Heading East on the Erie Canal
43 05.02 N 076 52.81 W

Reluctantly, we left Newark this morning. We sure enjoyed this place. If it weren't for winter, it would be a place we would like to stay at for 6 months or more. Best of all were the many outgoing people we got to know in a short time.

In addition to the friendly boaters Jack and Dick, we got to know the people from the Chamber of Commerce who serve as dock masters. Also, Bill from Bill's Classic Bikes who gave me a new tube for my bicycle tire. Bill also showed me his classic bike collection and classic car collection. He and I reminisced about how difficult and unsafe it was to drive the cars from the early 1950s. They didn't steer well and they didn't stop well; both pretty basic things.

Near the docks is Tiki Putt. Tiki Putt is a miniature golf/course and ice cream stand near the canal. We went there every night for a (colossal) ice cream cone. We also got to know the delightful family who run it.

Then, three were the people who run the Friday night concerts. The staff at the Newark Library. The man who tends and mends the clocks at the clock museum (he reminds us of my father Jerry). The staff at the Wegmans store where we bought dinner. And the numerous locals who stopped by the docks to ask about us and our life on the boat.

The boating life and village life go together. River walks promote making friends. How is that? BY getting people outside of their houses and their cars in a setting that promotes casual conversations. I recall living in West Charlton just before our cruising life. It wasn't until I joined the fire department that we really started making friends there. Why? Because most of the time people are inside, or driving their cars. Knocking on a stranger's door to introduce yourself is considered intrusive in American society, so it normally isn't done. Village life, and the old-fashioned style of families sitting out on their porches while other families take evening strolls is much more conducive to making friends. I suppose that going to the local church on Sunday is another way, but we are excluded from that because we're not religious. I suppose also that hanging around the local bar is another great social lubricant, but we don't do that either.

All that aside, there is still a quality and an atmosphere impossible to define that makes some places friendlier than others. Fairport, NY, for example, seems to offer every bit as much opportunity and amenities as Newark, but for some reason the social dynamics there didn't work as well. I can't explain it, just observe it.