Lyons, New York gets a Serenity Recommendation

I planned to post this yesterday, but did not have a good internet connection.

Today we stopped in Lyons, New York. Right after we exited Lock 27 we saw the long wall on the north side of the canal. There is electric, water, restrooms, and showers. We were greeted by a gentleman named Bob, who gave us a brief history of Lyons, as well as recommending a few places for dinner. This is a great place to stop for the night. We decided to eat in a local pub named Growlers. The food was great...I recommend the fish dinner... and the Lions Head Pilsner was awesome. Growlers is a nice neighborhood pub, just a block from the canal. There is room for several boats on this wall...all in all a really nice place.

Leaving Lock 27...we traveled through five locks today, I noticed the engine exhaust sounded differently, and I could not hear water leaving the exhaust. You get very familiar with how the engine sounds, and any difference stands out as a potential problem. We idled to the wall in Lyons, and while Shirl checked us in I began trouble shooting the engine problem. The engine did not overheat, and when I restarted it after tying up only a small trickle of water was evident in the exhaust. I shut the engine down and closed off the raw water intake. I checked the in line strainer and this is what I found...

 

I know this looks like a salad, but this was packed in the small in line strainer. It is no wonder that there was not much water getting through. This time of year in part of the Erie Canal there is  a lot of floating leaves in the water. The grass is probably from Lake Erie, our night in the Conneaut Harbor where we were tied to a pier in shallow water. We are fortunate I noticed the different sound, and avoided an engine problem. We were also lucky to be at our planned destination for the day as well. I know what many of you are thinking...yes I did pull the cover and check the impeller. It looked fine. After I finished I opened the water in take and started the engine. Every thing seemed back to normal. One of the good things about traveling the Erie Canal this time of year is that we were the only boat in every lock today. Each lock operator was waiting for us with the gates open and the green light on.

During the early days of the Erie Canal Lyons was a major exporter of peppermint. Like many other small cities in America, Lyons has lost jobs when industry left the area. With the Erie Canal becoming more popular as a vacation destination, cities along the waterway could benefit from tourism. Lyons seems to understand this concept and is moving in a good direction.

 This is a bridge in Fairport, New York that is in the Guinness Book of Records.One side is higher that the other and no two angles on the bridge are the same.

 Ducks in flight on the canal.

 Shirl in the lock managing the bow of Serenity.

 Our view today... we met a couple who are cruising the canal in a rented houseboat, staying in a different city every night!

 Serenity on the wall in Lyons, New York.

 Growlers...only a block away.

Night shot on the wall.

We hope to get to Baldwinsville tomorrow, and tackle Lake Oneida on Monday....maybe...