Low bridge, everybody down

I'm in the middle of a book about how the Erie Canal was built (DeWitt Clinton was a terrific governor seems to be part of the answer) and thought it would be fun to take a ride through a lock.

So Ellen, Allyson and I drove about 20 miles to Waterford (where my great-grandfather once worked in a textile mill) today to take a boat ride at the beginning of a canal that was mostly into a lock, up 33 feet, out of the lock and then back down again. A bit pricey at $10 a head for less than an hour on the water, but still fun.

I have thought it would be neat to rent a canal boat and head west for a few days, seeing the back side of cities and a lot of nice scenery, stopping in quaint villages and maybe biking around. But this may be as close as we come to that for a while.

The locks represent essentially the same technology that the original canal builders used 185 years ago. To go higher, a boat drives through an open gate into the lock, with the far gate closed holding back the higher stream. The doors close behind the boat. Water is piped in from above. Water and the boat rise. At the top, the far gate is opened and you're on your way. To drop, reverse the process.

It's a bit too glib to say that's the last good thing state government has done, since the Thruway worked out pretty well too. But I remember when Eliot Spitzer was running for gov, he cited those two projects, plus the creation of SUNY, to justify his optimism that the state could improve the lives of its citizens. We know how that turned out.

Anyway, exploring the canal seemed like a good low-key way to spend a 90-degree day when I expected chemo to sap my strength (milder than expected so far). Here are some pix Ellen took on the boat.

Here are pics showing our rise through the lock:

Ellen & Allyson mugging in the lock



Jay looking confused & relaxed

On our way out of the lock.