Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): May 20

Waterford Canal Welcome Center

“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?” ― Hunter S. Thompson

Our decision not to leave with the crowd yesterday was a good one. It was fun to watch the boats moving west through Waterford, but getting to enjoy the Troy Farmers Market today was even better. We took the Black Bridge Trail over to Troy again...what an easy way to get around.

Shelley and Kevin from Mrs. P joined us and we had a great time. The market is one of the best we've ever been to. Although there weren't a lot of booths selling vegetables yet (too early in the season) there was a great selection of other things to choose from...cheese, wine, beer, granola, soaps, gift items, bread, jam, honey and many more things. They also had entertainment and a great selection of breakfast and lunch items to eat. We had a great time sampling things...especially the Harvest Spirits Distillery samples. All their liquors are made from apples and made locally in the Hudson Valley.

It was a great place to spend the morning and we would have stayed longer, but Waterford was having a Canal Festival at the Welcome Center and we wanted to check it out. By the time we got back to the boat the waterfront was packed with people and we enjoyed the afternoon visiting with people and watching the crowd. Gina and Chris came by this afternoon, Gina is the engineer on the Grand Erie and she gave us a tour of her boat. The Grand Erie is the Canal Corp's largest towboat, but is sometimes used as a stage like in Friday's celebration of the canal opening.

Just a few of the wonderful things we saw at the market