Start the Erie Canal

We left Waterford at 9am traveling with Rahn-de-Vous to start our trek on the Erie Canal. We had rain in the forecast but the radar showed we might miss them. We went through 10 locks in 40 miles and they provided an athletic event. You had to set up fenders on the starboard for the first few and then on the port for the rest. There were some that required you to run a rope around a cable midship and let it slide up as the water rose. Some later ones required you to hold onto the ropes at the bow and stern that ran down from the top of the lock. Holding the boat to the side of the lock was a challenge and for all but the last lock our 2 boats were the only ones in the lock and that was a good thing. Riverlink Marina at Amsterdam NY, is where we pulled in around 5pm. We avoided the rain and have ended up with a really nice evening. I declared that new rule for our boating—no more than 10 locks in a day—I am exhausted, dirty and in need of happy hour.


First Lock of the Day



Traveling Partner

6 knee boarders on the Erie--shades of our kids 25 yrs. ago

Sunny Days sitting at Waterford Welcome Center

We were able to get the bikes out at Waterford

Heading to the Erie Canal

After Catskill, we came to Houghtaling Creek (about 25 miles from Albany) and ran into a storm worse than we had on the whole trip. So we stopped early,anchored and rode it out with no problems. It was a good night to read and watch a movie. There are trains and a highway on shore but the trains-about every ½ hour- don’t blow their horn so they just added to the scenery. We watched Downton Abbey season 4 (the first hour) that we picked up in Catskill. The weather turned perfect after the storm –75/56 degrees—since it is summer we revised the policy that 60 degrees was too low. We went to bed with all the windows opened—it was just like the great nights out on Center Hill. Another run at the inverter problem and a fuel filter replacement delayed our departure until after noon but we made our way through Albany, Troy Federal Lock (our first since the Virginia Cut) to Waterford, NY. Waterford has the Welcoming Center for the Erie Canal and we will take a couple of days to get the boat in order and learn how to traverse the Canal. We have caught up with our friends Craig and Karen Rahn (aboard Rahn-de-Vous) that we met in Solomons and shopped with in Cape May. They have done New Jersey and New York State differently and we look forward to comparing notes at dinner tonight.

Catskill Dock-Mike and Fitz discussing puzzling inverter



Rip Van Winkle Bridge- a lot here is named for the 200 year old Washington Irving story set in Catskill



USS Slater in downrown Albany--narrowly escaped--it was a WWII gun boat with turrets- the only attraction to Albany waterfront as far as we could tell

Directions to the Canals

Troy Lock --on top

Entering Troy Lock

Catskill, NY

Two weeks to go before we put Sunny Days on the hard and we find ourselves in Catskill, NY. The inverter is refusing to support the refrigerator so Fitz found a place here that is reputed to have a good service department. We have come to rely on the inverter because we want to anchor out with the calm water and the beautiful creeks. In Catskill we have found our favorite—eagles—they must live right across the creek and they swoop to catch fish for dinner. The town is very picturesque but has fallen on hard times-chats with the locals blame the economy and Walmart moving in. Neat cat statues are all over town and weeping willows line the waterfront. Verizon signal has not been this bad since the Tombigbee but we won’t be bored. The inverter has decided to work fine (now that we have the experts to look at it) so the Captain is frustrated –he is polishing the rails. I am trying real hard to enjoy this time on the Hudson and not think of all we need to do to put her up. We may never be this way again by water so we do not want to take this for granted.

Cat Statues dot Catskill like Nashville's fish

Love the weeping willows

Catskill

This Islandd is right down from our marina--windy day

Kingston –Saugerties/Catskill--Leeton’s First Day of School

Kingston is a small waterfront town with many restaurants and hair salons It is very pretty and in one of the stores they sold blue jeans for $185-quaint! We rode the city bus to the uptown district which is called the Stockade district—great lunch and interesting buildings—particularly the Dutch Reformed Church.  In the cemetery the headstones dated back to the 1600’s and Woodstock, NY is only a short drive away. Even though Woodstock was a significant event of our youth, we decided not to visit (we would have to rent a car to see a field). The radio station is out of Woodstock and they play a lot of oldies like Joe Cocker, Van Morrison and Bob Marley—we sigh. Upstream we anchored in Saugerties Creek where the inverter had some issues so Saturday will be in the city of Catskill at the base of the Catskill Mountains to get some bla bla so we will have power when we anchor out. Thursday was a red letter day in our family—it is Leeton Norris’s first day of school. Her Grandpa Bitz and Grandma Lolo are feeling a little old (seems she was a baby yesterday) but she had a blast and we are proud.

This church was the 1600's era Dutch Reform



Rondout Lighthouse at Kingston

New York's first Senate Bldg

Leeton's first day at Northeast Elementary

She is so grownup!

Katie reports a very successful first day!

Going up the Hudson

West Point was just 20 miles from our anchorage and we were pretty disappointed it is not open for transient boaters. We took lots of pictures from the water and it is a gorgeous campus from our view. The terrain has turned mountainous, many trains run along the coastline and there is very little river traffic. First stop is Poughkeepsie, NY—didn’t you always want to stay there (or at least say you stayed at Poughkeepsie)? There is a restaurant –Mariners- that has a great reputation for food and a rickety dock you can tie up to for the night. After a great dinner and a restless night with a train coming by honking about every 3 hours, we head only 20 miles to Kingston, NY –the first capital of NY (for about 6 mo. in 1777 before the British burned it to the ground). We will plug in and enjoy this historic little town and wait out an afternoon storm.

West Point

Typical terrain--looks like the Tennessee River doesn't it

Great House above Poughkeepsie--Vanderbilt has a historic mansion maybe this is it

Poughkeepsie

Esopus Lighthouse going into Kingston

Fitz surveying the ricketty dock at Mariners

Statue of Liberty, Yonkers, Sing Sing, and Haverstraw



Manhattan from the Hudson

Making our way through New York City waterfront to the Hudson River was busy and rocky but after a couple of hours we ran into water like the Tennessee River We had a great time in NYC/Staten Island/Great Kills but it is time to move north along the Hudson River. Henry Hudson was looking for passage to China when he went up the water past NYC—oops! But we find the river charming, calm, wide much like the water we boat on back home. Half Moon Bay at Haverstraw, NY appears to be a great anchorage just off the river about 33 miles upstream from NYC-there we will R&R.

One thing Loopers have to do it take the picture of Lady Liberty with the AGLCA burgee

Statue of Liberty was spectacular from the water

Golf practice range in Manhattan

Yonkers, NY

Sing Sing Prison

Anchorage at Half Moon Bay

Ending up our NYC trip with Motown the Musical on Broadway

Last Day in NYC and we really wanted to take in a Broadway Show. So off to 46th Street to stand in line for half price matinee tickets--there are a lot of good shows on—Beautiful (the story of Carol King and her music), Jersey Boys and Wicked (which we have seen in Nashville), Once, If/Then, The Lion King, etc.. But as many of you know—in my next life I will return as Diana Ross so when they had 2 good tickets for half price for Motown the Musical it won out. It was at one of the old historic theaters—the Lunt-Fontaine—and a beautiful setting for a great show. It was over around 5pm and we walked out into a crowded Broadway. There was Naked Cowboy, an Israeli Rally, and many characters (we especially loved the man with a big cat on his hat). We are sorry to see our New York Stay come to an end—the people are unbelievably friendly and helpful. Great Kills Harbor/Yacht Club is a MUST stop for anyone on the loop. It is very protected water, has great restaurants and most importantly the friendliest people you will ever meet.

In line for Motown

Lunch at the Evergreen before the show

The Lunt-Fontaine Theater



Naked Cowboy was a hoot

Swans on shore at Great Kills

Great Kills Yacht Club

East Village and the rest of the Downtown

East Village, the UN and the Statue of Liberty-- big day planned but we started out with energy. On the bus tour of the city  we went by the UN, China Town and Broadway (again). We missed getting off for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty but we decided that was OK we would get back there. We saw Har Krishna, protesters at the UN, a lot of foreign tourist, and locals that were beautiful and wacky. We didn’t see anyone famous but we saw where Diana Ross, Goldie Hawn, Leona Helmsley, and Mike Tyson live(d). New York seems to be a place in transition with a lot of buildings changing from businesses to condos and ALL of the roads and a lot of the buildings are under some sort of construction. We walked along St. Marks into East Village and the age of the people moved to the younger set (18-30). I thought they all looked like beautiful people that could be potential students/dancers/actors. Terry thought they all looked weird--great people watching. We ate a late brunch at Café Magadar which was down from Clif’s Hot Dogs that Christopher had suggested-it has a phone booth that you go in and dial a number and ask for admittance to the speakeasy in the back—it didn’t open until 6pm  for eats-- we wanted more. Puddin had  yummy desserts—frozen pops and pudding with toppings—another Christopher suggestion. We walked back toward the Statue of Liberty, ran out of energy and just went home. We have one more day.

This beautiful church is across from the WTC and had no damage--it served for 9 months as the base for rescue workers after 9/11

Wall Street--pat the bull's tale for luck

They have museums for everything

Shoegasm?!

One of my favorite store names

The UN

No flags on the poles at the UN because they are not in town

Great little Cafe Magadar for brunch and people watching

Day Two in NYC

We have found everyone here very helpful but it is pretty obvious that all we have to do is open our mouth and we come across as Andy Griffith and Barney Fife. Yesterday when the President was landing near the Ferry, Terry asked the people around us what the ruckus was. They looked at him like he was from Mars—I don’t think they had ever heard of “ruckus”. With a lot of help from people at the dock, the bus stop and the bus driver, we have figured out the bus system and started the morning at Central Park. There we realized this was a big elephant and we had to set some priorities and pace ourselves. Central Park could have taken a day all by itself and after a couple of hours there, we decided to get on one of the local tour buses. High points besides the entire Park area were Times Square, 30 Rock, and Broadway. We returned to the boat exhausted and this is the first time I regret that we don’t have a bath tub in which to soak.


Fitz and Christopher Columbus in Central Park 

Tribute to John Lennon in the Park

The fountain on Friends opening in Central Park

A character in the Park

The Garmant District

The Guggenheim

The Ball in Times Square

Topiary at Rockefeller Center 

Geo. Washington Sq. in Greenwich Village