Day 18: Schnectady to Amsterdam NY

So if you know us, you know we love art and this installation on a walkway in Amsterdam caught our attention. The City here has a wonderful walkway with outdoor art installation and the walk has a pedestrian bridge over the river.

This was our starting point this morning in Schnectady. Not pictured are the dozens of baby ducks that were everywhere.

Today, it was Rayma’s turn to drive and her first time driving into a lock. The first lock not so bad; however, the second lock was trouble from the get go. Boats were lined up waiting to go into the lock and it was taking a very long time. We were told (a) only three boats could go in at a time; (b) the lock master said there was a technical difficulty; and, (c) the water would push the boats to starboard (right). Our Delite was fourth in line so we had to wait until a second opening occurred. While waiting a large amount of debris - mainly huge amounts of wood, including large logs, was coming through the overspill and Rayma was having to navigate around it while still trying to stay in place in line. When the lock opened, it turned out there was turbulence inside the lock and the lock master advised he only had one working valve. Long story short, the back of Our Delite took a little hit. Tensions were high but we escaped the lock without a homicide being committed. (And did I mention it was raining?) The third lock was no problem. On arrival in Amsterdam, one of the other Loopers warned us about problems other boaters had been having with Lock 17 - which is the last lock we are scheduled to go through tomorrow. Well … we’ll see what happens.

After a rough day, we had dinner and drinks at a neighborhood bar - Shorty’s. Thanks Jules for treating us right!