Finally Seeing My Sister After 6 Months!

My sister, Karly, drove from Michigan to Buffalo, NY, parked her car at the Amtrak station there, then took a train to Rochester, where we met her on the boat. We found a Staybridge Suites with a free dock on the back of it just off the Erie Canal and it was only a short Uber ride from the train station, so she met us at the boat there. We picked up an Instacart order and then headed out the next morning. By this point, it had been almost 7 months since I had seen my sister so I was ecstatic having her cruise with us, even if only for a couple of days.

That night, we stopped in Medina, NY on the free dock. There were power hookups and water there, which meant we’d have AC, so my sister wouldn’t have to suffer in the heat. We took a stroll around town that night and settled on a traditional Irish pub for dinner called Fitzgibbons Public House. They had great Shepherd’s Pie and Irish Stew! After dinner, we walked across the river to see the waterfall and then went to bed decently early so we could get up and on our way again at daybreak.

Karly’s second full day of cruising with us saw 3 different locks. Honestly, she was able to join us in transiting 2 of the coolest locks we’ve ever been through, locks 34 and 35 – the last 2 of the Erie Canal. These locks are considered a stairstep lock because the lock gate from 34 opens directly into 35 and boats are essentially dropped twice in a row. We’ve been in roughly 100 locks by now and have never seen this anywhere else, so it was pretty cool that she got to see it also!

After Lock 35, we were officially out of the Erie Canal and as much as we would’ve liked to explore the area a little deeper, we were thrilled to finally be free of all the lock closures and delays and be one step closer to HOME! There was one final lock to get into Lake Erie, but it wasn’t part of the Erie Canal. After that we were free! As we approached Buffalo, we drove under the Peace Bridge which connects Buffalo, NY to Canada.  It was pretty cool seeing the Canadian flags on the other side of the river!

We had been to Buffalo once before and there are definitely some sketchy areas in that city, but we were pleasantly surprised with the waterfront area! We docked right downtown on Buffalo’s boardwalk and it was a really cool area! There is an old Navy ship and submarine that is now a museum, lots of cute little restaurants on the water, and there was an art fair going on when we arrived.

We got there mid-day so we cleaned up and then went out walking around to see the city a little. There are a lot of cool old buildings in downtown Buffalo with very ornate architecture.

We decided to grab dinner at a place called Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, mostly because the cool old building that housed it lured us in. The place was very eclectic and had these really cool antique ceiling fans running throughout the entire building that were fascinating to watch. I like to eat food that a city is known for when I visit while traveling, so I decided that I had better have something with Buffalo sauce on it, and settled on a Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It was a pretty tasty pizza, but sadly the service and the drinks there were terrible so based on that, I probably wouldn’t recommend the place.

After dinner, I made us some proper drinks on the boat, and we all sat on the bow, enjoying the sunset and the liveliness of the city.

The next morning it was time for Karly to head home. We had a short visit this time, but it was such a breath of fresh air to finally see family after such a long stent. I had never gone that long without seeing family in my life and I needed it badly!

The night before Karly left, our dinghy motor had suddenly stopped working and the port rope clutch for our davits had also broken, making it unsecure for traveling. I tell ya, sometimes when it rains, it pours with these boat repairs! As we were coming into Buffalo the day before, we had remembered seeing a West Marine on the water nearby, so Karly graciously volunteered to drive us there to see if they had any of the parts we needed before she headed home.  We all walked up to the train station and picked up her car and then drove to the store.

Unfortunately, this West Marine didn’t have any of the parts we needed, and it was Sunday so the only other chandlery store was closed that day. Karly drove us back and dropped us off and then continued on her way back to Michigan. 

Dustin tied off the dinghy to our cockpit table so that it was safe to travel and then we called a nearby marina to confirm that they sold diesel. They assured us they did, so we headed out in that direction. We had to kind of go out of our way to get to this marina and as we arrived, we quickly realized that we had been misinformed. The kids working that day had mistakenly told us there was diesel available but there was not.  The only other marina with diesel in that area was way back on the other side of the lock and we were not about to go back through a lock, so we headed out anyway, running on fumes and prayers.

Thankfully, we made it to Dunkirk, New York and were able to stop at Dunkirk Harbor, where they actually do sell diesel. This town looked really cute and had a nice city pier with a fun restaurant on the end of it. In retrospect, we probably should’ve stopped here for the night because we could’ve tied off to the pier and since our dinghy motor wasn’t working, that would’ve been more enjoyable for us. However, in an effort to make some distance that day, we continued on.

We ended up stopping in Erie, Pennsylvania and anchored for the night near Presque Isle Lighthouse.