THANKS TO ALL

While Captain John and I were able to complete this trip we would have never been able to get it done without the help and support of our family and friends.

We often saw the rainbows dancing on the Lady's ceiling because of the gift from Tansy which sparkled on our window everyday. We thank you for your patience too ! We'll be back soon and eager to resume our active grandparent role. We love texting, but we love talking and hugging even more. Thanks to Amara and Thea for coming to cruise with us. Laith and Zayd you both have an open invitation.

We delighted in the yummy things Cait provided most especially the Herbal Salt which I used several times EVERY day and the great Blood Orange Marmalade! We were happy that you came to visit us several times, and now want to see those little guys, Aydin & Em , even more. We miss you all VERY MUCH.

And thank you Dad for understanding how important this trip was to us.

We had our companions true: our parrot, pirate, budda and bunny, but they didn't make up for our wonderful friends Marv & Barb, Dennie & Claudia and David & Julie. You kept us connected by phone, but now we look forward to spending more evenings together.

Captain John is especially grateful to Lloyd, Tom, Greg, Alan and Rob for keeping the farm up to snuff. He hopes that this deer season will be the best in the history of past seasons!

A special shout out to all our good friends who actually read our blog and followed us and even called from time to time.

For their guidance and expertise, we are extremely thankful to our friends Pete & Jane and our favorite Captain Keith.

Lastly, we cannot even begin to put into words how appreciative we are to Tom & Jo Ann!!! They have gone WAY beyond. It's this simple "WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS WITHOUT THEM!!!!

DOWN THE RIVERS TO THE FINISH LINE!

It was a hazy day as we approached Chicago from Lake Michigan and began our trip down the rivers to Kentucky Lake our official "crossing of our wake".

Bridge at Alton, Illinois

The Arch--St. Louis

We caught a notorious Asian Carp in our dingy as we cruised down the Mississippi

Cliffs Along the Mississippi

The Western Most Point of the Circle Trip

At 4:30 PM August 30, 2011, we entered into Kentucky Lake completing our 6,000 mile journey.

MICHIGAN

Over the next week, we cruised down the coast of Michigan. By carefully choosing our weather windows, Captain John made sure our rides were smooth and trouble free. We had heard many stories about how the winds could kick up some terrible waves, but we had many delightful days.

Channels Provide Access to the Many Michigan Cities

Many Sandy Beaches

And Lighthouses

Fish Smoker in Leland--Great White Fish & Trout

Fog in Drummond Island Where We Cleared US Customs

Now On to Chicago!

LOCKS, ROCKS & COTTAGES

Seems like all Canadians have cottages, but actually only about 3% of them do!

Rocks, rocks everywhere.

CANADA O CANADA

On July 7, we departed Oswego, New York, crossed Lake Ontario (the first of the Great Lakes we would cruise) and cleared customs at a small swing bridge in the Murray Canal. We docked at Trenton ,On and prepared for our entry into the Trent-Severn Waterway system.
The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles, stretching across Central Ontario, from the Bay of Quint (just off Lake Ontario) to Georgian Bay, with 36 conventional locks, two flight locks, two hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway.

SWING BRIDGE WHERE WE CLEARED CUSTOMS

AUTHENTIC CANADIAN GEESE !!!

WILD SWAN CRUISING THE CANAL

We cleared the Trent-Severn on July 19 and entered the Georgian Bay. We spent the next 16 days cruising the north side of Georgian Bay and the North Channel.

August 5, we arrived at Drummond Island, Michigan and cleared customs there. The water entering the US was a clear aqua blue with eagles flying overhead-a wonderful welcome back to our homeland!

We will spend the next few weeks working our way down the coast of Lake Michigan and into the river system which will take us eventually back to Mobile, Ala. and Burnt Store Marina, our home in Florida.

THE ERIE AND OSWEGO CANALS

Once we reached Waterford, NY (the oldest incorporated village in the US) this sign (above) clearly pointed our way to the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal completed in 1825, is the major component in the New York Canal system. It stretches from Waterford on the Hudson all the way west to the Niagara River. Its connecting canals run north on the east end to Lake Champlain; at about midway, north to Oswego--gateway to Lake Ontario or south to Onondaga Lake in Syracuse. We began the canal at lock 2( .3 mile marker) and departed (mile marker 160) at the junction with the Oswego Canal headed north.

On the route we chose, we went through 23 locks and under many bridges and guard houses. It actually seemed like hundreds as Captain John had to raise and lower the Lady's radar mast to get under some of those bridges and guard houses. The guaranteed depth is 14 ft. and the bridge vertical clearance is 20 ft. They often looked a lot lower and we never really met the man who made the guarantee, but we went through unscathed. The first five locks are called the Waterford Flight. We were raised 169 ft in elevation in less than two miles. This is the greatest height in the shortest distance of any canal in the world!

Up until lock 21, westbound canal cruisers (like us) have been lifted in the locks, but now we started going down . After lock 22 we reached Sylvan Beach, a resort town on the eastern shore of Lake Oneida. Guess What? It was Saturday afternoon of the Fourth of July weekend!!
Everyone was ready for a party, except ole gram and gramps here who had just gone through 21 locks in four days. Sunday July 3 was a day of rest and yes, we did see a few fireworks at the tail end of the show.

TYPICAL CANAL TOWN

On July 4, we powered through the Oswego Canal-24 miles, 14 bridges and 7 locks. The locks lowered us from 363 ft to 245 ft above sea level at Lake Ontario. We intended to cross Lake Ontario on July 5, but winds put our plans on hold. Hopefully, it will be better in the next day or two and we can enter Canada.

LIGHTHOUSES IN THE HUDSON

THE BEAUTIFUL HUDSON

WEST POINT OVERLOOKING THE HUDSON

After leaving New York Harbor, we cruised up the beautiful Hudson River for the next two days. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm. The river valley was all that I expected. I could just imagine the fall leaves and understand the scenes that so inspired the painters of the Hudson River School.

We continued up the Hudson River for 155 miles to the Troy lock which took us north to Waterford, NY. At Waterford we entered the Erie Canal and would continue west.

As you could imagine there was much commercial traffic on the river which connects New York Harbor to other NY cities in the north and actually ,will connect us to the Great Lakes via the Erie and Oswego Canals. We really enjoyed the time in the river. We are partial to river boating afterall. It felt like a bit of home after all this time!

ALBANY-THE STATE CAPITAL