In the morning, we meandered into town for the Brockport Farmer's Market. We purchased green beans, corn, peppers, and apple fritters that we just couldn't pass up; our total cost was $10. We returned to the boat and prepared to leave with Osimo. I reminded Dave to return the bathroom keys. Once we were underway, I asked him, "You returned the keys, right?" He gave me a blank look. Apparantly, he'd been waylaid by a curious local and had forgotten to drop off the keys. We'd already called the Bridge Tender and asked to pass under the lift bridge. Dave hailed her, apologized and explained that we needed to stop for a moment.
Dave guided us back to the wall and tied off as I ran to the drop box. When I returned, he called the Bridge Tender again to say we were ready to pass. Mystic sits much lower in the water than Osimo. We move close to the bridges as they slowly rise since it doesn't take much for us to fit underneath. Osimo was following us at a safe distance. We had already cleared the bridge when all of a sudden we heard screaming on the VHF. "STOP, STOP STOP!" Dave slipped our engine into neutral as we both looked back in confusion. We could see that the bridge was stopped park of the way open and Osimo's windscreen was right at the bridge deck. They were not going to make it under.
Bob told us later that all he saw was the side of the bridge coming at his forehead. In response to the Bridge Tender's frantic command to stop, he put Osimo in full reverse. Luckily, this spun the boat sideways which avoided a nasty collision. The Bridge Tender came over the radio apologizing profusely. She told Bob he'd have to take Osimo back to the wall to wait for the repair. The bridge lift had failed. Mystic was now on one side, Osimo on the other. In the middle of all this chaos, I was stung by a yellow jacket which I am allergic to. It's amazing how fast a good day can go bad.
We decided we would continue on to Albion; Osimo would follow once the bridge was operable. It was raining and chilly but the canal water was calm, creating beautiful reflections. Tuffs of fog drifted past us, both over the water and just above our boat. We got soaked, but it was an easy day.
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| Passing through Holley, NY |
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| Bike house |
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| We're still above the houses |
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| Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle |
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| Reflections |
We arrived at Albion and headed straight to the showers to warm up. We were tucked between two bridges again, alone on the free wall. The rain continued, so we waited in the shelter of our cabin, hoping we'd see Bob and Sue before days end.
We like to research the small towns that we visit. Albion's Main Street bridge was built in the mid eighteen hundreds out of wood and iron. It collapsed in 1859 under the weight of 250 fair goers watching a tightrope walker balance over the canal. Fifteen young people died in the accident.
Link to an article in Orleans Hub about the bridge collapse:
Bob and Sue were finally able to move past the broken bridge at Brockport. We helped them dock when they arrived at Albion. They were glad the repair didn't delay them for days but were shaken by their close call. It's a good thing the Bridge Tender was paying attention. Things could have been much worse!
Osimo arriving at Albion
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| Osimo arrives at Albion |
We walked over the Ingersoll bridge to the tow path on the north side. There was a canal work boat docked along the wall. Someone had hung a pig in a boat from it's crane; it was very cute. We took photos of our boats from across the canal then walked over the Main Street Bridge. It made a nice little loop hike for us to get some exercise.
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| Main Street Bridge in front of our boats |
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| This little piggie... |
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| ...went sailing |
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| Ingersoll Bridge behind our boats |
We walked into historic downtown Albion. Most of the buildings are made of Medina pink sandstone. We took photos of churches, Government buildings and old homes. The homes are huge but many are in disrepair. We could tell that this town had been a happening place right after the Erie Canal was built. Much of the commerce has moved away from these small towns.
Historic Albion NY
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| Cool Brick Street |
After dinner, the four of us went on a rainy walk in search of ice cream. We stumbled upon Tinsel, a cute little shop next to the main street bridge. It seems like we can always find awesome gourmet ice cream in the places we stop! After our treat, we returned to the wall and went to bed early. We had no internet to keep us amused. Tomorrow we go through the last two locks on the Erie Canal. We can't believe we're almost to the Great Lakes.
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