Medina, NY

We made scrambled eggs for breakfast in order to get back on our WW program on Sunday, September 23. Stephanie packed up her belongings and before she left we all walked up to the local Walgreen’s to pick up Lynn’s prescription and to get flu shots. Stephanie didn’t have her most up to date insurance card so she couldn’t get one but promised to do so when she returned to Philly. Lynn and Jonny each got our flu shots and pneumonia shots (fortunately or unfortunately we are now eligible for pneumonia shots - age-wise, that is)!  The Uber came to pick up Stephanie to bring her to the airport in Buffalo and Lynn was especially sad to see her go.

We left the Lockport wall and went through its two flight lock on an absolutely brilliant day - sunny, warm and clear but not hot. We cruised for two hours along the Erie Canal which was just beautiful - a bucolic landscape interspersed with quaint villages and lovely homes all along the way.  The Erie Canal originally ran from Albany all the way to where Buffalo meets Lake Erie, a distance of 363 miles.  It has 34 locks and was opened in 1825 to create a navigable link between New York City and Lake Erie.  In 2000 it was designated a national historic waterway and now has mostly recreational traffic. It is definitely a worthwhile journey to make by boat.

We decided to stop in Medina just to explore it because we had time and it was supposed to be a pretty village. Upon arrival the bridge tender came to meet us and encouraged us to stay over night here instead of Albion, our original destination, which he said had nothing of particular interest.  So we took his advice and tied up for the night.

Walking into town we were impressed by the charm of this attractive village.  Many buildings were made of the sandstone that was quarried here which was used to build buildings all around the world including the Brooklyn Bridge and Buckingham Palace.

We strolled the village until we arrived at 810 Meadworks - a mead bar!  It was located in a historic building that had been the site of a maker of fine custom-made  men’s shirts that were favored by people like Winston Churchill, Warren Harding,  Bob Hope, Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte.  

There, Jonny ordered two flights of their locally brewed mead, a dry flight and a semi-dry flight.  For those who don’t know, mead is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water and various spices, grains or hops. It can be brewed to have beer-like qualities or wine-like qualities.  Lynn was good, ordering club soda and only tasting tiny sips of Jonny’s flights!

That evening we had a healthy dinner of lamb chops, green beans and sweet potatoes, then relaxed onboard and went to bed early.  We are truly enjoying this trip on the famed Erie Canal!