KITTY INVASION!

Well today I woke up to find one of the Marina's kittens crawling on top of me when I was waking up. It seems that Joy and a certain kitten have become good friends. She (the kitty) found our boat and has made it a temporary home. Except now that it is raining, she fled back to a warm spot in the office.

Yes, we are still in Brewerton except things are looking up. The nut problem was solved by Ethan running a die over the damaged threads. So Joy was able to rebed the last of the chain plates this morning. I got the nuts as tight as possible, so we should have no problems when the mast is stepped next week.

The coolant leak at first was thought to be a leaky drain plug in the side of the engine. Craig took out the plug, cleaned up the threads and put it back in. Started up the engine. No leak from the plug, but a leak from the Exhaust Manifold, looks like a bad gasket. Good news is that they were able to get the part for tomorrow morning. We should be gone in the afternoon or early Wed am.

It is strange feeling not moving along on the Canal. We will have been here four or five nights by the time we leave. They have a car that we can use to go to the store or out to eat which is a nice feature of this marina. The longest we have been any place so far. It has allowed us to get High Spirits in better shape for the rest of the trip.

Looks like we might have some company in the next week. Peter Kochera may be joining us in the next day or so. Ann and Dave Pierce are joining us on Monday for the last set of locks. Then Mike and Kathy Walker hopefully are meeting up with us for the first half of the Hudson River with Jill and Matt replacing them for the last half of the Hudson and our arrival into NYC where Jill and Matt live. Looking forward to seeing all of them

Joe