7/24/2010 CHIPMAN POINT TO KINGSLAND BAY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN

What a beautiful day! After Mike and Dan loaded up our dingy and readied Mile’s boat to be towed, we made our way from the Chipman Point Marina, passed by Buoy 39 Marina (opposite buoy 73-figure that one out) and began cruising the lake and exploring its many treasures.

DINK LOADED

MIKE'S BOSTON WHALER IN TOW

Sighting the Carillion in Shorham brought back memories of a fun evening spent on her deck for Dick Hanson's birthday several years ago.

 THECARILLION

Mount Defiance, on the NY shore loomed over the waterway and it was obvious why this site was chosen to monitor the activity on the lake. Fort Ticonderoga, originally Fort Carillon and built by the French, was held by both the British and Americans during the Revolutionary War and has been restored to much of its original magnificence by the Pell family.

MOUNT DEFIANCE

FORT TICONDEROGA,

How eerie it was to approach the site of the "now missing" Crown Point Bridge. The construction on the new bridge is apparent and adjacent to the newly installed ferry landings. Look at how many cars are waiting their turn on this Saturday afternoon. Wonder what it is like on a work day morning? Crown Point Monument was designed as a memorial lighthouse to commemorate Samuel de Champlain’s discovery of Lake Champlain and includes a bronze bust presented by the people of France.

FERRY FROM CHIMNEY POINT, VT TO CROWN POINT, NY

LINE OF CAR WAITING THEIR TURN TO BOARD THE FERRY AT CHIMNEY POINT, VT

CROWN POINT MONUMENT

We meandered around (watching our fellow boaters, stopping for a swim, breaking for lunch) before finding our way to Kingsland Bay. We anchored in this lovely cove with its picturesque State Park, stately shoreline mansion and lush green vegetation. After a quick swim that entailed cutting the dingy rope from the shaft, the guys jumped into Mike’s boat and spent the evening fishing.

CATCHING THE WIND

LUNCH ANYONE?

KINGSLAND BAY STATE PARK

WHAT A SETTING!!  NICE LITTLE HOUSE TOO.

DIVER DAN

"FISHER GODS" RETURNING WITH TALES OF "THE FISH THAT GOT AWAY"

Mike and Barbara made a great dinner aboard the Quest, (fabulous pasta salad-BBQ pork tenderloin-home grown squash) and we taught them how to play Fan Tan before we all turned in.

EVER FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS FOLLOWING  YOU??

7/23/2010 WHITEHALL, NY TO CHIPMAN POINT, VT (LAKE CHAMPLAIN)

We bid Whitehall farewell this morning and made our way through the last Canal Lock, #C-12. We didn’t have far to go as we could see it from our dockage. The canal journey was a great experience and I would recommend it to all those who have an interest. “Just Do It”.

WHITEHALL LOCK C-12

SO LONG CANAL, HELLO LAKE CHAMPLAIN

Welcome to Lake Champlain, named after Samuel de Champlain who discovered it in 1609. It is over 120 miles long, 10 miles wide at the widest point, has a shoreline of over 500 miles and a surface area of 490 square miles. It divides New York with the looming Adirondacks and Vermont with the beautiful Green Mountains. The lake is also the “reported” home of the unconfirmed monster “Champ”. We will keep a keen lookout for his presence and report any sightings!!

We began seeing bass and perch fishermen dotting the shores and scattered throughout the Lake. True   "die-hards" on this drizzly day. We also watched folks “harvesting” water chestnuts near Benson Landing.

HARVESTING WATER CHESTNUTS

We were also lucky enough to see the Lois McClure, an exact replica of an 1862-class sailing canal boat. This schooner will make its way through the locks and canals to Rochester this summer, stopping in ports along the way to allow people to come aboard for a tour.

THE LOIS McCLURE

This dive boat was supporting a diver in the process of bringing up a jeep that sank this past winter when he drove out on the ice and , well, you get the picture. Ice broke and car sank.

OOPS!!

We approached the darling Chipman Marina and tied up in the rain. Once all the normal docking chores were finished, Dan began the task of raising the previously lowered mast and securing it a more semi-permanent fashion. We will find the need to lower it again if (or when) we retrace our steps and go back down the Hudson. Dan being creative!

CHIPMAN MARINA

DATED HIGH WATER LINES

THE MAST IS BACK UP AND STANDING PROUD

Mike and Barbara Wraga arrived loaded with goodies and enthusiasm for our weekend together on Lake Champlain. Mike made haste to launch his boat and the guys got some fishing time in right away while Barbara and I made dinner. Alas, we did not have fish for dinner.

BARBARA WRAGA

7/22/2010 WHITEHALL (LAST DAY)

This was a great day and Ginny (the generator) lives on!! Our new best friend, Carl Harlow of Generator Maintenance Systems, saved the day when he showed up (as promised) before 8:30 with parts in hand. Within just a few minutes he had the resistor on the main generator fixed and Ginny was purring just like a contented cat. I headed for Rutland to finish up all errands and after Carl left, Dan finished his boat maintenance chores.

GOT GENERATOR PROBLEMS?  JUST CALL CARL HARLOW IN MT. HOLLY!!

I am now armed with an external hard drive, a new 16GB USB Flash Drive and a few DVDs for downloading some of the many photos. Next step will be to use these things but I may have to work up to that. The saleslady at Staples was most helpful with answers to questions I didn’t even know to ask. Thanks!

Jane and Jack Magnon (of Little Harry’s) joined us for a late lunch and tour of the Quest this afternoon. We all had fun telling stories and reliving the past few months. I think they have the bug and may jump aboard for a few days later this summer. Hope so!

JUDY WITH JANE AND JACK MAGNON

We made one last trip to Sissy’s Kitchen to replenish the now “gone” bread and were rewarded with some of her divine pate and my favorite caramelized onions. Count me lucky and extremely happy about it. Try it, you'll love it

We returned Dick and Cheryl’s Red Bug tonight and thank them profusely for letting us use it. Dick is looking exceptionally good and hopes to be done with the oxygen when he returns to Dartmouth tomorrow for his check up.

By chance, we saw Kevin Rooney at the gas station in Poultney and he offered to run us back to the Quest in Whitehall. Thanks Kev! He and Dan had a great “gab fest”, talking and sharing stories.

DAN AND KEVIN ROONEY "CHEWING THE FAT"

Everything is now” ship shape” on the Quest and we will leave Whitehall tomorrow morning and transit our last lock before entering Lake Champlain. We are both looking forward to exploring the Lake and it is time to move on.

7/21/2010 WHITEHALL (STILL) AND BACK TO MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS

MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS HOME

Just running around today! We stopped by to see Dr. Scovner in Poultney for a quick check up then made our way to the house in Middletown Springs and got all the necessary things done there. Everything is so green and lush right now! Cheryl, I grabbed by sewing machine to have on the boat now.

Then it was Sissy’s Kitchen in Middletown Springs for a great lunch! Paul and Meredith Morgan of Morgan Mountain organic Gardeners have done wonderful job with the landscape. Kudos to the Morgans!

SISSY'S KITCHEN IN MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS

PAUL AND DAN AT SISSY'S

JUST IN CASE YOU NEED SOME LANDSCAPING OR GARDENING

Dan and I had been yearning for some of Sissy’s delectable food and, after consuming our sandwiches, we left with her Sour Cherry Jam, Ginger Cookies and a loaf of her new Fennel Bread with raisins, fennel and almonds. You have got to try it! Oh yes, you can’t forget the peanut butter tarts topped with chocolate. Too, too yummy!! You can find out more about her products and take out at http://www.sissyskitchen.com/.

SISSY HARD AT WORK IN HER KITCHEN

Joyce and Joe Szabo joined us for dinner on the Quest. I observed as Joe make his marvelous garlic shrimp then for our appetizer then we dined on the Napa Cabbage Salad with chicken and Sissy’s Fennel Bread for dinner while the skies rumbled and wept outside. It was a really relaxing and enjoyable evening with friend in our new home.

7/20/2010 WHITEHALL, NY

STILL WAITING ON THE PARTS FOR THE GENERATOR: STILL DOCKED IN WHITEHALL


Dick Hanson (yes, he did just return home on Monday from a week long stint in the hospital) called this morning and offered the services of their cute little VW “Bug”. We welcomed the transportation while waiting here and Dick wanted a short outing. Dick and Cheryl arrived here in the “Bug”. Kate, Cheryl’s niece, and her beau, Sebastian, brought the Lexus to transport them all back to the farm. It was sure good to see Dick out and about. Thanks all of you!

OUR BORROWED "BUG"

We jumped in that “Bug” and spent the afternoon at the office. Ugh! The mail was a mile high and Val had done a superb job in sorting out the garbage. Thanks, Val! It was nice to catch up with everyone at the office and hear about what was happening at work and with their families.

We had dinner at Little Harry’s with Steven and Mike, Barbara and Lindsay Wraga. Fun evening with good friends and good food!! It was fun to be back at our old stomping grounds: familiar faces in familiar places.

Note on Whitehall, NY (Originally knows as Skenesborough): Whitehall is known as the Birthplace of the Navy (along with Providence, Rhode Island, Marblehead, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia). Benedict Arnold did assemble the first fleet or flotilla here in 1776 to thwart the advance of the British troops in the Revolutionary War.

U.S.S. TICONDEROGA 1812

A LITTLE CANAL INFO

7/19/2010 WHITEHALL, NY

GOOD NEWS FLASH!!!! DICK HANSON IS NOW BACK AT HOME AND RECOVERING NICELY.

OUR VIEW OF THE BEAUTIFUL SKENE MANOR

We both slept late before starting our day of laundry and cleaning for me, boat repairs for Dan. Although my projects took me all day, I fared better than Dan. He did fix the ground issue to get the radio working again but the generator issue still persists. Parts are ordered and should be installed on Thursday morning, wherever we are on Lake Champlain. We are hoping this will solve the problem and we won’t have to invest in a new generator. That would not be a pretty picture!!

A brisk but short lived rainstorm interrupted our day with thunder rumbling close by. It managed to clear up the humidity quite nicely, thank you.

Lynn and Tony paid us a visit and we introduced them to the “Dark and Stormy” (dark, dark rum and ginger beer), gave them the tour, relived our adventures and then they took us out to dinner. Thank you! I am happy to say they will be joining us later for a couple of days.

CHEERS! (LYNN, JUDY AND TONY)

DAN GIVING LYNN AND TONY THE "RUN DOWN"

7/18/2010 SCHUYLERVILLE TO WHITEHALL

Our first lock came quickly after pulling out of the Marina this morning, just after passing the entrance to the Batten Kill. Each of the locks is meticulously maintained, some with floral gardens and others with mowed lawns. I loved the “Powerhouse” at Schuylerville’s Lock C-5.

LOCK C-5 SIGN

POWERHOUSE

We had to pass under another very low bridge this morning and Charles volunteered his services to climb up and be the “watcher” as we crept up to the bridge and inched under. Whew!!!

CLOSE, REAL CLOSE

As we exited Lock C-6 in Fort Miller the bright Tinker-Toy like structure underlined the nearby bridges.

LOCK C-6

BRIDGES AND MORE BRIDGES

Janet and Charles relaxed in the great outdoors as we were lifted up in Fort Edwards’ Lock C-7. We did, however, put Lorna to work at the ropes! This lock is the beginning of the 24 mile dug channel.

WELCOME TO LOCK C-7

LORNA AT THE ROPES WHILE JANET AND CHARLES TAKE IT ALL IN

At Lock C-8, also in Fort Edwards, we had to wait for parade of south bound boats to exit before we could enter and continue our journey north. This is the last lock to raise north bound boats as you reach 139 feet above sea level.

WAITING TO ENTER LOCK C-8

We are now seeing farm land with fields of corn, hay meadows and pastures. This old barn was perched just a tad too close to the canal banks!!

SLIP SLINING AWAY

At lock C-9 we experience our first Champlain Canal "lowering" and had to reach way down low to grasp the hanging ropes or tie-down pipes. Lock C-10 was never built when they discovered it was not needed.

LOCK C-9 SMITH BASIN

ENTERING WITH THE WATER HIGH

We passed by the newly renovated bridge in Fort Ann and watched these boys jumping into the canal. Ooh! Along this stretch we were also entertained by the soaring and dipping flight of several Blue Heron. Beautiful!

FORT ANN

JUMPER

HERON

We sighted the bridge to Comstock Prison then entered Lock C-11, our last lock for today.

COMSTOCK PRISON--THIS WAY

C-11--THIS WAY

C-11

LAST LOCK FOR TODAY

Whitehall, the northern most part of the Champlain Canal and last stop before entering Lake Champlain, was our home for the night. We pulled up to the fairly new canal harbor that was built by the New York State Canal Corp. and managed by the Town of Whitehall. This placed us just south of the last lock, C-12.

QUEST DOCKED IN WHITEHALL

David Scribner kindly drove over to pick up Janet, Charles and Lorna and we all shared dinner at the Finch and Chubb. Nice evening with friends!!

DAN, LORNA AND CHARLES (AND WHO'S THAT LOOKING OVER DAN'S SHOULDER?)

SO  LONG!!