The Flight of Five is the first 5 locks on the canal, so named because you have to go through all five in one day.  There is no overnight stopping in between any of these locks. Interestingly, the first lock is #2.  Don’t know what happened to #1.  We were alone going through these locks – no other boats going thru at the same time – so with no one to see us, we handled each lock without any difficulty.  No one to see our locking prowess!  After the 5 locks, we were headed to Scotia when Ed noticed a spillway across the water a distance ahead of us.  Huh, can’t go up a spillway, so there had to be another lock.  We had somehow missed that detail in our nightly planning.  So we went thru another lock and then on to Scotia before the rain came.

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Next day we headed out to Amsterdam, NY.  Wind picked up through the day.  More boats traveling, so we had company in the locks.  As we were approaching one of the locks, there was some swirly water.  Then we spotted a log across the mid section of the entrance, causing us to alter course, at which point the wind caught us.  If there was ever any doubt, we were able to prove to ourselves that our boat will fit crosswise in the locks!  Of course, there was an audience to view our travesty, but no significant harm done to the boat. 

In Amsterdam, we were on a wall in a town park.  This park has the usual playground and walking paths.  There are some outdoor music events during the summer. The park is on the upslope of land.  Strangely, there is no direct road access to it.  To access the park on land side, you have to walk on the rooftops of buildings.  There is also parking on the rooftops.  To access waterside, there is a beautiful pedestrian bridge that is landscaped and has information boards with facts about the canal and local area. I certainly give the town points for making use of their waterfront, even if it is in an unusual way.

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