Day 135 - Boat People

The morning was cooler than previous days, around 60 degrees, but sunny and less humid.  We left the dock at 9:30 am and were at Lock 11 by 9:45 am.  Boat traffic was very light so far and most of the locks took only about 10 minutes to get through.  Lock 12 was next at 10:30 am and it brought us so high I thought we might spill over the top.  Generally, the lifts were 20 feet. 

 

It was 10 miles to Lock 13.  The water was high with tree branches grazing the surface.  We could see a few farms and homes through the trees.  Fultonville, the county seat, sits just east of Lock 13.   There are county fairgrounds, a McDonalds and a trucker’s motel and restaurant.  We arrived at this lock about 11:30 am and it took 2 hours to get through Locks 13-15 due to the No Wake areas.  The town at Lock 14 is Canajoharie, which means “the pot that washes itself”.  It is named after a gorge south of the village where the water seethes continuously.  We saw 2 eastbound boats in the lock, on their way down.  Fort Plain is the town at Lock 15.  Each lock flies the US flag, the NY state flag and the NY Canal Corporation flag.  Some fly a black POW and MIA flag as well.

 

 

We tied up at St. Johnsville on the wall at 2:00 pm.  We walked about a half mile to town which encompasses 4 or 5 blocks.  We picked up a few groceries at the Market on Main Street and got ice cream cones at Stewarts.  A single cone was only $1.99 and had 2-3 scoops of ice cream, such a deal.

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the boat.  Only 1 other boat came in for the night.  We went back to Main Street for dinner at Cosmo’s, the only restaurant open within walking distance.  The place was empty except for us;  the weekends brought the crowds according to the bartender.  The bartender was also the waiter and the cook.  We ordered sandwiches and wine – diet coke for the Captain as all they carried was beer and wine.  Our bartender told us that the town refers to people staying at the marina as “boat people”.  He apologized and explained that St. Johnsville was a very small town with no jobs.  There used to be 5 mills, but all had closed.  We told him we were not offended at all.

We hiked back to the boat and settled in for the night.  Dad was discovering how the fresh air and “light duty” on the boat makes a good night’s rest no problem at all.