The Oil Spill

Amsterdam, NY

NoLL

People keep asking us if we have been affected by the oil spill. The obvious answer is, "not yet." We did however meet some people who are affected.

During June in the NY Canals, one meets a lot of loopers. Looper is the self-given name of those who are doing the Great-Loop. That means traveling in a complete circle through the great lakes, the Mississippi, the Ohio, down to Mobile, Alabama. From there, they continue down to the Florida keys and up the east coast to complete the loop. They are easy to spot because of the Americas Great Loop Cruising Association flags that they fly.

We see loopers in NY in June because they are on schedule to pass Chicago before the cold fall and winter weather begins. The couple we met this year seemed to be moving very slowly. I wondered if they would meet the schedule. I asked them about it. They said that they were afraid of the Calumet River in Chicago being closed to traffic because of the Asian Carp problem. They were also unsure if they would be allowed to boat in the Gulf when they reached Mobile because of the oil spill. In short, they had changed their minds about doing the loop.

p.s. We had fun in Potsdam. My lectures went well and Libby was able to do some genealogical research at the Massena Library and the Potsdam Museum about her ancestors.