Monday, September 1, 2008, Labor Day

 By the time I woke up, Dennis had departed on his morning walk.  It was a bright, sunny, cool morning, appropriate weather for a bike ride.  I had been told the Wal-Mart was only a mile past the grocery store, making the total only about 2 miles. It was a pleasant ride on a newly paved road complete with bike lane.

One of the last projects for me is to repair the screens that drape over the cabin doors.  Some fabric and Velcro will do the job nicely.  I also found a couple of things in the craft clearance bin that will go into my stash for quilting.  Fruit, yogurt and bread completed the list.  Every thing fit into my backpack easily.  The ride back to the boat was a breeze as it was mostly down hill. 

After loading the bikes and casting off the lines, Sadie B cruised east 14 miles, passing through four lift bridges, past the town of Holley and docked in Brockport. I did a couple loads of laundry in the "boater's facilities". 

Today we had several people stop and ask questions about the boat.  Three were serious enough to be allowed a look at the engine, but so far, no one has handed us any money!!!   After the third tour, Dennis and I thought about removing the For Sale sign, so we could have an uninterrupted dinner.  It wasn't necessary.

Tuesday September 2,   The weather man was correct when he predicted great weather for the weekend.  And the great weather is to continue for 2 more days. 

It was a lazy morning. Actually, we were waiting for various stores to open, here in Brockport to run a couple of errands.  I took off for the post office and local grocery store, just a couple of blocks from the dock.  The Visitor's Center has little red wagons for hauling groceries.  My list was short and would fit in the back pack.

When I returned, Dennis and I rode our bikes south, out of town, to Wal-Mart.  It was up hill and when we got to the turn for Wal-Mart, Dennis spotted an auto parts store that would have what we needed.  No sense in going any further.  Return trip was easy.

The bikes were loaded, the lines cast off allowing Sadie B to ride east with the current.  Another one of those 8 mile jaunts to the next town of Spencerport.  We found a place on the dock. It was not on the "new wall", but it was in the shade.  A blessing as it was quite warm.

Back in Medina, the lady in the quilt shop wrote down all the quilt shops that I had missed on the trip west.  Brockport had one, but it was closed for a move to a new location.  Spencerport had one and I was determined to find it.  I checked the map of the area and calculated it to be about 1 mile south; a piece of cake.   I jumped on my bike and enjoyed the new scenery of lovely homes and gardens.  Once again it is up hill, and I mean up hill.  I was determined to use all the gears of my bike, all the muscles in my legs and all the air in my lungs to make it all the way without getting off and walking the bike.    I DID !!!!   But, OH MY, my legs were like rubber. 

But what better place to recuperate than looking at fabric and quilting books on sale "Buy 1 Get 1 Free".  I spent a couple of hours before returning back to the boat.  Glad my brakes worked!

Dinner guests, Keith and Doreen arrived about 5.  We had a simple supper of raw, fresh vegetables, and a pasta salad made while cruising to Spencerport.  Dessert was fresh peaches with yogurt.

The produce this time of year is fabulous.

Dennis had a nice conversation with a local who was out walking his 2 black labs.  This interaction with the locals is the neat thing about being docked in the middle of town.

Thus endeth another fine day !

Wednesday, September 03, 2008    We awoke to the noise of lawn mowers and weed-wackers sprucing up the adjacent park.  The agenda for the day was to cruise to Rochester and do some biking.  But first we made use of the great boater showers here in Spencerport, as there will be no such facilities until we get to Fairport in 3-4 days.

The cruise was uneventful.  The clear, sunny skies reflected of the skyline of Rochester. We had been told that Rochester has its own "Falls" on the Genesee River and we set off on bikes to find them.  Between the Genesee Brewing Company (aka High Falls Brewing) and the Kodak building is a section of the city called High Falls.  There is a Visitors Center, Museum, Crafters Boutique, several restaurants and a pedestrian bridge across the river that offers wonderful views of the "High Falls".   There were some partially renovated historic buildings that had been mills and plants. Dennis said he never new this was here.  The lady in the Visitor Center explained that it was rubble and brambles until 1992. 

There is also a "Middle Falls" and a "Lower Falls" but that was a bit further than we opted to go today. 

Back on the boat, I hauled out the sewing machine and made new covers for the screen doors on both fore and aft cabins.  The captain stayed out of my way by reading in his favorite lounge chair.

The weather was beautiful with the highs in the low 80's.  Rain is forecast after 2:00 AM. 

Thursday, September 04,      We had a few sprinkles overnight.  The forecast for the day was cloudy until afternoon, but little chance of rain.  So, after breakfast, we jumped on the bikes and headed for East Avenue, and the George Eastman Mansion and Museum, the man who invented Kodak.

It was a very interesting and enlightening tour of the home and gardens.  The museum rotates the exhibits of various artists monthly.

Being very hungry, and probably to weak to make it back to the boat (ya, right) we treated ourselves to a sandwich at "The Spot" in a rehabilitated car dealership showroom.  It was excellent.

We then returned to the boat as we had another appointment from a prospective buyer.   We won't take this one too serious either, except that he says he will bring his wife to see the boat in 10 days.

With parting words, "My wife is not much of a boater, but we'll see" isn't much encouragement.

This is not the first time we have heard those exact words.

The clouds were departing and it was getting hot, so we decided rather than just sitting, we would continue our trek.  Pittsford was 8 miles and 2 locks east.  Again we were the only overnight boat.

Our excitement for the evening was to watch a hefty 12 year old, ride his skateboard ON HIS BELLY, on a paved path that slopes 20 degrees about  100 yards.  The last 100 feet he veered off the path into the grass and dragged his feet.   It was a hoot! We rewarded his entertaining us by sending him an e-mail of one of his performances.

Friday, September 5^th.  The sun is not rising as early as Fall approaches, so we are sleeping a little later.  After our morning walk around Pittsford we cast off the lines and continued our cruise east to Fairport.  The weather forecast is for HOT!!  Happily there was plenty of dock space for us on the south side of the canal in the shadow of a couple of two story buildings.  It offered us shade most of the day.  Late afternoon, the sun shone between the two buildings, but that was short-lived.

A steady breeze also helped the comfort meter. 

Dennis took a walk and then camped out on his lounge, reading and watching the sights. I took the opportunity to return to "Bits and Pieces".  The craft store where everything is donated "leftovers".  I spoke of it on my first trip there on August 20.  Not needing a thing, I browsed through all the bins and purchased unusual items or bargain items I knew I would use.  (Hard to pass up yards of binding for a total of 10 cents.)  Then I joined Dennis lounging in the shade on the boat.

Since it was too hot to cook, Dennis prepared dinner; Chinese Take-Out.

The park across the canal was busy with outside diners at the local restaurants and ice cream parlor, evening walkers, all enjoying the music of the street musician.  We forgot how loud the trains are in this town.  With several crossings, the horn blew a lot, and late into the night.

The clouds moved in throughout the early evening and it sprinkled a little in the night.

Saturday, September 06^th.  The clouds were thicker and darker in the morning. But it didn't deter the farmers from setting up their tents in the Fairport Village parking lot.  It was a huge Farmer's Market with copious amounts of colorful fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, and mum plants.  There were also some crafters and artisans.  As we are emptying the pantry and ice box, we controlled the impulse to buy lots and settled on peaches, grape tomatoes and a couple of ears of corn for dinner.

We bid farewell to Fairport and cruised the 6 miles to Mid Lakes Marina in Macedon. Here we filled the fuel tank ($5.15 per gallon-OUCH) and made arrangements for hauling the boat on Monday.  Dennis departed in the boat, I took the car (which we had moved here a couple of weeks ago), and we met 1 mile east at a lock wall.  This location allows us to pull the car very close to the boat making it easy to pack the car.   Before we got the boat tied up, it began to rain. It drizzled on and off, but not enough to halt packing.   After yesterday's heat we enjoyed a high of 70 today.  Yes, we did put on sweaters.

There was plenty of lasts night's Chinese Take Out to feed us again.  Then we settled back and listened to Garrison Keillor, of Prairie Home Companion broadcast live from the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, Vermont.

Sunday, September 07^th.   The dawning of our last full day aboard Sadie B. was cool and cloudy.

The agenda for the day was to pack all personal items, all perishables, toss unused items and clean.

This includes several loads of washing at the local Laundromat. It was a long, busy day.  We were able to get the bimini rolled up and stored temporarily in the car before it rained mid-afternoon.  It was just enough rain to make a mess, especially without the bimini to keep the cockpit dry.  Oh well, we managed.  The car got packed leaving only the hauling and winterizing for Monday.

Supper was a creative meal using what was left in the ice box: Egg burritos, tomato/cuke/black olive/feta salad and Harvard beets.  Actually much more delightful than some of our previous "last suppers". 

Monday, September 08^th.  It was cool over night, and I woke up several times wishing for another blanket, but it had been washed and packed.  The skies cleared and the stars, in this remote area, were fabulous.  

I departed in the car and Dennis in the boat, to return to MidLakes Marina.  We arrived shortly after 8:00 AM. to find the "Travel Lift" in the slip way and the operator standing by.  This machine has a series of slings which are pulled up around the keel, then lifts the boat out of the water and moves it to the spot where it will be stored for the winter.  There is a stop by the shop to pressure was the bottom of the boat.  This removes the slim that starts to grow.  Once the Travel Lift locates the boat bracing stands and blocking is placed to hold the boat upright.  When it is balanced the slings are removed and the Travel Lift moves away.  The staff did an excellent job, taking only a couple of hours. 

A ladder is used to access Sadie B.  We spend the next 2 hours winterizing the boat by draining water from the various systems and injecting antifreeze, drying out bilges, stowing cushions, etc. etc.  The bikes were laid down, one on top of the other on the bow, protected with fenders.  In a couple of weeks the boat will be shrink wrapped.

We crawled down the ladder at 12:00 noon, confident that all lists were complete.  After a nice hot shower, we bid adieu and headed for Florida.   It was a gorgeous Fall day for a drive. 

Thus endeth another summer on Sadie B after 70 nights on board. For those interested the rate of fuel consumption, we burned under 60 gallon, going nearly 600 miles for an average of around 8.5 miles per gallon, or 0.56  gallons per engine hour, a remarkably small amount of fuel to move a 10,000 pound boat.