We returned to Therapy on Monday, August 2nd and found a much more pleasant climate after enduring some nasty heat back home. We have found the temperatures in upstate NY to be of the lovely variety and can see why one would summer here. (Does that sound a bit uppity?)

Rudders repaired, we headed from Brewerton, NY towards Oswego, NY on Wednesday, August 4th on a clear, cool morning traveling through 7 or 8 locks along the way. The scenery here is really gorgeous.

The canal system turned out to be more beautiful than I expected. It can prove difficult to visualize because when someone says “canal” I think of concrete walls but it’s actually more of a river system—without the commercial barges.

This part of the journey would be the last experience with locks for awhile. This was just fine with me as the lock walls are grimy and slimy and our fenders were a complete mess. Call me crazy but I don’t like dirt and grime.

Once we docked into Oswego, pronounced either “Oss-WEE-go” or “Oss-WAY-go” depending on who we talked with, I was able to wander around on foot and, once again, admire all the cool historic houses and buildings while doing so. Many of the houses had small vestibule type porches that I’m guessing protects the indoors from the cold outdoors during the winter.

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Speaking of winter, Tom pointed out that the antenna type pole sticking up from the fire hydrants are there to mark their spot in the event that the snow is over 4 feet. These poles stick up another 4 feet and I wouldn’t want to be here if one has to look for the poles in order to locate the fire hydrant. 

Our new friends Skip and Alison, met us in Oswego where we had a fine dinner at Canale’s, an old style Italian restaurant. We seem to come across those quite frequently on the east coast. I forgot to mention that these new friends previously offered us their deck chairs and added their electric bikes on top of that.  Why would they do that, you ask? Well, they happened to sell their boat in the short time that we were getting to know them. They decided to downsize and made us quite a deal! 

Leaving Oswego put us officially onto Lake Ontario. We spent a night in Rochester, Ny without really leaving the boat but enjoyed watching the Friday night action all around the marina and the almost too close passing  of this huge “Laker”.

People often ask us what part has been our favorite so far. It’s not really a question I can answer because, while there have been highlights, it’s all been pretty sweet. The people, the scenery, the food (of course). It’s a new adventure each day. We feel fortunate to be able to experience it and enjoy sharing it.

We’re going to dedicate this post in the memory of our fun cousin Josie Crichton, whom we met in Virginia and was so kind to us. We were saddened to hear of her passing last week and will always remember her fun-loving spirit.

Now shuffling off to Buffalo. Home of the chicken wings.

Random pictures below.

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