Middleport, NY Erie Canal August 9, 2015

It's a beautiful morning. It was a peaceful and quiet night, much to my relief. I glued the hailer back together and touched up the gelcoat blemish. Other than to write my insurance agent, I think the Canal Rage incident is over.

Canal art outside volunteer center in Brockport

We made it to Medina by noon, which was a fast canal trip for 22 miles. We had no locks today, and the lift bridge operators were on the ball, letting us pass almost without stopping. Here is Annie waiting for the Albion Lift bridge.
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Guard gates like this one are lowered to stop ice and excess water flows

The bicyclists were out in force again today.

This bird is guarding the only anchorage we passed on the Erie Canal.

A book that has been most helpful is Skipper Bob's Guide to the NY Canal System. It was recommended to me by Brian Logan of the Akron sail and Power Squadron.. I mentioned to the Captain of Manatee that his boat was in the book. It turns out that he is the new editor of Skipper Bob's book. He said it is really out of date and he is making major updates to it this year. I said he needed to add the day marker numbers to it, and he agreed. Unfortunately we had our conversation while we were pulling away from the dock. I wish I had known who he was earlier. 

We did not like Medina. It was a remote dock area at the back of an old downtown. It felt like we were docking in an alley. After a short stay, we decided to leave and move on to Middleport, which is 5 miles further west. It is much nicer here and we are so happy we moved. We have grass and picnic tables next to the boats, not old buildings.

Rusty the lift bridge operator came to greet us. He also operates the next lift bridge we need to pass through, Gasport.. We arranged to meet him there tomorrow morning at 8:15, which means we will leave here at 7:30, headed for Tonawanda. He invited us into his office to learn how the bridge operates. We spent about 1/2 hour chatting with him. Jim and I have been very impressed with the Canal operations. Now we know the operators know which boats are coming and when, as they relay the relevant info to them. Rusty said he would never go into the canal waters. He told us stories of dead animals tossed into it after the meat had been harvested, and how one guy jumped off a bridge and landed in a cow carcass. Yuck!

We have been surprised how few boats we have passed on the canal. All the stops have had space available. The locals often comment that traffic is down this year. On at least 1/2 of the legs we do not pass another boat. 

We went over the top of a road today, the only place where a road goes under the canal. Pretty amazing. At some place the canal is 100' over the road. I did not get a picture of that, but here is a house that is lower than the canal. How does that work?

Dinner tonight will be Eggplant Parmesan. Jola will be the head chef, teaching Kerry and Marty how she prepares it. I love Eggplant Parmesan. 

Jim is still having vibration problems with his engine/drive train. There are some big service facilities in Tonawanda and he hopes he can get his boat serviced. It was a nice morning in Middleport.