Day 1, Wednesday

Hillsborough, N.H. 

This is it – the leaving. I’ve been relatively calm this morning after being in panic-mode the past few days, but the adrenaline is kicking in. I head out the door at 8 a.m. The sun is shining, the sky bright, and the temperature is 58 degrees. The goal is to reach Herkimer, N.Y., where I will take an Erie Canal tour. Google Maps says Herkimer is a four-hour drive. It’s also where the Herkimer diamond mines are – which are not on my agenda for this trip.

I cross into Vermont an hour later and after taking the long way through the city of Brattleboro, Route 9 narrows and begins its long, winding, ascent up Hogback Mountain. This is my third journey along this route, but my first during summer. Vegetation and trees are green, however this year’s severe drought shows in the rivers which are big, tree-lined ditches in the landscape with dry, rock-filled bottoms in which water-trickles meander a pathway through thousands of rocks. In some places, the rivers and brooks are just long trails of dry rocks between high bankings. Still, I love the winding road up and down over the other side of the mountain. This is one of my favorite routes to drive; it’s fun and interesting.

There is a steady line of traffic skirting around Bennington, Vt., on Route 279 and crossing into New York, the countryside opens up into long rolling hills and farmland with lines of trees and vegetation separating large sections. The traffic is heavier than I prefer. I can’t take time to look around. But the driving is enjoyable and the vibrant tunes on the CD player keep my mood light.

I love the New York countryside! It’s not that New Hampshire and Vermont are not beautiful, but there’s something about New York I can’t quite put my finger on. Is it because of the open fields and rolling hills? Is it the lines of trees and vegetation that seems to delineate one large open area from another? Or is it those huge, beautiful (and sometimes rundown) farms and barns with gigantic and often multiple silos?

I pass through Troy, N.Y., get on I-87S and soon pick up my ticket at the toll booth at Exit 1 for I-90W, which is the New York Thruway. You get a ticket every time you enter the thruway and whatever exit you get off at, designates the amount of toll. Those who travel the thruway often purchase Easy Pass tags.

It’s beautiful driving along the Mohawk River. The traffic thins and I enjoy the scenery. I pass a couple of places that say something about Erie Canal locks, but I don’t stop. I need to be in Herkimer by 1 p.m. I definitely want to stop at a couple of these other places on the trip home, though. I am fascinated by the engineering of such structures.

I make it to Herkimer in time to get a ticket. These tours often fill up and pre-booking is recommended online, however, I hadn’t wanted to take the chance in case I didn’t make it. I took the chance and lucked out. There’s a little time to browse through the gift shop before boarding. I want to come back in after the tour to get a book on the building of the Erie Canal. 

It is a beautiful day for a boat ride. Another woman traveling alone, Sharon Kravis of Amsterdam, N.Y., and I start conversing while waiting in line and we sit together on the top deck during the trip aboard the Lil Diamond.

Brief Friendship

A smiling face

warms the heart

after hours

of solitary driving

Two women

traveling alone

share a table

share conversation

Both admit preference

to being along

Both admit joy

at good conversation

Two women

two strangers

for a couple hours

become friends.

--Sasha Wolfe

I love history and I’m fascinated by canals and know little about them. Unfortunately, the narration is a recording that has been played too many times or the speakers are bad. It is hard to listen to all the static and the sssssss to the words and sometimes the sounds are ear-blasting. Very few people are listening and talk amongst each other and to strangers.

A little Erie Canal information

(gathered from the narration and various websites)

The Erie Canal was constructed to connect the five Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Construction began in 1817 and was completed in 1825, 363 miles long with 36 locks and a difference in elevation of 565 feet. Workers had to cut a 40 foot wide channel, four feet deep. The soil removed was placed on the downhill side to form the towpath. Horses and mules on the towpaths could pull the early boats along the canals. This was an easier, quicker way to get goods and people across the state and to farther areas than going over land. The canal has been enlarged three times.

Below are some components to the canal system:

Locks are elevators which lift or lower boats to the next level of the waterway. (There is a 565-foot elevation difference due to the land rise between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.)Western New York also has lift bridges which are vehicle bridges over the canal which lift to allow boats to pass underneath. There are moveable dams which are used to regulate water flow between Schenectady and Fort Plain, New York. Dam gates can be lowered to form navigable pools or raised to allow ice and debris-filled waters to flow. There are guard gates which can be lowered to isolate sections for emergency purposes, repairs, winter freeze protection, etc.

Here are some other terms regarding the canal system:

Canalized are sections of rivers or lakes that have been modified for the canal. Land cuts are areas totally excavated for the canal (such as most the original towpath era canal system) and not the canalized sections of rivers. 

The Erie Canal today, because of modifications and expansions, is now also referred to as the 20^th Century Barge Canal, New York’s canal system, and the New York State Canal System (which includes other canals in the state).

I struggle to listen to tidbits of the tour narration and pick up:

The tour takes us through Lock E18 and back. The guard gate we pass under is lowered in the winter (with one at another end?) so the canal can be drained in this section. The Mohawk River runs parallel to this land cut. This section is No. 3. The Mohawk Valley was/is a valley of immigrants; diverse people with diverse foods. The main thoroughfare through Syracuse was once part of the Erie Canal. 

Soon, though, I am up moving around to take pictures. People are so nice and graciously move aside so I can get good shots. Some of us chat and exchange the “Where are you from?” conversation starters. One lady is part owner of the Sky View Motel in Bartlett, N.H. I am excited. I remember staying there once many years ago. She said it’s been in her family for years.

The scenery along the river/canal is beautiful, green, quiet, and peaceful. My eyes follow the towpath alongside. Many towpaths are now walking and biking paths. I see a bald eagle, but he is flying away and I can’t get a good picture.

We reach Lock E18 in Jacksonburg, N.Y. The boat slips into the lock at 383 feet. The door swings shut behind us and the water is let out into tunnels. We slowly drop 20 feet as the next level of water is 363 feet. It takes about seven minutes and cement walls rise on both sides. The huge door slowly swings open and when it’s clear, the boat moves forward. We turn around where the canal merges with the Mohawk River and make our way back to the lock to begin the journey upward 20 feet as water is now pumped into the lock.

Entering the lock, water level 383 feet

Once the doors are closed, the boat is lowered

Once at the correct level, the  huge doors open 

Heading back into the lock to return

The recorded narration is turned back on. I’m quickly bored by it and the too-fast talking. My brain won’t take it in. Plus, it’s hard to hear with all the static. It’s like listening to an old photograph record with a bad needle or a radio station when you can’t quite tune it in. Sometimes I want to put my fingers in my ear the recording is so shrill. No one else seems to be paying attention, either, as there are conversations going on everywhere. I ask the captain for a photo and he gives permission.

The temperature is in the 90s when we get back to the shop. I am so hot and sweaty at this point that I can’t wait to get to my car and turn on the air conditioner. I forget I wanted to go back inside the gift shop and get a book about the canal. I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten all day.

I stop at the thruway toll booth for a ticket and I’m soon heading west. My original intent was to spend the first night in Utica, but the break from driving by taking the tour refreshed me and I keep going. This is what can be fun with not booking hotels ahead of time. I can change my mind and be totally spontaneous and I want to get farther west.

While the eastern part of New York was beautiful with huge farms, rolling green landscapes, and the rivers, the area after Herkimer is boring. I stop at Schuyler Rest Stop remembering the nice visitors’ centers traveling south where there would be racks of brochures on area attractions and live attendants who could make suggestions on places to visit and book hotel rooms. 

This place has a McDonald’s, an ice cream counter, a tacky gift shop, and some crappy vending machines. There are no brochures, no visitors’ info. What a wasted stop! I continue on my way and eventually see a Comfort Inn (my favorite hotel) rising high above and off-ramp near Syracuse. I quickly take that exit. Uh, oh, the ramp swings around and I’m heading in the wrong direction and coming onto I-81S.

I ask the toll booth attendant as I’m fishing out the money about the Comfort Inn. She says this is the correct exit and I should take the first exit off I-81S. I do that, but at the end of the ramp, get totally confused. I drive for awhile and finally stop at a little ice cream place. The young girls have no idea where the Comfort Inn is, but one pulls out her cell phone and is able to give me clear directions back the way I came.

I find the hotel, NY342 Comfort Inn & Suites Airport, Buckley Street, and I am lucky to get a room. There are only four left. The hotel is packed because it’s the start of the New York State Fair and freshmen orientation at Syracuse University, and it’s coming into Labor Day Weekend. (Leave it to me to be traveling during an expensive time of year.)

The hallways are hot and have a dirty sock smell (I think it’s from some kind of cleaner.) I open the door to my room and that same odor hits me in the face. Ugh! I settle in hoping my presence will help. I was going to take a swim, but there are too many kids in the pool. 

This hotel has a cute indoor café near the pool area. I sit at a small bistro table and order a pina colada and chicken tenders. For once, a TV is showing a program I don’t mind watching “American Pickers,” however, by the time my food arrives, a noisy group arrives and the chance of a quiet meal is gone. The food is horribly salty, but at least I can eat enough to fill me.

I return to my room to do a little work before bed. I spray a bit of my perfume around trying to dissipate the stale smell. At least the bed looks clean. I crawl between the sheets before 9:30 p.m. It’s comfy and it doesn’t take long to fall asleep.

End of day overview: 

Hotel: Comfort Inn & Suites, Buckley St., Syracuse, N.Y.; Sasha rating: 2    

Meal: Atrium Café at the hotel; Sasha Rating: 3

Places visited: Erie Canal Tour, Herkimer, N.Y.; Sasha rating: 4

Average weather: 66-90 degrees

Miles driven today: 275 miles

Trip total: 275 miles

Hours on the road: 7

Expenses:

Gas cost: $28.34   Tolls: $6.40   Admissions: $19   Meals: $27.97   Hotel: $203.89