Oswego-Phoenix

We spent the night at the wall in Oswego waiting for the locks to open. It was a bit uncomfortable when he had some prowlers looking in the windows at 11pm. The dogs quickly discouraged them and the left. There were multiple delays the next morning and we waited until 12:15p for the locks to open. Just as we approached the attendant advised us it would be another hour or longer because a body had been found at the lock. It was frustrating sitting there with no progress as the day wasted away. We finally got moving against a strong current in the Oswego River and averaged 5.7 knots to Phoenix, where we stopped for the night. Phoenix was one of the best places we have been. It was so nice, we stayed a second night and did nothing but hang out with the locals, the other boaters, and the Bridge House Brats. The Brats are a group of kids and young adults that cater to the boaters staying at the Phoenix boat wall. Cathy Lee started this group nearly 20 years ago and they are thriving today, with an average size of 45 kids each summer. The minimum age to join is 8 years old. While we were there the kids brought us breakfast, lunch, and drinks throughout the day. They carried ice to our boat, walked our dogs, and provided a welcoming and wonderful atmosphere for our stay. When they weren't taking care of boaters, they were picking up trash, cleaning, watering flowers, and all of their other duties. Of course they had time to exercise and play during the day too. I spent a couple hours talking to several parents, the HS principal, and some of the community leaders. They have great values and support for their kids, and their community. The kids are clean cut, courteous, smart, and inspiring! This community is a model of what the rest of America should seriously take a look at! A true blessing that we enjoyed more than I can say! Thank you Brats and citizens of Phoenix! I am proud of you and have confidence that America will be great, with folks like you leading the way of our future. Check out   www.bridgehousebrats.com

God Bless.
Brian 












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medina

Image
It was a leisurely cruise today with no locks but several lift bridges we had to wait for. The bridge operators are responsible for up to four bridges so they drive back and forth between towns when a boat needs to pass under. Today was the second day of the Erie Canal bike event that begins in Buffalo and ends in Albany. There were 750 riders eastbound and most of them were waving at us as we slowly made our way west. Carrie decided this morning to ride between towns as we motored along, but she didn't know about the 100's of bikes opposite direction until a few miles into it. The weather started off hot this morning, but cooled down, and eventually turned to rain. We explored Medina and decided to get some specialty chocolate, and take a day off from ice cream! The town has a lot of history and unique sandstone buildings. Another interesting feature is the Erie Canal is raised up here, with a tunnel underneath, allowing a river to flow perpendicular to it. Tonight is likely o...
Read more

Montreal

Image
It was another late start for a travel day and we ended up leaving Chambly at 10:20a. The plan was to cruise to the Saint Ours Lock and meet up with some other boaters we have been seeing along the way. This was only going to be a 2-3 hour day so I didn't mind leaving so late. After we got through the lock the other boats made room for us but then Carrie and Allison decided there was not enough sights to see and they wanted to move on to Sorel. I concluded there was not much to do there either and none of our friends were there so I said we were steaming on to Montreal. That added a few more hours to the day and thankfully we got a transient slip so late in the day. It definitely helps having a small boat and there are usually options. The St. Lawrence River is huge and swift being several miles wide and moving at 5-7 knots. The entire day was full of beautiful scenery and old churches were standing tall in every town we passed. As we pulled into the old harbor in Montreal there we...
Read more

Catskill

Image
We departed Waterford and cruised down the Hudson to the unique town of Catskill, NY. We passed many mansions, amazing estates, huge bridges, and fantastic architecture along the way. The sun finally came out and the temperature climbed to 80F which automatically activated a mandatory stop to the ice cream stand. We walked around the town and found many historical buildings typical of this area. After our walk and ice cream it was back to the boat for some relaxation.  When dinner time came, we ordered pizza and walked back to the other end of town to pick it up. By early evening a few thunderstorms rolled through but did not get closer than one mile to us. We did some necessary domestic chores like laundry, organizing items, and cleaning up the boat after it calmed down. We all had well deserved (and needed) hot showers and feel renewed for tomorrow's adventure.
Read more