The last time we reached Waterford, NY, we chose to head west on the Erie Canal. This time, we kept heading north to Lake Champlain. It was exciting to explore new horizons!

We traveled through the beautiful Champlain Canal.

It was a lovely trip with several locks and a few low bridges.

The locks raised us up and up and up. We had started at sea level in NYC, but now were 129 feet above sea level.

One windy afternoon we stopped at a small marina where we found a mini-lighthouse, friendly people and free beer! The wind blew a bow cushion right off our boat as it sat at the dock. Luckily some helpful boaters who were cruising by rescued it for us!

Another night we stopped at a campground that was located between two locks. They had a small restaurant where we sat at the bar, watched the end of the US Open, had a delicious dinner, and shared stories with other boaters who had stopped here as well.

Back on the canal, we saw beautiful scenery, other boaters enjoying the water and trains running along the water’s edge.

On our left, the Adirondacks rose in the background; on our right, the Green Mountains of Vermont.

The weather was beautiful and the waters calm as we entered Lake Champlain.

Very quickly, the depth of the water went from 24 feet to 347 feet. Wow!

We spent a lovely and calm evening in Westport, NY. The next morning the wind was picking up as we crossed the lake to the east and headed to a cloudy Burlington, Vermont.

We spent five days in Burlington as some foul weather blew through. We walked from the marina to stores and restaurants in the area (uphill – both ways!) and had a hilarious (and somewhat dangerous) adventure when we used city bikes to get to a boat store that was miles away.

At first, the city was quiet and empty, but as the weather improved, things livened up and we could appreciate this vibrant city.

Back underway we headed west and again crossed the lake to reach Rouses Point, NY, our last stop in the USA before we would cross into Canada. Fuel prices had increased dramatically, but we filled our tanks, anticipating that Canada prices would even be higher. Kenton changed the oil, and we were set.

We had submitted forms to Canada to allow us to enter their waterways in the morning, and reviewing Canada regulations, our only concern was how much wine we had on board. The forms said up to 2 bottles per person and we had 2 cases!

We hope they let us in!