Sun Aug 1 and Mon Aug 2: Ft Ti to Ft Edward freewall + bonus day in Ft Edward/Hudson Falls/Glen Falls

 In which we discover the joy that hides inside Stewart Shops ...

We pulled up the anchor to discover we were the proud new owners of a large load of aquatic weeds.  Sadly it was my turn to pull up and clean off the anchor and chair.  Because, of course it was ...

Then Rick got out his balls (the fenders used for the locks) and added air so they were nice and plump!  With the cooler air his balls had lost their edge, and they were going to be under some pressure to perform in the coming locks.  See - endlessly hilarious!!

 Today we are headed back to the Fort Edward free town wall, t.he best of the freewalls  The town is small and not much is happening, but it is a pleasant place and with rain in the forecast we were happy to be heading to a known location.   We had three locks (12, 11 & 9) that would take us back up and out of the Champlain Valley and then 2 locks (8 & 7) that would start lowering us back into the Hudson Valley.   It was a long day but we made it through all 5 locks like we had been locking since before we could walk.   Apparently we did learn something on our way up here. Also - Rick's balls were AWESOME.

Getting ready for action.

There were a bunch of boats on the wall - it was fun to see activity for a change, but the rain hampered socializing.  We bought supplies (Beer) and went off to sleep with the sound of rain on the boat. 

The last time we were here we tried to find the trail that would lead us to the old (or original) Champlain Canal.   Unfortunately we didn’t end up finding it - it turns out we stopped about 100 yards from the start of the trail.  This time we did better research, took our bicycles and rode the old tow path the whole way.

Those must have been awfully narrow boats - boats, perhaps like everything else in America, have grown larger.

The old door hardware - you can see the door recess on the far wall.

 

We rode though the towns of Hudson Falls and Glen Falls.  Fun to see all the different architecture. 

 

Home for Aged Women - I'll have to remember that for when I am 'aged'.

1830s coal silos - not lovely but a good example of how much preserved history is in the area.  As soon as the canals were finished all kinds of industry sprung up around them.

We ended up stopping for lunch in Hudson Falls at a little local diner that had an inexplicably creepy Christmas theme...

 

 

 Someone had told us we needed to check out Stewart Shop, a local 7-11 type store.  Or so we thought. It's SO MUCH MORE!  On the way back into town we stopped at one and discovered that they are also an ICE CREAM STORE with GREAT flavors!  And they are all over the place, at least in NY. Two scoops each put the topping on a great day of biking!

 

Back at the freewall all the boat owners came out for docktails, and we made a bunch of new friends!

It truly was a Festivus.