Saturday - August 31

Oh my....the last day of August and Labor Day weekend is here!.    All the summer fun is winding down!

Another pretty day here in Brewerton with fall-like temps (52 this morning).    Had breakfast and then Louise (my new friend from Whitby, ON) and I took off on a little shopping spree - Marshall's, Wegman's and Maximum (liquor).    Louise and Robin are leaving tomorrow and their ultimate destination is the Bahamas.....lots of planning and grocery shopping to do.    Their first "BIG" trip.    We had a lot of fun with a stop at the Ink Corner Cafe for lattes.

Unpacked all the stuff and the gals are preparing their "dish-to-pass" for tonight's rib fest which Ethan and Kim (owners and operators of EssKay) are putting on. 

Mark helped George and Robin with boat jobs....guys are so happy doing things on their boat and helping each other solve problems! 

Happy Labor Day from these NC Kiddos

Drew is visiting Anne and family this weekend.... 

Drew and Liam having lunch at Portillo's

Lake afternoon, Mark and I went to do a bit of organizing on Flo.

So, the ribs were absolutely excellent ---- Kim did a bang-up job using her Mother's secret recipe for the sauce.    Also sweet corn, tons of salads and other sides.   We brought desserts (cheesecake w/fresh blueberries, chocolate chip cookies and eclairs).

Louise and Robin

The whole gang at Ess Kay

Friday - August 30

So good to be back at EssKay and Brewerton, Cicero, etc.     We had a busy morning.....breakfast here and then off to Target and Starbucks (Target's Starbucks wasn't going to open till 10) , so....next stop was Geddes Bakery in North Syracuse which Meg and Seward highly recommended - oh boy.....nothing like a beautiful bakery full of goodies!    Got some apple fritters and then found another Starbucks - a really nice, new one....big, busy, lots of baristas. 

Off to Winter Harbor and got Flo hooked to Big Red and out of the building and parked alongside building.    So now we can easily do whatever between Catrina and Flo till the big transfer next Tuesday. 

Home to Catrina, put our stuff away and time to get to work.....I washed Catrina, Mark cleaned fenders (Magic Eraser works "MAGIC").   Locks are scuzzy and nasty!   We washed several lines in sudsy water, then Downy to make them soft and pliable and finally 2 good rinsings).    More to do tomorrow.    It was very windy today but oh-so-pretty!

Mike, our injured friend set out 2 plates of goodies around 2 - delicious grape leaves stuffed with rice, almonds, grapes, tomatoes, 2 kinds of cheese, crackers and figs.   All delicious.    Then at 3:00, Meg brought out awesome sweet corn they had bought at the Phoenix Farmers Market (darn....we missed that)!    So, some nice snacks in the middle of the afternoon.

I was hanging out in the hammock reading this afternoon - pretty view...

Docktails and good snacks with Seward, Meg, Mike, George, Jane and new couple who came in today from Whitby, ON (Louise and Robin).

Thursday - August 29

A mixture of clouds and sun today and 73 degrees.     We enjoyed a good breakfast thanks to the Boat Brats who got us yummy sandwiches from Larkin's.    Disappointed that Thrive (coffee shop/cafe) was closed for vacation... - no latte today!

So, we enjoyed a nice chat with Bev (our neighbor from Nevada who helped us dock yesterday) and Collin, one of the Boat Brats - delightful 8-year old who was so much fun to talk to.    Bev so reminded me of my Aunt Dee and Collin, had so many similar mannerisms as Liam! 

Collin and Bev

Mark and I hope when we're 83 and 85 (God willing), we'll be as limber and healthy as

Bev and Larry.

We left Phoenix around 11 and 12 miles and 1 lock later, we were "Home" at EssKay in Brewerton.   So good to see familiar faces and settle in our slip next to George and Jane.

Mark did some stats on our little cruise......we were gone 1 day shy of 3 weeks and traveled to Phoenix, Oswego, Clayton, Gananoque, ON, anchorage off Howe Island,  Sackets Harbor, Kingston, ON, Rochester, Sodus Point, Phoenix, Brewerton.   We cruised 432 miles and were actually moving the boat 13 days.     The Captain did great and is no worse for wear improving daily!!!

Being on his boat is the best therapy!!!

Enjoyed docktails tonight with Seward and Meg, Jane and George.    We are all feeling so bad for our friend, Mike who had recently bought his first boat and planned to get started on his Loop travels.     A short few days (less than a week) after he left Brewerton, he fell on the dock and has a fractured rib, a broken rib and a torn meniscus!    So, his travels are definitely on hold for now.

Thinking of Florida and praying Dorian skirts far away into the Atlantic...

Wednesday - August 28

Hello from Phoenix (NY)!    We left Sodus Point in the rain at 9:33 with the engines having their check-up and all good!    Rain today but tomorrow, winds in the wrong direction, so...."What's a little rain?"   Put on our rain gear and off we went!    7 locks and 51 miles today.

This is a very long dock leaving the Sodus Point (only seeing a portion here).    This entrance channel wall was chock full of ducks and geese this morning as we left.   Saying good bye to us after 6 nights here!   Imagine all that poop!!! 

This is home to the Boat Brats but they work 7-2, so were not here when we arrived.   And also where the dinner-size hibiscus are.....they have exploded in full bloom since we were here 3 weeks ago.

Gorgeous BIG blooms

 Larry (83) and Bev (85) helped us tie up.    They are from Nevada and have boated all over the world.    Decided they probably should give up the boating, so boat is for sale and they have a "serious" looker coming from Montreal on Monday.....fingers crossed.    Nice couple.    Then a sailor by himself from Toronto on his sailboat tied up behind us.

Went to Duskees Sports Bar for dinner.....good margaritas (2 for 1); Yuengling for Mark and good burger and salad (Memphis chicken)!

Beautiful cloud formation when we came back from dinner....

Pretty sight in Phoenix from Catrina

12 miles tomorrow to our New York home - EssKay in Brewerton!!!

Tuesday - August 27

Cloudy and very windy today.....few little bursts of sunshine, but didn't last long.    I made ham/cheese omelets, toast and blueberries and the last of the delicious zucchini/blueberry bread Bay Street (Carolyn) sent home with us!      Brett came to work on the starboard engine and Mark and I went to the boaters lounge with our I-pad and kindle to read - Catrina was rockin' and rollin' and let Brett do his thing and stay out of his way!

We put on jackets (fleece for me) and went for a walk - winds are so strong out of the south and chilly, but once we switched directions, warmed up real fast out of the wind!

Saw this pretty bush along our walk, but no clue what they are?

We shared a tuna melt sub from Rubino's, ate in the lounge and then went for walk.    Brett finished up around 2:30 - wind is still blowing like crazy...

We played euchre in the lounge with Mark winning 2 out of 3 games.    Had a nice chat with Blair.   She LOVES 1st grade and now taking dance classes (ballet, jazz and hip hop).   Also some singing, theater and gymnastics - she's one busy girl and so happy!

We had planned to be on our way tomorrow but 100% chance of rain, so we shall see.

It's a rainy day in NC, but sweet Maeve is all ready for her 2nd day of pre school!

And big brother is off to 1st grade