Hey Friends & Fam! July 3rd found us in Point Pleasant, NJ next to the Manasquan Inlet. We docked in the shrimp boat marina to save a little money. This was very different because it was literally where the shrimpers docked. There were only pilings to tie up to….no cleats or finger piers that give easy access to going ashore. We only had a rickety ledge that looked like it couldn’t hold our weight that was primarily used as a scallop shelf (see pic). But we met some great locals and one shrimping crew is now following our blog! Still in NJ, so the pleasure boaters still have no concept of how to navigate the waterways!
The biting flies along the New Jersey ICW are FIERCE! Slathered with Deet spray, I had bug detail on the flybridge while Derek drove. Swarms of flies would descend on us and I would wack away with the fly swatter barely making a dent in their number. The floor looked like the killing fields. Our fellow looper friend, Paula, traveling right in front of us, was armed with a hand-held vacuum sucking them up as they flew in the air. She also had one of those electric fly swatters, so she had the satisfaction of hearing the ‘pop’ of their electrocution. The little bastards bit the only part of my body not covered in poison….the bottom of my feet. There just wasn’t enough cortisone cream in the world for the next couple of days!
July 4th we went out to sea again in order to come into NYC bay. We had awesome views of the skyline and Miss Liberty. The marina for the night was in Staton Island…just a little too far away to see the NYC fireworks on the East River :( But Staton Island had 3 shows of its own that we saw from our dock. The tanks and barges are huge around here so we definitely were the small fish in a big pond.
The next couple of days would be spent headed north on the Hudson River. Just a few miles past metropolitan NYC the scenery became absolutely lovely. Granite-faced mountains covered with trees loomed up on either side, and every turn on the waterway opened up another spectacular view. The bottoms of the clouds would obscure some of the mountain tops and tall bridges. The river was smooth and wide.
We stayed at Half Moon Bay for 2 nights in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. We are still traveling with Tom and Paula who are on a 36’ Monk named ‘Tango Papa’. We found a few gems in this little town. Our first night in we ate at an Indian food restaurant called Raga. Excellent! I know man cannot live on bread alone, but I am convinced that I could live on nothing else but their onion/garlic na’an. Then we found a REAL Italian deli and food market. They made their own cheeses and aged them in house for years and sliced the sopressata and other meats so thin you could see through them. They were hiring and I toyed with the idea of working there a week and get paid on deli goods alone.
I also was able to have an eye exam there. I’ve been having blurred vision and seeing giant floaters in my right eye for weeks. Apparently I have a detached vitreous (not retina, thank goodness). There is no treatment for it and it may gradually improve. It's just another sign of aging. I’ll just add it to the list consisting of hot flashes, memory loss, aching joints, facial hair (except eyebrows which have disappeared), weak bladder, age spots and sagging body parts!
But the best time in Croton-on-Hudson was a trip to the nail salon. Derek and Tom agreed to join me and Paula for a pedicure. It was the first time for both men. The girl took one look at Derek’s parrot feet and exclaimed he definitely needed the $80 treatment!!! She worked her ass off with the cheese grater and exfoliants for a full hour. To her credit she smiled the whole time and didn’t mumble to the other girls in her foreign language. Now my husband has sexy feet again. So sexy that he was propositioned by a 20-something gay guy in the CVS afterwards! I can’t leave that man alone for a minute. As for Tom….he decided to go all out and paint his toenails black and have his girl paint an anchor on one big toe and a jolly roger (skull and cross bones) on the other. The jolly roger ended up looking like a tick! He quickly decided to remove the polish.
We continued up the Hudson and had some great overnight anchoring spots. There are tons of pics since this area is so beautiful. We nestled between islands and the fish were jumping all around us. Unfortunately, Derek’s lures don’t work here either. Thank goodness we are not dependent on his catching ability for our food. We’re very happy to be out of the salt water for another 2500 miles. We love upstate NY, but everything here is too expensive to make our ‘we could live here’ list.
We are now in Waterford, NY and docked for free on the city docks. We’ve made it through our first 2 locks without incident on the Erie Canal. Paula and I provisioned today at the grocery store a mile away. However, when we asked the locals where the store was they said ‘just over the bridge’. Next time I will ask ‘which bridge’. We headed over the nearest bridge and found ourselves on a secluded island. By the time we back-tracked and found the right bridge we were miles into our hike. We talked the grocery store into unlocking the cart’s wheels so we could push them back to the boat. We felt like homeless bag ladies walking back over the bridge. I guess in a way we are! After fighting potholes and crumbling sidewalks for several blocks, we found some shade, I popped a beer, and we called our husbands to come rescue us and push their own future meals home.
Knock on wood, our boat is running great. However, our washer/dryer is possessed by the devil and it no longer gets the job done. It fills with water but does not drain. I will not miss laundromats when this journey is done.
Love to all!
The captain and the admiral.
The biting flies along the New Jersey ICW are FIERCE! Slathered with Deet spray, I had bug detail on the flybridge while Derek drove. Swarms of flies would descend on us and I would wack away with the fly swatter barely making a dent in their number. The floor looked like the killing fields. Our fellow looper friend, Paula, traveling right in front of us, was armed with a hand-held vacuum sucking them up as they flew in the air. She also had one of those electric fly swatters, so she had the satisfaction of hearing the ‘pop’ of their electrocution. The little bastards bit the only part of my body not covered in poison….the bottom of my feet. There just wasn’t enough cortisone cream in the world for the next couple of days!
July 4th we went out to sea again in order to come into NYC bay. We had awesome views of the skyline and Miss Liberty. The marina for the night was in Staton Island…just a little too far away to see the NYC fireworks on the East River :( But Staton Island had 3 shows of its own that we saw from our dock. The tanks and barges are huge around here so we definitely were the small fish in a big pond.
The next couple of days would be spent headed north on the Hudson River. Just a few miles past metropolitan NYC the scenery became absolutely lovely. Granite-faced mountains covered with trees loomed up on either side, and every turn on the waterway opened up another spectacular view. The bottoms of the clouds would obscure some of the mountain tops and tall bridges. The river was smooth and wide.
We stayed at Half Moon Bay for 2 nights in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. We are still traveling with Tom and Paula who are on a 36’ Monk named ‘Tango Papa’. We found a few gems in this little town. Our first night in we ate at an Indian food restaurant called Raga. Excellent! I know man cannot live on bread alone, but I am convinced that I could live on nothing else but their onion/garlic na’an. Then we found a REAL Italian deli and food market. They made their own cheeses and aged them in house for years and sliced the sopressata and other meats so thin you could see through them. They were hiring and I toyed with the idea of working there a week and get paid on deli goods alone.
I also was able to have an eye exam there. I’ve been having blurred vision and seeing giant floaters in my right eye for weeks. Apparently I have a detached vitreous (not retina, thank goodness). There is no treatment for it and it may gradually improve. It's just another sign of aging. I’ll just add it to the list consisting of hot flashes, memory loss, aching joints, facial hair (except eyebrows which have disappeared), weak bladder, age spots and sagging body parts!
But the best time in Croton-on-Hudson was a trip to the nail salon. Derek and Tom agreed to join me and Paula for a pedicure. It was the first time for both men. The girl took one look at Derek’s parrot feet and exclaimed he definitely needed the $80 treatment!!! She worked her ass off with the cheese grater and exfoliants for a full hour. To her credit she smiled the whole time and didn’t mumble to the other girls in her foreign language. Now my husband has sexy feet again. So sexy that he was propositioned by a 20-something gay guy in the CVS afterwards! I can’t leave that man alone for a minute. As for Tom….he decided to go all out and paint his toenails black and have his girl paint an anchor on one big toe and a jolly roger (skull and cross bones) on the other. The jolly roger ended up looking like a tick! He quickly decided to remove the polish.
We continued up the Hudson and had some great overnight anchoring spots. There are tons of pics since this area is so beautiful. We nestled between islands and the fish were jumping all around us. Unfortunately, Derek’s lures don’t work here either. Thank goodness we are not dependent on his catching ability for our food. We’re very happy to be out of the salt water for another 2500 miles. We love upstate NY, but everything here is too expensive to make our ‘we could live here’ list.
We are now in Waterford, NY and docked for free on the city docks. We’ve made it through our first 2 locks without incident on the Erie Canal. Paula and I provisioned today at the grocery store a mile away. However, when we asked the locals where the store was they said ‘just over the bridge’. Next time I will ask ‘which bridge’. We headed over the nearest bridge and found ourselves on a secluded island. By the time we back-tracked and found the right bridge we were miles into our hike. We talked the grocery store into unlocking the cart’s wheels so we could push them back to the boat. We felt like homeless bag ladies walking back over the bridge. I guess in a way we are! After fighting potholes and crumbling sidewalks for several blocks, we found some shade, I popped a beer, and we called our husbands to come rescue us and push their own future meals home.
Knock on wood, our boat is running great. However, our washer/dryer is possessed by the devil and it no longer gets the job done. It fills with water but does not drain. I will not miss laundromats when this journey is done.
Love to all!
The captain and the admiral.
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