Day 134 - The Link to Amsterdam

It had rained and thundered heavily the night before and we all slept in until about 8:00 am.  Today would be a short travel day, going only 14 miles to Amsterdam with 3 locks.  Captain Randy made omelets and it was 10:45 am before we left.  There was no new information about the drama of the night before, even though I searched the web for a news story.  The owners of the sailboat next to us were from Boston and had started on the Loop themselves.  However, they ran into engine trouble and were packing up the boat to be hauled and trucked home for repair.  Very unfortunate.  We wished them luck and were on our way.

We went under the now infamous bridge and saw remnants of an old trolley bridge.  The Capitol Region Maritime Center and a Rowing Club were on the north side of the canal.  A group of teens was on the dock, probably preparing to go out in the boats.  The next town was Scotia and they have a restaurant, marina and inn.  Shortly after we saw a small boat pulling 9, yes 9, water skiers behind it!

 

 

 

We arrived at Lock 8 before noon and entered with 2 Canadian boats that pulled up behind us.  They went through Lock 9 with us as well.  From here to our destination, Riverlink Marina in Amsterdam, there were only a few homes in sight.  Most of the visible shoreline was trees.  Riverlink Marina has a nice park, restaurant and large tent for entertainment.  However, the restaurant and entertainment are only running on the weekends and we were here on a Monday.  Not even the dock master was there.  We called him on the phone and he told us where to pick up keys and leave a check.  We tied up on their wall at 2:00 pm. 

 

 



  

 

 

 

 

Randy needed to mail something, so we walked into town.  First we took an elevator from the marina up to a walkway over the railroad tracks.  This lead us to the rooftop of a parking garage and then to the parking lot of a strip mall.  Hands down, this is the strangest walk into a town I have ever had.  The hulking, unattractive parking garage and adjacent plaza bifurcates Main Street and detracts from the town layout.  We found the post office and walked to Main Street.  The marina recommended Riverside Pizza for dinner as it was close and open on Mondays.  We walked by it and then went back to the boat.  By now it was starting to rain.  Two boats came in together and docked in front of us, and we were the only 3 there that night.

 

 

 

 

The 3 of us walked back to Main Street for dinner and discovered that Riverside Pizza was takeout or delivery only – not too good of a scouting job by the Captain and First Mate!  We checked our trusty smart phone and found an Italian restaurant, Boscos, less than a mile away.  We walked down Division Street which is home to several churches, older homes, public housing and a few businesses.  The town is clearly suffering as most of the buildings were in poor condition.  What will happen to these small towns with no jobs and not much to look forward to?

 

 

Boscos is a local bar and restaurant with home-style Italian food and worth the walk.  The bar was packed and there were several occupied tables in the back.  We had a very good meal of soup, salad, pasta, and eggplant parmesan.  Too full to walk, we took a cab back to the boat.