Cruising the Hudson River and Erie Canal…

Odysea II is quite excited when family joins as crew for the day and arrive early, arms filled with yumminess from their local Italian deli. Even though they live in NJ, we can’t resist one more pass by the Statue of Liberty before...

heading North up the Hudson River. One of the most historical bodies of water in American history, presents one breathtaking view after another.

When I walked on the High Line years ago I had no idea what was below my feet, which proves the adage of never seeing the whole picture of any experience. There is always so much more than meets the eye.

‘Water’s Soul’, the 80 foot sculpture newish to the NJ riverside, urges us to be silent and listen to the water.

“Water is a marvelous metaphor; one drop of water is quite alone, like a single person, but many drops can create a tidal wave or immense rivers and oceans, much like individual people come together to create community, exchange ideas and build something incredibly powerful.” – Jaume Plensa, artist

Our crew enjoys cruising under the George Washington Bridge they often take into the city. Meanwhile, I am overwhelmed by the breathtaking palisades lining each side of the river.

What did Henry Hudson think as he sailed this river back in 1609?

Years of watching ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ engulfs me as we approach Sing Sing Prison where Holly Golightly visited every Thursday to get the ‘weather report’ from Sally Tomato. Ha!

Croton-on-the-Hudson is where our crew departs and we spend the next few days exploring this amazing area only minutes away from NYC by car or rail.

Favorites are Sleepy Hollow and nearby Tarrytown, where we run into a fellow Texan at the farmer’s market, and a drive by Blue Hill at Stone Barns ending at the Croton Gorge Park.

The beautiful campus of Culinary Institute of America is nearby in Hyde Park so we snag a late reservation to see these future culinary geniuses at work. We are not disappointed.

Impressive lighthouses line the shores of the Hudson River.

Rondout Lighthouse

Esopus Meadows Lighthouse

Saugerties Lighthouse

Saugerties Lighthouse is now a B&B for all of you who have dreamed of being a lighthouse keeper.

The small town of Hudson, still a short drive or train ride from NYC, is experiencing quite the renaissance over the last few years and offers amazing restaurants and shops.

More family is up the river in Albany and we are able to meet for an amazing breakfast…

before heading to Troy for the entrance to our first lock since Virginia.

WooHoo!

Troy Federal Lock and Dam is the first lock of many, so now is the perfect time to review what this means. If you look at the dam on the left side of this photo, you see the water level where we are going. Unlike merely driving up or down a hill in a car to a higher or lower elevation, it is a bit trickier in a boat.

So, we steer the boat into a ‘bathtub’ if you will. The gate behind us closes. Both captain and first mate grab a line attached to the sides of the lock and hold on for dear life as the water begins to fill the ‘tub’ until we are level with the water on the other side of the front gate. The gate in front of us opens and we move along. We will climb anywhere between 4 and 60 feet in each lock.

At this point we leave the Hudson River and head west on what is known as the Erie Canal where we go through eight locks in one day! Eight…locks!!!

Fortunately, our stop for the night includes entertainment.

A Taylor Swift cover band and water-ski practice!

The next day only includes four locks to Amsterdam, NY, aka Rug City, where the captain wins an ice cream treat playing Music Bingo.

Reflections are the theme for our cruise…

to the village of Canajoharie where we make a quick stop for lunch at Keep Right Cafe…

which turns out to be one of the best (healthy) meals we have had on the trip. Worth a stop before or after the museum.

It seems Beech-Nut helped put this small town of 3700 people on the map and was quite the place to work, “offering health benefits for the body and art for the soul”.

“In the early years, all women were provided free manicures and piano music was played while they worked.” Of course, the noise of huge machinery later moved the music to the lunch room.

It was the art collection of the first Beech-Nut president, Bartlet Arkell, who founded the Arkell Museum in 1924 who inspired the love of art in the community. His Winslow Homer collection is impressive.

Mary Michael Shelley’s carved pine painting honors the Erie Canal. … “sweat and many lives went into the building of the Canal; much of it was hand dug, yet we take this labor and sacrifice for granted today”.

The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and allows boat traffic to travel the 363 miles between Albany to Buffalo.

After stops in St. Johnsville and Little Falls…

we smile as we dock in Sylvan Beach, NY. Our home port at Houston Yacht Club in Shoreacres, TX is right down the shore of Galveston Bay from Sylvan Beach in La Porte, TX. This NY Sylvan Beach is a summer destination for all ages.

In fact, we steer clear of a week-end visit. Ha!

We continue to meet some of the same boats along the Erie and what a joy to look up from preparing dinner on the boat and see new friends pulling in for the night. The captain hops off the boat to help them dock and adventures are exchanged. The boating community along the loop is quite refreshing.

Once again, the captain has chosen the perfect day to cross another ‘largish’ body of water as we cross Lake Oneida to Brewerton and then take a fork in the road for another side trip to continue on the Erie Canal to Baldwinsville, through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on to the Finger Lakes (FLX) region.

We have spent many summers in this area, but never much time on one of the few lakes approachable by boat. Cayuga Lake is known for great sailing, portrayed by the artist Shelley in the museum back in Canajoharie.

Cayuga Lake also offers multiple wineries with docks for easy visits. Thirsty Owl even picks you up at the docks. After a tasting and a late lunch, we are on our way south…

to Ithaca, home of Cornell and Ithaca College and Wegmans!!! The perfect place to dock the boat for a while, explore and have dinner with family before cruising over to Seneca Falls. Because, well…

It’s a Wonderful Life!!! And, another sweet visit with family.

Now, some boaters complete their loop by cruising the Erie Canal all the way to Buffalo, avoiding Canada. We have chosen the Canada route, so we now backtrack to Baldwinsville and head up the Oswego River to Phoenix with hopes of meeting the Bridge House Brats only to find out they do not ‘work’ on the weekends. Such a great organization and a bummer to miss.

From here, the captain follows the weather closely, because our next stop will be Oswego, where we will wait for a good crossing of Lake Ontario, our first of the Great Lakes.

It is here, in Oswego, where another Ranger Tug docks two spots over. After much discussion dockside and boat card swapping, the captain receives an email later from the crew on Pony who had realized their fun times way back when (pre First-Mate😉) in Houston. Much memory recall has occurred since. It truly is a small world!

At this point I am conflicted with another conundrum much like the one with the Chesapeake Bay and its borders with Maryland and Virginia. You would think that once you cross Lake Ontario you would be in Canada. No! New York State meanders along the eastern shore of the lake for quite a bit north and the captain wants to visit the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY so we take another side trip to the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence River where the 1,000 Islands are sprinkled about.

But first we spend six hours crossing Lake Ontario where the waves created by the fetch are not much fun. However, our day improves when we happen upon the town dock of Cape Vincent, NY filled with fun boaters and an honor system for payment. What a sweet town.

We visit with the border patrol at Horne’s Ferry which connects Cape Vincent, NY with Wolfe Island, Ontario Canada. The ferry has run since 1798, operated by the Horne family for over 200 years. If you have always hoped to own and operate a ferry, word on the street is a possible sale is in the near future.

The Village of Clayton, NY is another lovely place to visit along the St. Lawrence River. We come for the Antique Boat Museum, but there is more to this town and is a great community bubbling with excitement for their upcoming 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run. This village of 1,700 residents will swell by the hundreds over the next few days. In fact, we have to be out of our slip to make room for these very fast boats.

The heartbreaking story of Boldt Castle entices us further up the river and after seeing the crowds milling around we are content with our views from the water. Quite impressive, but our castle snobbery wins out. Having lived in Scotland, our castle quota has been met. Although, the Yacht House is an impressive first.

Next stop, Canada!

Thanks for following along.

~ the First Mate⚓️