Leg #2 – Wellsburg with a Stop enroute

 

35 miles & one Lock – New Cumberland

As we continued on downstream the locks spread out and we will never have more than one lock in a day. And, even better, the locks are equipped with floating bollards which make hooking up and floating down much easier. Shorter ropes are adequate and we can control the boat tied to one pin.

Rubber Hose makes it easy to keep a loop for slipping on the pin

We spotted a big dock and sign as we passed Toronto OH and made a u-turn to check it out.  We found the Newburg Landing with a welcoming “Dock and Walk” sign complete with a map of the town’s handy attractions. 

We tied up and met some local boys fishing on the dock who “watched” the boat while we walked in town.  People were very helpful and it was easy to find the BBQ restaurant by the fragrance of its meats which tempted us even though we had already had lunch.  The Sweet Shop, however, did not get a pass. Amazing offerings at very affordable prices. This stop was not in any of our resources, but it sure made a nice mid-afternoon break.

Heading on, we tied up for the night at the courtesy dock in the town of Wellsburg, WV. This spot is next to the Crooked Dock Restaurant where Steve met a group of bikers taking a road trip from Pittsburg. Along the river for the next long stretch heading downstream, Ohio is on our right and West Virginia on our left. Many of the towns, big and small, offer dock space to wanders so we can stroll their towns, partake of their hospitality and shop or eat in their establishments. A great deal for boaters!

In Wellsburg we found a handy St Vincent DePaul thrift store where we scored some serving spoons we needed and a few DVDs. We also found a hardware store for some electrical insulation hose. These errands afforded us an opportunity to walk through town. We also passed the Visitor Center in the local library where we grabbed a few brochures of interest including maps of places down river. Sadly, we were going to miss the annual Yellow Ducky races scheduled for the weekend, but we had to move on.