Loop Days Crotan-on-Hudson, Newburgh on to Kingston, NY- Betsy

We left Crotan-on-Hudson on Saturday morning having to say see you later to our cruising friends Sharon and Principal Bob. We first met them on July 4th last year in Solomons. We saw them again at the MTOA Rendezvous in September and again at the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk. Like our now good friends Bonnie and Jon- we had that good, instant connection. They are currently going back to Ohio then to Las Vegas for family birthdays and then resume the Loop after several weeks. Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon!

Dave, Betsy and Principal Bob

Dave, Betsy and Sharon

 

Sorry I can't flip them the correct way- have tried and tried so you will just have to look side-ways!

We were excited for today's cruise as we knew we would pass by West Point hoped that the pictures from the water would be as spectacular as we remembered from the day before.

 



This is the bridge we crossed on Friday connecting the eastern and western shores of the Hudson River through Bear Mountain. The road around the mountain must have been carved based on goat trails as we climbed and wound around the mountain in what seemed like only goats could navigate!

This was just one of the many beautiful homes we saw tucked into the mountains on the way to West Point.

Approaching West Point by water. Looked so very impressive like it had been carved into the mountain!

Closer view of the many educational buildings used by the Cadets. We remembered so many of the details from our tour the previous day. We had an incredible tour guide who poked at us several times from being from Annapolis and "those midshipmen!" She even did a few Go Army directed at us!

Navy want to be's!

This is the beautiful chapel that is currently under renovation. If you look back to yesterday's pictures you will see why we enjoyed this part of the tour immensely!

 

 

The gothic architecture was just outstanding. We left West Point behind and continued to see the beautiful granite stones in the mountains!

 

 

We knew that the Bannerman Castle was coming up but had no idea it was so big and beautiful. It appears to have fallen into disrepair but it still was a sight to see.

 When it was time to pull into our slip in Newburgh, NY the wind had picked up out of the south and the currents were running strong. We had a wonderful girl dockhand and with the help of another boater- FRYEDAZE was tightly into her slip. Right in front of our boat were the replicas of the Nina and Pinta from Wilmington, DE. It was a very cool marina- with 8 restaurants along the waterfront. The Riverfront Festival was in full swing and the party continued until 2:00 a.m. with a live band. The wave action at the dock was like we were in the ocean- with 3-4' swells! This would not be a marina that we would chose to go to again unless it was a port in the storm- but it was a beautiful day and the sailboat below was a perfect ending to our day!

 

Today (Sunday) we gladly left Riverfront Marina and cruised to Kingston, NY. It was very very windy and rainy so not many photos today! We will be staying here for two days due to the impending rain and storms tonight and tomorrow. Next stop is an anchorage behind an island- Coxsachie. Pictures will follow!



Loop Day 10 & 11- NYC to Crotan on the Hudson and West Point- Betsy/dlf

Yesterday we left NYC under very hazy/foggy conditions so we weren't able to take a lot of pictures. When we passed under the George Washington Bridge the conditions began to improve. New York is a crazy place to captain a boat. There are ferries running non-stop across the river from many locations. Throw in tugs and barges as well and tour boats and it makes for a very interesting day. All these boats in this small bath tub churn the water in to chaos. Even a 42 foot 30,000 lbs boat gets tossed like a dixie cut in these conditions. Once we moved further north the traffic subsided and we went back to our normal Chesapeake cruising mode. The big challenge is the current. I(Dave) misread the current indications and assumed we would have favorable currents going up river, NOT! We normally run 8.5 mph. We only hit 6 to 7 mph on the 5 hour trip up the river. We normally go slow, but this was slow-slow.

Yonkers. N.Y.

My favorite position to watch the shore pass by!

 Commuter trains were running all day as we headed up river. There wasn't more than 20 minutes that went by before you saw another train go by.

 As we progressed up the river you feel like you are in a big canyon. The high limestone cliffs line the river. Most of the development is on the east side where the trains run and the west side is mostly untouched.

 This is a big, wide river. We carried over 40 feet under the keel the whole way up river.

The day is done. Time to enjoy the sunset, take down the flag and relax on the bridge before we hit the rack.

 

The next day we rented a car and headed to West Point for a tour of the academy. The bus tour of the grounds included stops at the chapel, parade grounds and river front. It was a very nice day and made us proud of the history that has made our country great and the great tradition of the academy.

 The stadium

 Awesome stained glass windows

 I think Betsy wanted to get her hands on this baby!

 Trumpet pipes

 West Point museum entrance

 The bend in the Hudson river at West Point

 



 

NYC-Betsy

Sorry I am behind- had a very difficult time downloading my pictures from 9/11 Memorial and Museum and I still can't upload a lot of them. The second series of pictures was our trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a great day- except all the thousands of school children who were touring along with us! :-)



I do hope that you all some day take the opportunity to come to NYC and see this museum. It is a very overwhelming and powerful place- taking us all back to that horrible day in 2001. We should never forget this attach that killed over 3000 people.

Entrance to 9/11 Museum

 

Antenna spire from the top of the tower

 

Bent support beam

 

Supports for North Tower

Memorial Wall entitled What the Sky Looked Like on 9/11
The saying will always stay with me- "No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time"

What would have been the view from our marina on New Jersey side

Dave in front of another section of antenna spire

Reflecting Pool on 9/11 sacred grounds

The newest Trade Center- World One

 

 

New construction outside museum

Leaving the new skyline

All the rest of the pictures will be Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

 



Foe all you boaters out there, check this out. Not many know about the efforts to get people out of harms way and off the island. Very moving. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MDOrzF7B2Kg?rel=0
 

2nd Post: Loop Day 7 Barnegut to NYC! Betsy

Words cannot express the excitement today's cruise brought Dave and I. Mine was the incredible sights and sounds of NYC... Dave's was dodging ferry's, barges, jet skis (yes, jet skis in New York Harbor) and the incredible currents that run all different directions.
Our day started at 5:15 when we left Greg's dock. I didn't sleep well last night dreading the return trip out through the marsh and narrow channels leading out to Barnegut Bay- but I could have slept soundly as Dave just followed our track out. There were 90% less boats with 50% of them going slower than yesterday as well as no wind= all was peaceful!

Because the trip was so beautiful and the sites so grand- I am just going to add captions and let the photos talk for our day. Tonight we are going to take a ferry from our marina at Liberty Landing over to Jersey City for some John's Time Square Pizza.

0-dark-30 departure from Gregs dock

Sunrise coming out Oyster Creek. Our AGLCA Flag waving proudly

My normal position capturing the sunrises

Our Memorial Day salute to all the men and women who have served or are actively serving in our military so we could enjoy this wonderful day on the water

Coney Island- our first site on the Hudson River

Coast Guard protecting some of our naval warfare ships



Our first siting of Lady Liberty with one of the dreaded passenger ferries that just buzz by!

The last shot of the Thunderbirds as they are flying in formation after performing this weekend in NYC

Closer look at the Statue of Liberty- Notice all the tourists at the base

Ran right in front of us! Poor Dave!



The look of the new skyline- minus the Twin Towers. Tallest building is now the new World Trade Center.

Tomorrow we take a ferry to the September 11th Memorial and Museum. I hope you have enjoyed these first look at our sights on our approach to NYC!