6-9-17 Statue of Liberty with Last Call and The Hudson River

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We met up with so many Loopers we hadn’t seen in a while in NYC. We all went out to dinner and had a great time catching up with each other.

The gang at dinner.

We all left our marina in the Great Kills area the same morning.

 

We got us a convoy! 10-4 good buddy!

We then went by the Statue of Liberty in our own boat.  It was such a thrill.  It is one of those things I think every Looper looks forward to.  WE DID IT!

Last Call going by the Statue of Liberty. It was amazing!
View of Lady Liberty as we approached in our boat.

Seeing NYC from the Hudson river was also a treat.

This is our friend’s boat Aqua-fennatic going by the city.
This is a view off of our bow showing NYC on the right and New Jersey on the left.

As we got closer to the city the boat traffic got worse and worse.  We practically had a traffic jam with all the ferries going across the river and the boats and commercial traffic going up and down the river it was a little crazy….and wavy.

Staten Island Ferry
Barges anchored in the Hudson River.
This is one of the fire boats we saw in the city. The “Three Hundred Forty Three” on the bow represents the number of firefighters who lost their lives 911.

There was a magnificent 371′ boat anchored in the harbor. Le Grand Bleu.  She is a stunning boat.  It is the one of the biggest privately owned yachts in the world. I found it on Wikipedia.  An american business owner had it and sold it to a Russian businessman Roman Abramovich. He had the interior all refit and had a 16′ swim platform onto the yacht. Four years later he GAVE it to his friend and business partner Eugene Shvidler.  Can you imaging what that thing is worth. He must be a really good friend!

Anchored right in the NYC Harbor is this 371′ privately owned boat “Le Grand Bleu”
Anchored right in the NYC Harbor is this 371′ privately owned boat “Le Grand Bleu” Note the  73′ sailboat on their deck, which is bigger than most people’s private boats. (Per Wikipedia)
On the other side of the sailboat is a  68′ power boat. (per Wikipedia)
We saw several older fire boats along the river.
This fire boat is The John D. McKean. It is a retired fireboat that was brought back into service during 911.

From the NYC harbor we headed north on the Hudson River.  We were amazed at the size of the city.  It went on  and on up river until the landscape made a sudden change.  Rocky cliff and rolling hills.  Absolutely beautiful.

Looking up the Hudson River. So beautiful.
Train tracks have been built into the base of the hills all along the river.
Check out this small tunnel. You can see all the way through it.
This tunnel is much longer. We watched a train go through it.
We started to see rocky cliffs along the river bank.

Along with the wilderness there were still significant buildings such as West Point and Sing Sing Prison.

West Point. Wow what a campus.
Another view of West Point. Note the Army sailboat on a mooring ball in the river.
A little farther up the river, we saw what we suspect is a gym with “Sink Navy” on the roof of the south side and “Beat Air Force” on the north side. It made us chuckle.
Sing Sing Prison is a Maximum security prison that houses 1700 inmates. We didn’t put this on our list of places to visit. But, it was cool to see from the river.
We suspect this sailboat is a historic sailboat that allows people to helps sail her. They were raising the small sail at the top of the large sail when we went by.
What is left of this castle was once used as the sign says as “Bannemans Island Arsenal” In 1969 the castle burned and the ruins are all that are left.

As we got farther up the river we started to see some unique lighthouses.  All looked like someone lived there.  That is secretly one of Scott’s dreams… to live in and maintain a lighthouse.  At least back when they were kerosene lit and hand cranked.  Not sure about now though.

We traveled with Aqua-fennatic for a while and landed together at Shady Harbor Marina together.  Just in time for the pig roast put on by the marina and the Yacht Club.  Lots of Loopers were there.  Food Music, Friends….what more could one ask for. We had about 24 Loopers go to dinner together the next night.  That’s a lot of Loopy people. We had a great time and met new people along with those we already knew.  Tonight will be our third night and we move on tomorrow.  The staff was amazing at this marina.  They and the owner really cared that everyone had their needs met.  The owner, Brian, gave us his car keys so Maria and I could go grocery shopping.  Great place.

Butter clams were our appetizer. As you can see there were no leftovers.
After the clams they treated us to delicious pork from the pig roast.
Some of the gang. It was about half loopers and half yacht club members.
Mike thought this was an “Exxxxxelent” Moment with Mandy and I both giving him a kiss on his cheek.
They had a great turn out!
This guy is a one-man-band. He was really good. We enjoyed his talent!
It was well into the 90’s the three days we were at Shady Harbor Marina and were mighty thankful for the pool in the afternoons.
We finally caught up with Mandy and Jim from Shell Belle. So good to see them!

We will be at the entrance of the Erie Canal tomorrow.  New adventures with all those lock and neat towns await us. Keep posted.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

Unique Random Photo of The Day:

This apron was in the gift store. Who ever is in charge of the marketing of this event to benefit Alzheimer’s is a genius at getting people’s attention.

5 thoughts on “6-9-17 Statue of Liberty with Last Call and The Hudson River”

  1. Hi Karen, I’ve been following you for a few months now; not sure if i’ve commented before. I love how you tell so much about the places you stop.
    Hubby and I bought a Caver 450 Voyager in Jacksonville, Florida in June of 2015. We brought it home up the east coast. We were not able to stop and smell the roses because we were pressed for time to get back home to work. Hopefully the loop is in our retirement future.
    Hubby loved the Hudson river. Have you noticed some of the water depths? It was really nice to get into the Erie Canal system and slow down and have lazy days. Stop in Iliion and have ice cream! There is also an Aldi’s grocery store two blocks away.
    Will you take the Erie Canal all the way across? We had to go north through the Oswego because of bridge clearance. Friends joined us in Albany and traveled with us to help us through the Welland Canal.
    Will you go north through the Trent Severn?
    Enjoying your writing!!

    Marie

    1. Hi Marie,
      Thanks for the info. It is always great to get hints and tips. The Loop is the most amazing trip. Don’t hesitate to do do it. You will meet so many wonderful people and see so much. A few people tell us we missed some great stuff, but we are thrilled that we have seen so much already. There is no way to do it all. On that note, we are having so much fun, we have decided to keep going after we cross our wake in Michigan. Love hearing from you. Drops us a note anytime.
      Karen and Scott

      1. I forgot to mention, we are doing the Trent Severn waterway. We are really looking forward to it. Stay tuned we will be there before you know it.
        Karen

      2. Where will you cross your wake? I will have to stay in contact with you as you enter the Great Lakes. Our summer vacation trip is July 20-August 5. Maybe we will cross paths along the way. We leave the Detroit area and plan to be in Frankfort by the 22nd of July. Then we will head east around the mitten. We have harbor reservations for Mackinac Island for Sunday, July 30th. I could only get one night.

        You may plan to spend some extended time in the North Channel; in which case we may not cross.

        Have fun!

        1. We will Cross our wake in Muskegon Michigan. Would love to connect if our paths cross. We plan one or two days in advance. I should be able to keep up the blog in Canada, however, maybe not as often or as many pictures due to lack of internet and possibly phone service. We don’t know what to expect in Canada. We will find out soon. Watch where we are and connect if we are close.
          Enjoy your summer travels.

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