oswego Canal and arrived at a town dock in Minetto.  This dock had room for two boats and also offered electricity.  Although there is no official fee for tying up here, they ask for a donation.  As we were pulling in to this small dock, there was a couple sitting there fishing.  It was obvious that I needed to pull up to the cleat where they were sitting, but they were not moving!! 

Tonight after dinner on the boats, we walked to Stewarts for a few groceries.  When we got back we said some tentative goodbyes to Jeanne and Kenny who will head back toward the Chesapeake soon. 
______________________________________________________________

Do you remember The Twilight Zone TV show?  If you do.....start humming the theme song......
"Imagine, if you will, living in a house where you wake up every morning with different streets, different stores, and different neighbors. (Cruising is like this)  Every day is different.  But your favorite neighbors are always there to share the strange new settings with you.  Then one day, your favorite neighbors disappear ....gone forever. " So what do you do?  You write a song about them:

Jeanne & Kenny’s song     tune: ( Auld Lang Syne)

When friends depart and leave the cruise
They’ll be forever missed
The time we spent together
Really made our bucket list

You made our trip a special time

Our meeting seemed like fate
We met in Kingston (town) New York
Cause the Erie opened late

 One day you needed groceries

We drove you there by car
As soon as we got to your boat
I dropped your syrup jar

We shared good times

Became good friends
The food and wine were great
We hope to see you both again
Real soon, let’s set a date!

Wellesley Island to Sackets Harbor

We planned to leave early, planning a long day.  But we awoke to a heavy fog on the river and needed to wait an hour until it cleared.  Then it was a short 10 mile run up the St. Lawrence to Clayton NY where we stopped to tour the Antique Boat Museum.

This museum is one of the finest of its kind.  Every kind of old boat is on display, some as found in someone's garage, some completely restored.  There were canoes, rowing skiffs, and run-abouts.  A whole building was devoted to racing boats.  Did you know Guy Lombardo raced boats?  Do you even remember who Guy was?  Another fun fact learned at the museum was that Dr. Seuss did ad work for Standard Oil Co., doing many "EssoMarine" advertisements.  He used characters similar to those seen in his children's books.



After lunch on board, we headed out for the 45 miles to Sackets Harbor.  Kenny arranged with the dockmaster to arrive after the usual marina closing time.  As soon as we got in, at least right after we walked Duke, we headed out to find a restaurant.  We really wanted to eat at Tin Pan Alley, but they were booked for the night.  We settled for our 2nd choice, Sackets Harbor Brewery.  By the time we got back to the marina, it was time for lights out.



Friday 8/23/2013 Gananoque to Boldt Castle & Wellesley Island

We left Gananoque and headed down the St. Lawrence, mostly taking side channels and narrow passages between some of the many islands.  Some cottages were huge mansions, while others were simple one or two room places.  Many islands contained only one cottage, and some islands were the size of the cottages.

.

Eventually we had to cross over from the Canada side to the US side, and we did that just past Heart Island & the Boldt Castle. We cleared customs on Heart Island and spent most of the afternoon touring the Castle & the Boldt Boathouse.

Boldt Castle

Boldt Castle Boat House

Power house

on the veranda--see the heart in the bench?

dining room

the foyer

another view of the power house

 If you don't know the story, George Boldt built a castle for the love of his life, his wife (1900).  She died suddenly and George, whose heart was broken, abandoned the nearly complete structure and it went into ruin.  Eventually the Thousand Islands International Bridge Commision took possession and started a lengthy renovation project.  Many of the main rooms are completed, and work is underway to complete some of the upper rooms.  Most of the upper rooms are still grafitti covered.

Did you know George Boldt made his millions as the most successful hotel magnate in America?  He ran and had a financial interest in the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia and the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC.  Did you also know the original Waldorf-Astoria was torn down to make room for the Empire State Building?

We had intended to stay at the Thousand Islands Yacht Club Friday night.  But when we called their office, they gave us the number of the place next door.  Jake, the dockmaster at the next door Wellesley Island Yacht Club, met us and directed us in to our dock.  It wasn't as nice as the TIYC, but it had everything we needed.  Duke loved the place - the marina is on an grassy island, with a single dock ramp to the mainland.
However, Duke took a detour and left the island and escaped.  We recruited several boaters to look for him.  Fifteen minutes later, he reappeared from under a nearby dock where he was looking for critters.  He was a wet mess and had to be bathed.

After getting settled in we rode Daybreak's dingy over to friends of Kenny & Jeanne for a small cocktail party.  We had a great time, the catered food was fabulous, and we had several interesting conversations - mostly about boats.  Turns out they knew the boat, a 60 ft. Azimuth, that Daybreak had to make room for back in Kingston NY.  And that same boat later was badly damaged in the Erie Canal when it hit a submerged car.

Thursday - a rainy day in Gananoque

The weather was threatening today, so we decided to spend another night here in Gananoque.  The rain came hard, just as we were ordering lunch at the "Maple Leaf", the same Czech restaurant we lunched at on Wednesday.  Everyone brought rain jackets except Ron, luckily Jeanne brought an umbrella as well.

In the afternoon, some took long naps, some went to the local museum.  Tonight we all wound up at the town gazebo for some jazz.  Rain was still possible, so the concert was not well attended.  Afterwards we went back to our boats to chart Friday's route to Heart Island and Boldt Castle.

Gananoque, ON

Tuesday 8/21/13

We headed this morning for a marina in Gananoque, ON.  This trip only took us 45 minutes.  Once we settled in, we all walked in to town for lunch and groceries.  Last week we found a Czech restaurant in Smiths Falls, today another here in Gananoque, great food at both.  Ron & Kenny both had Bohemium Spatzle (with Bacon & Sauerkraut.)  Ken and Ann (Charis) arrived mid-afternoon from Kingston.  Tonight we plan to attend a play at a nearby playhouse.  Although we finally have WIFI, the signal is weak, so we may or may not be able to post on the blog.  Storms are predicted tomorrow, so we may stay here one more day. 

The play, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, was great.  Can you spell "hillarious"?  If you've seen this musical comedy, you are aware that 4 people are pre-selected from the audience to participate.  Three women and Kenny Beach were chosen, but Jeanne and I didn't know it until he was called to the stage.  What a hoot!  They described Kenny as the new Justin Bieber look alike.

Camelot Island, day 2

8.20/13

It is hard to leave Camelot, so we decided one more day here would be wonderful.  The island is small enough to walk around, making a good hike as we walked with Duke.  He and Ron made several trips to shore.  Duke loved it so much that he would lie down in protest when it was time to leave.  Jeanne found a high rock on the island and took her music and French horn for a Camelot practice session.  When some hikers came upon her, they were very surprised to hear a concert.

Camelot Island, day 1

Monday 8/19/13
Here we are in Camelot, yes, Camelot. This is one of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence Seaway near Kingston, ON. We arrived after a short 25 mile ride from Kingston. On the way, our chart plotter stopped functioning, but we were able to use our backup chart on the laptop. Why is it so important to have charts in this area, you ask. Well the bottom is very rocky and unforgiving, so we definitely had to watch our depth. We found one mooring ball available, so Ron and I took it because it had a nearby dinghy dock for Duke.

  Jeanne and Kenny went to look for an available dock (the docks are very small only holding a couple of boats) but they were all taken.  So they returned and rafted up to our boat.  That made it more fun anyway, because we were able to talk as good neighbors do. 

Kingston Ontario

8/18/13
Kingston is the first Canadian city that we have actually visited together before.  We liked it then, loved it now.

We spent the day with Jeanne and Kenny from Daybreak playing tourist.  We rode the trolley to get acquainted with the city attractions.

  Our first stop was the prison museum which turned out to be very interesting.  Convicts can be very ingenious in creating weapons and means of entertainment while locked up.  And it appears water-boarding was widely practiced here in the mid to late 1800's.

When we returned to our boats, Ann & Ken from Charis had arrived and we all had dinner together at the Chez Piggy, a very nice restaurant enclosed in a back alley courtyard.

 Our original summer cruise plans were to spend more time with Ken & Ann.  We were briefly together at Half-Moon-Bay and had lunch in Kingston NY.  We didn't cross paths again until Lake Champlain, at Whitehall & again at Burlington VT.   After that we waved once when we passed them in a marina below the St. Ours Lock just before the St. Lawrence River.  Then we went down the St. Lawrence and they went up to Montreal.  The next time we saw them was at Ottawa, but we were at the bottom of the staircase locks, and they were at the top and leaving the next day.  Somehow we passed them when winds kept them in port at Portland ON, while we were on the lee shore and headed for Westport.

Lower Brewer Lock to Kingston Ontario

Our last day on the Rideau, the scenery changed dramatically.  For the 15 miles to Kingston, no more islands and rock cliffs, just farmland, shallow lakes, and marshland.  At Brewer Lock we met a couple of canoe-campers and we found one of their tent pegs.  They were off at dawn, and we never caught up to return the peg.

The last lock station, Kingston Mills, consists of 4 locks and a swing bridge build right over the top lock.  It was quite an engineering feat to build this station, solid granite most of the way down.

Lock was filled to the brim

We didn't have to wait for the causeway bridge which has scheduled openings. There is a lower clearance channel off to one side. We let Daybreak go first this time since his air draft is only 14 ft. He was able touch the bridge bottom from his flybridge, so we knew that Adagio had about a foot between the bridge and our masthead light. We did proceed with extreme caution!
We arrived before noon, so we went out for lunch (again).   Ron tried "Breakfast Poutine."  We took naps and went out for dinner, and again Kenny picked the wine.  He always tells me..."I'm going to pour this, but you don't have to drink it".  I've emptied every glass of wine he's poured for me:)

Jones Falls to Lower Brewer Lock

Friday 8/16/2013

Our daily travel distances seem to be getting shorter, yesterday it was less than 18 miles from Westport to the bottom of Jones Falls.   No one on Adagio or Daybreak wants the Rideau to end, but Kingston will be coming up soon.  After a leisurely breakfast at the Kenney Hotel (free docking while dining), we headed downstream again. We took a short side trip into Morton Bay just to take a look around - great place to anchor.

Today's distance was less than 16 miles.  We locked through here at Lower Brewers about 1:30, usually too early to stop.  But there wasn't much boat traffic and the lockmaster let us stay on the blue line at the bottom of the lock (where boats waiting to lock through wait.)

Lower Brewer Lock was an especially nice dock: power if needed, apple pie and cider up the hill, and a neat metal art studio across the bridge. 

Westport Harbour to Jones Falls Ontario

We left early after one more quick trip to the grocery store.  Another really nice cruising day on the Rideau Waterway.  Passed through several very narrow channels & canals and went trough several more lock stations, finishing up with the four locks at Jones Falls.
This is the first time since the St. Ours Lock on the Richelieu River that we had to lock down instead of up.  You really have to watch your fender placement.   When you enter the lock, the water level is only inches below the top of the lock.  You can't reach the lock cables so you pass your dock line to the dock staff who run it around the lock cable guides.  We were headed for an anchorage in Morton Bay, but decided to stay on the "blue" line dock below the locks.

Smith Falls to Westport

8/14/13

It was raining, but we left Smith Falls and headed for Perth—7 miles up the river.  At one of the locks, we met Emily, a lock worker who was celebrating her 19^th birthday today.  Nineteen is the legal drinking age in Canada…as noted by one of her co-workers.  Emily is a second year nursing student who hopes to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. 

Happy Birthday, Emily

Just after the lock, we saw 30 kayaks traveling from Kingston, Ontario to Ottawa on a fund-raising  trip for the Cancer Society. 

After 2 locks, we headed in to the Perth Channel to wait for the Perth lock.  As we prepared to tie up on the blue line, we noticed the boat, Ookpik (Bruce and Karen) with whom we spent several days on the Tennessee River two years ago. 

Bruce (in red)

They plan to meet Salty Paws (another boat from our Tennessee River trip) in Waterford and then head for the Bahamas.  Salty Paws owners have traded their small boat for a big PDQ catamaran.  We decided to head for Westport and arrived there midafternoon.  We toured the quaint town and bought ice cream before heading back to the boat.  While walking the dock, we saw another boat from our long stay in Kingston, NY. Maureen and Peter on  Duddon Pilot are here, too./

Kilmarnock Lock to Smith Falls

8/13/13

Our departure,  scheduled for 0830 was delayed by fog which lifted after an hour’s wait.  We went a total of 7 miles (5 locks) today and it took over 2 hours. 

swing bridge



many properties have aqua-planes in their yards

lock building-viewed as we came up the lock wall

workers at the lock

Jeanne...grabbing the cable in the lock

to fit all of the boats in, we had to go to the very front of the lock

Since Smith Falls had been recommended to us, we tied up to the town wall and walked in to town. 

downtown Smith Falls

Daybreak and Adagio on the wall

 One of the lockmasters had recommended a restaurant to Jeanne, so we tried and loved it.  My Place was run by a family from the Czech Republic and served ethnic food. Yummy.  (Do we sound like we work for the food network?)

 Ron and Kenny went to the Rideau Canal Museum while Jeanne and I did some shopping.  The rain started shortly after we returned to the boat mid-afternoon, so Jeanne practiced the French horn on their boat and I played some dulcimer tunes on ours.

We rarely eat at the same restaurant twice, but we liked My Place so much that we went back for dinner.

 

Hurst Marina to Kilmarnock Lock

8/12/13

We departed on a bright sunny morning for Merrickville and 8 locks.  The big boat behind us in the lock was a novice boater.  He scraped the wall with his boat and his girlfriend on the bow didn’t know what to do.  She still had the line tied on to the rail instead of having it ready to tie around the cable.  They made us nervous as the came close to the stern of our boat.

We tried to find a spot on the dam wall at Merrickville, but it was full, so we raced on to the Kilmarnock Lock.  We made it with 25 minutes to spare.  Once through the lock, we tied to the west wall for the evening.  It was a peaceful rural setting.  Duke was able to run free for some much needed exercise.   This was one of my favorite wall ties.

Beautiful area

Duke loved this area

gorgeous wildflowers

Leaving Ottawa

8/11/13


We headed for the 9am bridge opening and the first of eight locks.  The Rideau is a narrow river with residences on both sides---quiet, peaceful and rural.  Hurst Marina turned out to have showers, water, electricity and laundry---all of which had been absent for the past week of tying up to lock or town walls.  The weather has been great...cool, crisp evenings and warm sunny days.

After one of the locks, we tied up and walked into town for groceries.  A huge kayak race was taking place on the river at the kayak club.

The entire Rideau has 49 locks from Ottawa to Kingston.  Kenny and Jeanne have really gotten good at the locking process....their first was only a month ago.

Tonight....haircuts for Ron and Kenny.  I think I've found a new profession.  They both look much better:)

Ottawa Day 3

8/10/13
We took the Grayline bus tour ($30 each) for a tour of the city. Ottawa was hosting a world class run/bike/run event.  Athletes from many countries were present for the race.

 Afterward, we rode our bikes about 4 miles to Dows Lake and on to the next lock to check out our route out of Ottawa. 
Ron and I attended church at Notre Dame Basilica....probably one of the most beautiful churches (inside) that I've ever seen. 

The service was bilingual...every other reading was in English, but the homily was in both languages.
After church, Ron and I stopped at another pub for a quick dinner.

Ottawa day 2

8/9/13

Sculpture along the canal

We got in line for tickets to tour Parliament.  There is no charge for the tour of the Central and East buildings and no charge for the tour of the grounds.  After going through minimal security, we were guided through the beautiful Central building which was rebuilt after a fire in 1916.  The only part that survived was the wood adorned library.   Parliament meets in this Central building.  Canada has 305 members of the House of Commons who are elected and represent about 110,000 people each.  The 105 senators are appointed to their positions by the Governor General.  Jessica, our tour guide had only worked there for a month, but she was very entertaining and informative.

Our tour of the East building (an office building) led by Alex was not nearly as interesting

.

As we walked around town, we found that Canadians follow traffic rules closely...no jaywalking or walking when the don't walk sign is posted.  That was not true for the tourists.

Outdoor restaurants are located throughout the city and we tried several of them.

Kenny and Jeanne at one of the many restaurants

The light show on Parliament Center occurs nightly at 9:30pm and depicts the history of Canada...what a fabulous free show.  We were joined by hundreds of people sitting on the lawn. 

Sunset view from our boat looking under the bridge