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.
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