The Crew

Meet the crew of Tequila's trip through the Erie Canal........(not in order) ........ there is Lou the Captain...Pretty in Pink Marlene the Pusher.....Mike the Map Reader........and Donna The Happy Hooker. We compiled our impressions of the trip so far and they are:

*The people are so friendly. We docked in front of a restaurant in Brockport, and they offered us free electricity without even knowing if we were going to eat there which we did of course.

*A perfect stranger in Amsterdam drove me to a store to buy a few supplies. and then the owner of the marina in Amsterdam went to buy a dozen eggs for our breakfast.

* The biker babes in Weedsport were very helpful and friendly.

*Boaters all along the way have been willing to share information on where they have been and marina locations.

* A US Representative for the NY 21st District (Paul Tonko) was interested in our experiences in the Canal and asked us to write to his website.

*There were plenty of houses and cottages to see along the canal but lots and lots of wilderness and wildlife to see.

*The locks were easy to negotiate (especially with four people) and the lock keepers were friendly and helpful.

*There are very few people in the canal. It's as though the whole system was built just for us.

We've all learned something about the boat. Lou has found that going under bridges completely messes up the GPS and compasses and coming out of locks makes the boat steering go kaflooie for a while. Mike has learned that he can't stand up in very many places in the cabin, and he has the lumps and bumps to prove it. Marlene has learned where things are stored - especially the candy.

We expect to finish the last set of locks in the Erie Canal on Monday and send Mike and Marlene on their way home. We will miss them. They have been a huge help, and we hope we've provided a new experience for them to put in their memory log.