One The Water Again

Lock 21
42 12.51 N 075 36.87 W

We had a great family weekend. Nick had great support from his family
and friends. I'm sure he'll remember that for many years.

Now however, we're back on the boat and moving west once again. Good
news! We have our granddaughter Victoria with us. Today is a rainy
day so we didn't push much for progress. We moved only 7 miles from
Rome to Lock 21.

Lock 21 is such a splendidly isolated and tranquil place that our
cruising guide says, "It is so quiet that city people will have
trouble sleeping here." That's perfect for today; our main mission
is to allow Victoria to get used to the alien environment of living on
a boat. Victoria already has a collection of wild flowers and goose
feathers gathered locally.

Tomorrow, we'll make better distance and cross Oneida Lake. I just
checked the weather forecast. It says W at 35 for Wednesday.
Definitely, we won't be crossing the lake or moving westward on that
day.

Looking ahead I have two very pleasant dates. On July 7, Libby and I
will drive to Potsdam. I'm going to give a couple of lectures at my
alma mater, Clarkson University, in Potsdam. Potsdam is where Libby
and I lived the first year of our marriage, and it's a pleasure to
visit there.

After that trip, I'm hopping on a plane in Syracuse. I have a one way
ticket to Flagstaff, Arizona. There I'll meet my son Dave. Dave is
moving from Fairbanks, Alaska to Raleigh, North Carolina. He'll drive
his car to Flagstaff and meet me. Once there, we'll be tourists.
We'll visit the Grand Canyon and then follow our noses eastward in a
cross country car trip. It'll be like Jack Kerouac senior and junior.
I think it will be great fun.

So, between now and July 7, we have no agenda, no plan. We'll just go
from day to day in search of fun.