KINGSTON, NY to ALBANY, NY / June 6-9 (Days 158-161)

We took off from Half Moon Bay on a beautiful morning & headed to Kingston, NY where we would stay for a couple of days.  We again were amazed at the beauty of the Hudson River.  Along the way we could hear & see the passenger trains running to NYC.

The river was picturesque, with an occasional bridge connecting the shorelines.

About 50 miles north of NYC is the West Point Academy.  Because of security concerns, the dock at West Point is now closed to transient traffic.

The Hudson was not very busy, but we did pass an occasional pleasure boat....

.... & commercial boat.

We arrived at Rondout Marina in Kingston to find Mike & Leann on Rowe Boat.

The following day (DAVE'S BIRTHDAY!) the five of us did some major sightseeing.  In the nearby town of Hyde Park, we visited Franklin D. Roosevelt's family home.

It had been donated to the National Park Service, with the understanding that the inside would be left intact to give the visitors the feeling that at any minute FDR could come back in (including his clothes left in the closet & one of his wheel chairs left in the parlor.)

 

The house overlooked the Hudson River as well as beautiful grounds of the estate.

From there we visited the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park.  It is the smallest of all of the Vanderbilt homes at a mere 52,000 sqft.  It is a representation of the "Gilded Era" or the "gaudy era", if you ask me.

Being just down the road from FDR's home, the grounds & surrounding scenery were equally as beautiful.

  

From there we ended the day with a perfect birthday celebration, dinner at the Italian restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!!!



The next day it was off to Albany, the capital of New York.

It was here that Pat left the crew of Phase II & headed back to NYC via the train.  It was SO GREAT having her with us & I'm sure that she thoroughly enjoyed experiencing our Looping life!  Hopefully she will join us again!

Also while in Albany, I presented Leann with "The Giving Plate", which had been given to me by Ann on Morningstar.  It has a beautiful saying on the plate about love, giving, family & friendship & is meant to be passed on to special people we meet.  Leann, Ann & so many others we have met are just that . . . . wonderful, special people!

STATEN ISLAND, NY to CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY / June 2-5 (Days 154-157)

On Thursday, June 2nd we ran a short 10 miles across the Lower Bay & spent the night at Great Kills Marina on Staten Island.  It was like a scene from a movie, old guys smoking cigars & playing cards at a picnic table at the community pavillion.  We met this old Italian guy, Tony (go figure!) who has a Mainship identical to ours & ended up eating an Italian feast on his boat with him, his son & daughter.  The next day was cool & overcast when we passed under the Verrazanno Bridge.  Despite the cloudiness, it was still an amazing sight to see Manhatten ahead of us.

We couldn't believe that we were finally here!  We had heard from so many Loopers that passing in front of the Statue of Liberty was a highlight of the Loop & they were right!  It was truly a "goose bumps" moment!

These pictures were taken by Rowe Boat the previous sunny day.

We were now on a mission to pick up my girlfriend Pat from back home.  So dodging the crazy ferry boats,

we left Lady Liberty in our wake,  headed up the Hudson River,

 pulled up to the NYC driving range at Pier 59 in Chelsea & Pat literally jumped on!

I was so excited that Pat would be cruising with us for the next several days, before she returned to her daughter Kyle's place in Brooklyn.  Having been to NYC many times, we both enjoyed seeing Manhatten from a totally different perspective from the river.

It wasn't long before we were completely amazed at how different the shore line looked.  It went from massive buildings to steep rock formations in a matter of a few miles.

Our first stop was about 25 miles north of NYC at a town called Croton-On-Hudson.  Home for the night...Halfmoon Bay Marina.

Pat quickly got a feel for life on The Loop ~ cruising, exploring, eating, drinking, socializing, relaxing, etc.   The next day was a beautiful day, so the three of us went in search of the New Croton Dam.   We literally walked over six miles along the road & through trails . . .

until we found the most incredible sight!  

Construction of this masonary dam began in 1892 & was completed in 1906.  It is 266' wide & 297' high & contains 850,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Then, yes, it was six miles back!  It about killed us, but it was worth it.  And true to form for Pat & her outgoing personality, she fit right in at docktails that night.  She quickly became an honorary Looper!

The day ended with another beautiful sunset.

C&D CANAL to SANDY HOOK, NJ / May 30 - June 1 (Days 151 - 153)

On day 151 of our journey, we left the Chesapeake Bay & entered the C&D Canal.  This is a 14-mile canal connecting the Chesapeake & Delaware Bays & is considered a shortcut between Philadelphia & Baltimore.   This was one of six bridges we passed under on the canal.

After a long 77 mile long day, we anchored behind Reedy Island in the Delaware Bay.  Shortly after we arrived, fellow Loopers Grayling joined us in the anchorage.  Dinner on the back deck of Phase II was a perfect ending to a long day.

Bright & early the next morning we weighed anchor & headed down the Delaware Bay.  We saw many commercial sights along this bay, like these cargo ships & nuclear power plant.

 

After passing a lighthouse near the entrance of the Delaware Bay, we headed to Cape May, NJ to wait for the perfect, calm day like this one to venture out into the Atlantic Ocean to travel to New York City.

At Utsch's Marina in Cape May, we met up with three other Looper boats.  The next day was forecasted to be a great day to take on the Atlantic Ocean, so off we went.

The sunrise was beautiful,

& the approach into the Atlantic Ocean was surreal, with a hint of fog.

Ahead of us was a 130 mile run up the coast of Delaware & New Jersey to the entrance of the Lower Bay & then the Hudson River.  We were a little apprehensive about the journey, so it was great to be in a flotilla of five other Loopers.

The day started off perfect, with calm waters & clear blue skies.  Then the strangest thing happened . . . in the distance we could see a massive cloud that looked like no other cloud we had ever seen.  As we got closer, we were amazed at what we were seeing.  It looked like a round tube & was extremely long & low to the water.

We joked with the other boats that we were entering some twighlight zone, questioning whether we would come out the other side.  We challenged each other to be the first to go through it.

Passing under the cloud, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees & the water rippled.  It was the second surreal moment of the day!

This is a photo of Phase II (taken by Rowe Boat) coming out the other side unscathed!  Bizzare is the only word to describe the experience!  We later determined that it was a rare "roll" cloud (Google it, you'll be amazed!)

So we thought, what else could happen??  And then the whale sightings!  Unfortunately they were too far away to get a good picture, but the sight is burned into our memories!  And then out of nowhere, a heavy fog rolled in.  Within minutes, we could barely see the flag on the bow of the boat.  Navigating solely by instruments was a bit intense, so much so I completely overlooked taking pictures of the wall of fog!

After about an hour of unbelievable thick fog, we regained visual of the flotilla!

And they regained a visual on Phase II.

Twelve long hours after our departure from Cape May, there it was . . . Coney Island off in the distance.

A beautiful sunset at the Sandy Hook anchorage with a view of Staten Island was a great ending to an amazing day!!