And we are off...all the bridges work, right?

A little before 10am on Friday, May 11 this motley crew boarded the Emita II to take her on to Lake Michigan.  Left to right are:  Captain Dan Wiles, Lisa Wiles, Captain Steve Wunder, Captain Duane Morton and Captain Ben Horne.  More on each of them later.

All of the Wiles family worked on the Emita at one time or another and helped to make her a success.  Sisters Hattie Beck-Anderson and Libby Chetwin joined brother Dan Wiles at the Marina and gave her a great send-off.  Quite a few people were at the Marina and I'm sorry to say I was busy getting ready to go, as well as the moment, and I didn't get pictures of everyone.  But I did get a video!

Fairport

Fairport, New York is considered the "Jewel" of the Erie Canal and worth a visit if you haven't been.  They have turned their Canal-front into a first class tourist destination.  Its popularity is highlighted by Canal Days which during the first weekend in June will welcome over 200,000.  Fairport is special to the Wiles family because there is an historic marker dedicated to the work Peter Wiles, Sr did to preserve the Erie Canal.  It is also the place where Dan and I met and had our first date, on a Mid-Lakes hireboat named the Canadice.  We love to stop in Fairport, but not on this day as we needed to keep moving.  However we (the Emita) had fans along the way!  

These groupies are my mother, Kathy Best, and my brother, Joe Best (hidden by the sign).  Their support of the Emita has been wonderful.

Kaitlynn McHenry, Captain of the Colonial Belle in Fairport, will hate this picture, but that's too bad because she has been a part of Emita history too!

And for some unknown reason she gave my Dad, Jack Best, power over their bell!  But in her defense you can only hope to control him!

Tammee Poinan LeClair was also there to see us off.  Her family owns the Colonial Belle and I told you of the good friendship between her father Lee and Dan's father Peter (Skipper) in an earlier post. Do yourselves a favor and go to Fairport and take a ride on the Colonial Belle!

Captain Steve Wunder drove our chase van.  We were never quite sure where we would see him...

The Fairport Lift Bridge is one-of-a-kind and listed in Ripley's Believe it or Not as well as the National Register of Historic Places.  I will miss hearing the bells as we travel through.

Pittsford

Our next town, and another which has invested in its Canal-front to attract tourists and boaters, is Pittsford, NY.  Again, we didn't stop, but if you are in the area it is worth it to stop in this beautiful town.  

And again we found our groupies!

 This time they were joined by Captain L.J. Fisher and the Sam Patch, a tour boat operating out of Pittsford at Schoen Place.  Along with hosting sightseeing and lunch cruises, the Sam Patch teaches thousands of school children about the Erie Canal as part of their educational program.

 Mid-Lakes Navigation has a special relationship with the Sam Patch as they built her!

Lock 33

I know I'm not posting everything on this trip, but you have to remember I'm working too!    Here are our groupies in Lock 33, our last lock of the day.  They were joined this time by Bob Graham from the Canal Society of New York. Bob photographed us at many points along the way and I'm looking forward to seeing his pictures!

  

Rochester and the Genesee River

Going west to Rochester we enter the Genesee Valley Park with its beautiful Olmsted Bridges.  I won't elaborate about Frederick Olmsted as this is a Canal/Lake blog, but again, while in the area worth checking out.

Passing over the Genesee River

 

Along the Erie Canal you can find examples of murals.  This one was under a bridge and was gorgeous!

Lift Bridges

We encountered many lift bridges during this day on the Western end of the Erie.  Much smaller than the lift bridge in Fairport, they operate in similar fashion.  When they operate.  More on that later!  Here is the lift bridge in Spencerport.

 And there is Captain Wunder again in yellow!

There is a lot of time between locks and bridges on this trip.  Here's Captain Duane Morton piloting down the Canal.

 

Long distances allow for catching up. Captain Ben Horne and Captain Dan Wiles graduated from Skaneateles High School together.  Ben captains for Mid-Lakes on the Judge Ben Wiles and the Barbara S. Wiles.

 And to prove I'm on the boat too:

Brockport

Brockport had a lot to see at their lift bridge.

Having been stopped by the lift bridge in Fairport in my car too many times to count, I selfishly get some pleasure in being the reason why folks have to stop.  Sorry!

At the other side of the lift bridge were some equipment from New York Canal Corporation.  This is a Quarters Barge.

This is the Tug Dewitt Clinton.  It was commissioned in 1923 and is currently the oldest working tug on the System.

 This is a flat barge with navigational buoys

  

 Knowlesville

After leaving Albion and making pretty good time along the way we were told the lift bridge in Knowlesville was having "some issues". Captain Steve Wunder, who was in the chase van and Peter Wiles, Jr., Dan's brother who had come out to take some pictures and say farewell to the boat, went to the bridge to assess the situation.  The bridge would not lift but they had people working on it, so we were asked to approach slowly.  So we waited to give them time.

 And waited, sometimes with friends...

After 90 or so minutes the guys from DOT got the bridge operational and we could go through.  This was great news as our option would have been to turn back to Albion to spend the night, making tomorrow's day longer.  We truly appreciated their efforts and were on our way.  Crisis averted!

Culvert Road and the Medina Aqueduct

Another interesting place for Canal lovers is Medina. As you approach from the east you will come to Culvert Road.  It was built in 1823 as a cheaper solution than building a bridge over the growing canal, and is the only place you can drive UNDER the Canal.  Unfortunately I was working as we approached it so my pictures aren't great but you get the idea.  My brother-in-law Peter got some photos from the road, so hopefully we can share those.

The Medina or Oak Orchard is equally impressive and I got equally horrible photos.  At this point the Erie Canal passes about 40 feet over Medina Falls in a Aqueduct. It is impressive. 

Medina 

After a very long dayter a very long day we arrived in Medina to dock and spend the night.  Dan's brother Peter treated us all to a wonderful dinner at Zambistro on Main Street in Medina.  It was one of the best meals I've had a long time, so go if you get the chance.  And we were honored to have former crew members Dominick Valerio and Patrick Loucks join us.  They spent a little extra time with Dan and the Emita as we got ready for bed. 

Dan, Pat and Dom

The adventure begins again tomorrow...