When we were planning this trip, we figured that the section through the Hudson Valley and west on the Erie would be nice, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this nice.
The Hudson River Valley is carved out of solid rock mountains that are softened by dense green trees and bushes. It’s like green powderpuffs glued onto rock. Every so often a section is broken up by historic brick or stone homes and then massive new mansions. Normally, once we get moving in the morning, I sit down wit my ipad and start a post. In this area, my eyes have been glued to the scenery. Sorry, but I have not wanted to take the time to focus on a post because I didn’t want to miss out on seeing something. There’s so much to see- like the deer swimming across the river behind up, eagles perched atop a leafless tree, Momma and Poppa Canadian geese keeping all their little goslings in a row. It has been wonderful.
Waterford, our first lock on this leg of the trip.
We arrived in Waterford, the beginning of the canal on Sunday in time to buy a few veggies at the farmer’s market and met up with Diane and Bob, Sea Cottage. The next morning Sea Cottage and us joined 3 other boats and almost immediately hit our first of 5 locks in a row. It is called the Flight of Five. We were lifted approximately 150 feet. My Cruising Guide says this is the highest lift in the shortest distance of any Canal in the world. With Sea Cottage behind us, we continued through one more lock before calling it quits for the day. The threat of storms said it was time to get tucked in for the night and the Scotia Town Dock fit the bill for us.
Today we only transited 3 locks, but they proved a bit more challenging. We’ve stopped for a couple nights in Amsterdam. It’s supposed to be a nice stop and we are ready for an non cruising day.
One of the things we have been enjoying most, besides the fantastic scenery, is meeting so many great people. It’s been fun having Diane and Bob with us these last few days and we still keep in touch with friends on Cavara, Reality, Meanders and so many others. It’s like a special club of boaters with a similar goal and a great love of being on the water.