June 6 through 9, 2011; Monday through Thursday

June 6, 2011; Village of Ilion to Rome, NY, free city dock:  We got up early and walked to the Remington Arms Factory about 3/4 of mile from the marina.  Dozier's said that they did tours at 10:00 and 14:00 Monday through Friday but when we called they have discontinued this practice.  They do have a museum at the office which we both enjoyed very much and thought it was worth the walk.  The store was closed for inventory so we couldn't buy any thing which is probably a good thing.  The service manager came down and we had a nice discussion with him and one of the gunsmiths.  On the way back to the boat we saw a shoe store.  I had been looking for months now for a new pair of tennis shoes so I finally got a pair.  This is the first time in years that I have worn out a pair of tennis shoes.  We do a lot of walking.

We got back to the boat and had engines running by 10:15.  We had a short day planned with 2 Locks and 19 bridges.  Lock 21 was the first lock on the Erie Canal going west to go down instead of up and for the rest of our canal trip they will all be going down.  This made it a little more difficult to catch their ropes and/or tie one of ours to the cable as we started out a good 4' above the lock wall; I learned fast how to adapt.  We tied up at the city dock in Rome, NY.  It was a very nice park but there were no cleats on the dock; looked like the dock was mainly for towns people to use for fishing.   It was tricky getting tied up but luckily there was no wind. 

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Remington Arms Factory, Ilion, NY

Remington Office in the newer part of the building

Original letter from George A. Custer to Remington & Son
telling them how good his Remington Sporting 50 caliber rifle was
when he took in on the Yellowstone Expedition in 1873. He shot
more animals at a greater distance than any profession or armature
hunter in the group (this was about 3 years before the battle at Little Bighorn)

June 7, 2011; Rome to Phoenix, NY, free city dock with electric:  We got going early this morning as we had 3 Locks, 23 bridges, and Lake Oneida to cross.  Weather report said that the winds would pick up in the afternoon so we wanted to get across the lake before  they picked up.  It was a beautiful day and the lake was just a mild chop.  We got across the lake in 1 hour and 45 minutes without any problems.  Sylvan Beach on the east side of Lake Oneida and Brewerton on the west side both had free tie ups for boaters.  Both were cute little towns with homes on both sides of the rivers.  It didn't take long to get to Three Rivers Terminal and then 2 miles up the Oswego River to Phoenix, NY, were we tied up the the free dock for the night.  The book said free electric but it was just house plugs so we had to use our adapters.  This little town had a very nice water front and park but over half the business' were shut down; a sad thing to see.  We have seen a lot of closed business so far on our trip.

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Phoenix, NY free city dock tie up

City dock at Phoenix, NY

June 8, 2011; Phoenix to Oswego, NY, Oswego Marina:  We were waiting for Lock 1 on the Oswego Canal to open at 07:00.  We have been very lucky lately and have had nice travel weather.  Today was nice and calm but hot again.  This part of New York has a lot of geese and ducks.  They all have babies now and it fun to watch them.  One mom had 17 little ones.  Our 120 volt adapters last night did not work very good.  It was a drain on our system and the voltage fluctuated from 100 to 115 and the coffee pot took forever to brew.  We got through the canal and to Oswego Marina by 12:30 where we got gas and tied up.  The marina has some new docks and they are very nice.  Oswego Canal has 7 Locks and 18 bridges.  One of the stores down by the marina sold charts, etc. so we got Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, plus we got our Canadian flag.  Had dinner at the restaurant by the marina; it was OK.

June 9, 2011:  We stayed in Oswego a 2nd day.  It is supposed to thunder storm all day so we are sitting it out and doing the usual; laundry, grocery store, buy oil for next oil change, etc.  It does look like Friday will be nice so we will venture out into the lake and go as far as Rochester, NY, or more if all goes right and we are not too tired.  All day in the sun and humidity can really tire you out so I always have Plan B and sometimes Plan C.  We have about 125 miles to go on Lake Ontario to Port Weller, Ontario, Canada, (the beginning of the Welland Canal) and plan on doing it in 3 days.

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View of the Oswego River

Lock 8 on the Oswego Canal
in downtown Oswego, NY

CO's comments:  A 54' Meridian with Zeus drives backed into the slip next to us.  Man did he churn up the water; water was going in every which direction.  The Captain told me the reason for this was the props were constantly changing directions in order for the boat to back straight into the slip.  This caused greater turbulence than a normal boat.