This morning we rode our bikes around the village of Medina some more, while waiting for the train museum to open. Just behind the train museum, on one of the residential streets, we came across some kind of tower. We learned from one of the employees in the museum that was actually a coal tower for residents to get coal for their heating. I believe there was a conveyor belt that would offload coal from rail cars, and then residents could back their trucks in under the tower to get a load of coal. The train museum was pretty impressive. (
https://www.medinarailroadmuseum.org/) Almost a city block length of a model railroad and train sets! The museum also had a lot of other artifacts from fire fighters, war memorabilia, marine industry, just about anything that was relative to Medina history. After going through the Train Museum we headed back to the boat and cruised under a few more lift bridges, then finally lock 34 and 35 in Lockport. Some of these lift bridges share the same bridge tender who has to travel 1 to 5 miles between bridges. Each bridge or lock tender will find out where you are headed for the day, and call ahead to make sure the tenders ahead know you are coming. They try to coordinate openings and lockages so that boaters don’t have much of a delay entering locks or traveling under lift bridges. Locks 34 and 35 are called a flight of two. There is one shared gate between lock 34 and 35. From our direction, we entered 34 and then the gate behind us was closed. The water was raised (while 35 was lowered) so that both locks had an equal elevation. The gate between the locks was then opened and we proceeded into lock 35. Again the gate behind us was closed. The water level in that lock was then raised, and then the upper gate was opened. This lock actually has two gates on the upper end as a safety feature since it is the last lock on the Canal and holds back the waters of Lake Erie and the Niagara River.
Ok, my ego took a real hit in lock 34. I routinely have no problem entering a lock, grabbing the line (or ladder), or bollard on any locks I’ve been on. (Mississippi River, Cumberland River, Snake and Columbia Rivers, and now the Erie Canal.) Most the time the turbulence isn’t really that bad from the water being let into or out of the lock. And many times there really is no turbulence. But this time I was apparently sitting right over the top of one of the valves, and once the lock tender started opening it, a burst of air came up with the water causing quite a bit of turbulence under our bow. The bow was pushed away from the wall, but I was able to get it back on the wall. Another minute or so went by with me being able to keep the bow on the wall. However it got real turbulent again and this time I couldn’t continue to hold the boat so let go of the line and had to maneuver in the lock to get back over to the wall. I ended up on the opposite wall, but at least secured again. The entire time the lock was still filling with water and a little bit turbulent. Afterwards I talked with the lock tender, (I felt bad not being able to continue holding on to the ladder or nearby line) and he apologized saying he thought he had the valve in the right position, but with me sitting right over the top of it, it may have been a bit too much, and then he was talking to some folks walking by and didn’t realize the situation. He did say this lock does have a lot more turbulence than the other locks just due to the valve positions. Lock 35 was a lot calmer! And when we turn around to go back, I’ll remember to position us in a spot that looked pretty turbulent free when we watched some other boats go through. (I guess I did ok. Rosanne said she watched two large cruisers go through as I was tying up our boat, and the second one in was having a hard time getting on the wall in calm water and the back of his boat actually hit the other boat already in the lock. It must be entertaining for the lock tenders to watch all the various boats that come through. Probably a lot like sitting at a boat ramp and watching boaters launch, dock and retrieve their boats!) As soon as we exited lock 35, we turned in behind its north wall, at the top of the old Flight of Five locks, and will spend the night on a short dock here. Looks like we are the only ones docked here this evening.
After getting tied up and plugged into electric, we walked around the locks a bit and then went to the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Then there is also a small Erie Canal Museum at lock 34 that we looked through. Back to the boat for supper, and finally a quick walk back up the steps to the Ice Cream shop across the street! (Dan and Peggy, the name of the shop was Lake Effect Ice Cream!) Colby
This is the Coal Tower. Not sure I'd want to live in that house right next to it!
Some photos representative of the Medina Railroad Museum
This last one above I'm sure a few of us could change train to boat!
Approaching Lock 34. The Flight of Five old locks are on the right side.
These locks had 3 choices to hang on to. A ladder (not in view), a steel wire attached securely within a groove in the lock wall, and the weighted lines. You can also see how pitted the walls are.
This is what I consider normal lock turbulence; this is in lock 35 filling.
Not to be confused with this kind of turbulence that is in Lock 34 filling. We were in the top right corner of the lock, on the first ladder. After losing my grip on it with the second burst of turbulence, I tried to motor forward to catch the next line, but unable, so maneuvered over to the opposite wall and grabbed a weighted line over there.
Here's a view of three boats going different directions. Two boats in lock 35 are moving to 34, while the boat in 34 is waiting for those two, before he moves into 35.
A view of the locks looking west from a bridge at the bottom of lock 34. You can barely make out C-Traveler on the north side of the north wall of lock 35. There is a small dock that you can spend the night at.
Looking at the Erie Canal east of lock 34.
No description needed. :wink:
Colby
) We really took in a lot on the way out. And enjoyed every minute of it. There is so much history to the Erie Canal, and fascination in the amount of labor that it took. 
) As several of you told us earlier, we are very much enjoying this trip. Other than our one experience in the lift in Lock 34, this has been a very gentle and calm water vacation. And while we were in some 1-2 foot chop out in what I'll call Buffalo Bay (behind the breakwater walls), that's hardly anything to be concerned with. The Buffalo portion of our trip was just an add on to say we boated all the way to Buffalo! 
