Light house on Hudson at Saugerties

A full-size U-Hall truck rotates on the pole; on way into Albany, NY

Today I traveled 90 miles from Newburgh, NY on the Hudson to Troy, just north of Albany. The taxi driver this AM said there is a high crime rate in Newburgh and a lot of gang presence. Driving to the hotel yesterday afternoon would suggest driving at night may not be a good idea. Very little activity on the river today except for several barges going south and a Coast Guard patrol boat. The Hudson continues from Troy to Lake Champlain.

The Hudson has an enormous amount of industrial history dating back to the 1700s but much of that activity is gone today. On my way up the Hudson I kept thinking of all the lives and careers that have passed through this region that most of us will be forever unaware. Perhaps someone has written about the Hudson as James Michener did about the Chesapeake in his novel, "Chesapeake" and William Warner, of the same region, did in his book "Beautiful Swimmers.” Many nice homes overlook the river and I know that a lot of commuters travel to New York City from far north via commuter trains that run along the river about every 20 minutes. Yesterday I ran against the current and today ran with it - the Hudson is tidal.

Tomorrow I pass through a lock directly above Troy then turn west 2.5 miles at Waterford to begin the eastern portion of the Erie Canal. In 3 days or so I plan to arrive in Oswego, NY via the Oswego Canal. The complete Erie Canal continues west to Buffalo. I will cross the NE portion of Lake Ontario from Oswego to Kingston, Ontario to position for the start of the Trent Severn Canal at Trenton. I am, or will be tomorrow, out of salt and tidal waters. The salt eats everything and the tidal currents, combined with wind, expose my sometimes lack of boat handling in the tight places like marinas. Scraped a boat this morning getting out of my slip - I had looked for the telltale ripples of current around the docks but didn't see any until I began to maneuver. No damage to either of us, thankfully.