Leaving NYC quickly and dramatically took us from the surrealness of big city life to the pastoral calmness of the country. In just a few miles upstream on the Hudson there were beautiful green tree-lined cliffs, and calm wide channels of water. We anchored off a little town called Nyack, NY and tied the dinghy up at a Yacht Club that we read about in a guide book. Then we found ourselves in a gated area that we could not get out of. No one was in the Yacht Club. Finally Les found a man on one of the boats and he let us borrow his key. Nyack was really a beautiful little town with lots of joyful teenagers of various ethnicities all talking and hanging out together. The town had a gorgeous old brick library, many interesting shops and cafes. Very cute. We stayed anchored for 2 nites.

June 19^th we continued up the Hudson past West Point. Just beautiful, beautiful scenery with clusters of old homes here and there. West Point was very impressive and massive with old stone walls and buildings on a point of land sticking out into the river. Our next  stop up river was Kingston, NY where we planned to anchor, but the anchorage was very shallow and the only spot was full of small boats all rafted together and partying. We had a difficult turn around in a small space and then called to get a slip at a marina nearby where we stayed overnite. The next day we anchored out in a beautiful rural spot with a train going by in Schandack, NY. It was Father’s Day, and Les got a few calls from the children and a few extra kisses from me.

June 21^st we reached Troy, NY and went thru Lock 1 just before the start of the Erie Canal. We tied up at the free dock in Waterford and stayed to buy groceries. It was kind of cool because there was also a dock at the grocery store across the river on the waterfront specifically for boater’s convenience.  We just wheeled the carts back to the dock. It was fortunate that we ran out of propane there because not every place has it available, It was unfortunate, however, because I was in the middle of cooking dinner and it had started to rain and Les had to get the tanks down from the top deck of the boat and walk about and hour each way to get them filled. This was another one of those days when after being on the water all day and then grocery shopping, then with the rain and the propane outing you were kind of wiped out by the end of the day. The rain and exercise make it easy to sleep well tho’.

June 23^rd  (once again missing a granddaughter’s birthday, Sydney’s) we went thru Locks 2-7 on the Erie Canal and docked at Scotia. This dock was at a little park and only long enough for our boat.

June 24^th Locks 8-13, docking in Canajoharie and having a home-cooking diner dinner and a visit to an art museum featuring the works of Homer Winslow, an American artist. Les and I each independently picked out the 2 that were our favorites,  and they were the same ones. We like a lot of the same things. 

July 1^st We spent several peaceful nights anchored at beautiful Sacket’s Harbor. Our last stop in New Yor was the little harbor town of Clayton. Our friends, Maggy and Pete, had to leave their boat in Clayton and go home to Virginia for a few weeks to take care of family business, so that’s where our combined journey ended. Clayton had an Antique Boat Museum close to our anchorage spot so we innocently dinghyed ashore and tied up to what we believed was the town dock. We soon discovered we were on the grounds of the boat museum before it opened. So, we just kind of meandered around and looked in the warehouses at all the neat old boats, ranging from old Indian carved canoes, to 1920’s canoes beautifully constructed with each piece of wood curved and varnished and cane seats for the passengers, to many old steam powered wooden boats. Several boats were shown with old sepia photos, taken at the time of the boats’ era, with their owners or builders, and some of their passengers.  Teddy Roosevelt was seen, in one photo, riding as a passenger, with his suit and hat on. Another really neat photo depicted a 17 yr old girl who had received the rowboat for her birthday. The picture showed her rowing it along the river. She had a long tweed jacket and skirt on and a formal looking hat tied under her chin. Ah, boating togs! Some of the first wooden motorboats were on display as well. The original prices were also shown, and it was amazing to think of all the workmanship you got for your money then, as compared to now. We had to climb over the fence to get out to the street since that was the only way out to the town. Oops!

We investigated all of the shops, as usual, and then had lunch at a restaurant nearby. When we got back to the museum it was open and full of people, so we didn’t want to climb the fence. We entered the museum gift shop and looked around at some indoor displays and then slipped out the side door to the dock. Whew! I don’t think we’d make good criminals, too shifty looking.

We stayed anchored there another day. There was a beautiful little island across from the anchorage not far offshore. It had a lovely landscaping and a huge “C” spelled out in flowers. That evening, July 3^rd, the town hosted a fireworks display in the harbor. Naturally we had a front row seat.

Next, Thousand Islands and the Trent-Severn Waterway.


Oswego Canal Charter Boat


Fort Stanwick, Rome New York

Warfare - Revolutionary Style

Into Lake Ontario