Thursday morning, we awoke to fog and rain. Hopped on the train with John and Gina to the Staten Island Ferry and ferried to The Battery. I was on a mission to find an epic bagel. Milk and Honey, a kosher deli in the financial district, did not disappoint. Yum! Walked past the Meryl Lynch bull and cracked up at all the people taking pictures with its testicles.

Walked through Trinity Church’s graveyard where Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton, among others, are buried.

Went into St. Paul’s church which is beautiful.

Went to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and was in time to take communion.

The last time Mike and I were in NYC was a couple years after 9/11. The World Trade Center site was still totally unfinished, but they had a museum we went through. It was gut wrenching. Although the current 9/11 museum is supposed to be very worthwhile, we decided not to see a lot of that stuff a second time. We did go to the pools, which were beautiful, and so moving.

Inscribed on the 9/11 Memorial are the names of the 2,983 victims of the 1993 and 2001 attacks. Every morning a staff member checks a binder located in the 9/11 Memorial Museum that has each name and birthday listed chronologically.  Before opening to the public, 9/11 Memorial Museum staff places a white rose at the name of each victim who has a birthday that day.

The sun came out and it got hot and muggy. We grabbed a pint at an Irish bar in Soho. Then walked to the City Winery, which I erroneously thought would be New York wine. Found out they source their grapes mostly from California and Washington. That said, the juice was good, and place was very cool with a venue next door for live music.

During our walk back, the forecasted thunderstorms came. After getting completely drenched, we found an overhang. Gina was trying to hail a car via Lyft, and I was trying Uber. Everything was 20 + minutes out. I finally got a car, then was advised the ride was cancelled. Everyone in the city had the same idea. After about 20 minutes, we were finally able to hail a cab to take us back to the ferry terminal. We ferried and trained our soaking butts back to our respective boats. (I brought an umbrella with me, but left it on the train. Not used to carrying one!)

Went to the bar at the yacht club where we just fell in love with the patrons. Really great people. They recommended a good local pizza place from which Mike and I ordered dinner. It was awesome! The Great Kills Yacht Club was heavily damaged during Sandy. There are pictures of the docks after they floated off the pilings and onto land. Folks there described their experiences, showed us before and after pictures while pointing out their boats, and explained how they rebuilt their beloved marina. It was incredible. The yacht club has been around since 1906. Our Harbor Host, John, has been a member for over 50 years. There is an 18 year waiting list to join. And, they let us in!

Next morning, it was raining really, really hard. I brought my second umbrella (which was really a joke and made for Southern California rain) and we again took the train and ferry into Manhattan. By the time we got there, the weather was beautiful. Went to Fraunce’s Tavern, a historic restaurant and museum, to meet up with a dear, childhood friend whom I had not seen in over a decade. Had a fantastic Manhattan (dad…it was actually damn near as good as yours) and a fabulous burger. Better than that was catching up with Amy. Was such a treat!

Amy took us into the museum which was awesome! Fraunce’s Tavern played a prominent part before, during and after the Revolutionary War, served as George Washingtons’s headquarters, and was where Washington bade farewell to his officers. Look up that speech; it is beautiful. <Inserted by Mike…Fraunce’s Tavern was so damned cool–not only did George Washington bid his colleagues farewell from arms here, the Sons of the Revolution plotted the Boston Tea Party from this location. So fortunate to have had the chance to visit this epic place that played such a signifiant part of our history!>

There was so much cool stuff in this museum. It was a particularly great experience so close after our visit to Yorktown, and along the Delaware. Washington was one hell of a dude.

Mike and I then walked over toward Brooklyn which looked magical this day.

Got some additional miles under our peds to try to walk off some burger, then ferried and trained back to the boat. We met up with our favorite locals at the yacht club bar to talk about our day, and Mike made four loaves of Carrot Bread to pass around to the old gaffers. We were sad to leave Staton Island, but excited to sail our home past Lady Liberty and Manhattan.

The next morning was sunny and beautiful! We, with John and Gina in the lead aboard Alysana, took off around 8:00. We were about 15 miles from the Statue of Liberty. Threw some Frank Sinatra on the stereo. Sailed past cargo carriers, tankers, ferries and other boats. Finally made it in front of the beautiful lady from France. It was magical.

Then, sailed past all of Manhattan up the Hudson. The views were simply incredible.

Was surreal looking behind us and seeing the skyline. It’s crazy how quickly that view changes to tons of greenery and trees! Sailed past Yonkers.

And, Sing Sing.

Had a beautiful trip up the Hudson. The winds really picked up about 10 miles south of our destination. Our mellow seas grew and our poor girl got wet.

Went about 50 miles to Half Moon Bay Marina. This marina, nor any on the Hudson that we know of, has no break wall. There is some type of wave break but, essentially, we had no protection from the swells and wakes from the Hudson (which were coming in full force with the Northwest winds). I thought our boat was going to pull the cleats from the finger, or the finger from the dock. It was difficult to stand on the docks. Lo and behold, we decided to have the good folks from Scalawag, an American Tug 41, over for Old Fashioneds and bounce around together. Thankfully, the winds and seas moderated that night.

This morning, we departed the E-ticket marina and continued north up the Hudson. Wow! The views were absolutely stunning. I had heard the Hudson Valley was beautiful, but had no idea. It reminded me of cruising through Germany.

About 12 miles in, we came across West Point. What a sight to behold from the water!

Our sail was awesome! We got into Poughkeepsie around 2:30 and tied up at another marina (not a lot of good anchorages on the Hudson). John and Gina came over for a beer. We watched as a 54 foot Sea Ray came into this fairly small marina going pretty hot and came within a foot of crashing badly (yes, I understand any crash is bad, but I thought this one could sink us) into the starboard stern of our boat. Gina yelled out, “Hold on!” and I about peed myself. But for the grace of God, the Sea Ray did not hit us and went across the small fairway and almost crashed into another boat. The skipper (whom we later found out is a delivery captain) got her turned around and pulled in behind us. Mike, being Mike, helped them tie up. All was well.

Took off for a walk through Poughkeepsie. Found a great brewery and had an early dinner. Beautiful waterfront and cute town.

Walked about a bit, then back to the boat. Plan tomorrow is to visit West Point and some other nearby places by land.

Hope everyone had a Happy Sunday Funday! A shout out to my girl Gretchen who turns 40 again tomorrow. Miss and love you.

Cheers! M&M