Labor Day Weekend: Guests Aboard

We spent much of Labor Day weekend in or near Waterford.  Our son Joe and his fiancee Joanna were coming to join us for a night and there were things we wanted to do to get ready for them and for the coming trip down the Hudson and into the ocean waters.  Dan has a growing list of repairs and changes he wants and needs to make, and Saturday was a day for prioritizing.  He wanted to change the placement of the hose for the propane tank, hoping to put an end to that alarm going off, he hoped to change the oil, and he wanted to do some electrical work.  There seems to be an issue with batteries charging.  All of his plans necessitated supplies, and we found a NAPA place that delivered, which was great.  But it also meant a couple of long walks for us chasing down a bronze piece for the propane and a few other things… much of Saturday afternoon was taken up by walks to various auto and hardware stores in the area.  We walked over ten miles and got to the know the greater Waterford area pretty well.  Dan didn’t get to most things on his list, but he did re-lead the propane hose and we are fairly well supplied now with oil and filters and other things.  In the course of our walks, we found a section of the old Champlain Canal with a winding path through the woods.

Sunday morning was laundry and grocery day.  (There is a Hannaford’s here that allows boaters to take their carts off property and leave them here at the harbor.  How is that for service?!)  AND there was a Farmer’s Market right here at the Waterford Harbor Welcome Center with many stands and live music.  Lots of fresh veggies, and meats and eggs…

we shopped there first before walking over to the grocery store.  Joe and Joanna arrived about two pm and we set off shortly thereafter for our overnight adventure into the Hudson and turning North to go up the Champlain Canal, to give them some lock experience and us some new scenery.  We put in for the night at the small town of Mechanicville and took a walk around, stumbling onto this tie to Henry Knox of Thomaston fame:

"Through this place passed General Henry Knox in the winter of 1775-1776 to deliver to Gen. George Washington at Cambridge the train of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga used to force the British Army to evacuate Boston"

Labor Day we went up through Lock 4 on the Champlain Canal, tied up for another little walk through a small park there, and then came back down the Canal and to Waterford.  It’s a five hour trip back to Portland for J & J, and they didn’t want to get on the road too late.  It was wonderful having guests aboard!  We’ll spend the night in Waterford and get back onto our journey tomorrow.