Day on the Erie Canalway Trail

Well, today was full of adventure and events!!!  Ken and Sam loaded up our 4 bikes before breakfast and by 10:15 we were on our way to the town of Palmyra, NY to park the truck and start riding the Erie Canalway Bike Trail. What a beautiful ride along parts of the old canal and the new.  It was a nice level packed stone trail that provided great riding conditions and beautiful scenery. 

One of the working locks on the canal!

This squirrel was enjoying a snack!

Nice level trail along the canal!  Very pretty!

We stopped in a park along the way to eat our packed lunches and rest.  We had ridden 7 miles east of Palmyra and on our return to the truck, Ken had a flat tire.  Being the prepared guy that he is, he had an extra tube and a pump.  We were near a rest area when it happened, so Ken and Sam could put the bike on a picnic table to change the tube.  While there, I asked a local gal if she knew of a place to get ice cream near by.  She said we must go to Main Street of Palmyra, which was right up the road, and then go about 3/4 of a mile to Chill and Grill.  So, as a reward for the tire repair, we headed that direction after stopping at a gas station and filling the tube the rest of the way with their air hose.  Ken had not heard the local gal mention that the small ice cream cone was huge so I left him order 1st - I was sure that there would be plenty to share.  Check out the picture and you will see why 1 cone was more than enough.  On the back of the Chill and Grill employees shirts it said - Is that really a small??  That is what both Sam and Ken said when they got their ice cream.  Needless to say, Ken and I shared!

Saw this blue heron while riding bike!

This is the canal barge when we passed it while riding our bikes!

These are our small ice cream cones for under $3.00!

From there we headed west on the trail and about 2 1/2 miles on the trail, Ken had another flat tire.  What is going on?????  This time Ken and Sam rode back to the truck (Ken used my bike) and Kathy and I waited for them to pick us up.  Kathy and I went into a store and asked the clerk if she give us the name of a local bike repair shop.  She was so helpful and suggested we go to a shop in Fairport about 10 miles away.  So we headed that direction and had the tire repaired in no time!  This was such a quaint little town along the canal and we enjoyed spending some time there.  We had passed a canal barge when we were riding the bike trail and waved to the folks.  Imagine our surprise when that same barge was parked along the canalway in Fairport.  We stopped to talk to them and they invited us to tour the canal barge they were renting for the week.  We spent about a half hour visiting with the four of them, sharing life experiences.  I guess Ken had his 2 flat tires for a reason - experiencing the largest small ice cream cone we have ever seen and getting to meet and spend time with the folks on the canal barge.  Life can be full of surprises!

The canal from the town of Fairport!

Sam enjoyed walking the parking lot of the free car show!

This is the canal barge, Fantasy, when it was parked along
the canal in Fairport.  We got on board right there!

We only got back to the CG around 7:30 and supper was late again - 8:30.  We played 2 games of bean bag toss and the men won again!  Don't know what is going on!!!!!  This losing must end!!!!!