The start of the canal

Well the mast is down and strapped to the deck. We had a nice dinner at the Buffalo Launch Club, all the boys, including me, are clean and showered. We did 2 big duffle bags of laundry, and changed the sheets. Bradley and Tavish have been sharing one of the forward cabins for the last few days. Today Richard moved to the top bunk of the other forward cabin. This leaves the bottom bunk for Sara, and the Aft Starboard cabin for Bob and Carolyn. Now we just have to put everything back where it belongs, and clean all the other stuff and we will be ready for our friends. Yesterday we met Maria and Mario and 5 of their grandchildren at the marina where we de-masted the boat. They have a beautiful Chris Craft in Buffalo and a Trawler in Key Largo for the winter time……..pretty nice. They fed our kids lunch today while Janine and I put the mast on the deck, and last night they shared home made biscotti, red wine, and a bunch of information about the Erie canal and the ICW, as well as a gift to the boys of a NFL football. They have made the trip 5 times and had a ton of good advice. I am always pleasantly surprised at the friendships and generosity shared among boaters. Come on in, do you need a ride? Take my car, Don’t worry about it, you have to go to… People all the way along have offered so much usually before even knowing our names. If only the rest of the world looked after each other as well as this. Tonight we are at the Buffalo Launch Club. They like many others offer a free night to Yacht Club members. It is almost exclusively 40 – 50 ft Sun bridge motor cruisers; the club has a field, pool, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, a very nice place. Thurs night we will move to Tonawanda and tie up to the wall of the canal. Sat or Sun we will probably go see Niagara Falls with the kids, and then continue down the canal.