The Erie Canal opened, so we continued north on the Hudson River.

The weather was cool and cloudy, but the water was calm as we traveled past Renssalaer, Albany and Menands.

And made our way through the lock at Troy.

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Decision time! (How lucky do we feel?)

Decision made, we veered to port (went left) and headed to “the wall” in Waterford. “The wall” is where boats will line up before they start navigating through the long series of locks in the Erie Canal. The huge lock doors opened and we entered the next phase of our Great Loop adventure.

We spent a long but thrilling day traveling the Mohawk River of the Erie Canal, locking again and again,

as we traveled up and up and up into the mountains,

finally reaching Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady for the night.

Tomorrow – more locks!