Day 311-314 August 21-24 899 mi Marion IL

We are at Winter Harbor Marina getting the Nanseann ready  to spend the winter and loading up the rental car to return to Marion.  Things have been busy around here.

 

 



One of the heated storage buildings
 

 

The other heated storage building

 

 

82 foot Yacht on the end was cruising the Erie Canal after the big summer storm that closed the canal for a month and guess what.....they ran over a submerged car in the canal....major problems

 

 

Shot of the moon during the day

 

 

Marina is full....most waiting for repair work and winter storage

 

 

Bright moon tonight

 

 

Tower Garden put to bed....this was our tomato crop

 

 

Securing doors open so we will not get mold....

 

 

Final Job.....take Saddi's ramp off....one more time....

 

 

Owner's Home....beautiful lawn and flowers

 

 

Beautiful morning

 

 

I'm Ready.....I'm Ready....to GO!!!!!

 

 

We depart Brewerton 8:30AM Friday morning leaving the Nanseann behind with mixed emotions!!!  She will have her engines serviced and then will be lifted out of the water, have her bottom cleaned and will be put to bed for the winter.  Tom has been doing this for over 15 years and came with high recommendations.  The three of us have been on the boat for over 10 months now so we can be sentimental.  Anyway the rental car is loaded......I'm sure the Captain could not have put another item aboard.

 

 

I have my own space

 

 

West side of Indianapolis....I have never stayed in a motel

 

 

Well I know this place....the Coach House with ALL our Stuff

 

 

Rental Car unloaded

 

 

Our home for the winter but remember it is For Sale.....Last fall we took everything out of the coach in order to sell it.....well we didn't.....now we are moving back into the coach for the winter.  We will return to the boat in May and the blog will continue.....We plan on being in Canada for 4 months and in Chicago by Labor Day weekend.  After that we will travel the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland Rivers back to Green Turtle Bay Marina where it all started.

We have had a wonderful trip.....seeing the USA via water is really an experience.

Thanks for watching my blog.....I have had a great time working on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Day 310 August 20 23 mi Winter Harbor Marina Brewerton NY

 

Sylvan Beach......across Oneida Lake and into Brewerton NY today.....sunny....no wind and we are ready to depart.....Port Engine will not start.....Captain needs to preform surgery, hotwire the boat...call someone....say a prayer.....

 

 

Tugboat going East

 

 

Mike got us started.....solenoid going bad....Captain paying his bill

 

 

Leaving the marina with Oneida Lake in sight

 

 

Free Dock w/o power and water

 

 

Snug Harbor another marina for boats our size

 

 

Amusement Park by the Free Dock

 

 

Hot Spot for Tourist.....guess that is what we are

 

 

Canal View Cafe

 

 

You can see the roller coaster

 

 

Oneida Lake is the largest lake located entirely within New York State.  While not included as one of the Finger Lakes, it is sometimes referred to as the other lakes "thumb."  At 22 miles long and up to 5 miles wide with an average depth of 20 feet, it is an integral part of today's Erie Canal, entering on the east end of Sylvan Beach and exiting on the west end at Brewerton.  The lake is very shallow and the east end can be as smooth as glass while the west end can have waves up to 6 feet so you watch your weather.....

 

The East End is as smooth as glass

 

 

Stay in the channel and follow the daymarkers...lots of shoals

 

 

Lighthouse

 

 

Oneida Lake is known nationally as a fishing mecca, especially for walleye pike.  The lake is the site of the Biological Field Station at Shackelton Point, home to the world's foremost walleye biologists.

 

 

I would like walleye for dinner

 

 

Homes line the lake....all with fishing boats

 

 

In the wintertime there is ice-fishing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling

 

 

The original Erie Canal passed to the south of Lake Oneida.  Originally the canal was nothing more than a ditch which mules and horses pulled barges through.  Lake Oneida was too large and there were no self-propelled boats on the canal then.  As time went on, self propelled boats were introduced to the canal and in 1917 when the Erie Canal was enlarged and relocated; it passed right through Lake Oneida and Brewerton.

 

 

Today Brewerton is one of the best-equipped areas on the Erie Canal to have maintenance performed on your boat.  And the wind has picked up as we head under the bridge......

 

 

We are now on the Oneida River

 

 

Marinas for all sizes line the banks

 

 

Waterfront Restaurants for dining

 

 

Cute homes to see

 

 

Everyone lives on the water

 

 

This one catches your eye

 

 

Boat Houses

 

 

Lots of places to find walleye on the menu

 

 

Ess-Kay Yards.....large service yard

 

 

Winter Harbor Marina...151.0 miles....winter home for the Nanseann

 

 

The Nanseann will come out of the water and go into headed storage for the winter......we will pick-up our rental car in Syracuse NY and head for Illinois.  We left Green Turtle Bay Marina 10 months ago on our adventure and have logged 4,000 miles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 309 August 19 40 mi Mariner's Landing Sylvan Beach NY

We have had a nice weekend at the Village of Ilion cleaning, organizing the boat and watching the Solheim Cup.  Walked downtown and had  Chicken Riggies for lunch.  This dish is chicken, rigatoni, and peppers and onions, in a spicy cream-and-tomato sauce.  Famous in the Utica/Rome area and they have cook-offs on preparing it......We will say.....it is spicy and good!!!
The small village of Ilion is a classic canal success story.  When Eliphalet Remington Jr. built his first rifle in 1816, he had no idea he was attending the birth of one of the largest firearms companies in the world.  For nearly two centuries Remington firearms have helped shape American history.  The Remington Factory is the oldest firm in the United States still manufacturing the original product.  There are no tours available of the Factory now days and the museum is closed on weekends.  Just our luck.

Jody at the Solheim Cup.....Go USA

  

8:10AM departure.....53 degrees with sweatshirts

 

 

Popular place to lunch on weekends

 

 

West bound with my ole dog....Saddi

 

This part of the canal was the hardest hit with the storm that closed it for over a month

 

 

Lock 19   93.9 miles   21 foot lift and our last TRAIN

 

 

They have been working since July 4th to clear the mud behind the East wall

 

 

One gate open because of the NY Canal Workers

 

 

Was 3 foot.....now 7 foot deep.....barge of black mud

 

 

Utica Marina adjacent to Aqua Vino restaurant

 

 

Smooth as glass going under the 3 bridges in Utica

 

 

Lock 20   104.2 miles   16 foot lift

 

 

Present Day Canal opened in 1903....pretty good shape

 

 

When we got to the top of the lock.....these cute little faces is what we saw....waving at us

 

 

NY Canal workers Condo and work boat

 

 

Lots of activity today

 

 

Rome Bellamy Harbor Park.....new 200' fixed docks at the west end

 

 

Guard Gate 6

 

 

Summit of the Erie Canal

 

 

I'm doing what I do best

 

 

We are as high as we are going to be

Lock 21   122.8 miles   25 foot Drop

 

 

Different feeling starting at the top

 

 

Quite a current from the lock

 

 

Lock 22   124.2 Miles   25 foot Drop

 

 

We are going down....looking at the water being released

 

 

Last LOCK for this season

 

 

Interesting Bridge....Water sheriff likes to give you a ticket if you are speeding

 

 

He isn't out today

 

It could be a movie set: a perfect mile-long beach, breath taking sunsets, a fish-filled lake, an old-fashioned amusement park, lakeside dining, a beach-front chapel that has been welcoming visitors and locals since 1882 and of course the Erie Canal.   Welcome to Sylvan Beach.....the hot spot for boaters in central New York......

 

 

Beach is busy busy busy for a Monday

 

 

Eddie's.....popular stop

 

 

Mariner's Landing....we're on the long wall

 

 

He must be Eastbound

 

 

Holmes Marina....we're too large

 

 

Boats everywhere to go along with the people

 

 

Nice Sunset for our last evening on the Erie Canal.....Plus NO TRAINS

 

 

Allie starts the 8th grade today....