Sunday, August 24^th, and we are still in Pittsford.  The day dawned with little dew and partially cloudy skies. Applying a second coat of Cetol was the first priority.  It didn't take long.  For those of you who have refinished furniture, you may wonder why there is no sanding between coats. Cetol is a product designed for boats. The instructions say no sanding between coats.  The intent is to build a thick U-V resistant base, quickly. It is great stuff and we have used it for years.  A couple of years ago we stripped the wood as the multiple coats were chipping off.  Time ran out and new Cetol did not get applied. And of course, last year Sadie B. stayed in storage.  This project has made Sadie B look really sharp. 

The second project of the day was to get the previous log posted to the website.  I had been having Hannelore do it, but it was time to try it myself.  I succeeded on the second attempt.

 By 10:00 it was decided to change location. Dennis loaded his bike; disconnected the electric and cranked Sadie B's engine to life.  Two locks and 10 miles later, we arrived at the newly renovated Corn Hill Landing in Rochester, NY.  We donned walking shoes and walked the few short blocks to downtown, stopping for a soda at the Strong Museum of Play.  With little traffic on Sunday morning it was easy to gawk at tall buildings with out getting run over. We found a couple of beautiful gardens before returning to the boat.

For a treat we went to Dinosaur BBQ for dinner.  It is located in the old Lehigh Valley Railroad Station.  Dinner was excellent and the restaurant entertaining.

Monday, August 25, dawned cold and cloudy.   Dennis was brave and went for a walk. I chose to sleep in.  The weather report was for clearing but highs in the 60's, I decided to apply the 3^rd and last coat of Cetol.  Not long after I finished a huge, black cloud appeared but it only sprinkled.

We had signed up for a walking tour of Rochester, but with the weather becoming more unpleasant, the decision was made to cancel.  We were dry and warm in the pilot house as Sadie B cruised 12 miles to Spencerport.  Curiously, it was not the town we had pictured in our minds. However, it is a quaint little town with perhaps the biggest used book store we have ever seen.

Being on a dock in a little town is great fun when the locals come by to chat.  One gentleman asked for a closer look at our bimini and later a little girl asked for a look as she wanted a boat when she grew up.  The surprise visit was from Keith and Doreen Harvey, Florida friends, who live in Brockville, the next town.  We were keeping in touch with them and planned to call when we arrived there, but they happened to be driving over the bridge and saw us.   The short visit allowed us to make plans for tomorrow.

It was a very pleasant afternoon once the clouds disappeared.

Tuesday, August 26 dawned bright, sunny and cold.  After a walk and breakfast we availed ourselves of the showers in the recently renovated Trolley Depot and Museum. Then Sadie B departed Spencerport to cruise the 8 miles to Brockport.

There are no locks in the 65 miles from Pittsford (just east of Rochester) to Lockport.

There are however a number of horizontal Lift Bridges, approximately 2 bridges per town.  Usually one Bridge Operator roams between the two bridges.

We arrived in Brockport and quickly found friends Charles and Pat Culotta aboard CC Rider with a port of call in Louisiana.  We met them several years ago at a TrawlerFest in Clearwater, Texas.  Most recently, they had borrowed some of our charts of Lake Champlain and the Canadian Canals.  They treated us to lunch at a very good Greek Café.

Keith and Doreen arrived at 4:00 and took us to their home about 4 miles north of the Canal.  They have a lovely new home out in the country and we enjoyed their hospitality.  After a great dinner, we got the Brockport tour on the way back to the boat.  This town is home to SUNY (State University of New York) at Brockport.

The boating facilities here are wonderful and new (2007). Besides a great dock with water and electric (small fee), there are showers, bathrooms, washer and dryer, free bikes, and a boaters lounge with TV. This is one of the few towns with a grocerystore within 3 blocks of the docks. 

Wednesday, August 27 It has been rather cool the last couple of days. I dug out long pants and a sweater.  Dennis is still toughing it out in shorts, although last night he made sure he knew where our little spacer heater was stored.

 Being a college town, there are more stores and restaurants than the previous towns. And while there is ample food aboard Sadie B, we splurged and ate breakfast at the Brockport Diner.  We did not stick to the simple egg and toast, but really splurged with Eggs Benedict and an omelet for Dennis.  Believe me when I say, we did not eat lunch.

We left Brockport and cruised five (not 8) miles to Holley.  In 2004, we stopped here and I walked a couple of miles to a quilt store.  I remember it well.  It was extremely hot, the road was being paved, but I needed a project.  The quilt shop has since closed and there are no other stores of interest so our foray into town was short. 

On the walk to town we took a side trip to view the falls.  We forgot our cameras. Needing more exercise I returned in the afternoon, with my camera.

 Having skipped lunch, dinner was prepared early.  More delicious corn on the cob !!

Thursday August 28, 2008.    We awoke to cloudy skies and the prediction of rain.

Once again we are grateful for the facilities and the opportunity for a hot shower.

Dennis walked down to "The Falls" to figure out where the water comes from. It is an overflow from the canal which plunges perhaps 50 feet and then disappears into a culvert going under the canal.

Sadie B. left the dock and cruised the 10 miles to Albion.

Albion is the county seat of Orleans County. There are many municipal buildings, churches and homes on the National Historic Register because they are made of Medina Sandstone.  For 80 years sandstone was mined and sent all over the country for building. 

Upon our arrival in Albion, we did the routine walk around town. Today's walk was cut short due to rain.  Later on Dennis ventured out again on his bike to find ice and a grocery store.  He was successful and came back with more corn on the cob.  YUM !!

Needless to say, it was a day to hunker down, read and/or knit. It rained on and off, and was chilly at a high of 59 degrees.  I have worn long pants and a sweatshirt for 4 days. 

Friday August 29.  It is still cloudy and cool and time to move on to Medina.  This cruise is about 10 miles with 5 or 6 lift bridges.  One operator usually roams between 2 or 3 bridges as they are usually grouped together in towns.

Just after we had tied Sadie B to the dock, a canal worker came by to tell us that there would be a huge car show and live entertainment in the adjacent parking  and we might want to move to the end of the dock.  We followed his suggestions, before going ashore for the usual walk around town.

We hit pay dirt, or at least I did.  The third store was a quilt store and I kissed Dennis on his way to explore by himself.  After getting my "fix" I called Dennis to inquire of his where abouts.  He had discovered a Model Train Museum and suggested that I join him.

This museum is in an old Railroad Warehouse building that is 301' long.  The center is devoted to displaying HO trains in a variety of settings. There are also displays of model aircraft and ships, as well as firefighting equipment, but mostly trains.  Around the perimeter of the room are glass cases full of other size model trains, other full size rail road equipment (lanterns, etc) fire fighting equipment (the owner is 47 years with the fire department) and miscellaneous donated items.   Outside in the yard are 2 full size engines, a couple of passenger cars and a dining car waiting for renovations so that they can be a functional part of the museum.   The very enthusiastic owner, (if you weren't interested in trains before, he will convert you) pointed out some things to us that we had not observed. 

There is a model train to ¾ (?) scale made from scratch by a machinist from Lima, NY.  This is Dennis' home town, but he didn't recognize the name.  The owner also introduced us to a man who made most of the model buildings from scratch, very impressive work.

We retreated to the boat for lunch.

About 5:00 the main street was closed off and the 150 "show cars" were parked down the center for 4 blocks.  Near the end of the street was a stage and people were already sitting in their lawn chairs waiting for the evenings entertainment.  The United Way was selling burgers, hot dogs, sausages, etc.  There was a dunking tank, where one could purchase baseballs for the chance of dunking some of the local officials: mayor, school superintendent, etc.   Interestingly, this was the only part of the event that was near our boat.   The previous information we had been given was valid for the weekly car show, but this was the summer's finale and required much more space.

About 6:30, Elvis appeared, riding down the street in his red sequined jumpsuit on a beautiful motorcycle.  He proceeded to the stage and entertained for 3 hours.  He really was very good.

Saturday, August 30^th  was another cloudy morning, but it was much warmer and the weather forecast was for perfect weather for the holiday weekend.  Together we went on a walk to check out the river that crosses under the canal.  This was a huge engineering feat.  Circling back through town, we discovered a yarn shop.  OH my !!

It was not yet open, so we returned to the boat for breakfast.

I have become as infatuated with yarn shops as quilt shops.  The new products and colors are so beautiful.  I actually found 100 % linen yarn in scrumptious colors.  The owner told me they make fabulous towels.   I found a couple of projects I just had to try.  

Dennis was patiently waiting at the boat, reading his paper. 

The skies had cleared and beckoned us to go for a cruise. 

The big news is that we decided to head EAST and return to Albion.  A prospective buyer is driving from Peterborough, Ontario to look at the boat on Sunday.  Jan Paulus (Florida friend) and daughter Sherry are driving from Jamestown for a visit on Sunday.  And Chris and Jerry (Florida friends) are driving from North Tonawanda on Sunday for a visit.  Albion is a better location for this gathering. There is a convenient parking lot, picnic tables and benches for us to occupy.

Heading east, Sadie B. sped along 1 mph faster than on the trek west due to the east flowing current.

The weather is truly gorgeous and inspired another walk before settling in for the afternoon reading hour.   Then some time must be spent turning Sadie B into a show boat!!!

Sunday August 31.  The days are getting short and dawn comes later. But when it did the skies were clear, keeping the weatherman's promise of a great weekend.

We started the morning with cleaning in anticipation of all our guests.  By 10 AM  Sadie B was ready to be viewed.  I biked to the grocery store to get a couple of items needed to complete the lunch of salads I had put together the previous evening.

Jan and Sherry arrived about 11 AM. with a home baked pie made with this year's new apples. (Janice's usual gift for Dennis) We hid this and did not plan to share it. 

The prospective buyer showed about 1 and Jerry and Chris shortly thereafter.

Dennis showed the boat and gave a short "sea trial" to the prospective buyer.  The rest of ate lunch in the shade of the gazebo.  We were kind and saved some for Dennis. It was great to see friends and have a chance to sit and chat.

A couple other boats have docked nearby for the evening.  There has been a little more boat traffic this weekend but not what we have experienced in years past. Most of the boats appear to be making the trek to Florida.

An article in the Rochester paper noted that the Erie Canal had release figures stating that there have been 17,000 few boats on the Canal this year compared to last year.

Guess that explains why we have had the Canal to ourselves.

Well it has been a busy day, and the yawns are more frequent, so I will sign off.

Ahoy from Albion.