Monday - August 13

Cloudy dreary day - got the exercising out of the way, had breakfast, went for a walk and just hung out.    We are waiting for our mail to be delivered and also to see Charlotte and Doug off

.     Rain is coming and to continue into tomorrow.

Said our good byes to Charlotte and Doug (hope to see them in January in Florida) and then after getting diesel and our mail, we were off to Winter Harbor to pick up a few things from Flo and the red truck.

Bye bye dear friends

Enjoyed Karen and Lee from Texas who are staying at Ess-Kay

Finally on our way around 12:10 and 1.5 hours later we arrived in Phoenix, a small little town with friendly folks and home of the "Bridge Street Brats" - group of youngsters who welcome the boaters and offer to get groceries, walk your dog, take out garbage, pick up ice, clean your boat, etc., etc.    2 young boys around 8 or 9 and another boy, maybe 12-13ish, were here when we arrived.    They had free donuts on the picnic table.   After settling in, we came across 3 spectacular bushes of "dinner-size plate hibiscus" and they are REALLY dinner plate side.  

Gorgeous "big" hibiscus

These deeper pink were "salad-size" plates!!

 

Off to "Scoopers Doupers", local ice cream shop for some yummy treats and walked around the little town.    Stopped at The Medicine Shop to have some prescriptions filled.

 

Rain finally came around 4 and to continue throughout tomorrow - planning to stay over till Wednesday.

 

Good chat with the Iowa City-bound travelers Michael and Drew getting ready to settle Drew in for his freshman year.   

 

We had some off and on rain but the locals came out to set up for cookout - burgers, hot dogs and sausage sandwiches + all these beautiful homemade pies and cakes.   

 

Got some excellent bakers here in Phoenix

 

  Big crowd and we each had cheeseburgers and pie (lemon meringue for Mark and triple berry for me). What a happening little town Phoenix is......the band (5 guys in their 50's-70's in purple shirts and jeans), Dan Elliott and the Monterays entertained us for 2 hours with all these great oldies!    Lots of people dancing and just a really fun evening which we could enjoy from Catrina's bridge.

 

Dan Elliott and the Monterays (including a father and son)

They have been together since 1962 and play music from the 50's to the 80's.    Awesome!

 

 While we were enjoying the concert, these 4 boats and a barge came thru the lock which is very close to where we are docked.

 Parade of boats and barge at Lock 1 on the Oswego Canal

And there they go leaving Phoenix with barge coming up behind

 

This sweet girl is off to go boating!

These little tykes (friends) got a tour of the Nebo, NC post office recently.
Miles, Luke, Max, Ivy, Maeve
Miles and Max are 6-year old twins and Ivy is their 4-year old sister
 

 

 

Sunday - August 12

Sunny Sunday......we went to 9:30 Mass at Sacred Heart and then to Wegman's for a few groceries.

 

After lunch we gave Catrina a good scrubbing and tidied up inside.

Charlotte and Doug came around 4ish for drinks, snacks and visiting.    Such a nice day to sit on the bridge.    Then we were off to Barado's - very good and a lovely evening to sit on the patio and yak the night away.   

Doug, Pat, Mark, Charlotte at Barado's

Met these nice folks today who are nomads from FL and traveling on their PDQ.  

Taryn and Nick 

Pretty black-eyed Susans here in Brewerton - Maryland's state flower.

Tomorrow we go our separate ways - Charlotte and Doug heading back to Annapolis and we are going to the Oswego Canal and check out a few towns. 
  Sooo much fun hanging out with them!

 

 

 

 

Saturday - August 11

Fall is in the air this morning - 58 when we got up and a cool ride to Brewerton.    We wore sweatshirts - no sun!    Before we left, we had one more walk to Shamballa Café and another latte/coffee from Emmett.

 

Mark gets notices from the Erie Canal mariner site about various updates (lift bridge closed temporarily; pump out not working; huge canoe/kayak race today on the canal east of Baldwinsville. etc.)   And sure enough....oh my, over a hundred boats out there and we had to dodge around those coming and going at no-wake speeds.   These folks were paddling like there was no tomorrow!!!

 

We arrived at Ess-Kay Boatyard in Brewerton around 12:30 and so good to have Charlotte and Doug meeting us on the dock.    We settled in and then spent the afternoon on their PDQ, "Abbotsford III" catching up. 

 

Liam and Connor won both of their ballgames today so their fall season is off to a good start!

 

We had cocktails and appetizers with Charlotte and Doug on their boat and no end to the chatter.    Soooo fun to be together again,      We went to dinner at 916 Riverside - very good and a wedding reception was in full swing.  

 

Glad to be back in Brewerton and especially hanging out with good friends.     Monday, we'll be back cruising.

Happy Hour coming  up on Abbotsford III 

Doug and Charlotte in front of their PDQ

Our sweet Blair (Alice in Wonderland) and Mr. Hawkeye (Luke)

 

   

Friday - August 10

A very pretty day in Baldwinsville (or B'ville as the locals call it).    Perfect start to the day weather wise for exercising - cloudy and cool.    Got that out of the way, had breakfast and then I walked to Shamballa Café for a latte and a nice visit with Emmett.    Plenty of sunshine and low 80's rest of the day!

 

Mark rode his bike downtown later for a few things and had an iced coffee from Emmett.    After lunch we went on a bike ride - found a nice trail but unfortunately it wasn't very long and ended which was really a good thing cause on our way back, Mark's back tire blew!    So we took turns walking it back or riding mine.   

 

Mark found a bike shop 1 3/4 miles away, so he took the bad tire and rim and rode my bike to get it fixed.     While there, he had 2 new tires put on my bike - what a guy!!!   While he was gone I walked over to the Budweiser Amphitheater across the canal where there's a pretty park with lots of flowers, benches, geese and pigeons.    I sat and read for a while - concerts here every Tuesday evening during the summertime along with church services on Sunday mornings.

 

Home Sweet Home in B'ville - across from the park

 

Mark returned with new tire and put on his bike.    sometime he'll replace his front tire.   

 

Our Canadian friend, Ron recommended Mark take Ibuprofen as his foot issue could possibly be gout as he experienced?    Thanks Ron....ibuprofen has started! 

 

2 months ago we had dinner at Olives Eatery - excellent and so.....decided to try it again and once again, it was sooooooo good!     And we have some leftovers for traveling tomorrow!

 

Tomorrow we are off to Brewerton (12 miles by car but 25 by water).    So looking forward to seeing our friends Charlotte and Doug.

 

Liam and Connor are in the thick of baseball practice for their Corpus Christi varsity team - 1st game tomorrow!    Good luck guys!!!

 

 

 

 

Thursday - August 9

Hello from Baldwinsville - a favorite little town of ours as this is where Dr. Shapiro fixed my tooth way back on June 5th and home of Emmett, the great coffee purveyor at Shamballa Coffee Café.    We plan to stay here 2 nights.

 

Our day started off cool and cloudy, but by the end of our 5th lock and many bridges, the sun was shining and around 80 degrees.    Perfect for cruising and the air felt so clean and fresh after 2 days of rain.    We cruised 53 miles and only mishap was Mark getting stung by a wasp!

 

A sign of fall along the way today....

 

We took a "power" nap and then went for a walk.    The bottom of Mark's foot is bothering him so he didn't walk too far......not sure what is going on?     Last time we were here, it was me with the bad hip hobbling along.

 

Davis has started his junior year of high school - wishing him all the best.