The 50 plus mile trip to New York City was like riding on a sheet of glass. It was thankfully an uneventful trip…well, until it wasn’t.
To start the drama off, a yacht about 7 times our size decided not to be courteous and at high speed passed our port side without even a toot of his horn. The wake that ensued was nothing short of a tsunami in my eyes. As we violently shook like we were in a bell tower, I tried to hold on for dear life as I grasped at everything being tossed around the flybridge. To our amazement, there was only one casualty of war, the anchor light. Guess that was our sacrifice to the water gods that day.
As we passed under the Throgs Neck Bridge and into the East River, I was welcomed home with the sounds of sirens blaring and the incessant chime of horns honking. The skyline was becoming clearer and expanding before our eyes. It was so surreal seeing the surroundings from this point of view.
Once we passed Ward’s Island and entered Hell’s Gate on the East River, the water churned below us in every direction. Duane was an expert navigator as I sat and cringed as the ferries swarmed around us shuttling people all over the city. It was the water version of rush hour in Times Square.
Every bridge we passed under had its own distinct architectural beauty. And the familiar sounds of the subway rumbling overhead brought a smile to my face and ear plugs to Duane’s ears.
Passing by the Empire State Building, the United Nations, South Street Seaport and the Freedom Tower, our ultimate destination was the Statue of Liberty.
In the 5 years we have dated, it has been Duane’s obsession to visit the statue. I, growing up in NY, have never had any desire to be up that close and personal on a small island with thousands of tourists. So this is what he settled for…anchoring 500 feet off Liberty Island for the night.
I have to say, the view was breathtaking. As we barbequed our ribs off the back side of the island and popped open a bottle of Rose’, we marvelled at the enormity of it all. Then a jetskier flew by and almost made fish food of our dinner.
That night we were rocked to sleep by a very tumultuous babysitter who left the lights on all night. It was the experience of a lifetime, but the next morning we bid Lady Liberty farewell and took off to the comfort and protected area of the marina. Along the way we passed Ellis Island, the Central Railway Terminal and the “Empty Sky” memorial in Liberty State Park.
That day I spent getting our act together and organizing our living space before we took the 10 minute ferry ride to downtown Manhattan to have farewell drinks with friends. It was so amazing to see great friends and family one last time before we left to explore parts unknown. Our time together flew by and we were soon waving to everyone as we took off on the last ferry back to the boat. I soon realized the next year will be filled with many firsts as my last Happy Hour is NYC was now over. I had very mixed emotions about this…Duane was just relieved he was able to drag me on the ferry without incident and we were not stranded across the river.
It will be an early morning rise the following day to continue our trip up the Hudson to the Erie Canal. Fingers crossed the calm waters persist.
So glad you are off to such a great start! The pictures are beautiful!