A Day in Sacket's Harbor

Day 3; August 12, 2017

We awoke at our usual time and made plans to tour the historic town of Sacket’s Harbor during the day.  We needed to refresh our bodily food supply although truthfully, both of us could feel the effects of the stuffing that we had experienced

Live entertainment every night

last night.  The Tin Pan Galley is reported to have amazing breakfasts to the point that you often need reservations to get a table.  We were warned to be sure and split the meal or you would experience extreme breakfast overload.

We arrived at the restaurant at a bit after 8:00 and the place was already filling up.  The friendly waitress came by with menus and specials pointing out some examples on nearby tables.  I had heard that the sausage gravy was to die for but Janine had her eye on a crème brulee French toast.  The serving on the table next to us appeared to me to be made of 4 chunks of bread each the size of a fourth of a loaf.  We decided to split a serving and were not disappointed with the results.

After breakfast, we slowly headed back to the boat taking pictures and reading signs about this historic town and harbor that was used by the US Navy during the war of 1812 against the Brit who were amassed in Canada just 20 or so miles to the north. 

Back at the boat, I spent some time working on blogs and realized that the battery

Really good but really big!

on my phone had died and would not take a charge.  I went to the marina and asked the young lady working there if she had an iPhone and a charger so that I could determine if it was the charger or the phone.  She did and the problem turned out to be a faulty charging cable. She allowed me to borrow her cable while we tried to figure out where to get a new one.  It turned out that none were to be had in Sacket’s Harbor however, there  are numerous stores that carry

such things in Watertown, a short 8 miles away. So, we hired a cab to make the round trip to a Staples who had a generous supply.

Back at the boat we enjoyed a very light lunch and a nice nap.  We had worked so hard this morning.  

The marina is located near the historic battle field where the British fought and were eventually repelled by the American forces.  We wandered onto the field and signed up for a tour of two beautiful 1850 homes that were built to house the Commandant of the naval  base and his assistant.  After the 1812 war, the base declined as did the ship building

activities only to be revived for the Civil War. 

Back of commandants home  (front covert by trees)

The actual town of Sacket’s Harbor is quite a tourist mecca.  There are numerous craft brewerys, eating establishments, gift shops and museums to draw in visitors.  Most all of these establishments are located on Main Street which parallels the water front.  It was along here that the ships were built back in the day, however all of those old facilities have been replaced.  There are still a few of the original homes and business buildings lining the street.  On our cab ride, we passed through the rest of the town which looks like any other small village.

Back on the boat, we enjoyed beef tips and noodles with a nice glass of wine for our evening meal.  It was nice to relax.  

Old ships mast and top mast as a flag pole

After dinner, I walked back to the battle field to take a few pictures in the setting sun and on the way, I passed an ice cream shop.  I tried to ignore it but on the return trip it literally sucked me in so I bought a cup of butter pecan and chocolate peanut butter and rushed back to the boat.  I made it before the delightful dessert melted.

Little Ice cream shop

Again we hit the hay at around 9:00.

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Weedsport to Sackets Harbor

Day 2, August 11, 2017

We awoke at around 6:00, showered and headed to the Days Inn breakfast nook.  Their selection was fairly wanting but we were able to find enough palatable food stuffs to power us (as it turned out) until our 6:00pm evening meal, but that will come later.

Weedsport is about a 1 ½ hours’ drive from the town of Henderson NY and the Harbors End marina.  We arrived at the marina at about 9:00 and were happy to find a well-manicured all be it an old establishment that was owned by a friendly most accommodating gentleman.

Navy Point Marina from Main Street, Sacket Harbor NY

The actual setup of Second Wind was quite uneventful although, in our advancing age, it took a lot longer that it did when we were pups!  We dropped the boat in the water at around 2:00.  I fired up the motor in preparation to moving the boat away from the ramp when I realized that no water was flowing out of the weep hole that indicates that the water pump is not working.  This was frustrating.  We have had the boat for about 4 years and I have put new water pumps in the engine three times, the last time was just a week ago.  I discussed the problem with the mechanic at the marina and he suggested that we blow some compressed air

Highly Recommended Pizza shop in an old warehouse.

through the weep hole.  He had a long enough air hose to reach the boat from his shop and the shot of air was enough to get the system flowing.

I fired up the engine again, back the boat out into the middle of the harbor and was surprised that the boat would not move much at all and was difficult to steer.  A guy in a power boat that was passing me near the shore yelled out that the water was really shallow in the middle of the harbor.  I raised the centerboard and made it back to the dock.    

Old Union Hotel built in 1876

The owner of the marina told us were to find the deep water and so at 3:00 we left Harbors End Marina in route to Sacketts Harbor.  I contacted the Navy Point Marina in Sacketts Harbor looking for a slip for the night and they assured me that they could accommodate me.  The lady on the phone did tell me that they closed at 5:00 so for us to make it in time, we needed to hustle.  The distance by water is about 8 miles so we cranked up the motor and made it in about 1 ½ hours.
My landing in the slip rated about a 6 out of 10.  I miss judged the strength of the wind at my side and it took 2 more tries to get close enough to the finger dock that Janine could toss a line to the young lady waiting to assist us.  Navy Point Marina is a really nice marina with many amenities.  We decided to spend two nights there and the fee was only $91.00. 

As we walked back to the boat, we met several folks who recommended that we eat at the Tin Pan Galley.  We had also heard about this place while we were launching back in Harbors End Marina. We were told that the owner of the restaurant is a very skilled musician and singer and that he played on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  We were, told that reservations were a must, so back at the boat we called for a table at 6:00.

Boy, were we not disappointed.  The food was beautifully prepared albeit somewhat

Tin Pan Galley.  we ate in the garden area to the left.

pricey.  Janine had a fancy roast duck and I had stuffed lamb chops.  I really don’t know how to describe how good it was.  And the guy doing the entertaining, the owner, was amazingly talented on a whole bunch of instruments.  His main go to instrument was an electric guitar, although he accompanied himself with a 5-string banjo, violin/fiddle, acoustic guitar, flute, harmonicas, valve trombone

Pathway back to a secluded group of tables on the patio.

and trumpets.  The trumpets, he played both at the same time.  It was amazing.  He also sang the various songs in the voice of the original vocalist.  He sang Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Glen Campbell, Ella Fitzgerald, Neal Young, Frank Sinatra and others whose sound I recognized but whose name I couldn’t draw froth.  His guitar skills were truly amazing.  He also had electrified background accompaniment which made his performance a full well-rounded production. It was one of those experiences at which I wish I had brought my camera.

We walked back to the boat at about 8:00 and were in bed by 9:00.  We were both tired.  

Heading out for the Thousand Island on Lake Ontario

Day 1, August 10, 2017

Today was a travel day.  We arose at around 4:00 in preparation for the trip that Mapquest suggest would take about 8 1/2 hours.  We got underway at about 7:00 and traveled about 10 miles, still in Perry County, when we blew a tire on the truck. The area where we stopped had a very narrow shoulder but we were able to get the truck and trailer off of the road.  The truck was leaning towards the side with the flat so using a little scissor jack that is standard equipment for the Dodge pickup truck would be tedious at best.  With emergency flashers warning the screaming semis and dump trucks, I walked back up the road and put out the emergency triangles for a bet of extra security. 

We have subscribed to a trailer tow package that is a rider on our Boat US tow package so I made the call.  The Boat US associate could only find “Goodies

Heading into the motel in Weedsport

Garage” in Zanesville who was willing to come to our assistance.  I suggested he call my friends at Newlon Tire in New Lexington and that call sent Jody out with all of the necessary equipment including another tire to solve our problem.  In about 20 minutes, Jody had us underway.  Jody could not mount the new tire without the proper equipment that is found in a tire shop so he sent us off with a suggestion that we pull into a tire shop along the way. 

We stopped in a Walmart parking lot with the plan to find such a tire shop and realized that Walmart could in fact do the mounting, which they did.

After a total of 4 hours, (11:00) we were again on our way towards New York.  We traveled about 9 hours before we decided to hang it up in the little town of Weedsport. NY.  We pulled into a Days Inn motel that turned out to be reasonably priced and quite nice.  The trip from Zanesville to Weedsport was actually quite easy and uneventful.

Welcome sleep came quickly.