Fun with the
Family
Bob’s
sister Cindy Thompson, who lives in
We were
especially blessed by the abundance of the Thompson family garden, which they
shared with us. The fragrance of the
fresh basil filled the galley all evening, and our fridge and freezer are now
well stocked with fresh herbs and veggies.
Toasted homemade sourdough bread from Chris was a great way to start our
day the next morning.
We feel
so blessed that both Bob and I come from large, loving families, and that by
our marriage we both doubled these blessings.
We only wish everyone’s lives weren’t so busy so that we could all spend
more time together. Thanks, Thompson’s for doing 5 hours worth of driving to
see us. We really enjoyed it.
A Cool Time
in Canajoharie
After a
couple of good days of “locking through,” we decided to take a day off and
found a great place to do it!
Canajoharie
is a very cute town and supposedly has, architecturally, the most original,
intact commercial district found on the
A long
hot walk to and from the Laundromat was worth the trip, as we have plenty of
clean clothes now and can enjoy the AC and cool off.
Bike Riding
on the
After a
very nice visit to Little Falls, NY, a scenic little town on the canal, we took
a leisurely cruise to
Tired Boys
John
and Jordan had a very exciting first day on board Grace. We spent several hours on the Canal locking
through one uphill and two downhill locks, with the boys managing the lines and
fending the boat off the lock wall.
Stopping
a
The two
boys decided to sleep on the bridge tonight ( the top
of the boat –sort of like camping out), and they’re bundled up in their
sleeping bags. Two adorable
blonde-haired, blue-eyed eleven year olds, both wonderful kids, and they’re out
like lights!!!
Yvette Got
Soaked!
Lift Bridges
As we near the western end of the
canal, there are fewer locks but lots more lift bridges. Many of them have “roaming operators,” who
operate two bridges. You need to radio
ahead to let them know you’re coming, and they usually raise the bridge for you
right away, although we’ve had to wait occasionally. The roaming operator will then drive up to
the next bridge you’re approaching and open it for you when you get there.
Very Quiet on Board Grace
Craig ( Christine’s
brother) joined us last night, after a long drive from
The reason Craig came to visit was to
pick up
Grace a very quiet boat tonight. Craig was here only long enough to be a good
audience for all the new card tricks that Jordan and John learned from
Christine, and he did manage to have a nice row in the dingy down the canal a
ways. Thanks, Craig, for all your
driving to help us out!
We had a great time with our first
overnight guests on the Great Loop. It
was especially fun to have two kids on board, as they really had a lot of fun
together, and we got a big kick out of their shenanigans. We set them loose in the canal in our dingy,
and it was a riot watching them learn to row by trial and error, not to mention
a lot of commands from shore from Captain Bob.
They both loved to fish, and you can check out the big one they caught
on our website. Another highlight of
their visit for me was a wonderful bike ride along the canal with Yvette, where
we saw gorgeous wildflowers. We will
miss them and were so glad we had that time together!
Magical
We just had one of “those moments”
that you don’t want to forget. It’s a strange kind of a day, cool and pleasant,
with a very strong west wind. Passing
through the town of Medina, heading west on the Erie Canal, the canal is raised
up into an aqueduct, and it actually passes over the road, and then later over
a river. It’s wild! I almost felt like I was on a ride at an
amusement park, as we motored along in our boat, looking down at the road and
river below us. To make it even more wonderful, the church in the center of
town was playing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” from its bell tower.
Man Made vs. God Made
As we’ve been traveling, we’ve been
taking in all the wildlife around us, especially the birds. One day, as we were traveling down the river
in the early morning, the mist was still on the water. It seems that Grace stirred up the birds on
the banks, and there was an amazing show as they darted back and forth in front
of us. Huge osprey, belted kingfisher,
and cedar waxwings put on a great show for us.
We’ve also been carefully observed by numerous great blue heron, staring
from the bank at the big odd-looking white creature moving down the river. Night heron, green heron, and hawks fly by
often, and we see cardinals and goldfinch dart in the trees.
As we walk or bike
ride along the waterfront, the wildflowers are a delight. Purple, pink,
yellow, orange, blue, and white flowers dot the landscape with cheerful faces.
An occasional deer in a nearby field or woods brings a smile to our faces.
The weather on the canal has been
lovely, even when it’s not a typically good day. Gorgeous patterns in clouds,
mist on the water, heavy rain splashing into the canal, all are pretty in their
own ways.
Yesterday, we came to the last of the
locks, locks 34 and 35. They are
actually one huge lock that raises the boat 50 feet. We entered the first lock,
the gate closed behind us, and we were raised about 25 feet. Then the other gate opened, and we moved
forward about 300 feet into another lock, where there was a boat going the
opposite direction already in the lock ( he had just
been lowered). That boat moved into the lock we had just come out of, and then
the huge, 50 foot door between the two locks closed. We were raised another 25 feet, and he was
lowered.
There was a dock that held just one boat
right after the lock, and we were lucky enough to be able to tie up there for
the night. It was really cool to be in
the middle of it all and explore and take pictures at this amazing engineering
accomplishment of man. We were very impressed!
Each
morning, Bob and I start our day by doing a devotional time together. One of the things we usually do is to read Our
Daily Bread, a little book that has a scripture reading for the day
followed by a brief devotional thought.
Interestingly, the one we read today was as follows:
Countless Wonders
Then Job replied:
Indeed, I know that this is true.
But
how can a mortal be righteous before God?
Though one wished to dispute with
him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
His wisdom is profound, his power is
vast.
Who has resisted him and come out
unscathed?
He moves mountains without their
knowing it
And overturns them
in his anger.
He shakes the earth from its place
and makes the pillars tremble.
He speaks to the sun and it does not
shine; he seals off the light of the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
He is the maker of the Bear and
Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
He performs wonders that cannot be
fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
Job
9: 1 – 10
When writer Aletha
Lindstrom needs a lift for her spirits, she thinks of her favorite poetry book
called Who Tells
the Crocuses It’s Spring? That
prompts her to ask other questions like, “Who makes the trees turn all those
beautiful colors in the autumn? Who
splashes rain in shining puddles? Who makes the stars shimmer in the night? “
Such questions ought to stimulate
our own grateful meditation. Centuries
ago, Job exclaimed that it is God who “does great things past finding out, yes,
wonders without number” (Job (
It is God who reminds the sun to
rise at its appointed time every morning.
It is God who keeps the earth steadily rotating at tremendous
speed. It is God who feeds the sparrow
and dresses the lilies in their splendor.
It is God who guides the feathered flocks southward in the autumn and
then brings them north again in the spring.
Argue if you like that all these
wonders are simply the operation of the laws of nature. But just as civil law is the expression of
human will, so also natural law is the expression of God’s will and wisdom.
As we see the wonders of creation
all around us, let’s whorship the One who designed
them.
This is my
Father’s world-
The birds
their carols raise;
The morning
light, the lily white
Declare
their Maker’s praise. –Babcock
In
the wonders of creation we see God at work.
This was a good reminder to us that, although
the things that man can accomplish are impressive, they are nothing compared to
what God has done and is doing.
(If
you are interested in getting a copy of Our Daily Bread, you can write to them
at
Coffee with the Veterans
When we arrived in Tonawana
this morning, it was raining, but we had arranged for Karen to have our mail
delivered to the post office there, so we decided to don our sailor raincoats
(we’re a vision in red with glow in the dark yellow trim) and hike over to the
post office. Much as we complain about
junk mail, we actually were looking forward to mail after almost three weeks
without it. After we picked up the mail,
the rain began to come down in buckets.
As we walked along
I don’t know how many of you know how
much I love carousels, but today was a great day for me. Apparently, around the turn of the century,
this area was a big on building and exporting carousels. Not only was the Herschel Carousel factory
here, but the Wurlitzer Organ company was in
So there is something good about all
the rain they’ve been having in
If you ever go to the falls, be sure
to allow enough time to walk around the park. It’s really a lovely place, with
beautiful views of not only falls but also the rushing
We hadn’t even planned this stop, but
the rough weather on
With more high winds still forecast
for
The fair was lots of
fun. We loved the little calf, just born
at
The forecast is for calm water on