Thursday, May 31, 2012

What a beautiful day!  The morning started with us leaving the mooring field at 6:45A.M.  We cruised up the Hudson River all the way to Waterford, NY.  There is a free dock at the Visitor's Center at Waterford.  When we arrived, there was no space on the dock.  We needed a pump out since the one was broken at the last marina we stayed in.  We pulled up to the dock in front of the pump out and John went into the building to ask about getting pumped out and the man told him that he is customer #1.  The pump out is brand new because of the hurricane last year that wiped out the old one.  The man working here came out to watch it work because it is new and it did not work.  The good news is that he let us stay there at the dock since they can't pump out anyone else's boat.  It's a double edged sword.

 There is a delightful couple docked behind us.  They are from Canada, but originally from Scotland.  Their names are Cathy and Duncan.  They came and visited on our aft deck after dinner.  We had a great time swapping stories, mostly about our boating experiences. 

I think the Hudson River is one of my favorite places on this trip.  It's wide, deep, and scenic.  The only bad part is that the marinas are so expensive.  We went through the Troy Lock today.  It's different from any we have seen before.  Instead of a bollard to tie up to, there is a pipe that runs vertically and is recessed into the wall.  You loop your rope behind the pipe and back to the cleat at midship on the boat.  We were the only boat in the lock at the time.  It worked pretty slick.  Here are some of the pictures we took today:

This is the view early this morning as we cruised up the Hudson.  The water was so calm, you could see the reflection of the clouds in it.

The next three pictures are of lighthouses on the Hudson River:



This is looking at the first lock on the Erie Canal from the free dock at Waterford.  It looks so small compared to the ones on the Ohio River.