Mer Sea

Cape May was great! Our friends Minnie and George caught up with us the day after we arrived, and we had a jolly and delicious dinner together at the Lobster House, a short walk from the marina. It was such fun to catch up and talk about the rest of our trips.

 

Friday, the weather prediction was for thunder showers all day, and so we waited…all day we waited for the showers to materialize, and in the meantime, the seas were calm (like glass) and it seemed like it would have been a great day to have left. Wouldn’t you know? However, not being clairvoyant, we were forced to make our decision based on the predictions of others, and we stayed.

 

Not to waste a day, the “girls” (Minnie, Leslie, and a new friend on Halleluia, Barb) decided to take a tour of “Old Cape May” and the Physick mansion. We were the only ones on the bus part of the tour, which was wonderful, and then were joined by a couple for the mansion tour. The house and the architecture and the history were fascinating! Just as the tour ended, the heavens opened (finally!), and we had a bit of a walk back to our boats. Fortunately, the couple offered to drive us back to the marina, so we got back without being drenched. Just another example of the kindness of strangers…

 

Minnie and George left the next day, Saturday, but we decided to wait and make the whole run on Sunday, as there were thunderstorms forcast again for Saturday. Minnie and George were only going as far as Atlantic City, and we hoped that they didn’t get caught in the same storms we had at the marina. We stayed and got housekeeping and computer work done, so it was a good day, but we were ready to GO!!

 

We made the decision to leave at 5:00 AM the next day, and it dawned calm and partly cloudy. We traversed the inlet with no problems, and that was it…we were in the ocean! It was calm, with some swells, but these only produced a gentle up and down motion. We were very happy that we’d waited!

 

As the morning wore on, a light chop developed, and that increased to waves of 2-4 feet, which was not exactly what had been predicted. The main thing was the wind…it was predicted to be from the west or northwest, which would have meant that it was coming from the land side and would have very little negative effect on our travel. In fact, it was coming from the northeast, which is about the worst wind you can have going up the east coast in the Atlantic. There is no buffer between you and the wind and the building seas. However, it was not a very fierce wind, maybe 10-15 knots, so we were fine. It just wasn’t as nice a ride as we’d hoped for. The ride improved as we got closer to Sandy Hook, where we would tuck back in from the ocean. But it was only GREAT for the first hour or so out of 11½, so we did feel kind of gypped! Especially since we’d waited so long for that perfect “weather window”. Guess that’s boating!

 

We anchored just southwest of New York Harbor, in a place called Great Kills Harbor. (Kill, by the way, is from the Dutch meaning creek, river, or other such water feature…). It was a great, extremely quiet and protected anchorage. We were well positioned to make our trip through New York the next day.

 

We had been warned about traveling through New York – lots of boat traffic, including freighters, barges, ferries, military vessels, and pleasure boaters. We were on the lookout, but it proved to be no problem. In fact, it was a definite highlight of the trip so far! Seeing Manhattan materialize in the distance, and the Statue of Liberty, was truly breathtaking! To have the unobstructed view that you can only get from the water, and to be there on our own boat, was a “pinch me” kind of experience. It was cloudy, but not raining, and we enjoyed every minute of it!

 

We had planned to get fuel after leaving the city, having called around and found a place with a not-too-usurious price, but when we found the place we couldn’t see a way to get in, so kept going to Tarrytown.

 

Tarrytown has an interesting approach, which is to say, it is unclear and offers two choices. My cruising guide was no help, and the marina “help” was no help, so we just bit the bullet and chose a route and got in with no problems. Marinas are different here on the Hudson…most of the boats are smaller, gasoline-powered boats, and the marinas don’t have much in the way of “dockhands”, etc. The one employee at this marina didn’t seem interested in doing any more than giving us our slip number, so after we (self-service) pumped out, Roy walked over to the slip to check it out. When he knew where we were going, and which side we’d be tying on, we headed on over. Backing into a slip without anyone to help by catching lines is a challenge at best, but you throw in some current and wind, a narrow fairway to turn around in, and fairly short fingers on the slip, and you’ve got some interesting ingredients! Between the two of us we managed to get Mer Sea in, but it wasn’t easy. But we’re not here for easy, are we?

 

Tarrytown is otherwise known as Sleepy Hollow, of Washington Irving fame, and it is a lively bedroom community for NYC. The trains run regularly to the big city. The main part of town is up the hill (remember, we’re now in the Hudson Valley…), and well worth the walk! It’s lovely and brimming with activity, with restaurants and shops and the sidewalks crowded with people – and not tourists, either, these were locals! We checked out a couple of restaurants, several of which were closed on Mondays, and chose a small, informal Greek restaurant with outdoor seating. The food was excellent, and the prices were right! After dinner, we walked to the ice cream parlor for dessert, and then back down the hill to the boat.

 

Just behind where we were docked was a ball field, and we set up chairs on the upper deck and watched slow-pitch softball for a while before going to bed. It was the end of a wonderful day!

 

We headed out the next day for Newburgh. I knew nothing about most of these destinations on the Hudson, but the cruising guide alludes to the “revitalized Newburgh waterfront” which attracted me, being from Baltimore. I know about revitalized waterfronts! When I called the marina to make reservations, the price they quoted me was astonishingly high, so of course I thought we were in for a tremendous stop. What a joke!

 

Newburgh is basically a slum. They have built some restaurants on the waterfront, which are very nice, but there is nothing else there, nor further in the town (up the hill..). AND the marina has practically no services: a bathroom, and that is it. No laundry, no boater’s lounge, nothing. AND it is right on the river, with no protection from the considerable traffic, both pleasure craft and tugs and barges, so you rock, I mean ROCK and roll the whole time. We won’t be going back. “But, but,” I hear you say, “how was the restaurant?” Are you kidding? At those prices, who could afford to eat out!!!???

 

We left Newburgh bright and early the next day and headed for Kingston. We’d already heard from several people that this would be a good stop, and we’d planned to rent a car to take in some of the local attractions, namely the FDR home at Hyde Park, and the Culinary Institute of America. It was raining pretty steadily by the time we got to Kingston, and I just didn’t feel like tramping around in the rain, so I left the town of Kingston itself for another day and stayed on the boat for most of the day we arrived.

 

The rain stopped for our exploring the next day, and we had a wonderful time! We went to the Italian restaurant at the CIA for lunch, and had a delicious and leisurely time of it! It was fun to see the students in action (as our head waiter said, he and they were all in “class”) and to talk to them about what they were doing. The food was delicious, and I even had a glass of wine – something I never do during the day!

 

We headed to the FDR home after lunch, and had an interesting and informative tour there. We’d wanted to see the Vanderbuilt mansion also, but there simply wasn’t time! We headed back to Kingston, and did some major grocery shopping, since we had the luxury of a car. We had wanted to see a movie, too, but we were both too tired, and it was too late by the time we’d done everything else. We decided to put the groceries away (actually, a major event, what with storage issues on a boat!), eat a small supper, and hit the hay!

 

We headed out to Coeymans the next day, Friday. We were meeting up with friends there on Saturday, and hoping for halfway decent weather so that we could take them for a ride in Mer Sea. These same friends had visited in Punta Gorda this past winter, and it had rained the whole time!

 

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate on Saturday. However, it’s always fun to see Bob and Ginny, and they had a car, of course, so we drove around seeing some of the countryside and Albany. They also brought us a “care” package from the fabulous Italian market that they frequent, and we’ve been enjoying some authentic Italian goodies since their visit!

 

We read on the internet that General Electric was moving a barge into the Erie Canal over the weekend, and would be moving out from Waterford, the beginning of the canal, on Monday. Although we’d originally planned to go directly from Coeymans to Waterford on Sunday, we couldn’t see the point in competing for space with the barge, and so decided to make an intermediate stop in Albany on Sunday, and then go on to Waterford on Monday morning.

 

Waterford was a great stop! We met or re-met several “Loopers”, some of whom we’ve been talking to on the radio but had never met in person. The weather cleared up and it got warm, the town is friendly, there’s a nice “ Welcome Center” and free dock for us boaters, and we had a great time! We stayed two nights there, and met more great people the second day! I must say, the best thing about what we’re doing is definitely the great people we’re meeting all along the way!

 

We left Waterford on Wednesday and headed for Scotia, NY, which is across the canal from Schenectady. There is supposed to be a free dock in Scotia, and access to shopping and the little town. Well, there it was! The dock was a bit dilapidated, but perfectly serviceable, and you can’t beat the price! It is situated at the edge of a large park, and to get into the town you have to walk through the park, past the “Jumpin Jack’s Drive In” (burgers, dogs, ice cream, etc…), the bandstand, the Dunkin Donuts, more of the park, and the little library. Actually, all very nice and neatly kept, and a pleasure to stroll by. I did finally get to a small, neat, well-stocked grocery store, where I was able to replenish the produce stock on Mer Sea.

 

During dinner that night there was a crew of kids and someone driving a ski boat practicing for a waterski show slated for the weekend. We had a great show right from our boat! In spite of the inevitable wake rocking and rolling us, it was lots of fun to watch! Then we decided to go to the movies, since the town Cinema is in easy walking distance from the dock. On our way, we passed the bandstand, and there was a concert by some young (maybe high school or college?) kids singing pretty good Country/Western. And it was very well-attended, in spite of the sprinkling rain. And the movie theatre!! It is one of those old-fashioned, one-screen, theatres, with a balcony, and of course, only one movie showing at a time! The price was cheap ($4 for me and $2.50 for Roy), and the place was packed! People of all ages flocked to see Robin Williams in “RV”. (Not a great movie, but fun…). We really liked Scotia!

 

We’re now in Amsterdam, which doesn’t seem to have much to offer, except cheap ($1.00) washers and dryers, so Roy’s off doing the laundry while I work on this. Our friends on KatieSue, whom we met in Newburgh, have joined us here, and so we’ll have a fine time no matter what! Looking forward to more of the canal and then getting to Canada!