Burlington,VT to Plattsburgh & Rouses Point, NY

Yesterday we traveled to Plattsburg & today we proceded to Rouses Point, NY which is 1 mile from the Canadian Border. If it doesn't storm tomorrow we will cross the border and begin about 6 to 8 weeks of foreign travel. This means that we will be limited because of the cost of cell phone service and we will have to shut down the air card and rely on wi-fi and libraries for bloging and e-mails. I keep my cell phone but will have to pay .59 per min to use it. No long conversations. I will try to get one blog per week minimum on the net. There may be areas that our cell phones will not have a signal and we will just have to catch up when we do have a signal. Stay tuned for more details as we can supply them. Bob & Lois

Burlington, VT (Special Kids Edition)

Grandpa trying to hold the dragon.
Grandma made friends with the dragon and saved Grandpa.

Well today was a really big day as we encountered the friendly monster of the lake named "Champ". Grandpa grabbed him by the tail. Fortunately Grandma walked over and talked to him and he liked her and Grandpa is okay. Silly Grandpa couldn't hold a big dragon like that. What was he thinking?

Charlotte to Burlington, VT

This was a short day, about 18 miles. We will stay here for a few days and take on some goods. We may rent a car and check out some things. We saw over 300 ft. depths today. There is a fishing derby on the lake this weekend and a lot of boats out there. Sailing is a big deal too. The countryside is so beautiful.

Orwell to Charlotte, VT

Photos are: Fort Ticonderoga and Barber Point Lighthouse, NY.

The lake is wider and deeper today, 250+ feet and 7+ miles wide. Not a lot of places to stop and see. We passed Fort Ticonderoga, but there is no way to get there to dock. Books say very difficult by dinghy. Maybe a trip by auto at a later date. Got fuel today at 4.60 per gallon. 2 days ago we saw 5.99. We have been averaging around 2 gal. per hour. We started out in light drizzle and calm winds, now it is drizzling ocassionally and the winds are 20 to 25 knots. Believe it or not, This morning we had heavy insulated raincoats and flannel shirts on to keep warm. I'm glad to be tied to the dock. Will rest and catch up on chores.

From WhiteHall, NY to Orwell, VT

Todays pics: Fort Edwards free dock with free electric and water. Cows, Me and a totem and some rocks. Climb this mountain Ron Flory.

We felt like a short day and only went 22 miles today. We came through some cuts in the mountains with rock walls. Seems to be a lot of fishing activity along this strech. We are actually in Lake Champlain but it is very narrow and river like here. Scenery is very nice. Fish jumping, Ospreys feeding their young and camps along the way. We even saw some cows yesterday. The building that is the office for this marina was buit in 1829. Was a warehouse of some sort in a previous time. Will include some pics.

From Fort Edwards to Whitehall, NY

Explanation of photos: The sign gives directions for Erie Canal or Champlain Canal. The locks will hold 6 boats our size. The next shot shows the turbulence from the water coming in to fill the locks. The lockkepper said there were 2 36 inch valves and that it takes about 1.4 million gallons for each lift. Looking downstream from the lock at the top of the lift. Sometimes you can see the dam along side as you are in the lock. Buddy, the dog on "Bella Luna" shows little concern for this procedure. Left Fort Edwards and headed for the final locks in the Champlain Canal. 2 lifts and 3 dropped us down to the level of Lake Champlain. We are traveling today with 2 other looper boats. The day was off and on drizzle through farm country and hills. We are here at Whitehall, NY and with the rain I have been trying to get some of the dirt from the lock walls of the boat. The fenders take a beating in the locks as the walls a rough and slimy. The line we used is soaking in simple green. Ken Hartman made us a hook that worked well in some of the locks. I wish I would have had the hook made even bigger. Some of the locks had 4 inch pipe to tie to and others a cable. The toughest ones only had a line hanging from the top and you have to hang on and adjust as the boat travels up or down. The system for locks is have lots of fenders out and be ready for whatever is there. We are staying at Lock 12 Marina and we eat in their restaurant tonight.

From Troy, to Fort Edwards, NY

Today we not only did our first lock, but we did 6 additional locks. Tomorrow we will do 5 more locks and then we will be in Lake Champlain. Tonight we are on a free dock with free 30 Amp electric and water. Town is 1 block away and the deal was buy 1 meal and the second is free. I really like this town. There are 6 of us loopers here and we have been pretty much together for the last week. We are the newbees and they have lots of stories to tell and plenty of great advice and suggestions for things to see along the way. I have some pictures taken, but the time is short and after a 7.5 hr. day we are tired and need sleep. More later.

From Catskill to Troy, NY

Well it is much quieter here, Bobby went home yesterday and we are on the way again. We miss his many questions and comments. We had light rain this morning and much heavier rain this evening including hail. Will do the locks starting in the morning. should be in Lake Champlain in 2 days. I can' get the pictures to upload today so will have to try later.

From Kingston to Catskill, NY

Today was a great day for traveling, cool and a breeze that felt really good since we have been having some very warm weather. It was only a short day, about 24 miles. All tied in at the new dock by 1200 noon. We passed several cement plants with loading facilities for loading big ships. There is lots of other industry as well. The river is starting to get narrower, but the depth is still good. One must stay between the markers and pay a little more attention to the charts. We found a couple more lighthouses. The marina has a pool and it is open and Bobby is ready to injoy the water. I have been working on teaching him to tie some knots. The bowline and the figure eight. Also to cleat a line to a dock. He even taught Grandma how to tie a bowline.

We are staying here till Monday as Lois's Brother, Tom is coming for Bobby. Very nice little town, they have a contest to see who can decorate cats and we enclosed 2 of our favorites. Bobby is busy tying knots and does the bowline all the time.

Say 22 Newburgh to Kingston,NY

We had a bad storm last night and we got a power surge which killed our AC controller. Will have to try to locate parts tommorow. One of the boats had a wind speed indicator and registered winds of 65 MPH. I think they classed it as a wind sheer. We had 2 other loopers with us last night. Tonight there are at least 5 other looper boats in our marina. We stopped here for the pool and it is temporarily closed, we are all very disapointed. We found 2 neat little lighthouse today. The red &white was Esopus and the other was Rondout Creek.

Day 21 Tarrytown to Newburgh,NY

We saw water depths today of 148 feet. It was another very warm day and because of the tidal current we waitied to start till 11:30 and that helped us to not have to fight the current. We have been seeing lots of high mountains with lots of hugh mansions perched high up to better enjoy the view. West point is on a bluff as you can see from the picture. Ocean going vessels come up to this area too. Oil terminals and other freight terminals are located all along the river. We saw a Coast Guard Helocopter today. Time for a shower to cool off. More tommorow.

Day 20, Jersey City to Tarrytown, NY

Another very hot day. We took more canvas off the flybridge. Lois gave us wet washcloths to wipe our faces. The Hudson was really busy with ferrys and barge traffic untill about 10 PM then we were north of the city and the rush was over. We stopped in early afternoon to enjoy the A-Cwhile plugged into the dock. We will stay in marinas untill the heat wave ends. The short lighthouse (Jeffrey's Hook) is under the George Wahington Bridge. Bobby got a hair cut and fells much cooler.

Day 19 Atlantic Highlands to Jersey City, NJ

Well today we are in the Hudson River. We passed Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. Our marina is right across the river from Manhatten. Lois and Bobby just came in from looking at the lights of the city. Their are 5 other boats in this marina that are looping. The currents in the early part of the Hudson are everything that I have been warned about. We were lucky that it was a Sunday morning and the traffic was much lighter than a weekday. Tommorrow we will see more traffic, but we hope till we get going some of it will be over. The temps have been very warm and the A-C is working well. The flys here are very agressive and we have the welts to prove it. Our next stop is Tarrytown, NY.

Day 18

We have been enjoying the time here at Atlantic Highlands. It is a very nice little town with lots to do. We are ready to leave in the morning and start up the Hudson River. Our new crew member arrived early this morning with Becky and Winter. Bobby will be with us all week. Last night we were wearing coats while we went for our walk. Today we are in the 90's and all of us enjoyed the AC. We went to see the Navesink Twin Light Houses this morning and Winter took us to the store for reprovisioning. I am inclosing a picture of our new crew and as you can see he brought the big guns.

Day 13 June 2, 2008

We are at Atlantic Highlands Municiple Marina until Sunday. We made our Ocean passage this morning with 2- 3 foot waves and a NW wind 15 to 20 mph. Basically a very easy ride. There is 6 ft. of tide change here and we are on a fixed dock. The high speed ferry comes to this pier as well so one day we will go into the city to see the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero.

The photo is taken at Sandy Hook looking towards NYC. It was a little hazy.

Day 10, 11 & 12 Toms River, NJ

We stayed on Toms River at Island Heights for 3 nights waiting out the storms. Sat. night we had a tornado watch, latter in the night we had a good rain. We got a lot of walking in around the town. We were on a free dock and the people in the town were very friendly. We found a great little deli and they even served breakfast one block away. We also walked to the main street about a mile away and got a few provisions. Today is sun. and we have moved nearer to the inlet at Manasquan for our trip to New York City area. We are planning to stop in the Jersey Highlands for a few days and maybe one day we will visit the city and the Statue of Liberty. We are going to pick up our grandson Bobby on sat. The ocean part of our trip is around 30 miles and the waves are supposed to be 1-2 ft. on Mon. Here is a picture of the boat at Island Heights.