Deep smooth water, large old growth hardwood trees, hill and mountain vistas, very little boat traffic, fun new friends, sensory overload. How good can it get?We finally got into "prime time" on the Hudson and the Erie canal with a number of great evenings swapping stories with fellow cruisers on the dock or wall and short day runs of 3-4 hours to delightful new spots. We continue to have a "storm of the day" but we have gotten used to them and they present little problem in this sheltered water.
It is difficult to describe in words all of the emotions encompassed in our days afloat. Highs, lows, fatigue, exhilaration, fear and many other emotions cycle by in a kaleidoscopic blur. Our usual overly large batch of pictures tell the story better than we can. picasaweb.google.com/lropka
Fuel prices have clearly impacted boaters and today for example from lock 7 on the Erie for 30 miles to Amsterdam NY we virtually had the Mohawk River to ourselves. We were the only boat in the four locks that lifted us.
Perhaps the biggest "downer" is to walk the streets of these old industrial towns and see the huge number of empty homes, store fronts and factories. They are struggling and most have cared for parks and public areas but the surrounding decay is truly sad.
We are really slowing down with about 100 miles to go to lake Ontario and up to two weeks to get there. Top priority now is to find a haven from the Fourth of July water madness.
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