September 15- 18. Day 151- 154 On to Brewerton 12.4 Nm. Total miles 2778

We woke early to 46 degrees and bundled up for our trip across Oneida Lake. This twenty mile lake runs from Sylvan Beach in the east to Brewerton, NY on the west. Since it was cold we kept all the vinyl panels on the fly bridge enclosure closed. That plus the sun and gloves, watch caps, jackets and sweat shirts kept us warm. By mid lake we could take off the gloves and caps, but as we were going into the wind, we still needed the sweatshirt and jacket.

We pulled into Winter Harbor Marina where we will tie up for the next few days and prepare the boat to be stored for the winter.

This is our last travel day and we feel a bit nostalgic and a bit excited about what we have accomplished. We traveled 2778 miles over our nations and Canada’s oldest waterways and trade routes. Met lots and lots of wonderful people that shared a passion for boating. Saw cities, towns, forts and lighthouses that line the waterway.

Was awesome to travel by water and visit where most of this country began. We renewed our lessons in history, especially the Revolutionary War, French and Indian War and the War of 1812. Also could see how commerce operated first via rivers and creeks and portaging, then via canal and barge, then steamboat and rail.

We enjoyed seeing the towns that grew up along these waterways, their old homes and businesses and how they changed over time.

All of Mother Nature’s beauty was on display- her waterfalls, forests, mountains, canyons and cliffs, her islands, glacier carved rock and her wildflowers.

Was thrilled to see bald eagles, hawks, Canadian geese, all kinds of ducks and songbirds, then land animals that I have only seen in pictures- red and black and flying squirrels, groundhogs and minks.

So much to remember and treasure.

So now on to chores September 16-18

I had the dubious honor of cleaning the drawers and closets in the boat and start packing all that we will take home with us. Have had to be creative with meals using up the food we had left.

Bill worked on replacing an engine part, cleaning the boat and fixing the head. Sounds like fun!?

We did take a break to pick up some supplies and check on the rental car we will pick up Monday. Splurged and used the loaner car to go to Taco Bell for lunch,

Bill took some drone shots of the marina at Brewerton.

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

Day 98. 2nd year. August 27. On to Manistee. Miles 25 Total miles. 3910.

We weighed anchor on a sunny 50 degree morning. So we put on our sweatshirts and drove from below as we left Frankfort. Going through Frankfort’s channel and breakwater we encountered a few intrepid fisherman and further along as we cleared the breakwater there must have been over a hundred fishing boats. Almost like playing bumper cars, but with boats. Had to negotiate a path between them as the fishing boats were all trolling fishing lines behind them. We were still seeing fishermen 4 miles south of Frankfort. These guys sure take their fishing tournaments seriously! The shoreline that we pass heading south are still sand dunes bluffs some as tall as 200 feet. As we travel, we pass the small town of Arcadia and Portage Lake, each situated on an inland lake which is connected to Lake Michigan by a dredged channel. Interesting to note that the dredged channels were originally small rivers connecting the inland lakes to Lake Michigan. As we passe...

Crustacean Travels

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