Tuesday - July 31

Started the day off on a happy note with a walk to Savory Crepes and crème brulee oatmeal - now this stuff takes oatmeal to a whole new level!!!    Went for a walk - had rain early this morning, but now warm and sunny.  

 

  The Pittsford library is very close to where we are docked and it is a beautiful building.    Mark checked it out yesterday while I was in Newark and was so impressed.    I walked thru it today and oh my...…….it is a 2-story facility that is state-of-the-art.    Been a very LONG time since we've been in a library and this one blew us away.    It is so spacious and inviting to just curl up and sit with a good book......comfy furniture, fireplace with many leather wingback chairs, wonderful huge children's section, music, study areas, huge computer center and on and on.....what a gem!   

     With all the e-readers, it's great to see libraries still going strong - lots of folks here this morning. 

 Pittsford Public Library - Starbucks is connected

 

 The Barnes and Noble I was at on Sunday was a big, beautiful 2-story store!

 

Rowers (skulling) practicing this morning 

Overflowing baskets of beauty on every light pole - Mark walking ahead

 

So when we've been out walking we noticed a 2-story blue house called the "Drip House" - not sure what it was but thought maybe a coffee place?    Strange that there were very few cars though and no one coming or going.    So we googled it and find out it's a "Personal Sweat Lodge".   

"Book your Drip" for $45 per session and is New York's Premier Sweat Experience!   Okaaaay!

The Drip House

 

John stopped by on his bike ride and we had a good chat with more ideas for when

 Drew and Sarah come.     I made a cucumber/onion/tomato salad and did some cleaning on Catrina in preparation for our guests arriving tomorrow!

We did laundry in the afternoon and ran a bunch of errands.   John and Cindy had told us about  "Leo's Bakery and Deli", so of course, we checked it out!    HUGE place of thee most beautiful bakery items and dessert treats we've ever seen!    We each had a tiny cheesecake ball (raspberry for chocolate for Mark, key lime for me).

Went for a walk after supper....

Gorgeous boxes of blooms outside the Town Hall 

1925 fire truck which we talked about 2 nights ago with fireman 

Lovely Canal Lamp Inn

and of course...

 Shades upside down, sippy cup in hand - just hanging out with Daddy

 

 Can't believe July ends today.....bring on August and more summertime fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday - July 30

We exercised this morning while the sun was shining and birds chirping.....much quieter during the week than the weekends around here

.We met Sue from Punta Gorda.    She and husband Matt are traveling up here this summer, but have a condo/boat in FL and found out we have mutual friends, Nick and Judy in Punta Gorda

 

Clouds rolled in late morning...and stayed with us rest of the day!    I enjoyed almost 3 hours of pampering this afternoon.    Since I loved how Emily cut my hair (and the very inexpensive price - $15) 6 weeks ago tomorrow in Newark, I decided to go back to her.    So I drove 24 miles and got a haircut, mani-pedi and enjoyed visiting with Emily again.

 

 Back to Catrina at 5:45, had a glass of wine with Mark on Catrina's bridge and chatted about our afternoon.     Rain was threatening when we went to Olives Greek Taverna so we sat indoors - cute place and very good food (Mark had a pasta dish and I had a gyro and salad).   Rained a little bit but more coming thru Wednesday. 

 

Just before we left for dinner, a group of gals arrived at the bandstand (where Friday night's concert was), came to do Yoga - gee, if I had my mat, I could've joined them!

 

Here are the yoga gals

 

As we were walking back to Catrina after dinner, there were several fire trucks and fire fighters in the parking lot and coming down the steps where Catrina is docked.    We had a great visit with one of the older volunteer fighters and found out that most Monday nights they have a fire drill where they put in a banana boat and practice rescue maneuvers, etc.   

 

 Enjoyed watching them and visiting with one of the older volunteers....did not get a name...

Banana boat 

 

 

The Pittsford Volunteer Fire Department - 80 strong and founded in 1898.

 

Sunday - July 29

Beautiful Sunday in upstate New York....we were off to 9:00 Mass (3 blocks) at St. Louis.   Very nice church, Mass and congregation with many young families.     We then walked to Savory Crepes for delicious breakfast....including this cup of crème brulee oatmeal which was outstanding!

 

WOW!    We also shared a breakfast crepe (maple sausage, eggs, cheese) and potatoes!

My strawberry mimosa topped off a great meal!

 

We are so enjoying Pittsford - it is quaint, charming, full of beautiful flowers, great restaurants, coffee, ice cream, and of course, the canal trail for biking, walking, etc.    Looks like there won't be a whole lot of cookin' going on in Catrina again this week!!!

This old silo has been converted into offices (Schoen Place).    Just so many neat old buildings surrounding us.

 

Went for a bike ride along the canal and came back and "people watched" on Catrina's bridge.   Lots of folks out and about with babies, kiddies, dogs, etc. enjoying this awesome day!    After a short "rest" we walked to the Pittsford Dairy Farm - wow!    All kinds of ice cream creations and choices, bakery items and just so many yummy-looking treats!

 

Great place!

 

Walked back to the truck and off to Barnes and Noble (got my 2019 calendar) and Wegman's.    This is the flagship store here in Pittsford and oh my...………….it is sooo huge and has EVERYTHING.    Could easily spend a day here - I am NOT kidding!!!    

 

Had BLT's and fresh peaches thanks to John!    Great Sunday supper.    Went for another walk - got some good steps in today!  

 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday - July 28

Cool start to the day and just in the upper 70's for a high with clouds and sun.    We left at 8:10 in Cindy's car which we borrowed to drive to Tonawanda to pick up the truck.   

 

First stop was Brockport for a latte/coffee fix at the Java Junction Coffee Roasters and Bakery.    We also shared a delicious egg/cheese bagel sandwich.

 

Kept on driving thru some of the little canal towns and familiar spots and arrived finally in Tonawanda.   I drove the truck and Mark, the car and back on the road.   Stopped back in Brockport at Stoneyard Brewery which we had passed cruising on the canal.    It was rated #1 and so we thought we would check it out - sat outdoors along the canal with just 1 boat passing thru.    Good lunch and on back to John and Cindy's to return the car, short visit and so appreciate John's gift of 8 beautiful peaches he bought at the market today.

 

John recommended we check out Lugia's Ice Cream a short jaunt away....of course, we are not ones to turn down a suggestion of eating, so.....off to Lugia's and oh my, a great spot with sooooo many flavors to choose from.    Mark had chocolate almond and caramel praline turtle for me

 (baby-size dish - 1 scoop).

 

Finally home at 3:30, took a short nap, read and then took a nice walk - them temps have dropped and winds have picked up?    Could get some rain but think it's all staying north of us.

 

BLT's for supper....yum and extra special with the tomatoes the nice man from Napa gave us.

 

Been enjoying Daisy's owners,  Kathy and Scott's blog (Drivingmzdaisy) and they are certainly having fun.  After traveling west across the south from Florida, and then all up the west coast, they were planning to put Daisy and Toad on the Bellingham, WA ferry and head into Alaska!   How cool - Daisy's 2nd trip on the ferry......look forward to hearing about that adventure!

 

Went for another walk and had a few sprinkles (met a nice couple cruising with their son this week on a canal boat celebrating Dad's 60th birthday).    They are from near Cleveland and hope to do the Loop one day - lots of questions!

 

Caught the end of the rainbow...

View from Monroe Street Bridge (last night from Main Street)

Another pretty night on the canal here in Pittsford

 

 

 

 

Friday - July 27

Nice 'n sunny this Friday in late July.....we walked to the Macchiato Coffee Shop for coffee/latte and then chatted with a boater from Spencerport.    Around 10:10, cousin John, his daughter-in-law Emily and grandsons Lucas (4) and Evan (1) came aboard for some cruising from Spencerport to Pittsford where we settled about 2.5 hours later..   Went thru 2 locks and under many bridges.    Cindy (Grandma) met us in Pittsford.    Lucas was so into "helping" with this and that on the boat, holding the lines and docking pole.

 

Cruisin' on the canal with Emily, Lucas, Evan and Grandpa John

Cindy, John, Lucas, Emily, Evan

 

Emily took the boys home for naps and we enjoyed  lunch that John and Cindy brought - deli sandwiches, BBQ chips and cookies.  Much appreciated!   John and Cindy left around 2:15.   Anxious to check out the town, but first things first - a little power nap!

 

Pittsford is another charming little town (we did not stop here on our way east).    Mark and I took a walk across the bridge to the side where all the restaurants, shops, etc., are......he had a delicious chocolate gelato at Artisan.   

 

Tonight was just so much fun.    A nice surprise was that a band set up right by the bandstand where we were docked and the Friday night crowd came out to listen to the Caribbean music with all their lawn chairs, blankets, etc..   It was a picture-perfect evening.    John and Cindy came bearing margaritas and then Brian, Emily, Lucas and Evan arrived.    We had prime seats on Catrina watching all the boat traffic, Mark took Lucas for a dinghy ride,  and listening to the music.    Decided to stay put and order pizza.    GREAT decision....Brian and Lucas went to pick up 3 kinds of pizza.....great food, family, music....Life is Good here in Pittsford!!!

 

Brian, Lucas, Emily and Evan 

Lucas has his eye on that margarita....he's a character. 

A gorgeous peaceful, serene night in Pittsford.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday - July 26

Hot and sunny......started the day with a walk to the Shirt Factory Café for one last coffee/latte and we shared an order of avocado toast (sat outdoors in the courtyard).   

 

Avocado toast on grilled sourdough - soooo good!

Excellent skinny vanilla latte with cinnamon

 

In 1828 Patrick O'Grady came to Medina and founded the quarries that produced sandstone.    Many buildings in town are built of that and just beautiful....the First Baptist Church, City Hall, Sandstone Hotel, and here's the Catholic Church to name a few... 

St. Mary's

 

We left Medina with some good memories at 9:59 AM and I achieved "captain" (well....just for the day) status as I drove all the way to Spencerport (32.6 miles).   I'm happy to give that title back to the rightful captain on our next outing!   We had 9 lift bridges open for us and went under a total of 35 bridges.    Shortly after we arrived here, we heard over the radio from the bridge tender that the Brockport lift bridge (previous one) was having issues and closed ?    That's the thing about these lift bridges on the canal - you are at their mercy and if they are not functioning, you are stuck!    There was a mechanical problem with one of those in Medina, but it was in the "up" position, so while boats could easily pass thru, cars had to find another route.

 

Stopped in Albion for lunch at "39 Problems" - ate here on our anniversary (6/28) as we were heading west and another winner.....today we shared the pizza logs and a yummy salad with salmon. 

 

Pizza rolls - delish!

 

  Pizza logs have appeared off and on here in NY menus.    The boys had them in Buffalo and today's were excellent  - sausage, pepperoni, cheese, etc. dipped in marinara.

 

There are several neat murals on the main street of Albion.    Thought this one was extra special..

Santa and his reindeer flying over Albion (county seat) - completed in 2018

Meandering east on a nice calm day!

 

We were last in Spencerport late June and met Mark's cousin John and Cindy.    Someone knocked on our door this afternoon and there was John out and about on a 15-mile bike ride (short trip for him).    He came aboard Catrina, we gave him a bottle of water and had a nice visit catching up on what we've all been doing since we were last together!

 

Cousin John

 

Late afternoon we rode bikes on the canal trail and then to the grocery store for a few things that Mark could bring back in his backpack and basket.

 

We gave Maeve's babies some new clothes on her birthday...

Looks like they are off for a little outing

 

The 3 canal boats that the sea scouts (from Falmouth, MA) were traveling on this week left us in Medina a few days ago heading to Lockport.    They have now caught back up with us and docked behind us here in Spencerport.

 

From Catrina's stern,,,

a nice ending to our day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - July 25

Rained during the night and continued into the morning....nice and gentle!    Fortunately not all the heavy stuff out east with flooding, etc.    We exercised indoors.   Rain was over by 10:30.   We caught up with bookwork, correspondence, etc.

Walked to Fitzgibbons Irish Pub for lunch - it is sticky and humid after the rain.    Mark had a Reuben and I had pretzel encrusted chicken tenders!    Good place!

Sun came out around 2:30

Rest of the afternoon/evening was spent with a trip to Meggie Moo's for ice cream, bike ride,
euchre, and leftovers for supper.

Several weeks ago when we toured the Corning Glass Museum, we heard that there would be a floating barge on the Erie Canal this summer celebrating 150 years of glass blowing in Corning, NY.
It is stopping in several of the towns and doing glass demonstrations

The glass barge stopped overnight in Medina.

Turned out to be a beautiful evening so we went for a long walk

So this is how a "kitchen" works?   Pull up my easy chair, put my feet up against oven door and

 watch the cookies bake! 

 Our little girls having "girlie" fun!

Tuesday - July 23

We enjoyed our day "off"......starting with (naturally) a trip to a favorite - Shirt Factory Café for coffee/latte and muffin/breakfast sandwich.    When we came out, a couple was standing on the sidewalk with their bikes getting ready to take off.     They are doing the bike path from Buffalo to Albany (1-week trip averaging 50 miles per day).    We asked where they were from?   "Central IL"......Mark and Isabelle recognized each other....State Farm connection and Roger works at the U of I.    Had a really nice visit and wished them well on their journey!    They are about 2 years from retirement!   SMALL world!!!

 

Roger and Isabelle

 

Took our bikes and rode to Ace Hardware for a few things.    Did a bit of cleaning on Catrina, Mark got a haircut and I got my nails spiffed up by Monique at the Celebrity Day Spa.

 

You can't beat these small towns for friendliness and hospitality.    Napa Auto Parts is near where we are docked.    A guy came over and asked if we would like some tomatoes or cucumbers?    "SURE"....he said I picked them (2 each) just 1/2 hour ago from my garden!    BIG THANK YOU!!!

 

We were told to visit the train museum here in Medina......went to the post office to mail a few packages and then 2 blocks away was the old train station...free admission for we seniors (saved $14) as they are remodeling

 

It was quite something! 

 

Trains, so many trains and other old paraphernalia from long ago

Just like in Chicago at Union Station 

Carnival with the trains coming and going

This place is larger than a football field

 with over 6,000 artifacts on display and 204' operating HO scale layout!

 

Went for a dinghy ride in the afternoon.    There are 4 canal boats docked near us.   Also, this big apple along the canal - symbol of the many orchards in the Medina area - they will be ready in October which seems late for this far north, but heard this from a local, so....  

 

Big Apple

 

  The president of the Medina Chamber of Commerce stopped by to welcome us.    She also owns Meggie Moo's ice cream parlor

 (haven't been there yet)!

 

Played euchre with me winning 2 of 3 games!  Then off to a wonderful dinner at Zambistro (#1 in town) - started with an appetizer of fried olives, golden plump raisins and spiced almonds.    Yum and followed up with Chilean sea bass and salad

 

excellent

 

Met our neighbors on the canal boat - family from MA and how ironic that the other 3 canal boats have sea scouts from MA - no connection!

Strong resemblance between Les Jacky (Daddy's cabbage patch dolly) and our Maeve!

It's been such a nice, relaxing day....waiting for all the rain to come!

 

Monday - July 23

Thunderstorms are in the forecast for later today....so, decided to leave early.   We were pulling away from the dock (with help of nice guy from Vermont who was docked in front of us) at 7:59.  

  Bye bye Tonawanda and Smith Boys Marina - we sure enjoyed our time here!

 

Cruised 37 miles today and mostly cloudy but pleasant on the water.  Went thru 2 locks at Lockport and lost 1/2 hour as we had to wait on 2 large tour boats coming thru.    So, all familiar territory as we head east and decide which towns we want to visit again.  

 

Arrived in Medina (a favorite from before) at 1:15.     We may stay here till Thursday as Tuesday and Wednesday are to be rainy!

 

This afternoon we met Rich....while we were exercising and what a story!

 

Rich is 42 years old and traveling around the country on his kayak.    He has been on the east coast, west coast, Canada, Maritime Provinces and originally started his trip 3 years ago in New Orleans.   He averages 18-25 miles per day and his kayak is 19' by 22" and amazing where he puts all his stuff including a tent, clothes, food, paddles and other personal things.    When he's not kayaking around the country, he is a motivational speaker at schools and elsewhere.   He is a professional adventurer, explorer and inspirationist.

Sure wish the boys could've met him and heard some stories!!! 

 Rich and  his home 

 

Some fun photos from Lake James this weekend

Batman (aka Luke) 

Maeve is too young to get her face painted, but has Miss Kitty on her hand!

 

Cardboard boat races using 2 large boxes and 1 roll of duct tape for each participant. 

Brady and his paddle 

The builders...Philip, Maeve, Brady, Walker (friend), Luke, Michael

Brady placed 6th out of 19! 

Daddy/Uncle Phil taking Luke, Maeve and Blair for a spin on the tube

Never too early to start this fun!!!

 

 We wanted to go to Zambistro for dinner but closed tonight.    Last time we were here, we ate at Fitzgibbons Irish Pub which was very good.    Rudy's Diner is #4 on Trip Advisor so that's where we went and it was good comfort food (ghoulash for Mark and lasagna for me)!

After sprinkles off and on....the rain is coming down nicely - western NY is so dry!


 

 

Sunday - July 22

Rained during the night and as we were packing it all up and heading to the boat at 7:30, a real downpour!    Went to 8:00 Mass at St. Francis Assisi.    Came out of church and rain had ended!    Left for Buffalo airport, got the boys checked in with permission for Grandma to go with them to the gate.

 

Heading to the ticket counter

Patiently waiting for all the paper work for unaccompanied minors

Can't say enough how well this works American for Brady and United for Liam and Connor!

They know how to take the best care of our boys!!!

Taxiing away....

 

Sad for our week to come to an end - 1 week ago we left NC and boy, have we put on the miles since!!!    Catrina is quiet tonight!    We'll miss these guys - their laughter, goofin' off but always polite and excellent manners.    Anne and Patrick picked up Liam and Connor in Chicago.  

 

Mark and I had heard that Youngstown, NY was a neat little town on the Niagara River where it meets Lake Ontario.    So, after seeing the boys flight take off, we drove there (45 minutes) and it's a little town of just 1000 but a few little shops, ice cream place and 4 restaurants.    We had a good lunch at The Galley (breakfast bowl for Mark and Waldorf chicken sandwich for me).    Stopped at Wal Mart for a few things and then onto Catrina.    We dug in getting our home cleaned up and organized and off to the laundromat.    Spent 2 hours but got it all done and after leftovers for supper, we are just chillin' with our memories...

 

Tomorrow we plan to resume cruising and head back east on the Erie Canal visiting some of the neat little towns again.    We sure have enjoyed Tonawanda (our home since July 1st - off and on)!

 

Wishing everyone a great week ahead....