Days 295 and 296 - When in Rome!

Miles cruised 36, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $0, daily high temperature 86°f, humidity 100%We spent a second night in Little Falls, NY because we are ahead of our schedule to get to Pirates Cove near Syracuse so Dale and Andy can get off the boat. Downtown Little Falls has several antique and consignment stores. That became the focus of our day. Priscilla found a collection of Starbucks coffee cups from cities and countries we have visited. Starbucks changed the design of their cups a year ago so it was nice to find the previous design to add to her collection.There is a tugboat built in 1928 on our dock that is still being used by the Canal Authority.We continue to find out that food is cheap along the Erie Canal. There was the $2.00 breakfast at Ron and Paul's in Waterford.  Today we had a ham and cheese on rye with lettuce, tomato, pickles and chips for $3.25 in Little Falls.It was another hot and humid day with a torrential rainstorm mid afternoon and in the evening. The boat has been scrubbed of any salt that might have lingered. No salt, no tides, no sharks, no worries. A classic car show had been scheduled for Thursday evening but was cancelled due to the chance of rain. There is a bicycle rally scheduled for Friday with 500 riders. Bicycle riding along the Erie Canal is very popular. The city of Little Falls set up three portable toilets for the event. They are riding from Buffalo, NY to NYC.Kayaking is also very popular on the Erie Canal.We cast off at 8:45 am and went to the pump out station at the end of the dock. We do not have any marina reservations for several days so we want to be as self sufficient as possible. All the marinas in Sylvan Beach are full for the weekend. We will check out the town dock in Rome, NY. Another option but not our favorite would be to tie up on a lock wall in the middle of nowhere for the night. We were told that the first two spots on the town dock in Rome (Bellamy Harbor) have free electricity. We shall see.When we reached lock 20 we were at the highest point on the Erie Canal which is 440' above sea level. The remainder of our time on the canal we will be going down. Eventually we will cross Lake Oneida and transit the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario. We will be stopping near Syracuse for 10 - 14 days so our crossing of Lake Ontario is not imminent. Eventually we have to climb more locks in Canada because Lake Michigan is 577' above sea level.We decided to stop at the Rome town dock. There were no other boats so both power pedestals were available. The one we selected has 50 amp power. At least enough to run one AC unit. We popped the circuit breaker when we had two units humming. A torrential rain storm swept through and cooled things down.The docks are in rough shape but the price is right.There are at least two restaurants nearby by and so is Fort Stanwix. Fort Stanwix is a reproduction of a Revolutionary War wooden fort.Tomorrow we will transit 50' down two in locks and cruise 20 miles across Lake Oneida and then transit one lock down 7' on the west side of Lake Oneida before arriving at Pirates Cove Marina in Clay, NY.  Total trip 43 miles.Prates Cove marina has something we really like.Carl (Chef) Wooden - quote of the day.“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.”— Spanish Proverb