Days 74 & 75 - Cold and rainy Memorial Day

Current Position: 40° 32' 47" N 74° 7' 57" W

Sunday was so busy we were ready for a of rest on Memorial day - just wish it was warmer! Our boat doesn't hold the heat very long.  We turn on the generator to warm up and the heat dissipates within an hour after turning it off :( .  We took the dinghy in to the Yacht Club to get a hot shower and do some visiting.  We met several people we have chatted with over Facebook but had never met.  On the way to the dock we noticed a boat that was anchored quite near the marina that hadn't been there the night before.  When we went to welcome a new comer to the marina (the first Looper couple we ever met way down in Southport), they were in the process of protecting their boat from the "anchored" boat that was no longer secure.  Several yacht club members were on their way to help.  We got in our dinghy and one of the members hitched a ride with us over to the boat so they could tow it away from the marina.  They were able to dock it at the public boat ramp.  No owner information was on board but the boat eventually was taken away from the boat ramp so the owner must have discovered it.  It had too small of an anchor and no chain - just a rope, which is not heavy enough to hold a boat in the choppy water we've been having with this dreary weather.  Our friends' boat was not injured thank goodness.

While we were at the clubhouse we met one of the members who gave us a tour of the 100+ year old building.  They have a requirement of volunteer hours for all members of the club so the building is kept in wonderful condition.  The brand new bathrooms were a joy to use.  There were 8 Looper boats here that day and I thought it would be a great time to have "docktails" as they had wonderful picnic tables around, but not with this weather!  So I asked the nice guy who gave us the tour if we could use the clubhouse.  The outcome was we had a wonderful party there - meeting many new people and sharing stories and food.  It was nice and cozy inside and people stayed for several hours visiting. The Looper life style can get rather lonely in-between group gatherings so times like these are precious for "people-people" like me.  I've discovered that I'm not the only one who misses the fellowship.  I'll have to organize more get-togethers in the future when several of us are gathered in one area.

Today most of the Loopers moved on to the Hudson River but with more rain and cold in the forecast, our friends on Overtime and Bob & I decided to wait until tomorrow.  We had a nice walk in town this morning before the rain started and found a wonderful deli with an Italian flair.  Bob got his hair cut at a local barbershop and we headed back just before the rain came down with a vengeance.  The little town of Great Kills is pretty lack luster but we had a good visit with David and Kim and got in a good walk. 

This is pretty crazy - a blog post and only one picture!  Enjoy it - more pictures to come tomorrow as we take pictures in front of the Statue of Liberty.  We will take turns taking each other's pictures with Overtime.

Anchored at Great Kills Harbor - hope you are warmer than we are!

Day 73 - New York, New York!

Current Position: 40° 32' 47" N 74° 7' 57" W

Warning - this is a long post so get a cup of your favorite beverage and sit back and relax.

Neither one of us like big cities so we really didn't intend on going into NYC.  Bob wanted to see the 911 memorial but didn't push me into going.  We met up with our friends, David and Kim on Overtime who planned to brave the crowds to see the memorial.  They said it was all about the experience and adventure.  Hmmmm.....I'd have to agree.  Bob was pleased, so off we went!

It's a mile walk from the marina to the train station.  The train had pulled in just as we approached - no waiting!

Wonderful old fire station on the way with a 911 memorial mural.

 The train...

The station...

Reminders to be nice! (and no pole dancing LOL!)

20 minute train ride to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.  The ferry was loading as we arrived - again no waiting!  The ferries here are free!  Can't say the same for the subway and train though.

20 minute ferry ride to Manhattan Island.  Oh my!  What a view from the ferry:

Brooklyn Bridge, 

Governors Island,

The ferry to Governors Island

 The Statue of Liberty,  

Manhattan Island with the new World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, 

and boat after boat after boat - big ones, little ones, and in between ones.

We landed on Manhattan Island and walked to the 911 Memorial.  The unexpected beauty of the city exploded into our sight with an awesome mix of exquisite old and shiny new. 

The variety of architecture constantly amazed us.

Gorgeous churches stuck right in the middle of huge skyscrapers.

The detail in the old buildings never ceased to amaze us.

The second thing to startle us was the police presence.  So sad that this show of force is necessary.  A prayer for all our men in blue!

This crowd around a bull caught our attention and alerted us to the fact we were close to Wall Street!  Wish we could have seen the whole bull!

We expected huge crowds at the 911 Memorial but were pleasantly surprised that we had room to see the Memorial with no difficulty.  It is a beautiful memorial to all the lives that were lost.

There are two of these large pools with all the names of those lost on that sad day.  The waterfalls all around the pool is so soothing and peaceful.  The new World Trade Center towers over the Memorial.

From the Memorial we decided to take the subway to Times Square.  The subway is a challenge.  First you have to find the entrance, then figure out the map, the ticket system, and last of all the temporary changes that are in effect because of renovations.  These changes are NOT posted!

I love the term "dip" your credit card to pay for your MetroCard.

Big Brother is watching you?  These mosaic eyes were everywhere in the subway station!

People watching is a wonderful all through the city but especially on the subway when you have time to see people. This is my "gansta" guy. He even wore his hat at the correct angle.  Notice the shoes!

Times Square - there are not enough words to describe the experience, for experience it was.  The people, the advertising, the sidewalk kiosks, the hawkers....so much to take in, pictures do not do it justice, but I'll try.  The biggest surprise it that it's not a "square". I've no idea how they fit all those people in this small area on New Years Eve!

From Time Square we walked to Central Park. Along the way we saw more ornate buildings:

This exquisite structure, built in 1907-1909, is done in the style of Francis I, a patron of Renaissance, using terra cotta tiles.  His symbol - the crowned salamander is visible above the door.

Two well know theaters were also in this area:

The Winter Garden Theater where Al Jolsen became famous.  

Carnegie Hall!

When we arrived at Central Park we were surprised AGAIN!  We expected a large park like this:

What we found was this and so much more.  Central Park is 843 acres of which we were only able to walk a small part.  This is what we found in the SMALL portion we were able to see:

NO "keep off the grass" signs

A huge playground in multiple sections to keep the kids corralled.

The biggest surprise was the the huge rock formations throughout this area.  They are surrounded by wood chips so the kids (and bigger "kids" too) can climb to their hearts content.

 And all this in the middle of a massive city.  Notice the skyscrapers in the background!

The coupe de grace was the "Home Alone 2" moment when we first entered the park.

Transportation (other than walking) in the park?

Bicycles

Horse and Buggy @ $55 for 20 min.

The most competitive business was the pedal carriages.  They varied from $3 a minute to $6 a minute (yes - per MINUTE).  One enterprising young man heard us talking about the variety of prices and said not to pay any attention to them - he only charged a flat $35.  He didn't say how many minutes that covered :)

The street vendors of New York City are everywhere and what they were trying to sell depended on the location.  Near the Statue of Liberty - tour boat tickets to see her or Governors Island.  Near Central Park? - of course the carriage rides but also bicycle rentals.  These started blocks before you get to the park.  The closer you get, the more vendors there are.  They were quite polite and took "no thank you" very well.

In between, we saw the costumed "camera ops".  They wore costumes such as, Iron Man, Daisy Duck, Captain America or, the all popular, Statue of Liberty.  For the privilege of having your picture taken with them you were expected to fork over the green.  How much I didn't take the opportunity to find out :)  My favorite was this guy on his cell phone - waiting for his next customer:

The picture I missed was a guitar player wearing a Wonder Woman bikini and a cowboy hat!  A real eye popper!

Lastly were the abundance of street kiosks selling food, souvenirs, and the traditional news stands.  They were everywhere!  The food smells were marvelous. Notice they even have lit digital signs!

Finally it was time to head back to the boat.  After 3 hours on the subway, ferry and train rides at RUSH HOUR, (this time there was LOTS of waiting) we made it back!  One day was fun, but I wouldn't want to live there!


Anchored in Great Kills Harbor

Day 72 - The Ocean!

Current Position: 40° 32' 47" N 74° 7' 57" W

A very nerve wracking night for both of us before "jumping" from Atlantic City, NJ to New York. As our first time in the ocean we were both nervous. We could have gone 2-3 more days on the NJICW but it is very shallow and several fellow "Loopers" have run aground in the last few days.  Today is a good day for the ocean - so out we go!  We left at 6:30 am, a little leary of shallow water getting out of our anchorage - Blessing #1 we motored on through with no difficulty.  The inlet to the ocean was the next concern - breakers are NOT fun for us to go through.  Blessing #2 - no breakers!  We practically floated out to the ocean.  Blessing #3 - We had 2-3 ft. swells the whole way to New York with an occasional choppy area from the wind.  We really couldn't have asked for a nicer day.  We caught up with 2 Looper friends just outside New York Harbor and followed them in to our new anchorage in Great Kills Harbor.  We discovered "kill" is Dutch for Creek and many creeks pour into the harbor here!  There are several Looper boats in the marina so we will enjoy meeting some new and old friends in the next few days while we wait out some more bad weather.

Old and new casinos in Atlantic City

They are building a sand beach in front of one of the resorts.  These tugs were working hard.

I think this is Flagship Resort but not sure - very modern

New Jersey skyline - building as far as the eye can see in both directions.

Farewell Atlantic City!

The ocean couldn't have been calmer!

Hello New York City!

Lots of tour boats coming back from the sailboat regatta that had just ended.

Sandy point in the distance

 Lots of large commercial ships...

...and even more pleasure craft - I think we need some traffic signals!

 Our welcoming committee at Great Kills Harbor

Anchored at Great Kills Harbor