Getting into a New York State of Mind

Our two days and three nights at Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island gave us time to rest and recover from the long trip up the New Jersey coast on Saturday.  You wouldn't think that just sitting on a boat would be tiring, but it's amazing how exhausting the combination of a very early wake-up time and 13 hours of vigilance for boat traffic and other objects in the water can be. We had originally planned to spend one of the days in New York City, but the weather was rainy on Monday (June 9) and foggy on Tuesday (June 10) morning, so it was easy to talk ourselves into deferring any strenuous sightseeing activity. When the sun came out on Tuesday afternoon we walked around a bit and saw residual damage from Hurricane Sandy . . .

Pat looking at docks damaged by Sandy

Sandy-damaged boat

   . . . Got close to local "wildlife" . . . .

"Roxie" out for a walk

 . . . and socialized with members from the Great Kills Yacht Club.

 A couple of comments about the name and the club--there are a lot of places in New York State with "Kills" in the name. It sounds a little strange, but it isn't related to death, it's a Dutch word for stream or creek. And the members of this particular club are as down-to-earth a bunch as you will meet-quintessential New York working class: retired police, fire fighters, union reps, etc. Hurricane Sandy did a number on their marina-as it did to all of the marinas in Great Kills Harbor-but the members of this club did an amazing job of working together to get the marina back in shape.  

We left GKYC this morning under heavy, grey skies. The NOAA weather forecast at 3-something a.m. called for 1-foot waves in New York Harbor; instead, we were met by 4-to-6 footers when we came out of Great Kills. (The thought crossed my mind that the Albemarle Sound marine forecaster had moved to New York.) Lon did a great job of getting us through as quickly and smoothly as possible. After we passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn) the water flattened and then we just had to contend with the wakes from the numerous ferries.

Ferry traffic near lower Manhattan

Even with the gloomy weather, it was a thrill to pass so close to the Statue of Liberty and the sights of Manhattan.

Passing by the Statue of Liberty

Manhattan skyline looking south

Aircraft carrier USS Intrepid; a Concorde jet

George Washington Bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse

This all seems very wonderful and exciting-and it was-but the following photo shows that not everything about the day was perfect.

Lon dressed for driving--it's June 11th!
 Why did we leave Florida?

We are spending the next few days in the Hudson River town of Croton-on-Hudson, about 30 miles north of Manhattan. An hour or less on the train tomorrow will take us into Manhattan to visit some favorite places from the years I worked there. A tour of West Point and visits with New York friends are also on our "bucket list" for this stop.