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Waterford Canal Welcome Center
1 Lock – Up 14′

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill

We traveled in the rain all day Saturday (65 miles) to get to Waterford. Waterford sits at the beginning of the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal. It’s a small charming town that really caters to the boaters transcending the canals. The people are friendly and go out of their way to make sure your stay is comfortable. The town dock is filling up…with boaters waiting for the canals to open. We lucked out and squeezed into a spot between the Visitors Center’s canal barge and a large catamaran. We are front and center for all the festivities that will be taking place this next week. Sometimes it’s nice to be little. 
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Ole Savannah Restaurant Dock

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” ―Moorish proverb

The Pearl looks very small next to the Manhattan skyline

Our plans really have changed every day…we were going to take our time going up the Hudson from New York City since the Erie Canal isn’t scheduled to open until May 19. But…the day was so pretty and the current was giving us a nice push, so we decided to keep moving. I called the Waterford Visitor Center where people dock before entering the Erie Canal and they told me they still had room on their dock for us. So we made the decision to head to Kingston today and Waterford on Saturday. We docked at the Ole Savannah Restaurant, which offers free docking if you eat there…the food was decent and docks were adequate and we had dinner with a nice couple on the boat docked in front of us. It was a beautiful day on the water.
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Hudson Point Marina

“The sea isn’t a place but a fact, and a mystery…” —Mary Oliver

The Delaware River…I wish the Atlantic had been this smooth

When you travel on a boat…schedules have to be very flexible. Weather plays a big part in when and where we go. Our plan to stay in Cape May for the night was scraped because we wanted to make it to New York City and the Hudson River before a strong front moves in this weekend. We could tell the condition in the Atlantic we’re going to deteriorate quickly so we decided to keep going. We did 225 miles non-stop…that’s a record for us, one I don’t feel we need ever break! 
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Bohemia River – Anchorage

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” ―John Steinbeck

The winds have finally subsided to a more comfortable level on the Chesapeake and our generator is in working condition, so we left Olverson’s early this morning. Very early since we’re trying to make our way to New York before the next storm front blows in this weekend. We did all of the Maryland Chesapeake in one day. That’s a new record for us…125 miles, but definitely not our longest day. Tomorrow we plan on doing the C&D Canal and the Delaware River to Cape May and hopefully we will head to New York on Thursday.
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Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina

“Every day is the beginning of a new journey…enjoy the ride.” –Author Unknown

While we were at anchor last week we tried to use our generator and noticed it wasn’t spitting water out the side of the boat…like it’s suppose to. Stan investigated and found the exhaust elbow had a crack in it. It’s old, very old, and Stan knew it needed to be replaced one day…well one day is here. We decided the best place to wait for the part to be delivered was at Olverson’s since our car is there. The part has been ordered and will be delivered on Monday. 
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Old Dominion Boat Club

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” ―Tim Cahill

One of our main reasons for visiting Alexandria was to visit friends we meet in 2014 when we took the Texas Pearl home from Florida. A casual meeting at a marina in Panama City gave us a chance to make some very special friends…it’s one of the best parts of cursing. Larry and Gail were on the home stretch of their Great Loop adventure that year and we’ve been lucky enough to see them every year since. 

We’ve enjoyed being docked at their boat club at the foot of King Street, meeting some of their boating friends and spending Saturday night at the clubs annually pig roast and sock burning party, where we got to meet some of their children and grand children. Thank you for letting us join the fun…we had a great time. 

The view of the Old Dominion Boat Club from the Torpedo Factory

Part of the delicious dinner we had at the boat club Saturday night

Part of Larry and Gail’s family

The purpose of the sock burning is to shed your winter socks and celebrate the upcoming spring equinox (which has already passed) and the beginning of the boating season.   

Sunday Gail and Larry took us on a tour of the area. They drove us around Alexandria giving us a little history lesson, down the George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon and then over the Arlington Memorial Bridge into Washington DC to see some of the monuments. It was a great tour but the best part of the day was spending the evening at their townhouse catching up and enjoying a great meal. They’ve been wonderful hosts and we’re so glad we had a chance to come visit.

The original entry to Mount Vernon..the way George Washington would have come into his estate. We’re hoping to stop and visit Mount Vernon on our way down the Potomac later in the week.

The Martin Luther King Memorial wasn’t complete when we were in DC the last time, so it was nice to get to see it today.

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope”

The Jefferson Memorial…across the tidal basin from the MLK memorial

Old Dominion Boat Club

“The journey not the arrival matters.” ―T. S. Eliot

One of our favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is go to a local farmers market. Some people come strictly for the fresh fruits and vegetables…we enjoy taking in the whole scene, buying fresh baked goods, wandering the stalls sampling locally made cheeses and wines, talking to local people and watching the world come alive.
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Old Dominion Boat Club

“To travel is to breathe in the air of unimaginable places, taking in all the beauty the world has to offer.” —Kiana Azizian

We’re in Alexandria for a few days to explore, relax and catch up with friends. We haven’t been up the Potomac River since we spent a week in Washington, DC in 2011. We spent that week running, taking in everything we could…this time we are going to explore a more leisurely pace. Today we just wandering around Old Town taking in the architecture and having a great lunch at The Wharf. 
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“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” —John A. Shedd

We’ve finished all our boat projects and moved out into the sunshine yesterday. Our cruising season begins today…first destination is up the Potomac to Alexandria. Let the fun begin.

The Pearl in the shed…a great place to store the boat, but not a good place to live.

One last look at Olverson’s as we left this morning.