Catching up on Blog Procrastination

Catching up on Blog Procrastination

My only excuse for the paucity of blog entries is we have spent the last six weeks covering familiar territory – which has been recorded (perhaps too much) in this blog over the last five years.  However, we did make a few new stops on our way back to the Erie Canal.

After leaving Charleston with a new crown on my broken tooth – (it is truly the best place to get quick dental work done in a beautiful setting!) we headed off shore to Morehead City and worked our way up to Norfolk. From Great Bridge Lock we again headed off shore and a stop at Lewes (pronounced Louis) at the mouth of Delaware Bay.  We spent our first night at anchor to recover from our short overnite run and in the morning moved on up the Rehoboth-Lewes canal to the city dock. This dock sits in the heart of the historic village only steps from great restaurants and quant shops.  We even visited the museum and a few historic homes.  The area is rich in history but also boasts fantastic parks and trails.  We used the bike path to head over to Rehoboth Beach and visit that classic boardwalk a real contrast to the quiet streets of Lewes.

Continuing on north we made a short overnite in Cape May before heading to Atlantic City.  We have never stopped there so decided to check it out.  The Brigantine anchorage has a narrow entrance which we managed fine, but on our exit we got blown on to the mud and spent a tidal change waiting to re-float.  

Consequently, we left in the afternoon rather than the morning for an anchorage behind Sandy Hook.  Traveling the busy shipping lanes around New York Harbor are exciting enough but we also had darkness and dense fog to add to the fun. Happy to report we dropped anchor safely and uneventfully. In the morning we moved over to an anchorage in Great Kills Harbor for a few days of relaxation on Staten Island. 

This stop included a run into NYC to have
brunch with Rob Blue.  Always a treat to see these young adults achieving milestones.  Dr. Blue is just finishing his fellowship at Mt Sinai in Radiology. So proud of his accomplishments!

After talking with the kind members of the Great Kills Yacht Club, we decided we needed to ride the ferry at least one way. This free ferry is a fun ride through the crazy traffic in New York Harbor.

On our way through NYC Harbor, we stopped behind the Statue of Liberty to dink over to Harbor Marina for a lunch with our boating friend Pam.  Sadly, Don was off retrieving their car from Jacksonville.  We are hoping to catch them in Wisconsin in the fall or some other unexpected place on the water.  We first met them on the Erie Canal back in 2013.

Found Fog on our departure

Our first stop on the Hudson was Nyack where we anchored along the bank well off the boat channel.  Although there was no wake we did weather some severe weather. Fortunately, Nyack was spared the tornadoes that struck Newburgh our next stop.

Nyack is just beyond this new Tappen Zee bridge

Although we had passed under West Point on four other trips on the Hudson, we were determined to tour the academy by land this time. So, we docked at the Riverfront Marina in Newburgh and rented a car to return to West Point for a Saturday tour. Of course, we enjoyed sun on Friday and even most of Sunday, but Saturday was rainy.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed our tour of the New Chapel and the cemetery as well as the parade ground and famous chain links overlooking the river. On our cemetery tour we paid our respects to several famous graduates like Norman Schwarzkopf and Edward White. The chain artifact was especially of interest to us since it was used to block the river at this narrow point when the British was attempting to divide the colonies during the Revolutionary War.  Only a few links remain, but the size and heft are impressive and a testament to the ingenuity of our early patriots.

view from the water

spotted a familiar flag in the small chapel

From Newburgh we continued on to Kingston where our friends Arch and Susan again made the effort to meet us.  Together we celebrated Steve’s birthday at French restaurant in the old town. Although it was a short visit, we managed to talk 12 straight hours catching up on the months since we had last seen them in Connecticut back in 2016. We are especially grateful that they managed to get to Kingston since they had literally just returned from a four-month cruise.

Our last night on the Hudson found us in an anchorage behind Houghtaling Island where we lowered the mast in preparation for entering the Erie Canal.