At last posting, we’d made it to Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore, NY.

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Aaaaand, we’re still here!

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We were headed to the Erie Canal, but there has been a lot of fog and rainy weather.

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The rains wash all kinds of debris into the water (branches, grasses, huge logs) which damage boats and interfere with locks in the Erie Canal. So the canal closes for a few days to clean out the locks. Then the canal reopens, it starts raining again, debris starts gathering and the canal closes again (sigh!).

We’ve made the best of our extended stay, and as pleasant as this area is, there’s not much to do but check out the constant boat traffic. Boats of all shapes and sizes pass by, day and night.

We’ve met some friendly dock neighbors and we did have fun at the annual jerk chicken contest here at the marina called “The Big Jerk-Off.” We ate, drank, listened to a reggae band and contributed to the marina’s new tiki sign. (That’s a cargo container made into a bar – clever!)

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Canada has decided to open its borders soon, so once we get started again, we hope to visit our neighbor to the north. We’ll need to watch the calendar, though, and make sure we’re back down to Chicago before the fall weather gets too chilly. But for now, you can find us hanging out at Shady Harbor!