My birthday celebration ended this afternoon with a great gift, a magical journey in a hidden and beautiful world I knew of but never rode in before The Hudson River (the Champlain), part of the gorgeous and historic New York State Canal System.

On my birthday, Maria likes to take me on an adventure I wouldn’t think of going on myself. The last time was a balloon ride way in the sky. I rattled my nerves and took my breath away. This one was simpler but perhaps even more powerful.

She is such an excellent partner, lover, wife, and friend.

(The Caldwell Belle)

The canal ride was like stepping into another world right under my nose, which I never thought much about.

The locks and canals of the watery are still operating; they are mainly used these days by crowds of tourists, wealthy people with boats heading south towards Florida, and boat lovers who love to move through the fantastic locks, which lift huge ships up and down all day.

Some barges still run regularly.

We went on the cruise on Mohawk Maiden Cruises; our captain was an entertaining, funny, and fiercely individualist water lover who piloted the 50-year-old Caldwell Belle. Marla alone was worth the trip. She is Mohawk Maiden Cruises.

Earlier in life, she was a reporter, I bet she was a good one.

The canal locks are a trip into space in a way, where we rose up and down for ten to 15 feet in minutes and then motored in an engine-powered paddle wheel that Maria handled like a loved child.

Marla is the Queen of the Canals when she’s behind her giant steering helm.

She says her big wheel is probably larger than it needs to be, but it’s fun and moves quickly. Marla limits her boat journeys to six people (she does accept private parties). She says she likes the intimacy of a small group. She’s a softie.

Her work isn’t easy, she has to battle all kinds of bureaucrats and regulations. The small business person has few allies.

The boat left early, and she tacked on some minutes at the other end; the afternoon sky and the canal were so beautiful.

During the ride, Marla came out repeatedly to sit and tell stories and take questions.

She walked us through every detail of the fantastic locks, who seemed able to change the world when necessary.

The ride has a unique feel: historic but not heavy, beautiful but not overpowering, and curiously intimate, like old friends getting together for a drink. Marla was a great Sea Dog, honest, wise, outspoken, and charming in her gruff way. The boat was as cozy as  Grandma’s kitchen.

Gorgeous waterfalls bound the canal, eagles and cormorants, thick forests, a few gorgeous mansions on the hills, and the impressive and strangely beautiful concrete structures built around the canals’ heyday – the 1920s. It was one of American history’s most significant and ambitious public work projects.

Miraculously, it’s still there to see and use.  We tend to destroy many of the beautiful things our country built in its past. The canals have been preserved. It was a ride into another,  hidden world.

The New York State Canal System comprises four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain (the one we are on today), the Oswego, and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. The waterways span 524 miles linking the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, Niagara River, and Lake Erie, with communities rich in American culture and history.

Near the boat dock, there’s a beautiful sculpture to the mules who pulled cargo up and down the canals. Those giant trucks on the highways have replaced them.

The ride felt effortless, safe, and peaceful; the canals reeked with history and the pinnacle of the American Industrial Miracle. Marla is straightforward to get to know.

Toward the end, Maria and I just sat and looked at the water, forest, and birds. People peppered Marla with questions, and she answered all of them if she could. We felt we were somewhere else, but we are so close.

I almost fell asleep, not out of boredom but out of peace and beauty. Our trip was 90 minutes. Seeing the locks was a unique experience; we went through them twice.  I was relaxed and then some. So was Maria, who is not a fan of boat rides.

I’ve lived just a few miles from the canals for nearly 20 years, and it never really occurred to me to explore them; thanks, Marla and Maria, for knowing this would be a special present for me and making it one. There is no easier way than on Marla’s funky old boat.

I can’t wait to go back. A historian comes on the boat occasionally and talks about the canal’s history. I learned today that the New York State Canals are considered international waters. I want to go on that ride.

I’m canal thirsty. I want to know more.

I was fascinated by the abandoned or mostly destroyed concrete ruins, as the canals were used for different things. I had this powerful sense that I was riding back into history as if I were almost breathing it.

We are a great country in so many ways; the canals were one of them; how sad we sometimes seem to be forgetting it. The boat ride was good for me as well as fun and powerful.

I shook hands with history after the perfect kind of class.