Saturday - July 27

 Cool to start the day but warmed up fast!   Going to be hot next few days!   So, the water is the place to be!

We left Baldwinsville (the locals call it B'ville) at 7:05 under sunny skies and nary a ripple on the water!

We went 53.5 miles and did 5 locks.   Just 1 man manning each lock and we had all the locks to ourselves after thinking it would be busy since it's Saturday?    We arrived in Newark at 1:05 and settled in - had lunch and then a nap.   The Captain and his First Mate love all that fresh air but 6 hours later, a power nap is in order.

One difference between the Erie and Rideau Canals are the Erie has stop lights and when they turn green, "come on in"!    All of the equipment, railings, etc., are in blue and gold (Blue Angel colors).   Mark asked one of the lock staff on the Rideau why they don't have railings as a safety precaution for all the folks who come out to watch how this lock system works (some places we have quite an audience)!    He said the Rideau which is 100 years older than the Erie want to keep as much originality and integrity of how it was back in the day, so.....there were no railings then and still nothing!   Scares me watching families with little ones getting close to the edge!

Every lock on the Erie has a big sign telling the distance between locks going east or west bound

The Rideau does not do that

Pretty reflection of a railroad bridge early this morning

We walked downtown and just as we came across the bridge, there was a very big memorial of flowers, stuffed animals, candles, balloons, T-shirts, etc. along with a sign with "RIP Wilson and the date June 24, 2024."   What a sobering sight.  A guy was standing nearby and told us that on that evening  around 8, a 17-year old boy jumped off the bridge but apparently hit something or was injured and drowned.    His body was found an hour later.    What a horrible tragedy.

We remembered some things from previous visits to Newark - their Garden Club does an incredible job with their flowers - those folks all have the GREENEST thumbs!    BEAUTIFUL and they are all over the downtown area.

Blooms everywhere - Mark walking in the distance

We stopped at Parker's Grille and Tap Room (we were here last visit) and also have been to the one in Seneca Falls.    There are 5 Parker's around the area (Erie Canal, Finger Lakes region, etc.)    Good dinner and then back to Catrina. 

          Our summer home on a Saturday night in Newark, NY        

Something I meant to mention yesterday was our surprise at finding out from Marilyn and Karl that we have mutual friends, Beeb and Frank who we met in Dunkirk, NY in 2021 when they were doing the loop.   Now they're in NC and we hope to get together this fall.

It's such a small world.