DAYS 37-40: Little Falls to Sylvan Beach - Brewerton - Baldwinsville - Lyons - Newark
DECISION TIME
Little Falls to Sylvan Beach NY: LONG TIME{Locks E-17, E-18, E-19, E-20, E-21, E-22}
Sylvan Beach to Brewerton: 2:12 hours {Lock E-23}
Brewerton to Baldwinsville NY: 3:12 hours {Lock E-24}
Baldwinsville to Lyons NY: 5:40 hours {Locks E-25, E-26, E-27}
Lyons to Newark, NY 0:37 hours {Locks E-28A, E-28B}
Speed: Along the Canal System, NO WAKE
Sylvan Beach
Free wall - nothing offered; Sylvan Beach is an old beach town with a few things to do. We never found a grocery store but there was a gas station and a Dollar General. I can see why the locals flock to this area, the beach is white as can be and the water is so shallow that you can walk out pretty far up to your knees. Great for families. We stayed overnight and then headed over Oneida Lake - calm and beautiful.
LEARNING MOMENT: Not all docks have standard cleats. Sylvan Beach uses something that looks like a hog ring. After jumping from the boat, I literally froze in place and Jim had to jar me back into action. I tied my line to the nose ring as best I could then did the same for the bow. After I knew we were tied off, I went back and adjust the both lines by tying back to Legasea.
SEEING GIANT PIG STATUES: In the south, if a restaurant has a pig statue outside, they sell BBQ. This is not the rule in the north! So, when you're here and see the oldest restaurant in town with a pig outside - do not think they sell BBQ.
Brewerton, Winter Harbor Marina
LAST PLACE FOR DIESL FOR A WHILE: This was a 'fuel and weather stop' to wait out a thunderstorm. It's also the last pace to pick up diesel for a lot of miles. Having full tanks of diesel and water will lower your boat an inch or two and help you get under those upcoming low fixed bridges - so fill up. Winter Harbor Marina had the best pricing, offers full service, a comp car, and ship store (good time to replace that boat hook I dropped in the lock). If I needed to pick a marina, this is the one I would select. They understand Loopers.
It's also decision making time. Will you turn right for Oswego and take the Canada Route? Or, will you turn left for the Western branch of the Erie Canal heading to Buffalo and the American route?
The only reason we pushed for the COVID-19 immunization in January was for the slight chance Canada would open - we were hoping for June. In late July, the Canadians refused to cooperate and decided to open their borders mid-August. Canada revised their decision to open August 5th with a 2 week isolation period on your boat, a negative COVID-19 test, and immunization records. August 7th, the decision was changed again allowing visitors to provide a simple negative COVID-19 test with immunization records. We decided we would have to plan a Mini-Loop some other time to include Canada and Lake Champlain - not a bad solution.
Baldwinsville
Finally! What the East Erie could be! Municipal Wall: freeish $5/30 amp/day at floating dock and $10/50 amp/day at wall; bathrooms available across the bridge with coin-operated showers (kid you not - I opted out).
The restaurant Greens n’ Grains is a healthy choice for lunch and JessiCakes has ice cream and cupcakes - delicious! Call ahead for Gluten Free cakes and she'll whip them up for you. Did you know Baldwinsville was the cheese capital OF THE WORLD in the late 1800’s? Yes - the WORLD. They don't make it anymore - I checked.
Met great Loopers! Free Spirit had been here for 2 weeks - alone - because of the Lock closings. When the locks opened, they were bombarded with loopers, about 6 boats, and we had the best docktails: Mantee, Osimo, Mystic! FreeSpirit drove some us to Wegman’s and we smiled like children each time we passed one another shopping. You forget how good it feels to be in a real store with options! I really hope we see these guys again, we liked them all.
What's with the mannequins? And, is that dude hanging out with them?
Lyons
Municipal Dock is FREE and includes: wifi, electric, water, showers, bathrooms. The wall has 50 amps, floating docks have 30/15 amps, and another floating dock is just a tie up. The showers are in the Firehouse and open for use 7am-9pm.
Lyons has a volunteer staff of Greeters who will met you on the dock to give you the down’low of the town, a sprig of peppermint, and Peppermint Patty’s phone number to arrange a museum tour. In the mid 1800’s Lyons produced the purest peppermint essential oil with the best taste IN THE WORLD - it beat out France in some fancy competition. It's a beautiful stop over to relax and get ready for the next leg of the journey. I wonder if all that wild peppermint had anything to do with the town being so relaxed?
Lesson Learned: If you ask a bartender for a Lemon Drop and they tell you they need look it up on Pinterest, order a gin and tonic.
Newark
Municipal Dock is FREE and includes: electric, water, showers and laundry - yep, you read that correctly - laundry! The docks are run by a retired elementary teacher and her husband the local Chief of Police.
Newark really wants Loopers to stop and enjoy the town. All the stores are a quick walk on either side of the bridge, you can Uber to Wegman’s if you really need that special something, and there are concerts in the park. We couldn’t have asked for more. When we arrived, 20 boats (all stuck between locks because of the closings) had just left - perfect timing for us!
Why the short stop? There was a problem with a lock up ahead so this was the best best option offering amenities. You'll be forced to make these decisions from time to time; because I'm a planner, I always have plan B and C ready. If there is a need for a plan D, just raft up to a wall or drop anchor and start the grill - what else can you do on a canal?
Good Deeds: A Looper left behind a round Asian rug on the dock. We picked it up, put it on Facebook saying we had it and would return it to its owner. Later we met "one of the Looper 20" and learned the owner was heading east! Now we are stuck with this rug on the back deck.
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