Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct

We took advantage of a gorgeous day on Saturday and drove down to Camillus to the Erie Canal Park. The park was celebrating the completion of the restoration of the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, which was constructed in 1844 to carry canal boats over Nine Mile Creek and was used until 1918. Although the web site still indicates in places that the restoration is underway, you can see photos of the project in the aqueduct portion of the Camillus Erie Canal Park site.

There was a parade of a few boats and kayaks down the canal to the aqueduct, then a small land parade across the aqueduct. We were most excited to see and hear the Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band:


We also enjoyed seeing the steam engine chugging away:


Aidan had a good time being, well, Aidan:


He also enjoyed building a project with Rick, the nice Home Depot project man:


It is funny how he will take direction and suggestions from a total stranger without one word of protest!

We drove back home to B'ville and enjoyed a nice lunch on the patio at Lock 24 restaurant while watching boats go through the lock.

For the Cure

On Saturday morning I walked in the Susan G. Komen Central New York Race for the Cure along with about 9,000 of my friends. It was, as always, an exhilarating, emotional and amazing experience. Pink was the color of the day and the most beautiful pink of all was worn by the many survivors who participated.

If pink was the color of the day, windy was the weather of the day. The temperatures were in the low 50s, but the strong wind made it feel much cooler. In the south people say "it's not the heat, it's the humidity." In central New York, I believe that it's not the cold, it's the wind!

I was part of a team sponsored by James' employer and chaired by an employee whose sister is a three year breast cancer survivor; the team is named for her, Linda's Lights of Hope. Ever the comedian, I suggested that perhaps the team could be called Linda's Rack Pack! Our team goal was $2,000 and mainly due to the team sponsor, Mohawk Global Logistics, we raised $2,475. My personal goal was $300 and my generous donors contributed $455!

Some day there will be a cure and we will look back on these events and say "Remember when we used to wear watching t-shirts and walk to raise money for breast cancer research?" Thanks to donations from Pam, Cathy, Kelli, Dave & Rita, Jennifer, Betty, Cynthia, Kathleen, Noelle, Lynn, and my mother, we are one step closer to achieving that dream.

You can read more about Saturday's CNY Race for the Cure here.