May 26 - June 2, 2015 New York, NY

Day 1: A pleasant cruise up the South Bay and under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and into the North Bay. We cruised past the Stanton Island Ferry Terminal, The Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island before turning in at Jersey City and Liberty Landing Marina - just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. Backed into our slip, got a waste pump-out, and then had a late lunch of "Fish and Chips" at the local restaurant. Then Ger gave the boat a great washing while Judie did laundry. Basically, got our work behind us. It was beautiful to see NY as it got dark and all the lights came on!

The Stanton Island Ferry

The front of the Statue of Liberty

View of "One World Trade Center" from the boat.

Day 2: We got up early and caught the first ferry, which left from a dock next to our marina, to Ellis Island to walk the same route Ger's dad had taken at age 3 when he and his family came to the US in 1915 from Belgium. Since we got there before the crowds, we were able to see most of it with very few noisy children on school tours. We had an audio tour system to listen to and saw lots of displays about tests/procedures the immigrants had to go thru. Most passed easily, but if the doctors had any concerns, more tests followed, and often, hospitalization or quarantine until healthy. Two percent of the immigrants were rejected and sent home; steamships were required to provide free return trips. A tragic thought. Those that passed were either met by family or friends, or like Ger's family, walked across a bridge and next door to the train station to head for points west.
We then caught the next ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We had tried to visit here with the kids back in about 1986, but missed the last ferry and had to settle for a view of her back from the very same terminal our ferry left from today. After a quick lunch, we picked up our next audio tour equipment and toured the base and walked around the exterior so Judie could get pictures of the front. We were a little low on energy and decided not to get a tour up the pedestal of into the statue itself - we were just happy to be on the island and appreciating the front side. She is amazing and beautiful.

The Train Station

Main Hall at Ellis Island

Sleeping rooms for overnight stays

The original torch.

Even the same color scheme!

Exterior of Ellis Island

Day 3: World Trade Center Museum and 9-11 Monument (Ground Zero). Another sunny day and we caught a ferry from our marina across the Hudson to Lower Manhattan - 12 minutes and $5.50/each. A short walk of 4 blocks and we were at the 9-11 memorial. The two fountains into the footprint of the buildings was impressive and very overwhelming. It is hard to imagine all the destruction of buildings and life that took place there and the beautiful park and memorial to the people. All of their names are carved into granite around the fountains and it becomes very personal and real.  We then proceeded into the Museum, again with first-in-line tickets, and spent the next 4 hours viewing the salvaged pieces of the building, learning the stories of the victims and the survivors, and gaining a better understanding of what happened that fateful day and in the months/years that followed. If you ever get close to NY city, you have to set aside time for this. Very few areas in the museum allow pictures, sorry.
Afterwards we bought multi-day Gray Line tour bus tickets and toured north to China Town, the seaport, Little Italy, Carnegie Hall, Empire State building, The Waldorf and Plaza Hotels, Seagram's Building, and much more. Got off the bus and had Pizza near Times Square at a great little place Mike knew before catching a cab back to the ferry and R Island.

Tower 2 fountain

Tower 1 fountain with lower part of new tower

Last column signed by rescue crews

Part of tower 1 antenna

Cab of Ladder Co 3 destroyed when the tower  collapsed

The way it was.

Day 4: We were back on the ferry to Manhattan and caught the Gray Line back to the Theater District and bought tickets for the play "Jersey Boys" the following day. Had hotdogs for lunch from a street cart, and then took a tour of Radio City Music Hall. What a beautiful old building all done in Art-Deco and very well restored and preserved. Met a Rockett, but chose not get our picture taken with her. We then walked thru Rockefeller Center, Times Square and took the rest of the Gray Line tour we had started the day before. We met up with Mike and Lois for dinner. It was in a shopping mall type setting and the meat counter let you pick out your own meat from the case and after you pay for it, for an additional $8.00 they would cook it and provide a salad and backed potato. We split a nice rib eye steak and added crème-brulee' and a couple of glasses of wine. Very enjoyable! Back on the ferry and into bed!

After a drink in Fraunce's tavern where Geo. Washington celebrated first inauguration.

Rockefeller Plaza

Info center for Garment Dist.

Dinner at the meat market.

United Nations

"The Plaza" Hotel

Central Park

Times Square

Day 5: Our 45th Wedding Anniversary! May 30, 1970 - also a Saturday.. We had a lazy morning, then caught the ferry and a cab to the theater for "Jersey Boys" the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. We were in the first row of the first (and only) balcony - center seats. Great  performance, great music, great crowd, and a standing ovation from the entire audience. We returned to the boat and ordered Chinese food for dinner.

Day 6: We were just about worn out - so slept in and actually took the noon ferry across and went to a movie - The Avengers - Rise of Ultron. Action packed mindless entertainment and just what the doctor ordered. Left-over Chinese for dinner.

Day 7: This is our second day of rain and, along with Mike and Lois, took the ferry (yes we know the entire crew by first name) and a cab to the Tenement Museum on the lower east side of Manhattan. An old building that was built in 1863 and housed over 7,000 renters in 22 apartments until it was closed in 1935. The German Beer Hall in the lower level and 2 apartments were restored to their original condition from pictures from the relatives of those tenants. Very interesting to learn of how changes took place and the different ethnic groups that lived there changed as the immigration laws changed. Again - very worth the effort. Judie bought a cook book that actually has the recipe for an old Belgian one-pot dish Ger's dad used to cook - "Etsaput" ( that's the way the book spells it!). Again, no pictures allowed inside - except we took pictures of pictures in the museum store.

Partially restored building

Kitchen area of 325 SF apartment just before building closed.

Day8: We are supposed to move on today, but it's raining pretty hard and so Judie is doing some odd jobs and I am working on this blog!

May 21- 25, 2015 Atlantic City NJ to Stanton Isl. NY

We had relocated R Island to the fuel dock the previous afternoon in order to pointing into the wind and current this morning when we left - a successful strategy! It was a little "bumpy" leaving the inlet and headed into the North Atlantic for our run to Atlantic City. Luckily, the seas laid down and we had a good trip. With about 30 miles to go, we spotted a building on the horizon; turned out the newest casino, The Rebel, which has recently been sold out of bankruptcy. We tied up at the Golden Nugget Casino docks about 1:30 near the boat of the new Rebel owners. A little bigger than our boat. Rained on and off during the trip and the rest of the afternoon after we docked. So we hit the casino, played some slots, lost some money, and had a nice dinner of appetizers and wine before returning to the boat for the evening.

Next day we used the local shuttle service to get to the Boardwalk area and walked most of the 3.4 miles. Took a golf cart ride for a return trip to the end of the Boardwalk where we had started. Nice boardwalk but not a lot of small shops - mostly casino fronts - either open or closed casinos as 5 have closed recently and the Trump Taj Mahal is about to go the same way. Had a nice dinner back at the Golden Nugget at the Chart House restaurant overlooking the Marina.

Next day it was 60 miles to Point Pleasant NJ - and it was not pleasant. As Judie said - "Rough - but we made it!". The morning started of sunny but cold and R Island faced 3 foot waves right on her nose. Life jackets on and lots of spray over the deck. About noon the wind and waves dropped to a pleasant rate and the things got better - until it was time to dock. Our slip was on the end of the dock, very near to the Amtrak railroad bridge. With lots of boat traffic making lots of waves, it turned into a rough evening until dark, when tings settled down. We did leave the boat for a quick dinner at a newly opened restaurant. The docks were fixed and not floating, so Ger was up during the night checking on fenders and adjusting lines as we went thru a 5 foot tide cycle. Left early trying to take advantage of the slack tied - but did not work out too well - a small bump as we left and some stainless trim to repair - no big deal.

Headed for Great Kills Yacht Club on the SW side of Stanton Island. Sunny and warm with a nice following sea made for a pleasant 40 mile and 4.5 hour trip. Fastest average speed of the trip so far! Everyone at GKYC was very friendly with lots of stories about Super Storm Sandy, what they lost, and how quickly this group recovered. Stayed 2 days waiting for the wind to die. Washed boat, went for a bike ride, great pastrami and gyros sandwiches at Andrews Diner for lunch with both of us taking half back to the boat for dinner. Just a time to relax.

R Island in slip at Golden Nugget
 

At the Boardwalk

In the Tropicana Casino

Inside the Taj Mahal

Chihuly Glass

More Glass

May 15-20, 2015 Cape May NJ

We left Delaware City at 7:00 with some help from Tim the dock master as we needed to turn the boat in the opposite direction in order to head out the channel and into the Delaware River/Bay. The day was overcast, chilly (57 degrees) and "breezy" - a term Ger's brother-in-law Bill can appreciate. The first three hours the tide was running against us, so slow going of only 5.5-6 knots/hour. Then the tide went thru it's cycle and was with us and we made 8-9 knots the rest of the way. Winds got pretty strong after lunch and waves built to 2.5-3 feet. Luckily, we were hitting them at a good angle and only got splash on the fly-bridge one time.  The Delaware Bay is wide and not a lot of ship traffic this day, so a pretty uneventful trip. Arrived at the marina about 3:00 and took on 90 gallons of fuel, pumped the holding tank, and settled into the slip. All in all, some pretty good driving and deck-hand work as we fought wind and tide to get to the docks.

Cape May is at the southern end of NJ where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was a very pleasant surprise. First was the cute downtown with "mall' where they closed off three blocks of the main street; then the beautiful sandy beaches and then the wonderfully restored and maintained Victorian Homes! There whole town is on the Historic Register and, they claim,  there are more "Painted Ladies" (Victorian homes) than any other city except San Francisco. We found the trolley tour very informative and took several bike rides to revisit the tree-lined streets and beach areas.

Spent a few extra days here waiting for winds from the right direction and low wave heights to make our trip north for three days in the Atlantic headed for New York City. Cape May is a great place to kick back, enjoy the local restaurants and watch the local fishermen bring in their catch. Saw a 10 foot Maiko shark, a 125 lb. Big Eye Tuna, and an 80 lb. Black Drum. If you are ever in the area - it is worth a couple days.

WWII defense structure with 6" guns.

Ger at the Atlantic!

Downtown Mall

Judie's favorite with very nice landscaping.

Here are a few examples of the many houses.

We stayed so long, they built a likeness of us!

May 8-14, 2015 Delaware City, DE

Left the City Dock at Annapolis in light fog that, along with the fishermen everywhere, lasted until just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It gave us an excellent opportunity to fire up the radar; remember how it works and practice reading the screen for boats, markers, and bridges.

Great run up the bay with a favorable tide all day. We had planned to stop just short of the C&D canal that connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, but were making great headway at 8+ knots/hour that we decided to complete the canal and stay in Delaware City Marina. The canal handles commercial traffic, mostly between Philadelphia and Baltimore, and we did see two tugs with barges on the trip. We made 76 miles in 8 hours - a new distance and speed record for R Island! ( We have traveled 270 miles this year and 1,831 miles to date on the loop.) Delaware City is a quaint town trying to survive the times. Main industry is tourism along with a refinery about 3 miles away. Nice restaurant, good ice cream and a small market. We plan to spend a week here and use it as a base to visit Philadelphia. After we docked (with great help and direction from Tim and Tara who run the Marina) we hit the showers and headed to Lewinski's Diner for meat loaf and mashed potatoes along with a pint or two.

Day 2: We slept in a little and had a slow morning washing down the boat and taking showers. Had a lite lunch and caught the 1:00 ferry from just down the dock to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River about a half mile away. About the time you leave the dock, you arrive at the Fort's dock! Originally built in 1819 to protect Philadelphia farther up river, the most fort activity was during the Civil War when it's 75 acres were turned in to a Union Prison for captured Southern forces. At one time thee were 12,500 prisoners housed outside the fort in wooden buildings that resembled small barns. The fort was used continuously until 1944. It is now a Delaware State Park. Typical star configuration with a mote completely surrounding it. Never fired a shot or was fired upon!

Day 3: Mike had left their car here (remember we picked them up on our return from Brewerton NY to AYB) so we collected it and headed to Cape May is search of our next stop. Found a great marina, made reservations, and lunch at an Irish Pub - but more about Cape May in the next blog. Visited New Castle NJ. A beautifully restored 18th century town with  brick row houses and town square. This time it was a fine English Tavern built in 1754 for dinner. Mike and Lois split the worlds largest shepherds pie and had the leftovers for a meal the next day. Happy Mother's day to all....

Day 4: Drove to Philadelphia for the tourist stops! First off was a great cheese-steak sandwich and fries at Geno's, then on to downtown. Saw the Liberty Bell with it's big crack, toured Independence Hall, and rode the big red tour bus for a 2-hour tour of the city.  Lot's of neat places in this town - and so....

Day 5: We returned to Philly by riding the train! Yep, the same day as the accident - only we were south bound and the wreck was north of the city. We did go thru the Amtrak station on our way! Busy day with Love Fountain, Sister City Fountain (great play place for kids), The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (built in 1864), Logan Square Fountain,  went to the "Dutch Eating Place" (of course run by Amish) in the Reading Railroad Terminal Market (the same Reading Railroad from "Monopoly"), Ger took an elevator to the top of City hall - 458 feet, visited the "Betsey Ross House" where our famous flag was made, took a disappointing self-guided tour in the lobby of the Federal Reserve Bank, and finally stopped at Macy's before returning to the train station to die on the trip back to the car! What a full day!!!

Days 6 and 7: Recover... and of course, review the charts, do housework, laundry, and clean the boat. This cruising does not leave the chores behind! We did grocery shop the last day and have lunch at a great Mexican/Cajun restaurant - Border Café and wow was it good.

Bridges over the C&D canal.

Tour guides in period dress.

Watched this guy make a nail   - lot of work!

Henri the Pyrenees dog and Andrew the Captain. Single-handing from Florida.

The sign says it all.

Liberty Bell with Independence Hall

Betsey Ross's house

Non-typical mural inside of the Cathedral

Logan Square Fountain

Historic tours by day, Pub Crawl by night!

My view of Wm. Penn from atop City Hall

Wm. Penn 458' atop City Hall

May 6-7, 2015 Solomons and Annapolis MD

The cruise from Deltaville VA to Solomons MD was very long, 66 miles, our longest to date of the Loop. We left the dock at 6:00 and arrived at 2:30. Saw our first dolphins and brown pelicans for this year. Our old friend the vibration seemed to return along with a tapping sound, so had the boat hauled to check the running gear. After great discussion about finding nothing wrong, much less anything that could hurt the boat, and a line cutter installed wrong - but still very operable - back in the water she went. Got to a nice slip and after organizing the boat settled in with a tall Sailor Jerry rum and relaxed. Dinner at the CD Café and early to bed.

Another up early day and away from the dock at 6:00 to head to Annapolis. Smooth trip with no vibration or tapping (just going to forget about that stuff). Arrived at 12:00 and got a slip on the City Dock wall downtown where all the tourists walk by. Cross that experience off of Ger's bucket list! It is fun to watch all the people, listen to their comments and just relax. "Dock City Dogs" for a "Chicago-dog" for lunch, then washed the boat decks, took a nap, had a light dinner aboard, and walked for ice cream just before sunset. we had visited all of our favorite places last year and this was basically a transit stop this year.

R Island tied up to the City Dock wall.

Judie just kicking back.

Looking toward the State Cap. Building

Annapolis at sunset - beautiful!

May 2 - May 5, 2015 Chesapeake VA to Deltaville VA

We left the dock about 10:15 and stopped at the service area to pump out our black-water waste ( think bathroom waste). We then got in line with 4 other trawlers and 3 sailboats for the 11:00 bridge opening of the "Great Bridge" bridge, and then on into the Great Bridge Lock. The ride was uneventful thru the industrial south side of Norfolk, thru downtown and past the Naval Base. Not much has changed since last year. Traveled 23 miles to Hampton VA, and were settled in by 2:30. Perfect first day run and enjoyed a nice dinner at the marina restaurant- while watching the Kentucky Derby. The marina was also having a boat show, so we looked at a few but settles in for a drink on the fly-bridge of R Island.

Up and away by 7:00 the next morning headed to Deltaville and Dozier's Regatta Point Marina which we had visited 3 times last year. As we exited the Hampton Roads area we saw a large troop transport vessel return to the Naval Base and saw the "conning tower" (? top part) of a submarine that had just surfaced.

Dozier's offers free loaner cars, so we went to the market for fresh picnic food and had a great dinner on the patio of steak, sweet corn and salad. Another couple stopping in the marina, Mike and Dee from nearby Kilmarnock VA, joined us. They are both Purdue grads, along with their kids, and Ger had a great time reminiscing. They were both in the band, and we wound up singing the Purdue fight song and doing several old cheers. Lots of fun for some of us!

Weather forced us to stay a few extra days and took the occasion to travel 45 minutes to some friends of Mike and Lois; Ron and Micki of the sailboat Mainstay, who also live in Kilmarnock! Beautiful home on the Great Wicomico River, and had a wonderful dinner and great time telling stories. Today I am catching up on this blogg and Judie is doing laundry. Tomorrow we head for Solomons MD.

Saying goodbye to AYB and the boats getting bottom work.

Entering the Great Bridge Lock.



Ship building still doing well in the Hampton Roads area!

Water front festival in Norfolk.

Mike and Ger waiting for the grill to get hot - impromptu picnic!

Kurt and Mary Ellen, on Loophole brought a $4.00 red velvet cake!

Cake all gone!

R Island feeling a little lonely as it is still early in the season.


 

March 29 - May 1, 2015 Getting Ready for Year 2

We left Sun City AZ on March 29 headed to Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) in Chesapeake VA where R Island had spent the Winter. First night was Amarillo TX and then Memphis TN where we spent a wonderful evening catching up with our cruising buddies Mike and Lois of Inch-N-Along. Next day it was off to Ashville NC and the forth day we arrived at the boat about 2:30 in the afternoon. The folks at AYB had moved R Island into the same slip where we had left her last fall.

We then spent 4 weeks preparing for the boat for this years adventure. AYB did some of the heavy work - commissioned all the systems that were winterized in the fall, hauled the boat and painted the bottom with anti-fouling paint, waxed the hull, painted the non-skid surfaces on all decks, changed the fuel filters, installed a a new intake strainer/filter for the generator, and made new screens for the three main windows in the front of the boat. Judie and I varnished the exterior teak (known as bright-work), waxed the rest of the boat, painted the window frames, replaced the tank for the hydraulic fluid for the stern thruster, replaced the water heater, installed new zinks and impellers on the engines cooling systems , and steam cleaned the interior cushions! Needless to say - a long month and lots of trips to the parts store. Also, thank the Lord for a nice tax return!

 We did take a weekend to visit our son Gary and his family in Annandale VA, about 4 hours away. Had a great time watching soccer practices and games, visiting the American History Museum, dining at "Rosa Mexicana" in DC, and just hanging out and relaxing.

We left from Gary's home and headed north to Brewerton NY, where the boat will spend next winter in a heated storage building along with 200 of her closest friends. Left the car there to be stored while we cruise and rented a one-way car to return to AYB. Our friends Mike and Lois had arrived at AYB the week before to get their boat ready, and drove north to Delaware City DE where they left their car for use when we get there. We'll be able to drive to Philadelphia and NJ easily for site-seeing. Anyway, we picked them up and all rode back to the boats at AYB. Next day was one last trip (yea right) to the grocery store for final supplies.

Beautiful trees in bloom!

Spring flowers near AYB.

Drying the dock lines after a good washing!

Winter Haven storage building.

A view inside..

Relaxing (?) with Tess at our son's home.