Spencerport, NY...but who knows where after that.

I woke up early this morning to the Captain walking around the boat.  He said that he kept hearing a noise and once I was awake I too heard the same noise.  Now noises on boats are right up there with leaks on a boat.  They are hard to pin down.  Mike ended up walking out on the deck and swooshing the boat hook around in the water.  That worked the sound was gone. The only thing we could think of was that there was some kind of debris bumping up against the boat.  Well Mike went back to bed and I was awake by then so just got up.  Made coffee and sat down in the dinette to peruse through some photos I took. Across from me is our bulletin board where we put all the boat cards and pictures of those we love and hold dear.  (If you don't see your photo send it to us, you never know we might just put it up there.)  Mike and I have specific sides we sit on while in the dinette, kind of like you do at your own dinner table.  Funny what kind of habits we get into.  But anyway, I have view of this board and this morning (and every morning) it reminds me of all the people in our lives that we love so very much and how blessed we are to have all of them in our lives.

We left Brockport this morning under really cloudy skies, but we were depending on the weather forecast to be correct and for once they were actually right.  By this afternoon the sun was out.  Brockport last night was full up with boats.  The poor bridge tender worked for her money this morning.  She was working two bridges about a quarter mile apart.  And do you think we would all leave at the same time, no!  No one was in a hurry but by 9:00 ish, most everyone was on their way.

Busy night at the dock.

It was full up.

Views along the canal from Brockport to Spencerport.

One of the many beautiful houses along the canal.

The Washington Street Bridge

This little guy was hollering "Lady J" and dancing for us.  So cute.

So serene. 

This gives graffiti a whole new name.

Captain and First Mate

When this boat came through we heard them call the bridge tender and say it was the Manatee, we gasped and wondered if
that was our friends the Bacon's on their Manatee, but alas it was only a trawler, but an awesome one at that.

The Captains view.

We arrived in Spencerport with no problem, but boy the dock filled up pretty quick.

Yes all these boats coming this way are docking here in Spencerport.

After we were settled in and did a little walk around town we stopped at Texas BBQ.  It was said to be a pretty good place.  Well it definitely was like no place we had ever been to.  The food was okay (City BBQ is better).  But the baked potatoes there are HUGE.

The girl on the right takes the orders and then attaches them to this clip on a line above her head and slides them over
to a guy on the left there.  The metal clip hits a cow bell so he knows and order is there.  It's hilarious!

Mike eating his soup.

Check out that baked potato there on the left.  HUGE

After lunch we decided to go walk off all that food and toured the neighborhoods with all these great looking victorian houses and some churches. 

Mike had serious garage envy on this one.

We returned back to the boat after our walk and was introduced to the smallest cruiser I have met to date.  His name is Camden and he is 3 months old.  Out with Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa for the week.  What a cutie.

Smallest little cruiser.

Speaking of small things and cruising, look what came by our boat, in back of and in front.

This is the way to go

These kids swam right up to the boat, almost as if they knew I was taking their picture.

Now the Captain makes some decisions. Below is something that Mike posted on our Facebook Page for the Lady J.  It pretty much explains where we are right now.  (Lori, looks like you will most likely be seeing us again, sooner than you thought.)

An excerpt from The Journey of the Lady J Facebook page.  From the Captain.

The central portion of the Erie Canal (between Lake Oneida, the Oswego Canal, and the Seneca River) is closing again for two weeks because of flooding and debris. We are West of there, and have many options as to where to hang out until everything is open again. Our only barrier is the Genesee River, which bisects the canal as it flows to Rochester. Too fast a current there can make crossing it unpredictable. And if you don't make it across, you are well and truly hosed for getting back out. So we'll putt about a few days here, a few days there till everything gets back to normal. The free town docks have a 48 hour limit, but the Canal Corporation has suspended that because of the closings. The few towns that do charge range from $9 to $12 a night. Most have free wifi, which eases the nights aboard. All in all, mighty easy living!

So that's where we stand for now.  Not to worry though I am sure I will still have lots to blog about.

Still hanging out in Brockport

Well the rainy Saturday has come and gone and now we spend Sunday trying to dry out, well kind of.  The rain seemed to have quit about 3:30 p.m.  After at least half a dozen leaks in the boat popped up we decided to spend one more day in Brockport and see if we could track down the leaks and get some of them fixed.  We still would like more water outside the boat than in.  We started to morning off by walking over to the farmers market, it was small because of the rain, but I was able to pick up a couple of tomatoes.  After spending most of Saturday in the boat we decided we were going to go out rain or shine, so we put on our rain coats and off we went.

With rain coats on off we went.

YUM!!!

The produce that was there looked pretty good.

The rain kept lots of folks away.

Stopped at Java Junction for breakfast and coffee of course.

After breakfast we came back to the boat to wait out the rain.  I made a batch of cookies to pass them time and warm up the boat.  Yes this time the boat needed warming up.  While I was baking, Lori Skoog stopped in for a visit, it was so nice to see her again.  Since we were staying in Brockport one more night I decided to change the sheets on the bed and do some laundry.  Laundry facilities were so close to our boat I couldn't pass it up.  Yes I actually like doing laundry, specially on rainy days, helps pass the time.  While tearing apart the bunks I noticed that the blankets and mattress from my bunk were wet.  Oh CRAP another leak, so up comes all the bedding, mattresses and we (Mike) goes searching for the source of the leak.  Which as any one who owns a boat knows find the source of a leak is not the easiest thing to do.

This is what happens when there is a leak.

Sometimes it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Okay this one is a little staged, but it's to give you an idea what happens.  I am up top with a screw driver and epoxy while
Mike is below holding the nut, teamwork that is how things get done around here.

While we were working on the leaks it began to rain, what you don't see in these photos is when Mike brings out the umbrella for me and we continue to do this process in the rain.  Oh the joys of living on a boat.  

For now some of the leaks are hopefully "slowed down".  We will work on the remainder when the boat drys out a little.  I did take some time and take some photos of the gorgeous flowers planted here at the welcome center.  Tomorrow we are off to Spencerport, NY

A Visit to the Skoog Farm, Brockport, NY

Part of Gary's flower garden

We arrived in Brockport, NY Friday a little before noon.  Brockport has one of the nicest canal ports we have seen.  We stopped here for an overnight on our way back last year, but didn’t really get much of a chance to explore.  Brockport is a college town so it has many shops, restaurants, and things to do and see.  We spent a portion of the early afternoon riding our bikes around town and even stepped into  a cute little shop.  Yes the Captain even came along.  But sad to say nothing was purchased.  Upon arrival back to the boat we gathered up our folding chairs and took them outside to sit in the shade.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and in the low 70’s.  Shortly after sitting down we were greeted by Gary Skoog.  Gary and his wife Lori are friends of Jeff and Sandy Bacon our “boating mentors”.  If you followed us last year they are the great couple we met up with that has the dog Hatch that swallowed a fish hook.  Any way, Sandy had contacted the Skoogs and told them we would be coming through and to look for us.  And boy are we glad they did.  

A dried arrangement in Lori's studio

Okay here comes the gushing part.  They are one extraordinary couple.  They live on a farm close to town.  Lori is a retired art teacher and Gary is a volunteer at the welcome center on the canal along with many, many, many other things they both do.  Within minutes it was like we had been friends for years.  Gary first offered to drive us to where ever we needed to go, grocery store, drug store, etc.  He also had me speak with his wife Lori and we set up a time to come and visit their farm.  Seeing that all we really needed was some fresh vegetables for the boat I declined the offer to go to the store as there is a farmers market in town Sunday.  So instead we piled into Gary’s van and he took us out to their farm. 

One of their adorable little pups

I can’t even begin to describe what a wonderful place this was.  Between adorable little dogs, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, horses, art studio and a home and hosts that were so welcoming, I never wanted to leave. We enjoyed a treat of fresh fruit on the patio and got to know one another, then went out to the gardens where Lori and Gary proceeded to help us pick fruit and veggies to take back with us.  We picked rhubarb, spinach, leeks, strawberries, and chives.  We were set.  Won’t be needing the farmers market on Sunday, but might wonder over anyway. (more at the bottom)

Lori and Gary Skoog, leading us out to the garden

Part of the farm

A lesson in cutting rhubarb

Gary cutting rhubarb, hmm maybe for some pie.

Yummy leeks

Beautiful hydrangeas 

Lori and Jana looking for strawberries

First mate caught in the strawberry patch

Even the Captain did a little pickin.

Simply beautiful

Then on Saturday they came and picked us up and took us to the Farmers Table, a farm to table restaurant, for lunch.  The food was yummy.  We have found a special place in our hearts for Gary and Lori Skoog and hope to see them again someday.