May 28,2007

We were in Catskill Marina on the Hudson River last night. During the night we had a thunderstorm which I slept right through as I was very tired. Bob said it rained down in sheets and lots of lightning. We got up and had breakfast and I began calling around the area to see if I could find someone who could change the oil in the outboard. Finally found someone who could do the job at Coeyman’s Marina in Coeyman, NY. And they could do it on a holiday as well. They did a super job and did very good work and in about an hour we were on our way. Since we only had about 30 or so miles to go today to get to the first part of the Erie Canal we were not in a very big hurry. We passed through Albany, NY which is the capital of New York and which has a very interesting house of government. I hope the photos do it justice as some of the highway system was right in front of it. The building sort of reminded me of a miniature house of parliament in England. From there it was just a short distance to the Federal Lock which is the first lock in the Erie Canal. The first lock was a breeze with Bob along to help had the bumpers down and no more boat bites or scratches. We are tied up at the Visitors Center for the Canal which is in Waterford, NY and Waterford is the oldest incorporated city in the United States. You can stay free at the dock here for two days which kind of helps you do some planning ahead. From here we go through five locks which lift us up a number of feet. We also walked to the grocery store tonight for a few things. Waterford seems to be a lot like the typical New England village and is a very friendly town. There are other boats who are on the Great Loop Cruise are here as well. So we have met and talked to a few more people on the Loop. I realize that this is kind of short but it was one of those days that you pass under bridges and one that was special was the Rip Van Winkle bridge as the tale of Rip Van Winkle took place in that county. Maybe that is why I slept so well last night and did not even realize we had a storm.