10/01/26: How American Is That
6 days ago
2 min read
Today we had another two locks to get through: the Snell and Eisenhower. These two locks are different from all the locks we've been through and will go through because they're owned by the Americans. We set off this morning just after the colors from the sunrise lost their vibrance. We were still traveling upriver at this point, but it was nearly indistinguishable from a lake community. The walls of the canal were no longer purpose-built rock riprap, but low shores lined with summer houses and great oak trees. There was even one small island in the middle of the river/lake that was home to three miraculous camper trailers that must have been brought out over the ice.
Unlike the Canadian locks, there was no set schedule for letting us through, so when we arrived at the lock, we hailed them on the radio and were very plainly told to "stand by." There was no further communication in the hour and a half we sat there. Not even when it was our turn to enter the lock. The gates simply opened, the light went green, and when we looked around and saw no one else there we decided it was for us. Once we got into the lock the pace picked up dramatically. The US locks filled five or six times faster than the Canadian ones, and before we knew it, we were out of the lock and waiting for a green light at the next.
It was a similar situation at the second lock as well. We watched a NOAA ship pull out of the lock, and when we saw the gates stay open, we figured it was our cue to make our way in. This time, halfway through our rapid ascent, a man drove over the lock gate in a yellow three-wheeled scooter, lowered a bank envelope over the lock wall, asked for $60 cash, hauled up the envelope full of cash, and wished us safe travels. Quite amused, we motored on for another few hours before dropping anchor, with just one more lock to go before Lake Ontario.
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