15:04 ET 5/18/09

Leave it to Nick James to dramatically enhance our locking experiences. Friday night he emailed us Bruce Springstein's version of the Erie Canal Song. As we approached Lock 17 Saturday morning, Gary cranked up the music full blast and we danced our way through the lock. Even the Captain danced at the helm! The Lockmaster said we were his liveliest group yet. Tom and Sheri will celebrate their 30th anniversary on Tuesday of our trip. Sheri has been thrilled with the cities she has visited so far on her anniversary trip, beginning in Amsterdam and Saturday night here in Rome. We ran into some big thunderstorms on the way and it was quite damp and dreary when we arrived, but not enough to dampen our spirits. Sheri prepared Chicken Marsala with Pasta Primavera, then we went off to find the Gouache that was supposed to be located within walking distance of the park we were docked near. Back at Lock 11 in Amsterdam, Gary and I had participated in finding our first ever Geocache with Tom. Now we are hooked on these GPS treasure hunts. The four of us trooped through overgrown weeds and wet grass to the wooded area that the GPS coordinates indicated was the location of the cache, but after about an hour of searching we gave up. Plus it had gotten awfully thirsty out there, and we wanted to head over to the Roadhouse Bar. Ryan, who was fishing from the dock by Tessa, recommended we stop by there and see his bartender girlfriend Georgeann. Except this crew doesn't just stop by somewhere. We make it an experience! First we met Georgeann, then all the locals, and then it was time for KARAOKE!!! More locals filled the bar and Gary once again brought the house down with Chantilly Lace. Sheri wanted the four of us to perform The Erie Canal Song, but to my utter relief, the DJ didn't have it. Our favorite new Kareoke friend was a cross between Lou Rawls and Luther Vandross, and he really got the crowd going with "Strokin!" What an unplanned yet absolutely enjoyable evening.

11:52 ET 5/16/09

Friday morning we departed Lock 11 and I immediately got both rods rigged up and began trolling. Tom brought a huge tackle box full of ammunition, so I was locked and loaded and ready to catch dinner. All of my fishing efforts have been failures up to this point, but with the proper equipment we were destined to catch something. Finally, ZZZZZZZZZZING went the drag and I reeled with enthusiasm until up popped my prize catch. A big gnarly stick! Thankfully, Sheri baked a beautiful piece of salmon covered in steamed veggies in lieu of my fresh catch. It was awesome, and we enjoyed it with salad and wine. Three bottles of wine. Hey, we were celebrating our first night on the canal. And after all, they brought two cases for the ten day trip. Now we are a bit concerned as to whether the supply will last until Tuesday when we hit the Niagra wine trail. Wonder if we should also be concerned that our provisioning list has four things on it, three of which are adult beverages. We're havin fun now!!!!!

13:12 ET 5/15/09

This morning at 6:00 a.m. George handed over his lock gloves and bid farewell to Tessa and Crew. True to George's nature, he thanked US for the trip. It most certainly is the other way around. How many friends would sit alone in a dark cockpit from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a..m., out in the middle of the ocean, struggling with big waves and huge swells, dodging freighters and who-knows-what else is out there, for eight nights???? And the first three nights I didn't even make him coffee, as I was down below wrapped up in my fears. What a trouper he was, putting up with "the weakest link", dealing with the elements and conditions, sleeping on the settee under the bar which was the only bunk he couldn't roll out of, and doing all of this with a smile on his face until this very last morning. All that in exchange for three squares and a sip of twelve year old scotch every so often. We definitely made out on this deal!!