AHEAD TO THE PAST: OSWEGO AND FORT ONTARIO

Arriving at the mouth of the Oswego river-canal from Syracuse, we time-traveled once again back to the mid-18th century and the 7-year French and Indian war between Britain and France.  In 1755 Fort Ontario was built by the British to contest the westward expansion of French fortifications designed to secure the territory of Nouvelle-France on the North American continent.
The fort was captured and destroyed the very next year by Montcalm only to be rebuilt by the British a decade later and then destroyed by George Washington's Continental Army during the revolutionary war.
But wait! There's more: Fort Ontario was again attacked and destroyed by the British in the War of 1812.  And so history was pretty rough on Fort Ontario because of its geostrategic location in the struggle of empires to lay claim to North American  territory.
Before we leave the NY canal system we must pay tribute to the Italians. While they may not have contributed much to canal construction, they sure added to our enjoyment of it.  The wonderful old-style restaurants of Buca di Beppo in Albany, the Savoy in Rome and Vona's in Oswego have all left a lasting impression on our tastebuds. There are hidden benefits to diguising myself as a mediocre cook on Nano; We eat ashore often.