The Empire State’s brand-new bridge opened on June 13^th, 2025, in the 19^th-century town of Brockport, New York.

The serpentine bridge gently curves around the existing guard gate and gracefully spans the Erie Canalway.

The stair-free design incorporates slopes, promenades, and landscaping to make the Brockport Pedestrian Bridge and environs accessible to everyone.

It’s a fitting (and fabulous) demonstration of the Erie Canal’s two centuries of ongoing transformation, connection, and inspiration.

So of course, Paul and I traveled to Brockport promptly upon arriving Stateside from Greece!

In a few days, international canal professionals and aficionados alike will gather in Buffalo, New York, for the 2025 World Canals Conference.

The international conference concludes with a one-of-a-kind celebration: A 2025 interpretation of Governor DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 Erie Canal inaugural voyage aboard the Seneca Chief.

Hundreds of volunteers worked for several years to build entirely by hand the replica Seneca Chief canal boat. The new Seneca Chief now gleams in bright yellow, jaunty green, and crisp white paint.

The Bicentennial Voyage will follow the legendary route from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east, thence south down the Hudson River to New York City.

All along the way, the Seneca Chief will dock at Erie Canal communities to educate, engage, and inspire children and adults alike.

And surely, the beautiful new Brockport Pedestrian Bridge over the world-changing waterway should have a feature role in the Bicentennial festivities.

Reader, here’s to celebrating transformation, connection, and inspiration. In travel and in life.

Until next time,

Travel on, sparkle on, meaningfully✨

Marilee + Paul Kostadimas
Spotlight Sojourns | Slow Travel
​with the Hidden Gemologists®

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PS: If you’d like to learn more about the Erie Canal, and plan your own bucket-list adventure, click HERE to read our article “Erie Canal, New York: Travel the Legendary Route.”​

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