We left the serenity of Schenectady and were back into the throes of the locks on the Erie Canal…..

Our first reminder of the day was of how blessed we are to be on this trip….

    

We saw wooden boats and the abandoned Adirondack Power Plant.    

We ran upon this bridge, which we had not appropriately researched and realized it looked REALLY low.  We have a 19′ 6″ air draft and at first glance Ron read “19 foot bridge”…..  “Expletives” from Ron!!!  After Karen took a second look at the charts – it read “19.7” – the Point 7 meant all the difference in the world…..we cleared….with an inch to spare!

    

We passed through several cities and communities, Amsterdam being one.  Our friends on “Island Girl”, Karen and Ken, were docked there….we waved as we went by…..

    

This shows the water level change at one lock….

    

….sights along the way…..I enjoyed seeing another pace of life…..these were different locks which show the local folks enjoying the canal on their time…

   

We passed and were passed by other boats enjoying the canal system….

    

and just “weird” stuff along the way…..

    

We arrived with another looper boat, “Coconuts”, at St. Johnsville Campsite and Marina.  It was another walk back in time.  The sign above the office read, “A Redneck Boat Club”……but it was a clean and quiet park along the Erie Canal.  St. Johnsville is the mid point in the Erie Canal System.

    

We couldn’t help but laugh when we asked about fuel and a “pump out”.  You see, when boating (similar to traveling in an RV), you have fuel tanks, fresh water tanks, and “not so fresh” tanks (waste tanks), which have to be pumped out frequently along the way.  (TMI?)  When we inquired about their pump out facilities, the harbormaster brought her tractor, carrying the “tank” right up to our boat and for $5.00 we got a pump-out.  (The more traditional systems work like our sewer systems back home!)….

It was a short walk to the small town of St. Johnsville.  There are few amenities in town and most of the buildings looked like someone abandoned them years ago.  There was a pretty little Methodist church offering free snacks!