Tugboat Roundup - Day 3
Day 3 of the tugboat Roundup started with a beautiful fall Sunday. I got up early and made some coffee on the boat and then decided to take a walk around town. The town of Waterford New York has had its shares of ups and downs ,but it makes a huge welcome to all the people who are attending and participating in the tugboat Roundup. At one point Waterford was the Hub of Commerce for the Erie Canal. It was the starting point port where items were transferred from Hudson River boats to barges to be transported back and forth across the Erie Canal. In the ensuing days the town has had its booms and busts it appears - but was clean and pretty.
There are a number of similar towns I would find along the canal each trying to re invent themselves as the industry that was once such a powerhouse in the area has left. A number of towns embrace the canal and the tourism that goes along with it. I am always aware of these attempts and try to shop local whenever I was stopped in a canal town.
Currently Waterford seems to be holding its own with a quaint downtown and a couple of excellent restaurants. The Waterford Visitor Center is the gateway to the canal just before lock number one. It is staffed by volunteers from the community who welcome boaters for transient slips before they either start their canal journey or end it. The Visitor Center has showers and bathroom for boaters and the staff at the facility are excellent and recommending any services that might be needed.
I took a walk through town and had an excellent breakfast at a local Diner. That morning was the Tug Chug 5K race that started and ended at the locks. It was fun to see so many participants and community members in this excellent race. I stood by and cheered on as the runners came by. They were Runners of all ages and everyone was getting in the spirit of things. Activities continue throughout the day and they were just as many people out to walk along and visit all the boats and participate in the event. The upper flight of locks were open for traffic and kids were loving watching the boats pass through. I remembered long ago when I was a kid my father took us on a trip up along the St. Lawrence seaway. I still have a picture of me standing by the locks watching the ships pass by. It brought back good memories and some 40 years later I now find myself looking forward to being able to be on the boats that I once watched as a kid.
As the event wound down some of the tugs began to depart, as they had jobs starting the next week. I spent some time cleaning the boat and talking to people about the next step of my Erie Canal Adventure. At the end of the event there were the closing ceremonies where all the participants were given commemorative Tugboat Roundup banners to fly on their boat. As dusk settled in I was invited to board one of the tugboats to join the organizers of the event as they celebrated a successful weekend with a cooler full of beer. I was amazed at how committed each and every one of them was to making sure that this community-based event was such a success. I also had an opportunity to pick their brains to find out which portions of the canal I should go forward on on my adventure during the next 10 days. All of them said that the first stretch of the Erie Canal going from east to west was great, but most everyone said that I should try portions of the western section of Erie Canal if I was only going to have a limited time to do it. After number of thank yous, a few beers, and proficient thanks for allowing me to participate in the tugboat Roundup I headed back to my boat knowing that I would be headed out in the morning set a destination in mind. Thank you to all the organizers of the event I can't wait to participate again. After a busy weekend I slept soundly in my small tiny cabin.
