Up the Hudson to the Mohawk

August 15,2021 When last I wrote, Bob and I were headed for Haverstraw, NY - up the Hudson from NYC to wait for a guest to arrive. We had a couple of quiet days at anchor doing boat chores,i.e. washing off our ICW mustache, making beds, doing laundry, etc. We didn't go ashore here but we did drop the dinghy in the water and take a few rides. We went north to check out Safe Harbor Marina and buy gas for the dinghy then we went around the corner to Panco fuel to checkout the diesel prices. with all our discounts- BoatUS, staying at Halfmoon Bay, over 200 gallons- we paid just $2.89/gallon!

Light Boat at Liberty Landing Marina, Jersey City, NJ

On Tuesday, August 3rd, we headed back south to Liberty Landing Marina to wait for Bob's sister Cindy to arrive. She was flying into Newark and was due to arrive around 6:30pm on Wednesday. We anchored just north of the George Washington bridge in about 20feet of water in the Hudson River. It was a very pleasant night until some troll purposely ran over our anchor bouy and destroyed it. That's the third one weve lost to mishap or theivery. I want a concrete ball so if they try to run it over again theyll know that they hit something!

Harlem River Bridge at Sunset

George Washington Bridge after Sunset

We arrived at Liberty Landing in good time and explored the marina and did a little grocery shopping while we waited. Cindy arrived as scheduled- no issues. The restaurants were closed so we had dinner on the boat and prepared to depart for points north the following morning. We were going to meet our daughter, Maggie, and her husband, Jay, and our grandson, Teddy. Cindy had not met Teddy yet and hadn’t seen Maggie since 2018. We were all looking forward to a couple of days of visiting. we arrived around 3pm to Halfmoon Bay Marina in Croton-on-the-Hudson, NY. Steve the dockmaster met us and gave us explicit and detailed directions for enjoying our stay while in Croton. He was super nice and super hyper. We needed to rest our ears after he left. Maggie and her crew arrived around 4 pm. It was so exciting for Teddy to see all the boats.

Teddy’s not sure about this high chair🤣

Teddy helping Pop Pop steer

Look how far down it is!

playing with GreatAunt Cindy

We opted to go out for dinner at a local restaurant and found a Hibachi place not to far away. If you haven’t  taken a toddler to a Hibachi restaurant, you haven't lived. Teddy was sitting in his highchair getting ready to start fussing because dinner was later than usual when the chef walked in. Flashing, clanking, knives, spurting oil, flying food and FIRE! I t never fails to entertain a cranky toddler. He was mesmerized and never found the time to fuss.

Hey Mom, can I try that at home?

The next day we decided to take a short cruise in the boat so Maggie,Jay,and Teddy could ride on Carolina. We set out north then came back to our anchorage in Haverstraw and had a picnic lunch at anchor. Teddy really enjoyed playing with his great-aunt Cindy and he even managed to take a short nap while on board. We were back at the dock by 3 and ready to head up to Croton Dam Park for a cooling afternoon excursion.

Croton Dam

Perkins/Scully crew

Jay, Maggie, and Teddy

We had a nice italian dinner with the kids then they hit the road to get back home for their next adventure to New Hampshire. We, on the other hand, tasked with pumping the black water tanks and filling the boat with fuel. The pump out was a breeze and Halfmoon Bay should be commended on the speed of their pump out. Panco took a bitlonger. we had to wait our turn to get up to the pumps and then the pumps only go to $999.99 and then you have to stop, pay and start again. It took us  awhile to fuel. We finally got underway around noon.

      We headed north towards WestPoint enjoying the beautiful scenery and company.  West Point did not fail to impress us.  It looks quite different from the water than the land.  It brought to mind a big gray prison.We were also entertained by the by the Golden Knights.  Hard to see in the picture but I promise you, they were there.

Cindy and Clare with West Point

WestPoint from the Hudson River

Golden Knights


Next we passed Pollepel Island where stands Bannerman’s Castle .  Mr. Bannerman was an entrepreneur from Ireland who saw a chance for profit buying captured guns from the Spanish American War.  He needed a safe place to store his windfall so he bought the island and build an arsenal.

     

We next we passed the world famous Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park.  We did not stop for lunch - no docks  to pull up to.  An oversight on their part!

Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park

Our last stop for the day was an anchorage at the entrance to the Rondout Creek down which lies Kingston NY.  We had a quite night and relaxed breakfast the following morning.  Captain Bob decided that since were were almost in Kingston we should go check it out.  It’s a cute little town with a nice waterfront and shops to entice tourists.  They also seemed to have a tugboat graveyard.

Kingston waterfront

Museum

Kingston Tugboat graveyards



There was a cute lighthouse just at the entrance to the creek.

Next stop was Shady Harbor marina in in New Baltimore, NY.  A nice marina with good facilities and an open restaurant and bar.  We had drinks and dinner on the deck and a most pleasant evening.we were on a t-head so passing boats did rock us a bit.  After dark a tug and barge came by pushing a bunch of water.  We rocked and rolled for a minute or two.  Kind of scary to just see a small green light but be rocked that hard.  The following morning this big boy passed by and we barely felt a ripple.

     As we were making our way north we happened upon a seaplane circling the river and lo and behold he landed right behind us.  Pretty awesome timing on our part….we thought but then it happened again just a few miles further up the river.

Cindy’s time with us is coming to a close and we need to finsd a spot to put her off near the Albany Airport.  Shady Harbor suggested their other facility in Schenectady, NY.  That meant taking Cindy throug the first 6 locks on the canal with us.  She was excited.  Not only that but she would get to do the “Flight of Five” inWaterford,NY.  This is a group of  five locks that lift you a total of 169 feet.

Decision time

Cindy and Bob at lock 2

     We stopped at the wall inWaterford and took advantage of a sweet little town.  Next morning we took it easy and arranged to lock through with one of our wall-mates.We walked into town and ate breakfast at Don&Pauls cafe.  What a hoot and it was delicious.

Don&Paul’s Cafe

Counter service for the local boys

Now that we were fortified, it was time to attempt the “flight of five”.  We walked up the the first lock the night before and watched a couple of boats lock through to see techniques and fender placement.  We were feeling ready.  Lock 1 in Troy had been difficult.  There were no hanging lines  to hang onto.  We had to loop a cable and my short arms were not good at that.  Luckily Cindy has longer arms.  With boat poles and gloves in hand we took our positions and prepared for lock2.

Locking through

35.5 foot lift on this lock

The flight of five was a snap and we just had one more lock to make before the marina where Cindy would get an Uber to the airport.  This was Donovan’s Mohawk Harbor Marina.  It is a beautiful facility but unfinished.  The docks were wonderful and you’re right next to the River Casino if that’s your thing.  There are two restaurants and a bar in the complex but they lack permanent bathrooms and there were no showers or laundry facilities.  Provisioning would have been an Uber ride.

It worked out very well for Cindy.  No problem getting an Uber and she was at the airport in no time.  Unfortunately her flight was canceled due to weather.  She opted to stay at the airport since she was rescheduled on an early flight the next day.  We planned on staying the one night then heading to Scotia, NY.  

      On August 11th we dropped our dock lines and cruised up to Scotia.  Why Scotia you ask?  They were offering town docks for $30/night with power and water.  The weather forecast was for extreme heat and we wanted to be plugged in so we wouldn’t be running the genset to air condition the boat.  Scotia looked like a great spot.  As it turned out it was!  We had the docks all to ourselves.  The bandshell in the adjacent park had a great band playing, we could walk to town, there were bike paths to ride.  We were in heaven.

Local cinema- we saw Free Guy

Bike trails through Collins Park

Local hangout

Rhythm Pilots performing

Carolina at Scotia Landing

We stayed our allowed three days then opted to move through 4 more locks to Amsterdam, NY. Here there is a free wall with free power and the weather is predicting heavy rain for the next 3-4 days.  We’ll hunker down here for a bit and visit the town between rain storms.  Bob wants to replace some outlets, we want to figure out the TV on the back porch, hook up our DVD player and do some general maintenance. 

We ‘llkeep writing and try to include you in this new adventure. Be safe and stay well till we see you next.