Day 309: Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Port to Port: Mechanicville to Fort Edward, NY

Underway: 7:35 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled:       Stayed At: Free Dock

First Things First: Saw our first flood gate across the lock channel poised to be closed in case of inclement weather.

Mile to Mile: After a quiet night in Mechanicville, I got up early and hiked to the nearby McDonalds for breakfast and free internet. It was so cold in there, the humid air was condensing on the windows and dripping down onto the tables. They finally turned off the AC but when the heat came on it set off some kind of alarm. Oh well, free internet. Cindy wandered in a little later and had a fruit parfait. We dawdled until 7:30 am and went back to the boat to cast off and wait at the lock for the first opening at 8:00 am.

Today was a four-lock day – all were easy and fast – they were basically ready for us each time. Great service from the lock operators. The Hudson River was quiet in the morning with very little traffic. The afternoon was a different story. After waiting along the lock wall above Lock 6 for a couple of hours to let a line of storms move through (a good decision since about 10 minutes after tying up, it started to thunder and pour), we met a half dozen barges coming and going along the narrow channel. They are doing a lot of dredging on this part of the river. We had to go around the correct side of many more barges parked in the river. It all added a little excitement to the day (along with the thunder and rain).

After a productive day on the river, we pulled into Fort Edward and found a nice quiet spot along their free town dock wall. You never know what you will find when you come around the corner. I went to get gas and Cindy took a sponge bath in the cockpit. I discovered they have showers in their courtesy building so I took a long cool shower to wash away the grime of three days of travel. What a treat.

We like to give back to these communities that provide nice places for boaters to stay so we wandered downtown and, based on the recommendation of a couple locals, had home cooked pork/turkey and mashed potatoes at the Ye Old Fort Diner. We also were surprised to learn that there will be a concert in the park tonight right by our boat. I wonder if it will be as good as Eddy and Linda’s impromtu concerts everyday in Kingston. That seems so long ago already.