It's already been a week since we left! And this morning I cooked my first omelette on Éolo. Another little victory!

The lockkeepers open the gates for us at 7:30. At 8:02, we departed.

At lock 7, we are warned that a barge is in lock 6. I estimate we'll meet it around 9:15. My estimate proves fairly accurate: we pass it just before a very narrow stretch of canal where Éolo and the barge simply could not have passed at the same time.

Little reminder: our radio still doesn't work. The barge has no way to contact us and neither do we. Not exactly the ideal situation for crossing in a narrow canal!

We do all the locks on the port side, and the further we go, the easier they become.

We have a bit of company at locks 2 and 1: a small boat with three very athletic people! Lock 1 is particularly slow to fill, which gives them plenty of time to catch up with us.

Small note for those who come after us: in addition to lock 12, where you have to give your boat number, you also need to have it on hand for lock 1 and for the Troy lock.

At lock 1, I give the lockkeeper a rather nonsensical answer. He doesn't seem too concerned. But for Troy, which is a federal lock, I'm ready!

This time, the lockkeeper asks me to tie up on starboard. So I quickly move fenders and mooring lines. Here, you have to hold onto pipes rather than the usual fittings. It's different, but ultimately better designed and much more stable.

The locks are finished!!

At 4:00 PM, we arrive at Troy Community Dock. Another big milestone crossed!

Before arriving, we had already done our research to know where to eat. We love being outdoors and, with Miela and the heat, patios are clearly our priority.

We already know where we're going, but we still take a little walk around town in case we'd missed something. In the end, we stop as planned for a drink at the Nighthawk before heading to the Sea Smoke for a wonderful dinner.

Filet mignon for Jonathan, scallops for me, all with a direct view of Éolo.

During the meal, we chat with our table neighbors, the "locals". They've often seen passing sailboats, but had never really had the chance to talk with travelers. They are really impressed by our project and curious to learn more.

After dinner, a quick stop at the liquor store right next to the restaurant to get a good Japanese whisky, which we quietly enjoy aboard Éolo.

We're proud of ourselves. Another milestone crossed!

Day 2 in Troy

We decide to spend a second day in Troy. We think the town is worth it and, above all, we believe there is a very popular farmers market on Sunday.

The forecast calls for rain, but in the end the day looks rather nice!

However, the dockmaster comes to tell us that we must take a night at the serviced dock. We shouldn't have spent the night at the free dock, but the signage isn't very clear and the phone numbers shown aren't even the right ones.

Since we really want to enjoy our day in Troy, we move Éolo.

We then set off to walk around town. Troy is fairly large and, since it's Sunday, many businesses are closed. We look for our famous farmers market… before realizing we got the day wrong. The very popular market was on Saturday, just before our arrival. Bad luck!

We still stop at 518 Craft for a drink. A small shower accompanies us during our break, just enough to remind us that the forecast might not have been so wrong after all.

We then continue on our way to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. And there, the little shower turns into a real downpour!

Fortunately, the food is excellent and the beer is good. We couldn't have asked for much better for a rainy day!