New York City

Well, truth be told, we are in Jersey City, across the Hudson from Manhattan. Wild Blue is in her slip, the Blonde and I have wandered about by bike, foot, and water taxi. A very hazy day today, but an easy run down the Hudson... except for the last few miles when we were dodging ferries and their wakes. We are in Liberty Landing Marina... you can't see the Statue of Liberty from our boat, but it is close.

HOT today. We took a water taxi across to Jersey City and had a late lunch at a nearby deli. Then biked all around Liberty Landing... good thing we brought the bikes - this marina is huge; we'll need 'em just to get to the showers.

Some photos today...



Heading to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tomorrow... tourists R us. I'll get some photos posted then.

Pretty evening tonight...

Getting Closer...

Today was a cruising day on the Hudson... we went about 65 miles (a lot of miles for us). Before leaving Kingston, we got a call from our friend, Leonard... we worked out some logistics, and he will be bringing our truck and trailer east. We'll still have to rent a car and go 25 or 30 miles to get it, but this will save us both time and effort (his truck is here on the Hudson).


This section of the Hudson was very pretty. I had no idea there were mountains. More lighthouses, stately homes on the bluffs, lots of marinas... and it is apparent that we are getting closer to the big city: the boat traffic has picked up considerably. And the cities are getting larger. It was interesting passing through West Point, Poughkeepsie, and many others. We passed ships, barges, tugs, pleasure boats, sailboats... it felt more like home to us.



We made a few calls and decided to stay at the TarryTown Boat Club and Marina... relatively decent rates (for this area), showers, and laundry. We put on a small amount of fuel, and pulled into our slip. This marina is much bigger than others we've stayed at... slips like we're used to instead of all the boats in a line on a wall. But, it is a LONG walk to the showers and laundry... we did about 3 miles going back and forth.


Supper at the restaurant here, then that long walk back to the boat. Fortunately, it is cooling off nicely (got to about 90º today), and we are settling in for the evening.

We are now in Kingston... the first state capital in NY and one of three deep water harbors on the Hudson. What an interesting ride today... we passed many large homes on the bluffs above the Hudson (reminiscent of the prosperous water shipping days), three lighthouses, and many marinas and boat clubs.

A fleet of about a dozen go-fast boats blew by us the other direction... probably doing 5 times the 15 knots we were doing... but we were getting 3 mpg instead of their .3 mpg!

Interesting city/geographic names along this stretch: Coxsackie, Esopus, Catskill. The hillsides are a very lush green, as you'd expect. More boat traffic than we saw on any day in the Erie Canal, but still not what I'd call busy (we've been in Friday Harbor on an August weekend).

We did the walking tour of Kingston; some great old buildings here. A Hudson Marine History Museum. Quite a few of the buildings in the old town section are unoccupied... I'm guessing victims of the economy.

Izzy has been checking out the ducks from the security of the cockpit.

Now we have a tough decision to make: Mexican or Italian for supper?

Hudson Sunrise...

I was up before sunrise and found that we were shrouded in fog when I looked outside. As the sun came up, it burned through the fog, making for a very pretty, diffused sunrise.


Nice way to start the day.

Heading South on the Hudson...

We started our morning with the Farmers Market on the waterfront at Waterford; picked up some baked goods, fruit, and girly lavender sachets (I'm assuming to make the head smell... um, like lavender)...


We shoved off around 9:30, turned south into the Hudson River, and soon came to the Troy Lock. This is different from all the locks in the Erie Canal, with only one point to hold our boat. I pulled close to a ladder and a post, took a wrap on the post by reaching through the helm window, and Joan held us with the ladder...



Shortly after exiting the lock, the rain started. We didn't have a particular destination today, but thought we'd run as far south as Kingston. We decided to pull off early and stopped for the night at the Coeyman's Landing Marina... in the rain. We put on fuel and pulled into a slip. Good wifi (faster than our wireless broadband), cable TV, and the usual. Apparently they didn't get the memo about the good prices all along the Erie Canal... we checked several marinas in the area, and they are twice as expensive as what we've been paying (if we've been paying at all). We are on the outside dock, and there's quite a bit of exposure when boats go by in the river kicking wake... knocked the fan off the shelf once! We had a late lunch at the restaurant here, overlooking the marina. Then back to the boat... still in the rain...


We spent the rest of the afternoon route planning for the next few days; made our reservations for the marina in New York City, and started some route planning for the Trent-Severn. So, while Mother Nature had a gray day, ours was very productive.

Around town...

We enjoyed biking around Waterford - it's a great little town. The oldest incorporated Village in the United States.


We toured around town on our bikes, a great way to get a feel for the area and view the architecture. We rode across the bridge to take a tour through the Day Peckinpaugh, the last of the canal freighters. It is being restored and taken around the state for viewing; just fits in the locks (and designed for that purpose).


A view of the waterfront from the bridge to the west...


We rode around to Lock 2 and watched some boats come and go. The perspective is really different when you are on the boat...

In this photo, you can see the height difference between the water below (to the left) and in the lock. It also shows some of the exterior structure of the lock. That water to the far left is the river moving down a spillway... it makes for some current and turbulence shortly after exiting the lock.

We visited with other boaters on the wall, met another C-Dory owner, Hugh, who lives here, and gave a tour of Wild Blue to some BIG boat owners. Even had some time for sitting under a shade tree on the waterfront.

This is where the Mohawk River, the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal all come together... the eastern gateway to the Erie Canal.

Saturday turned out to be warm and sunny - a beautiful day for touring around the local area. And now on Sunday morning, the water level is down over a foot.

Waterford...

When the rain finally subsided last night, we were treated to a "semi-red" sky...


We walked to Broad Street (the main drag) and found some outstanding pizza (man does not live by ice cream alone).

Speaking of rain, the water here continues to rise. There were Flash Flood Warnings on TV last night for quite a few communities. Jimmy, the Harbormaster, told me, "We don't go into panic mode until the water touches the green in that marker over there," pointing to the marker across the water. There were several inches under it last night. And this morning...



The floating docks are pretty close to their upper stops.

Today is supposed to be warm, sunny, and dry. More thunderstorms and rain predicted for Sunday and beyond. These folks here could use a break.