A Taste of the Erie Canal
I had an appointment for teeth cleaning late yesterday morning and when Mark asked if I would like to do anything else when I was done, I gave him a big YES! The day was warm, the sun was shining, and the skies were abnormally crystal clear!
For quite some time, I have been wanting so much to take some pictures along the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal runs east to west across New York State, joining the Hudson River in the east to Lake Erie in the west. It was built in the 1800′s following the great success of the Bridgewater Canal in England.
Through the usage of locks, the Erie Canal rises 566′ as it makes its way west of the Hudson. It was used to transport goods across New York on barges drawn by mules. The canal was widened a couple of times and also made deeper. Today, it is used by pleasure boats and some townships, such as Fairport, offer canal cruises. The name of the Fairport craft is The Colonial Belle.
The first link above gives a rather detailed history about the canal. In the meantime, here are some photos I took around Fairport. I was scurrying about as the family waited on me, so I didn’t get nearly enough pictures.
This photo shows the lift bridge crossing the canal on the main street running through town.
The steps on the right lead to the little tower where the bridge operator sits to raise and lower the bridge, allowing boats to pass below. If you expand the photo, there is a sign warning pedestrians NOT to walk onto the bridge when the bell (also pictured) rings. This bridge lifts straight up into the air! The photo below shows the bridge.
I couldn’t resist taking this photo of the ingenious lights on the terrace of a beautiful restaurant that faces the canal…
This gigantic building runs parallel to the canal and houses many businesses.
I walked along the path right up to near the bridge, then went up to the little town of Fairport.
Another outstanding landmark in Fairport has got to be the First Baptist Church. This church has one of the biggest and steepest spires I have ever seen! And look at the photo I was able to capture! (I love the way the sun was shining on it!!!)
And the church from another vantage point…
Fairport is a rather tiny town (the business area, anyway) so I had to step around the corner for a bit of history…
This is The Green Lantern Inn, where Mark and I held our wedding reception……(hmmm….still looks the same!)
As I made my way back to the truck, I nearly stepped on a squirrel as it raced past my feet. Startled me, immensely! It went up a tree just a few of feet from me, stopped on a branch, assessing whether I was a threat or not…..it had a piece of some sort of food dangling from its mouth….after deciding I was harmless, it sat up and munched while watching me!
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Great photos. I have been wanting to photograph the canal for a while too. I, of course, have NO excuse for not doing so since I practically live on it! Squirrels, for as much of a nuisance as they are, are kind of fun little critters to watch. They are always so busy!
Great photos! Love those lights outside the restaurant. They would be neat markers at the entry to someones property.
Thank you Dayna and Carly! The day was one of those sparkling days where the lighting is so fabulous, you just want to spend the entire day shooting pictures!
Carly, squirrels are so funny….their antics are amazing! They are curious by nature, so to watch them is amusing.
Dayna, I love those lights as well! They certainly have that marine theme going, but you are right….they would make a grand entrance to one’s home!!!
Excuse This Intrusion…
Usually I only comment on SEO blogs, topics like keyword research and how to geo-target keywords, but anyways there was something about your posts that intrigued me. That’s it. Have a nice day. Ron Jacobs.
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Nice work.
I enjoyed seeing the lift bridges.
Thanks,
Howard
Holy Cow! It’s been YEARS since I’ve been through those locks…ON THE Colonial Belle! I believe it was our sixth anniversary…some 16 years ago! Thanks for the memories!
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