Tieing A Knot...: SKIPPING FORWARD

I hope you'll forgive me if I skip ahead. I have a LOT of pictures of the last 5 days but to post them I have to figure out a way to do a slide show....that is going to take time and right now we are bobbing in and out of US waters which means bobbing in and out of data coverage and not a whole lot of time.

We plan on being in Michigan for several weeks so I promise I will belatedly post a slide show of the pictures of Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence Locks and the Seaway. Gary thinks continuity is better but if that is going to happen you won't be getting anything for weeks. Right now I am able to pick up where we are and keep going! So, are you all with me? I thought so!

We have had great weather, none of the storms you have been seeing on the news. We had one night that started pretty windy and we were anchored in an exposed area but it died down as it usually does after dark.

We anchored 4 nights in the St. Lawrence River or the canals after the locks. The only night we had to try twice was the first night just South of Sorel which is at the tip of the St. Oar canal coming up from Champlain. It was rock bottom on the first try but we went another half mile and found good holding.

All the pictures of this leg will come later...

On to the present...

Yesterday morning we did a video check in at US Customs in Waddington N.Y. It took us a while to figure out where we were going as the customs office said it was in front of the True Value Hardware and the Waddington Marina.

First I looked up the marina (we were finally in the US so I could use the computer) and found the number was no longer in service...great, then I decided to call the True Value Hardware and was pleased to get the help of Karen, the owner. She told us exactly where the dock was and where the video phone was (by the public bathrooms of course) what's the first thing you need to use after an extended journey!

After checking in we decided we'd better use the $5. pump out. This did not go so well. I won't go into graphic detail but this pump had some mighty suction, only when it was done Gary did his usual routine of turning the lever off and back on for one last suck. Don't know if you are with me but have you ever seen the movie RV with Robin Williams...it was that kind of moment, one minute the you know what is going down the hose and the next it is flying over the deck and....yup, you know who (I was well away from the action). It was in a word YUCK!!!! And all I could think of was the movie RV, I am one sick person!!

Obviously he survived.

Karen at the True Value was wonderful. The town didn't have a laundromat but she owned an apartment building that had a laundry and she drove us there so we could wash clothes. Waddington was a nice small town, showing pride in the community everywhere. We decided to stay the night at the dock for the ridiculously low $10 fee, had a nice lunch at a little cafe and the entertainment of a steel drum band, the weekly concert right off of the dock.

AT THE DOCK WADDINGTON N.Y. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

DOWNTOWN WADDINGTON EARLY THIS MORNING ...MAC'S BAR WAS OPEN FOR BREAKFAST BUT WE CHOSE THE COFFEE SHOP AND THE DONUTS!!

STEEL DRUM CONCERT IN THE PARK TAKEN FROM THE BRIDGE OF TIE A KNOT

I didn't take a lot of pictures.in Waddington..I am taking way too many to put on the blog so I just enjoyed myself. Suffice it to say it was a very nice small town, like the one I grew up in. Everybody knows everyone and calls them by name. As Karen said "we take care of each other here"....

We then traveled west again headed for the 1000 Islands

Canadian Coast Guard, Prescott, Ontario

BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO

This old beauty was on the mainland near Brockville

The 1000 Islands began around Brockville. You are on this big open river and then all of a sudden Islands start popping up. The islands are small and many of them have only one summer cottage on them. Some maybe 2 or 3. Nothing fancy, most look like they've been there for years. Some islands are too small for anything and others are not inhabited but used as gathering places for boats or in the instance of Brockville, town owned as parks.

The Canadian /US border is a zig zag pattern all the way through this portion of the St. Lawrence. You are in Canada in one part of the shipping channel and then it shifts over to the US. You have to be very careful not to use your phones or computers it could end up costing a fortune if you slip over into Canadian water.

I was very taken with this island. Is it not just perfect!! It looked to be abandoned but in pretty good shape. I just wanted to move in and fix it up. My romantic side coming out. I'm sure I would be rethinking things in a month or two when it starts to get chilly.