What's the Emita II's Route?

As we wait for clearance to leave (it looks like Friday, May 11 will be the big day!) I thought I'd show you the planned route for the Emita II.  This is still Lisa writing, so remember I'm not a Captain and I don't know all the particulars, but I'm good at the "generals", so this will be a general overview. And also remember our mantra of "Canaling is not an exact science" so although we know where were are starting from and ending up, the exact stops, miles per day, will she travel every day or wait in a particular port (in the case of terrible weather), etc will develop underway.  We will try to keep you in the loop, especially for those who have expressed the wish to stop by and say goodbye as she travels past, but please be patient.  Here is the general plan courtesy of me, a book and my cell phone camera! (I know, you are impressed!)

The Erie Canal

Here is a map of the Erie Canal.  On Saturday we started out at our dock just east of Baldwinsville, the yellow dot on this map.  Lock 24 in Baldwinsville has been the Emita's "home lock" for many, many years.  This map does not include all the locks on the Erie Canal, but it gives you a good idea of where we are going.  We will traverse the Erie Canal to Lake Erie through Tonawanda and Buffalo.

 Lake Erie

Lake Erie will be the first of the Great Lakes the Emita will travel on this trip.  The Emita has dipped her bow into Lake Ontario, but this will be her first major passage on a Great Lake.  After passing through Lake Erie the Emita and crew will head to Lake Huron. 

Lake Huron

Lake Huron will swing the path of the Emita north to where it joins Lake Michigan.  We are hoping the ice that has been in the northern section of this route has melted by the time the Emita gets there.

Lake Michigan and Michigan City, Indiana

After passing through the Straits of Mackinac the Emita II will head south to her final destination, Michigan City, Indiana, again denoted by me in an extremely low-tech way by the yellow marking.  This will be her new home.  After exchanging the keys (not really!) the Emita crew will head back home to the Syracuse, New York area and leave her to start her new life making a lot of people happy there and educating them about their waterway.