5/31 Another beautiful day on the Hudson and CIA

We awoke to another glorious day on the Hudson.  John was up early enough to catch rowers sculling along passed the docks.  This afternoon we saw some teams crewing with their coaches in a motor boat along side them.

Barb arranged for me to get my hair done by her stylist.  What a treat!  Now only my hairdresser and Barb's hairdresser will know for sure!!  Barb picked me up and we ran as few errands and Barb ran a few more while I got my hair done.  John was planning our way through the Erie Canal.

Tonight, we had reservations at the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America.  Many a famous chef has started there. 

They have 5 restaurants where the students learn all facets of the industry and we get to taste the results.  The CIA campus is beautiful.  Here all the planters are filled with herbs, fruits and vegetables. 

We saw students taking a wine class.  We later learned that they are not allowed to swallow any of the wine, because some of the students are under the legal drinking age.  The maître d' told us it was his hardest class.  We saw the student dining hall.  Students practice serving each other before they can work in any of the restaurants.  We also saw some making pastries.

We ate at their restaurant American Bounty.  What a fabulous meal.  The rolls were delicious.  I had a cocktail made with a rye, honey and a cherry ginger like beer.  Also Yum.  The following are pictures of the dinners we had.  I had a fresh pea soup with morels and duck with a cherry sauce and John and I shared the cheesecake with a Meyer Lemon Sorbet.  None of us left any food on our plates.

A delectable end to our visit to Poughkeepsie.  Thanks to Barb and George for being our harbor hosts!!!

5/30 Memorial Day in Poughkeepsie

Happy Memorial Day
Barb and George have been the best harbor hosts.  Barb chauffeured us to do a full shopping.  We stocked up on heavy items.  She even helped us lug them to the boat.  We dropped mail at the Post Office.  After a lunch of cold cuts on Arthur Avenue bread, Barb and I headed out for a walk on the trails of the area.

From the marina, we picked up one of the trails that led to the downtown waterfront.  In the picture below, Barb is standing in front of the Mid Hudson Bridge and further in the background, the railroad bridge park.  In the early nineties, some forward thinking people had the idea to make the unused railroad bridge into a trail that connects on both sides of the river to trails for biking, walking, etc. 

Barb and I left the marina walked along the path and took the elevator to the trail on the railroad bridge.  It was a lovely day, warm with a slight breeze.  Many folks were celebrating Memorial Day with their families.  The elevator operator told us that on Friday they had counted 1400 visitors that used the elevator. 

One can get on the trail at either end without using the elevator, so the count was much higher.  From the bridge, we could see the trains on either side of the Hudson, and loopers and other boaters going under the bridge.  In the picture below, you can see the boats in the Shadows Marina, including ours, although it looks small.

When we were walking back to the marina, we ran across Mallory and Jimmy, Barb and George's niece and her husband.  We had a drink at the Ice House with them which is right on the shores of the Hudson.  They are 6 months pregnant and it is so nice to see how excited they are.

Barb and George had a Memorial Day feast of lobsters and Italian sausages with corn on the cob and potato salad.  Those lobsters didn't have a chance as Barb and I cracked through them in no time.  They were delicious.

We returned to the boat and the Mid Hudson Bridge was lit in red, white and blue in commemoration of Memorial Day.  A perfect ending to a wonderful day.

5/29 Up the Hudson, West Point, and on to Poughkeepsie

My sister, Barb, was on board to join us for our ride up the Hudson. 

It was a very warm day with highs in the 80's but a very pleasant breeze.  Barb quickly became expert at identifying logs that could hurt our propeller and checking the navigation buoys.  The Hudson did have a lot of logs and other flotsam.  We were going against the tide.  It might have been a slow ride but it was so pleasant.  The Catskills rose from the water.  Because of the terrain, this area is not very heavily settled so the view is what the native people and the early explorers saw.

US Military Academy at West Point rose out of the mountains.  One can see how this location was selected to the protect the river. 

I loved the Army Sailboat moored in their harbor.

Further up the Hudson, there is a collapsing castle, Bannerman's Castle, that used to act as a munitions depot.  It fell into disrepair and  large portions collapsed in 2009.  It is on an island with no access roads, so we got unique pictures.

Barb kayaks on the Hudson and showed us the location of some of her favorite spots.  Alas, we did not bring our kayaks with us.
Trains run up and down the Hudson.  The Metro and Amtrak passenger trains run on the east bank  and freight trains run on the west bank.

The freight trains are VERY long with many containers piled two high.

We docked at Shadow's Marina.  This is in the same complex with the Shadow Restaurant and the Grandview.  My niece, Teresa and her husband Rich has their wedding reception there last Memorial Day weekend.  Barb's husband, George, met us on the docks and took us back to their home.  George grilled perfect steaks.  Corn on the cob and potato salad rounded out a delicious dinner.  They were kind enough to allow us showers and 3 loads of laundry,  For those on the loop, being able to do laundry without quarters is so special.

We will spend the next few days here.  Barb got me a hair appointment and the four of us are going to dinner at the Culinary Institute of America.

Lat 41 degrees 41.80 North
Long 73 degrees 56.48 West

5/28 Croton on Hudson and update on yesterday

Barb spent the night with us on the boat.  George brought here down to Croton on Hudson and took us out to dinner before heading back to Poughkeepsie.  We dinghyed around the bay and met other loopers who were at anchor and took our picture.  Barb and I walked to get bagels for breakfast and took pictures of the trains.  A beautiful sunset on the Hudson tonight.
More blog tomorrow with the pictures of New York Harbor.

5/27 New York Harbor and Lady Liberty

We left Great Kills Harbor and headed under the Verrazano Narrows bridge to cross into New York Harbor. 

Boats were everywhere, ferries, tankers, sightseeing boats, etc.  The most exciting part of the day was to cross in front of the Statue of Liberty.  John and I took our pictures. 

We then passed Ellis Island.  My family passed through Ellis Island as they immigrated to America.  I have copies of the Ellis Island paperwork that shows my grandmother and my aunt and uncle were on the boat and to be picked up by my grandfather who would come from Boston.  My dad was later born in this country.

New York Harbor was particularly busy because of fleet week and the upcoming Memorial Day.  Here is one of the many Staten Island Ferries.  I did not know they are free. 

We saw an Osprey Helicopter as it passed over the Statue of Liberty too.

Cruises out to the Statue of Liberty leave from the New Jersey side and the Manhattan side crisscrossing the harbor.  Here is one with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

Seeing the new One World Trade Center towering of Manhattan was another moving moment.  The angles make it a very visually interesting structure.

Here we passed the USS Intrepid.  Beside the Intrepid is the building that houses one of the NASA space shuttles.  Also one of the fleet week boats was docked nearby.

On the Jersey side, the old Erie Lackawanna train station serves Path trains and commuter boats nowadays.

One site on the Jersey shore was Troy Towers, my sister and her husband, and my nephew, George who works in New York City both have apartments there.  It is a quick bus and train ride into the city from there.

Under the George Washington Bridge we went to leave New York Harbor behind and enter the Hudson.

 The terrain changes dramatically as the Palisades tower on Jersey side.  The picture below does not do it justice as the wisteria was in full bloom and the lilac color was spectacular.

We cruised up the river with Croton on Hudson as our destination.  In no time, we were passing under the Tappan Zee bridge where they are building a new double span across the Hudson.

The Tarrytown light welcomed us north.

We entered Half Moon Bay where my sister, Barb, was delivered by her husband George, to spend a few days with us.  We will take her home to Poughkeepsie by boat.  We had a lovely dinner, thanks to George.  And welcomed Barb aboard.

5/26 Swans and Brioschi

An absolutely beautiful day on Staten Island.  It was in the 80's bright and sunny.  We washed the boat and it is shining too.  We are still at the Great Kills Yacht club.  The flags they fly were so pretty in the morning sunlight.

The folks at the marina recommended that we try Frank and Sal's Italian Market for great food.  It was within an easy 1 mile walk.  What an amazing place.  I had not been in such a place since I was a child.  The fresh Italian bread was amazing.  I did not need to tell them to slice the salami thin.   I bought a small pannettone and Italian pastries for dessert and tortellini salad.  Yum!  When I was checking out, I noticed that they sold Brioschi.  Brioschi is an Italian lemon flavored treatment for gas and heartburn.  As a child, it was given to us to calm our stomachs.  When you put one of the crystals on your tongue it bubbles and tastes good.  The sales clerk was kind enough to pose for a picture for this blog.

Walking home, I saw several things that caught my eye.  Here is a weather vane of a sailfish from atop one of the houses.

But the neatest thing I saw was a a pair of swans and their seven cygnets.  Yes, baby swans are called cygnets.  Swans mate for life and both the mother and father swan take care of the babies.  The cygnets leave the nest and start swimming one day after they are born.

Hurricane Sandy hit this area hard.  Much of the waterfront has been rebuilt but there is still evidence of the damage done.

Lat 40 degrees 32.71 North

Long 74 degrees 8.18 West