Ohmmmmm…….we can’t get overly excited on this leg of the journey. It’s so slow. Remembering zen moments like this is why the Erie Canal western section is a complete decompression.
We are headed to Fairport NY today. To us this slow 6-9 mph is so boring. Sure you can decompress but what happens after you are decompressed…..boredom sets in. It’s a big deal that we have 2 locks today to wake us up. It is a beautiful passage though. Lots of trees and virgin forests line the canal. The old mule path has been converted to a bike path. You can travel along this bike path from Lock 26 all the way to Buffalo, a 100 mile trek. We’ve often thought of doing the bike ride along with the boat. I bet the bike would arrive faster than the boat.
The threatening rain and thick cloud make for a humid day. It only gets more humid as the day lingers on. Rain comes and goes throughout the afternoon but barely enough to get things wet. An almost 4 hour drive today to put in 20 miles from Newark, NY.
Arriving in Fairport there is barely room on the wall. Day tripping boats and local trawlers have decided to stay along the walls. We contemplate moving on to Pittsford, NY. The day tripping boats are lined by the electric and water and not using them. They are spaced out so that a larger boat traveling cannot dock between them. We decide to stay as a rental boat leaves. We plug in the power.
Fairport is a nice town with lots of shops, ice cream, convenience, and the best sausage around. We head over to Skip’s Meat Market to pick up some homemade sausage. Feta, spinach, red pepper sausage, Buffalo chedder sausage, artichoke, asiago, mushroom sausage, taco chedder and chicken salsa sausage. We may go back for more. There are so many different homemade types that we buy at least 6 different flavours.
The bridge here in Fairport is in the Guinness World Book Records. It is the only bridge that is higher on one end than the other, has no angles the same as another. There was a fixed bridge originally but when they widened the Erie Canal the businesses along the canal were fixed and buildings were already there. So they made this bridge to accommodate the incline. It’s noisy though. It won’t matter where you park your boat. The constant drone of the metal bridge and vibration of the tires is constant. It will die down at night but for the afternoon it’s just part of the charm of this tiny community.
