Sea Bee Cruising

Continuing on the Erie Canal: There is an Italian restaurant on the canal in Utica NY where we tied up for two nights.  We ate at the Aqua Vino the first night, and on the boat the second night. Aqua Vino When it came time to pay for the dockage, they reduced the price by $30 because we dined there. We walked to the Art Deco train station, which is still in use today.  The building was reconditioned several years ago, and now houses some State offices. Utica train station At the farmers' market held in the station's parking lot, we saw an amazingly beautiful dog, a cross between a saint bernard and a poodle.  This is the first cross of this type we had ever seen.  We had seen labradoodles, golden doodles and bernese doodles, but never one like this. "Tank", 3 years old Then on through another bunch of locks to Sylvan Beach where the Erie Canal enters Oneida Lake. Sylvan Beach is a small town with a Coney Island type amusement park--a rol

The Erie Canal meets the Hudson River at Waterford, NY, several miles north of Troy and Albany. The intersection is a three way, with the Hudson going south, the Erie Canal going west, and the Champlain Canal going north. Waterford is a sleepy, old, decaying town that saw its heyday when there was barge traffic down the Canal.  With the advent of the interstate system and modern railroads, much of the barge traffic disappeared, and this town, like so many others along the Canal, had no reason to exist.  Left behind here and there is architectural evidence of more prosperous times and artifacts of earlier days. Coca Cola "Relieves Fatigue"? "Sold Everywhere" - still true 5c - not quite Waterford did have a nice Sunday morning farmers' market along the canal right where we were docked and we picked up some delicious baked goods and fresh vegetables. Like all the towns that are trying to appeal to tourists, Waterford had several infor

Our stops along the Hudson River north of New York City included Croton-on-Hudson (Half Moon Bay Marina), Poughkeepsie (Shadows Marina), Kingston (Hudson River Maritime Museum docks), New Baltimore (Shady Harbor Marina) and Waterford (Town Docks).  Weather and scenery were both delightful -- lots of mountains, bridges and lighthouses.   Tappan Zee Bridge expansion work New Jersey Palisades Croton on Hudson, Half Moon Bay Marina Neighbors at Half Moon Bay Marina Bear Mountain Bridge: Very sentimental for me. I have 1940s photos of our family vacationing at the Bear Mountain Inn. West Point: United States Military Academy Faculty/Officers' houses at West Point Shadows Marina in Poughkeepsie has beautiful new docks in a great location, but also lots of wind that day, which made docking the boat a challenge.  As we approached the marina, I saw this bridal party also struggling with the strong winds: Shadows Restaurant and Marina, Poughke