Panzerotti or Calzone?

Wednesday, August 28th, and it is our trip back along the Erie Canal, heading to Trenton and further to Midland where the whole adventure started. So far, we have travelled the Trent Canal System, across Lake Ontario, down the Oswego Canal to the Erie Canal and then eastbound to the Hudson River where we cruised south to NYC. On Sunday, we left NYC and went northbound up the Hudson River to Waterford, NY where the Erie Canal begins. We began our trip back today at 8 am by climbing the Flight of Locks at Waterford.

Last night we landed in Waterford at 8 pm and we never had much of a chance to see the small town however, I did manage to get a couple evening photos of the area. The town of Waterford has 8,200 residents and recently rebuilt the docks along their waterfront because every boater heading east or west on the Erie Canal has to pass this point of land and usually they are in need of some supplies. The new floating dock is 1,000 feet long and has power, water and a washroom and shower. It also has a 600 foot concrete wall for boaters as well but there is no power or water on that dock.

The photo above, is a panoramic view of the Waterford Flight of Locks 4 & 5 with Lock 6 visible in the distance. The entire Waterford Flight is a set of 5 locks that raises boats from the Hudson River at Lock 2 to the Mohawk River west of Lock 6. The locks range in lift from 33 feet to 34.5 feet. It raises boats a total elevation of 169 feet in 1.5 miles. When opened in 1905, the flights were the highest elevation in the shortest distance in the US for canal locks. It is speculated that they remain the highest over the shortest distance for a canal in the world. For comparison the Panama Canal is an elevation change of 85 feet and the Welland Canal in Canada rises 326 feet over 27 miles. The photo below is Lock 4 today.

As we headed westbound on the canal system we had to deal with one engine and high winds which in any boaters mind, is no fun to handle. It meant that Jan and Cynthia had to be on their toes and grab lines and hold tight as the Captain was unable to use the engines to keep the boat against the wall of the lock. By the end of today the girls had a workout on their arms.

The canal was a lot cleaner than when we first travelled eastbound, as the State must have picked up floating logs after they refilled the canal. There still was a lot of algae and duckweed etc. along the waterway, but the fish and birds love it.

Along the way the US Air Force appeared to be practicing take off and landing right over our boat and we did get a decent photo of the flight, however I was not fast enough to get a video.

Apparently flying objects was the big thing today. If it wasn't a plane, it was a Canada Goose or maybe a bunch of Geese. They may be a protected bird at home, but they sure can be annoying. If not for their poop, then for their noise and just getting in your way. A few were in front of the boat today and moved at the last minute only to create a very large FLOCK of birds flying in front of us, then they turned around and came back, as if in a formal fly past, and pooped all over the bow of the boat. Damned things.

We don't have much of an update on the repair of the engine water pump, but what we do know is the parts are ordered and supposedly ovenighted to the marina in Brewerton. We plan to be in Brewerton on Friday and are hopeful that they can be installed yet that day. Unfortunately we are looking at some potential bad weather for Friday and Saturday which makes it difficult to predict when we can get to Trenton, but as it stands now, the weather and Lake Ontario conditions look good for a Sunday morning crossing.

We arrived in Amsterdam, NY this evening and have docked at the same place we did on our travels earlier this trip. When we were here last time, we were told that a restaurant close by makes the best Panzerotti in North America so I had to try it tonight. Jan and Cynthia had their dinner on the boat and I walked over to the restaurant for take-out.

Russo's Grill has been operating for over 100 years and has been a gathering place for locals for their delicious homemade Italian food. They have Brick Oven Pizza, Wings, Salads, Italian Classics and Panzerotti or in America they refer them as Calzones. I wanted a Panzerotti but had to order a Calzone, and they told me that they made a mistake, and made me a pizza instead. I told them I wanted a Calzone so they made it for me and because I was the last one in the restaurant, they gave me the Pizza, the Calzone and a big loaf of their homemade bread. Great deal PLUS the pizza and Calzone were excellent.

So, I wanted Panzerotti but Russo's called it a Calzone.

What is the difference?

Calzones are usually larger than a panzerotti, and they can also be fried or baked. Fillings can be varied. Calzones are ricotta based. while panzerottis fillings are usually tomato, mozzarella or Pugliese cheese. I enjoyed the Ricotta filled Calzone tonight.

So tomorrow morning we will be off at 8 am again and try to get as far as we can so we don't have too much further to go Friday morning in order to get to Brewerton, where they marine repair is located. Lets hope for a good day with no wind.

Here is our Nebo log for the day. We travelled 60.2 km in 7.18hours at an average speed of 12.3 km.