Another Dream Fulfilled!

Tuesday we traveled from Sylvan Beach to Herkimer. Our days travel was uneventful except for the submerged log we hit. We came to shoaled area and had to move to starboard close to the green mark and when we did we collided with what we think must have been a log. We never did see anything so we only surmised what it was. We didn't sink so it didn't damage us. That's a good thing.














Today I got to do something I have wanted to do for about 25 years. Go to Herkimer Diamond Mines and prospect for diamonds! The weather was perfect, sunny and warm and we found several very good diamonds. That's me in the picture finding them just lying on the ground.















This is Larry standing beside the water fall at the mine. The colors of the leaves were beautiful in the sunshine. Larry actually got into the swing and I mean swing he was hitting rocks like a pro. Near the end of the day he found 5 very beautiful diamonds in one rock. You just don't know whats inside until you open them up.















The picture is of the jewelery quality diamonds we gathered today. We did gather some small rocks with diamonds still attached but with a small living space we limited those to just a few. The small ones in the picture to the left are perfect and can be set into settings without a need for cutting. The ones to the right can be wire wrapped or cut for use in settings. We were pleased with our finds today and I plan to use some of them for future jewelery projects.

It is a good thing we didn't leave for the South any later than we have. We heard today that they are going to close the canal November 1, which is two weeks earlier than usual. The closing is due to the continued drought here in New York.