BrainWaves survives 40 Foot Drop!

We got off about 8:00 and headed the short distance to the next lock.  This was lock 17, which dropped us 40 feet.  It's one of the biggest in the world.  Instead of having gates that swing inward, it's gates are lifted from the top.  We hadn't figured out how to take pictures and fulfill our lock duties at the same time yet.  

It rained all day, varying from drizzle to rain. After that lock, we did 6 more, mostly about 8 foot drops.  We've only done three up locks, which are a little more difficult.

We've been in rather desperate need of a pumpout but facilities are few and far between.  We finally made it to a small marina and asked for fuel and a pumpout.  He said they'd already shut down the pumpout because the locks are closing in two days.  We couldn't figure out why that meant they had to shut down the pumpout two days before the closing, especially since any boat that enters by Oct. 12 can go through the whole system.

Don and I talked to Amanda as today is her 40th birthday.  No matter how many ways I do the math, that still makes me 52. 😀. Today is also Richard's birthday.  I believe he is at least 41.

We docked along the wall at Amsterdam around 17:00.  Nothing was open so we had no services.  It had been warm and very humid all day.  It rained again about an hour after we arrived but then a nice breeze kicked up and got rid of the humidity and cooled us too.  We ate dinner, had a cutthroat Euchre game and went to bed.  We're hoping to get through all the remaining locks tomorrow, which calls for a 6:00 wake up call. - Deb

NOTE:

Lock 17 located in Little Falls, NY, of the New York State Erie Canal replaced the 4 locks of the original 1825 Erie Canal and is 40.5 feet (12.3 m) in height, making it the largest lock on the Erie Canal. The lock opened 101 years ago.