This is the post for May 31, 2012.  We left Mechanicville mid-morning and I washed a load of clothes.  I hung them out to dry on lines that the Captain ran in the stern.  It was a beautiful drying day.   We locked through 4 more locks.  At lock 6, the lockmaster gave me a lovely fragrant bouquet of peonies from the adjacent park.  We're getting better at locking through and although the many bridges seem too low, they haven't been and we're purring along.

We arrived in Ft. Edward late afternoon and tied up at the city dock.  Many people fish from this dock and lots of people stroll by.  Tufts of fluffy stuff were floating through the air -- it's the cotton fluff of the Cottonwood trees. Our friend, Fred Wehner who Ralph has been corresponding with for about four years, offered to receive our mail, so he came over with that and we were happy to have received our official America's Great Loop Cruisers Assn. burgee which we are now flying on the bow.  It's a means of identifying other Loopers along the way.  Also, Fred brought our new satellite dish and hopefully Ralph will get our tv working.  We haven't heard the news in weeks, so it will be good to watch the news and some of our favorite tv programs as we travel.

Last night we took Fred to dinner at one of his favorite places, Heidelburg Inn -- authentic German food and it was a real treat.  I enjoyed a glass of sweet German Riesling wine, as well.  Fred also took us to his home on Cooper Street -- as in James Fenimore Cooper who wrote "The Last of the Mohicans" which was written about this area.  He took us to see the original five combines, the Glens Falls feeder canals built of hand-cut stone in the time of the Civil War.  We were both exhausted from a long day and fell asleep immediately.

The Lockmaster at Lock 6 gave me a lovely bouquet of peonies

We've managed to go under every bridge thus far...sometimes it' a little "hairy"

Ralph finally meets Fred!

A feeder canal in Glens Falls, NY built in the era of the Civil War all hand-cut stone

Tug 44 at home port

Lock 4 of the Champlain Canal

Laundry day...doing laundry is therapeutic for me!!