Day 33-35: Had a quiet day in the marina in Oswego on Tuesday, checking in around 1:00 pm. Took a little tour on the bikes and went to the grocery store for a “few things” and found Maine Lobster for $8.99/lb….. that was too much to resist! Once we got them back to the boat, realized we didn’t have a pot large enough to cook them or claw crackers on board. Ingenuity kicked in and we made due!
Woke up to spitty weather on Wednesday and decided to bike ride to a laundromat .2 miles away to wash the fender covers that were filthy, but did their job! We knew an industrial size washing machine was a much better choice for this job. Went to a VERY local diner (Wade’s) about .2 miles away for breakfast while the washers did their work. Food was good and a totally authentic diner experience including loud communications between the line cooks and waitresses, cash only and a long line of locals staring at us who looked clearly out of place!
Toured Fort Ontario, a short bike ride away. Fort Ontario was one of several forts erected by the British to protect the area around the east end of Lake Ontario. The original Fort Ontario was erected in 1755, during the French and Indian War, to bolster defenses already in place at Fort Oswego on the opposite side of the river. It has a rich history of being defended, destroyed, rebuilt, and repurposed over the years spanning the colonial days, American revolution, Civil War and even WWI serving as a stateside hospital for wounded soldiers and in WWII as a training center and home for Jewish refugees.
Interestingly, The Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter was the only attempt by the US to shelter Jewish refugees during the war. After the end of the war, the refugees were kept in internment because of disagreements concerning whether or not to allow them to become US citizens. In January 1946, the decision was made to allow them to become citizens, and by February all of the Jewish refugees were allowed to leave Fort Ontario. The Fort was closed after WWII and later opened to the public as a historic site. It has been restored to what it looked like in the mid 1800’s. An interesting afternoon!
Tomorrow we are off to Sackets Harbor with a 3.5-ish hour run, a forecast of good weather and hope to find a spot on the municipal free wall. Then on to Clayton and 1000 islands where there is so much to see!
Liz
Love the ingenuity with the lobsters….if there is a will there is a way!!!