After 12 days and some 350 miles we are taking a much needed day off here in the Albany area. Day 12 was our biggest day of the trip, doing more than 40 miles in what was also the warmest day of the trip. As we entered the final lock for the evening we felt it necessary to do a bit of celebration, so we pulled out a treat from 3 Brothers Winery and helped ourselves to a much needed drink. After we passed through 3 of the last 6 locks last night, we unpacked the boats and loaded up almost two weeks of wet smelly gear into two large blue Ikea bags. Personally, from purely a kayaking perspective, these Ikea bags are the cheapest and best way to carry gear. I still have a couple of bags that are more than two years old and still going strong.

We were shuttled off to a hotel where we hoped to enjoy some much needed down time. Down time that really isn't down time, just time that allows us to write and edit all of the content that we have been collecting. I know I have not been able to get any images edited since right around day 3 and we are multiple days behind on the blog. Food however was the first priority and we worked our way through almost everything on the menu. With Richard and I are the UK competition winners, Claudia and Mike, so between the 4 of us plus Simon we quickly put ourselves into a semi conscious state of food coma.

A single beer, and some time in the hotel hot tub was all that I needed to head off to bed. So much for editing last night. Upon awaking today, we managed to get some computer time in before we went off to meet with a large group of school kids and a bit of exploring. It is fascinating to see the flip side of the locks as the water is let out, something that being on the inside, we never got to experience. In between we took some time to air out our laundry before heading off for some exploring. We were also able to see the Cohoes Falls that are right at the mouth of the Mohawk river, quite a stunning site in its own right.

Tomorrow we start early to clear the final 3 locks before entering into the Hudson river. This will represent the final 150 mile stretch into NYC. We have met so many amazing people and seen such beautiful sights, that it will take us both a while to sort it all out and share it with everyone in a meaningful way. The journey is not over so please keep following along. The image gallery will be updated tonight with more images from the journey.

Glenn Charles

A Day of Rest