WEEK 10 - New York City to Waterford, NY

We spent this week slowly cruising up the Hudson River soaking up the history and landscape along the way. From Liberty Landing State Park, our stops were Manhattan (marina), Half Moon Bay (marina), Hyde Park (marina), Kingston (marina), Catskill (marina), and finally Waterford, the gateway to both the Erie and Champlain Canals (free dock).

Before getting underway up the Hudson, first we wanted to spend a couple of days exploring the big city itself. New York City is a pricey place to visit by boat – the marinas over on the New Jersey side are 5 bucks a foot per night. Manhattan marinas are maybe twice that, with one notable exception. There is a small city owned marina at 79^th street in midtown Manhattan that is “only” $3.50 per foot per night. It is first-come first-served (no reservations accepted), 40 feet maximum length, and seriously decrepit docks. But like in real estate, it’s “location, location, location.” We were in walking distance to Central Park and the Museum of Natural History and a million other things. Our friend Marty, who cruised with us in North Carolina, is a Manhattan native and showed us all around for two lovely days, visiting both the major tourist sites and also funky little neighborhood bars and delis.

79th Street Boat Basin

Location, location, location! We are the blue dot.

American Museum of Natural History, blue whale

NY Pizza!

View from the Tramway over the East River to Roosevelt Island

Our next stop was 30 miles up the river to Croton on Hudson, where we stayed for three nights at Half Moon Bay Marina. The day after our arrival there we took the train into the city for one more day of sightseeing. Thanks to Marty’s tutelage, we successfully navigated Grand Central Station and took the subway around town. We had lunch at Katz’s deli (best pastrami sandwich in the history of the world) and walked through Central Park, including drinks at the Boathouse and Tavern on the Green. By the time we got back to the boat we had 23,000 steps on the Fitbit. The following day we took a taxi to Croton Gorge, where there is a large dam and aqueduct that supplies water to NYC. Stunning! It also boasts being the first large masonry dam in the US and was completed in 1842. That night our good friends Nancy and Bob arrived to travel with us for the rest of the week. Some people have guests cruise with them on the great loop, but we are lucky enough to have crew cruise with us, friends who know their way around boats and are a major asset to have aboard as well as being great company.

Grand Central Station

Pastrami on rye at Katz's

Looper docktails at Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay marina

Croton Gorge 

Hiking near the Gorge

Leaving Half Moon Bay on a incoming tide (the Hudson is tidal all the way up to Albany, and it pays to travel with the tidal current rather than against it), we ran up 30 miles to Hyde Park. This stretch of the Hudson is a breathtaking fjord where the lush mountains slope steeply in to the river.  During our stay we had a late lunch at the Culinary Institute of America campus and visited the home and burial site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The tiny boat in the lower left is actually the Chanticleer from Stuart
 and is over 100 ft. long to give you an idea of the scale.

Underway on the Hudson River

Nancy taking in the stunning views

Time for lunch!

FDR Mansion

FDR Grave site

From there we went a short 20 mile hop to Kingston, New York, where we stayed at the city docks and that evening there was an outside concert right off our stern as we made dinner and had cocktails. The next morning we had some time to kill before the tidal current turned in our favor so we did a little hike at Lake Onteora at Bluestone Wild Forest, just a few miles from town (although our Uber driver got lost and it took quite a while to get there). It was a lovely little hike through the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, over rocky ridges and around isolated little finger lakes. Late that afternoon, we took our next short hop to Catskill.

Hiking in the Catskills

Flatlanders maneuvering the decline

A well deserved lunch

Irises on a hike are always a treat

The town of Catskill, on the eponymous creek, was another little gem of a small town. We did not have the chance to visit the home of Thomas Cole, a founder of the Hudson River school of landscape painters and a National Historic Site, but we did run across the house where Martin Van Buren, the 8^th president, was married. The very same house is also where the purported inspiration for the character of Uncle Sam (one Samuel Wilson) lived in a decade or two later.

Our view from the slip

Time for some ice cream 

Some of the historic buildings downtown

Every little town has its claim to fame

Finally, it was time for a 40 mile run up to Waterford, NY. Along the way, we passed by the city of Albany and hit a major milestone on the great loop when we passed through the Troy Locks. Having passed through the lock, we are now officially in fresh water and will not see saltwater again until Mobile, Alabama.

Jonathan communicating with the lock master

Entering Troy Lock

Bob and Nancy working the lines

Next week, we will say goodbye to our crew Bob and Nancy,  head up the Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain, spend a few days in Burlington, and then off to Canada!