We stayed an extra 2 days in Medina because we needed a new starting battery for the port engine. One day was because it was Sunday and NAPA does not work on Sunday and it was a good thing we stayed Monday because it started raining on Sunday night about 10 and rained pretty continuous until Monday afternoon.
Tuesday was still gray but not wet, so we called the first bridge and he said he could meet us in about 15 minutes. We had 5 lift bridges today and 2 locks.
The locks were right next to each other in that we exited the first lock and went into the 2nd. The 2 locks raised us a total of about 50′. Lots of people around the lock on the walkways watching the operation, We shared the lock with a tour boat. I took a couple of pictures.
The trip was pretty uneventful and we had no rain. As we got closer to Tonawanda the canal got a more urban feeling. There were a few marinas and a lot more houses along the banks.
It is Tuesday and the day before the Wednesday Concert Series at the Gateway Park. We have heard about this back on the canal that this can be very crowded. We pulled up to the dock wall and had help from the women (Valerie) on the boat in front of us. After we were tied up I was talking to her and found out that where we were we would be about 70′ from the stage and the large, 5′ tall audio speakers. I thanked here for the info and saw that there was a spot about 300′ further down the dock and Valerie helped us tie up a 2nd time. It was a good thing we moved, while I thought the music was good, it was loud enough where we were. I had asked the dock master if we had to raft boats off us if they requested and he said no, not on this side of the river.
Valerie and her husband Russ have been a help. They gave a ride to the supermarket and they also supplied us with information on the Niagara River and the restaurants in North Tonawanda. Sure is nice to get local knowledge when you stop in a new town.
We will probably be here until Friday based n the current weather forecasts. The winds will be more than I want to go out on to Lake Erie. Each day is supposed to have a chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Wednesday saw a major thunderstorm roll past us to the north as the setup for the concert was underway. We had sun but you could hear the thunder off to the north and then about 4:00 we had a thunderstorm roll thru and it was all gone by about 5:30 and the started the concert a little after 6:00. It was over by 10:00 and almost everybody was gone by 10:30. Overall it was a good experience but the rain had held the attendance down somewhat.