Four day Layover in Brewerton

Monday, June 9

We are staying put for a few days, but we saw three fellow Looper boats off on their way this morning as they headed for the Oswego canal. Priorities, Destinees and one other boat set out and we said our goodbyes. John was able to clean out the fuel line to the generator which solves that problem but he wants to polish (filter) the fuel so the line is not so apt to get clogged again. We moved our boat over to a slip near the gas dock to make it easier to polish the fuel but we could see that nothing else was going to get done today. We borrowed the marina courtesy car and went into Brewerton to do some laundry – always one of the enjoyable tasks of traveling.

Making our own fun with a selfie at the Laundromat.
We had to work fast, as you can see it was only open from 7:00-8:30

Later on in the day we drove to Cicero to go to West Marine and then to the Wegmans to pick up something for dinner. Not a very exciting day, but we need a quiet one once in a while.

For the vintage vehicle collector in our family - this big red Mack truck
is used to pull some of the smaller boats

Tuesday, June 10

A diver was here at 8 a.m. to look at the props since the marina couldn’t pull our boat  out because the sling was in use. He said they looked fine so Ethan, marina co-owner and chief mechanic, spent the rest of the morning aligning the engines and the prop shaft.

Our day perked up when friends from The Villages, FL arrived to share a picnic lunch. Mark and Melinda are staying at Verona State Park on Lake Oneida with their fifth wheel RV and they drove over to see us. We gave them a quick tour and then sat on the upper deck because it was a beautiful day. We enjoyed catching up on our news and taking in the 360 degree view.

John greets Melinda and Mark - Welcome Aboard!
 

They brought a whoopee pie from Maine that friends had given them and we split it 4 ways and savored every bite!

Yummy whoopee pie!

The fuel polishing process took most of the afternoon, but what a difference it made. The before sample from the starboard tank looked murky and full of sediment. After being run through the filter twice the resulting sample looked clear and sparkling like raspberry iced tea.

Mark and Melinda left to go back to their campground and at 6pm John was finally ready to take Serenity out for a spin. Ethan went with us and it was a perfect evening with water as smooth as glass. The engines performed very well as we sped across Lake Oneida with hardly hint of a vibration. Good finish for a long day.

Wednesday, June 11

We woke up to a howling wind and light rain. Mark and Melinda picked us up in their trusty Ram truck and we headed south, out of the rain to visit one of the Finger Lakes. We had planned to take our  boat to Cayuga Lake, but with the engine troubles, weather delays, etc., we decided to go by car. The rain stopped and it was a great drive along the lake, through wine country. We all had lunch at O’Malley’s with our Villages neighbors, Bob and Pat, and afterward we went to the lakeside house they are renovating. It is a lovely old Greek revival style farmhouse which they will share with their son and his family. They have put in some nice touches. The lake was pretty wild and windy and we decided we were glad that Serenity was tied up in a safe place.

Kathy & John with Pat & Bob at their lakefront house
 

Big renovation project - the porch on the front is all new



On the way home we stopped at nearby Lucas Winery, where Melinda and I sampled some of their whites. Our wine expert was very friendly and helpful. The wine was very good and we each bought a bottle or so to take home.

We enjoyed our samples

 

Christopher enjoyed his sample, too!

Good day with great friends ... but the weather doesn’t look so good for tomorrow.

 Thursday, June 12

It's another rainy afternoon. I worked in one of the marina perennial gardens in the morning - just for fun. John changed some fuel filters and then the generator wouldn't start...arghhh. Ethan helped him fix it - thank goodness we are here. We are going to get fuel topped off and the holding tank pumped and hope that it is a better day tomorrow to travel.