Oh Canada

We made it.   Finally.   In spite of the rain, thunderstorms and closed locks, we crossed the border this morning at Rouses Point, New York into Quebec, Canada.  Lake Champlain empties to the north into the Richelieu River which flows to the St. Lawrence River.  Both the Lake and the River are currently 2 feet above normal pool, so there is a strong current in the river as we made our way north.   We stopped 25 miles down the river at St. Jean de Richelieu, at the first lock in the Chambly Canal.

The sun came out today.   Oh that was so nice.  This has been the wettest June in history in upstate New York.   The Erie Canal is still closed, and we were very happy to make our way north through Lake Champlain.   It is a beautiful lake, if we could only see it in the rain.

Sunset from Burlington, Vermont

Leo does not like Thunder

Max and Leo had a challenge today.  Their idea was to build a sailboat from whatever they could find in the junk drawers of the boat.   Plastic cups, water bottles, quite a bit of Duck Tape, an old Texas flag,  aluminum foil, and a great amount of imagination were the ingredients to their respective creations.   It was pretty impressive what they were able to build.  Shelley and I were the judges and it was a tough job trying to pick the best result.  Leo won because his model would actually stay afloat and sail. 

Notice the Trimaran structure

Notice the flash light and his sail made of aluminum foil

Max won the award of "Go Big or Go Home"   With his creative use of an old Texas flag.

Tomorrow we will lock through 9 locks of the Chambly Canal.   Max and Leo will run our lines.
These were locks first opened in 1843.   Should be fun.   Marc

Boat Life on Lake Champlain

The water is 62 degrees.    We are just a few miles from the US-Canadian border, it is raining every afternoon, and it is very cool at night.  There is no reason for this water to warm up, and only the bravest souls venture in....

Max with his interpretation of Bear Grylls

Leo is not to be outdone

I know I am the grandfather here, and supposed to be using good judgement.  Actually I was encouraging them both to jump in.   YeeHaw!!

We have made it through the Champlain Canal and locks and are now in Lake Champlain.  With the Green Mountains of Vermont off on the eastern horizon, and the Adirondacks of New York off the western shore, this lake has beautiful vistas and sunsets.  There has been so much rain (da, no Kidding) that the lake is up 2 ft. and is quite muddy in the upper regions.   But we are not deterred.  We are moving north to Canada, and a little rain will not stop us.

However, there is much to see around this lake before we cross the border.  Our first stop  was at a marina near Ft. Ticonderoga.  I know you have your American history down pat, and realize the importance of this Fort to the American Revolutionary War.  Actually no, it played a bigger part in the French Indian War in the mid 1700's.  The French started the fort, but the British captured it in a very bloody battle, and improved it greatly as the fort does control Lake Champlain and its routes north to Canada, and south to New York.

Ethan Allan and his Green Mountain boys famously captured the fort from the British in our Revolutionary war, but did so by surprise with no blood shed.  After that, the fort fell into disrepair until some good souls bought the fort and restored it to its historical status.

Ft. Ticonderoga with its big canons can control the waterway

Max and Leo have worked into their "boat life" routines.   They were surprised at first by Captain Pepa's rules and regulations, but are now doing quite well.   Both of their rooms are spotless, and their beds are made every day, and they take turns cleaning their head.  Each night they pick up all their "stuff" and put it away.  Plus they have been helping clean the dishes each night.   Leo says that it is this part of boat life that is very different from his home life in Austin.   Whatever could he mean?

Bottom life is my Golden Rule"  A Clean boat is a Happy boat, and a Happy boat is a Safe boat.   Rock Chalk is very happy these days.

The boys and Pepa in the galley cleaning up

Most of all we are having fun exploring new places.   The last two days have been spent in Burlington, Vermont.   What a neat town.   Reminds me a bit of Austin or Lawrence.  We went to the famous Shelburne Museum today.  If you want to know what life is like in Vermont, then spend a day at this museum.  It has it all.  Downtown Burlington is really nice, with a pedestrian mall filled with bars, restaurants, and shops.  

We are enjoying having the boys along on our adventure as we head back to Canada.  They have acclimated well, and I guess, so have Shelley and I.  

Craig, notice they have their life jackets on!!

Niagara Falls

Shelley at the Falls

Let's take a Road Trip!!  We rented a car and the next thing you know we are cruising down I-90 across upstate New York from Albany to Buffalo, then up the few miles to Niagara Falls.   We crossed the border into Canada, as the word was that the Canadian side of the river is much better.   They are right.  We stayed at a very nice, but very expensive Marriott with a fabulous view from the 15th floor of both the Canadian (Horseshoe Falls) and the American Falls.   The island that separates both falls is an American Island called Goat Island.

The Canadian Falls with the Maid of the Mist at its base

The American Falls

I was prepared to not be overwhelmed, but actually found the falls to be great.   Yes, it is very touristy, and very expensive.   The Canadian side has several casinos now, and it looks a bit like Las Vegas.  We took the packaged tour of 5 different sites in the area on a tour bus driven by a local guide.  His knowledge and insight made the whole day.  We learned so much more than what you would otherwise see on your own.

We went underneath the falls in tunnels built under the edge.  We saw a beautiful exhibition in the Niagara Parks area of butterflies from around the world.   And of course the last tour of the day, was a trip on the Maid of Mist up the Niagara River to the base of the falls.   You and 500 of your best friends each with their own blue rain poncho, get on the Maid and prepare to get wet.   The wind roars down the canyon driving the rain and mist sideways.   The poncho blows all over and up your body, and you get soaked.  But it was very invigorating and beautiful.   I was awed by the power of 34 million gallons of water falling every minute, down 180 ft. over a horseshoe shaped rock edge 2200 ft long.  Max and Leo said it well, "Awesome!"

So Cool!

I can't wait to get wet

It was worth the drive.   We had a fun weekend, while we waited for the flood waters to recede over on the east side of New York state.  If you get a chance, go visit Niagara Falls.   There is much more to do than just look at the waterfalls.   Marc

Le Papillon

40 Days and 40 Nights

It continues to rain in the Northeast!  Rain, cold, windy conditions persist over us, which makes "Boating" not near as much fun, especially if you are 13 or 9. Hell, its no fun if you are 60.   But we are trying to make the best of it.  With Max and Leo on board (our two oldest grandsons) we moved north from New York City up the Hudson River.  What is otherwise quite a beautiful river with mountains on each side, if you cannot see them, well...not so much.

Leo helping the Captain look out for logs in the river

Max is just trying to stay warm!!

In fact, we felt like it had rained for 40 days and nights, and the Hudson River and its main tributary, The Mohawk River proved it.  They both went over their banks.   OK that happens everywhere, but when it happens in the Mohawk and the Erie Canal, then that is bad news for the locks and dams.  It was.  Big trees and logs floating down the Mohawk rammed into a lock gate at Lock 9 on the Erie, and practically destroyed it.  It has been closed for 7 days already, and the word is that it will remain closed for at least another 2 weeks!!!  Talk about a major monkey wrench in your boating agenda!!

So there are perhaps 100 Loopers and other boats sitting on the downriver side of Lock 9 on the Erie Canal, which is the only way north to Canada and completing the Great Loop for most boats.  There is an alternate route north through the Champlain Canal and up to Lake Champlain, and then through the Chambly Canal to the St. Lawrence.    Here is the rub.   The Champlain Canal is really old and has old bridges, most with heights over the water of only 17 ft.  The vast majority of cruising boats cannot make that, but guess what?   Rock Chalk can.   So after waiting 6 days for the locks to open in any direction, Rock Chalk made its way up the Champlain yesterday when it opened.   We were one of the first through....are you really surprised by that revelation?

The good news is that we are moving, in a northerly direction with just a small bit of change in our float plan, ie we will just reverse the direction we make the Canadian triangle.  We are all really happy to be moving, and lo and behold, the sun came out today.   Yea, that always makes one feel better.

This is new territory for Shelley and I, and we always like that.   It is fun to explore new waters.  So after two days of moving through the Champlain canal and locks, we are at the bottom of Lake Champlain, which is one of the prettiest spots in the US.

Skene Manor above Whitehall, NY

Sunshine and a free dock at Whitehall.   Free is good.

Whitehall is quite the historical town.   It is the birthplace of the US Navy, as Benedict Arnold built the first of the US fleet here in the mid 1770's.   Whitehall is strategically located half way between New York City and the St. Lawrence River.   Naturally the British wanted to control this important waterway and split the emerging colonies in two between the American strongholds of Boston and Philadelphia.   The battles in the hills of Saratoga and on Lake Champlain were important victories for the young American forces.  

I mentioned the low 17 ' bridges, right?  Well, today was one of those days.  One of my goals for this trip with Leo and Max, was to have them really learn about driving the boat, navigation, etc.  So today I was giving Leo close instructions as we were motoring down a pretty open safe part of the Champlain Canal.  Rock Chalk has a very tall Digital VHF radio antenna, whose top is easily over 25 ft.   But it also easily lays down on the deck to go under those low bridges.  Max had asked me if it was OK to put the antenna up after our last lock of the day, and I said sure.   I thought we were through with the low bridges for the day.  So as I am giving Leo this intense lesson, we approached another bridge.  I am getting older you know, and can't remember what I had for breakfast, alright.   How do you expect me to remember that the antenna was up when I am paying so much attention to Leo.  Under the bridge we go, and I was so proud of Leo as he steered to the exact middle of the bridge where I was asking him to steer.   CRACK!!!   Down comes our antenna broken half way up.   

Shelley can hardly contain herself from laughing.   I mean major belly laughing.  Max and Leo look at me and then at each other to see if either one of them is in big trouble.  But the look on my face kept everyone silent...for awhile.  I do not screw up very often, but when I do, I like to think that I do it in a big way.   My kids remember me crunching a Dodge Neon in Shana and Craig's apartment parking lot many years ago.   No one said a word.  Yea it was like that.  

Duck tape can fix anything

So once we were docked, we found a piece of wood and with lots of ducktape, we put our antenna back together again, at least for awhile.

It will be 42 tonight here in Northern New York.  Chilly.   The good news is that tomorrow's high is forecast to be in the mid 70's with even warmer weather coming.   Great.  Cool nights and warm days.   Now we are talking.  Better days ahead.    Marc

Max and Leo

School is out, and our grandsons', Max (13) and Leo (9) flew into JFK in New York City on Friday June 7th.   Shelley and I took the train into the city and the subway out to JFK to meet them, and spend the night in the city to see the sights.  At least that was the plan, but Mother Nature was NOT  cooperating.   It rained...heavily.   So we had a nice evening at the hotel, and by morning the skies had cleared.   We walked a good deal of the city, and took the subway to other parts further away like the new Freedom Tower.  The former Ground Zero is now the Freedom Plaza and they have topped out the new Building at 1776 ft.   It is beautiful.

We wanted to surprise the boys, so we timed our walkabout to end up in Times Square at 2:00 for a matinee performance of The Lion King.   All of us agreed it was great.  I can see why people get hooked on Broadway plays.   The majesty of the stage and actors and music is incredible.  Pretty cool for a Kansas boy.

So we are off on our Big Adventure with Max and Leo for the bulk of this summer.  We got back to the boat late Saturday evening, and untied the lines by 8:00 the next morning to start making our way north up the Hudson.  I said it the first time I came up this river, and will repeat, this is one of the prettiest rivers in the country.  The Catskills are off to the west and the Adirondacks to the east, and much of humanity flows in between.  This river has long been the transportation funnel from the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, south to the Atlantic.  Today there are railroads right at the river's edge on both the east and west bank, and only 4 feet off the water level.   Naturally these railroads were shut down during Sandy last fall as an 11 ft. surge of sea water rushed up the river 117 miles to the Troy Lock.  We have seen many docks and marinas wiped out by this surge.

The Hudson is also full of barges moving north or south between Albany and New York City.   Us little guys need to stay out of their way and let them have the deep water.  Most impressive to me are the mansions built along the river.  The rich and famous of this country's early years, built their summer homes on her banks.  President Roosevelt was born and raised in his families mansion in Hyde Park, and his Presidential library is now on the same grounds as the family home.  Many important decisions in this country's history were made in his living room.  The Vanderbilt's had one of their 46 mansions just a mile north of FDR, so we enjoyed visiting both.  

Franklin D Roosevelt's family home in Hyde Park

Within these walls..The Great Society and The Manhattan Project!!

So the adventure continues as we move north.  The weather has moderated but it is still pretty cool.  Sweatshirts and shorts!!   But that has not stopped the our pursuit of showing the boys something new each day.  That means that I have to share with them all my favorite sayings. that Leo call Pepaisms.  The list is quite long.   That is the really fun part for me!!

Max and Leo's Great Adventure

Sharing another one my "Pepaisms"

Shelley and Max at sunset

More great photos along the Hudson River:

West Point Military Academy

Learning to drive the dinghy on the Hudson

Just a little "Summer Place"

Marc