Yup, still here

Hi everyone,

The Champlain Canal remains closed and a community of stranded boaters has settled in at the town dock in Waterford. I have decided to take advantage of my time here and to that end set out on an excursion to Albany this morning. My destination was the USS Slater, a WW2 destroyer escort tied up on the downtown Albany waterfront. My father had served on one of these ships in the Pacific, and I have been wanting to see this ship to get a sense of what life was like for him.

I rode a couple of city buses to get there and arrived well before the ship opened up at 10. It was a beehive of activity with at least a dozen volunteers visible engaged on various tasks aboard. I was struck by the small size of about 300 feet and the fact that well over 500 of them were built. Standing on the dock it appeared as if the ship was being very well maintained. A few minutes later, I was to find that indeed, that was the case. But first, our guide Paul, had a short movie to show us. It was a great introduction and very helpful as I toured the ship and could see how the various elements worked. Paul was absolutely stellar, and did a really great job showing us around. There was only one other visitor when the gangway opened and he had served on a DE in the Viet Nam war. His name was Roger, and he turned out to be a fellow cruising sailor as well. I was really fortunate to be with these two guys for the visit. The level of authenticity is very high on this ship, as is the quality. She is shipshape and looking wonderful. There are still projects and goals to be pursued, but it is obvious that this ship has a phenomenal core group of supporters. And there were plenty of visitors circulating thru the ship after us.

What an amazing experience! I look forward to going back!

But wait, there's more! I was only about a mile away from Phillip Schuyler's house, and so I made my way there. This house was built in 1761, out of brick, and is really quite remarkable given the fame and importance of its many visitors. Schuyler was very prominent as a Revolutionary War general, but he may be best known these days as the father in law of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had married Elizabeth Schuyler in the parlour of the house, and I got to take it all in. Other notable visitors included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette, etc. Very, very cool and inspiring. Much in the way of original items from that time. Our guide Ian, was fantastic with a real passion for and knowledge of the history.

What a wonderful day! I learned a lot!

Best to all, Charlie