Goodbye New York

Lori and Ashley

New York from the water is really spectacular. The skyline, the lights at night, the Statue of Liberty, and the wake from all the ferry boats kept us rockin' and rollin'. We were happy when the ferry service stopped running every night so the boat would stop pitching from side-to-side! Lou and I were happy that Lori Cordray (our niece-in-law) could join us for a sail in the New York Habor. She brought Kristin and Ashley (7), of course, and a friend and her three boys. OH BOY.......four kids under 8 can be difficult on a choppy waterway. However, these kids were content to stay in the cockpit and wear their life jackets. It was great to sail under the Brooklyn Bridge and around the Statue of Liberty.

Then we met Gui (our first exchange student) and Christine and their two little girls for dinner. It gave us a chance to catch up with their lives and meet Lily who was born in February. Nina was a little shy (she's 4), but she warmed up to us quickly.

We squeezed in a lot in one day!

Gui and Lou

After consulting the tide charts (several times to be safe) we left NYC and headed north up the Hudson River. I was so happy to cross under the George Washington Bridge. It is the point at which we could change our insurance back to "Great Lakes and inland waters." This classification lowers our boat insurance by half!!!!! Wahoo!

The Hudson River Valley is a sharp contrast to the port of NYC. It's a wide river spotted with llittle towns making it a pleasant trip north. The Palisades on the New Jersey side are 300 to 500 foot high cliffs. We saw several freighters on anchor waiting for their turn at the docks of the city. We slipped right by Tarrytown (aka Sleepy Hollow.) According to Washington Irving, the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the name came from the Dutch farm wives' complaining about their husbands tarrying too long at the village tavern. :-)

We stopped for the night (and the pool) at Haverstraw Bay Marina. When we were here two years ago with the Morris family, it was about 104 degrees. This year it was only 88 degrees but the hyumidity was 100%. Haverstraw Bay is 25 miles north of the George Washington Bridge which made it an easy day. This marina has 1,000 slips. Unbelievable.

The Cosgroves are "seasoned" crew after three summers on Tequila. Mike is learning more and more about charting, tide charts, and docking. Marlene is a valuable galley wench and is even learning some sailing knots. They've been great sports about sailing/motoring and all the related issues on a boat. They can go with us anywhere! Besides, they play Mexican Train and Farkle like champs.

Lou, Marlene, Donna, Mike

Marlene Mike