That’s a 175′ boat in front of us at the museum. Never saw the owners but talked with some of the 11 crew.

Nice as it was, this was our 3^rd time in Rondout Marina so Sunday we moved to the Kingston side of Rondout Creek and the Hudson Maritime Museum docks. We’re in the “old town” of Rondout NY which merged with Kingston, whose old downtown is a few miles north, in 1872.

There are a number of restaurants and shops as well as a restored trolley that trundles out to Kingston Point park. The boys have learned advantages of early morning fishing and now are up at first light at 5 AM. Sue has emphasized noise suppression with limited success so we can maybe get back to sleep by 5:30 and go till 8 on non travel days.

City Hall in Kingston

It is great to have our grandkids with us for a long stay. Their mother is in India working on issues with Sue’s school, and we don’t know how long that will take. Their little brother went with her, so we got the older two with us. Being fishing addicts, they are all for being here.

Before we left from across the creek we ran into Barb and Dave again. Hallelujah had stayed there during their Maine family visiting trip. They have been boating for the last 50 years, much of it in the great lakes and New York area so they know way more than we do about what is up here.

Not restored as some office building, butsStill used as a high school and being renovated. Yay!

We and many others like us leave the south in April and return at the end of October. This year we’ll do what they are doing, store our boat on the Erie Canal at the west end of Lake Oneida after September. We’ve spent a lot of time going up and down the Atlantic ICW, Chesapeake, New Jersey Coast, etc. Enjoyable time to be sure, but remaining near the great lakes we can boat from May to the end of September and really explore these northern areas.

No particular style we know, but definitely old and mostly treated well.

So we will continue up the Hudson to Albany and then west on the Erie and Oswego Canals. Then it’s east on Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence to Montreal. From there we plan to go up the Ottawa River to Ottawa and then down the Rideau Canal back to Lake Ontario.

The Hudson is widest near Haverstraw. 

On the 10^th we moved north to Rondout Marina on Rondout creek between Connelly and Kingston and got there by noon. This is a traditional vacation place for many area people. The marina is old and funky. It holds many smaller day fisher/tripper boats. Campers and vacation trailers (didn’t see a motorhome) were lined up against the river wall with a big grassy area on the other side that was full of people who have been coming here for years.

Restored lighthouse on the way from Haverstraw to Rondout Creek.

The outer dock was full with around 10 large boats mostly headed north. We walked out into a residential area of Connelly for a few blocks in a few different directions. The homes are old, small, spaced apart for horse and buggy rather than cars and were cheap when they were built. Most could use repair, some really needed it and two were boarded up. I remember places like this when I was growing up in North Idaho although there they were torn down and rebuilt long ago. Not here.

Can’t see either end. A long train along the Hudson. Big tunnel under West Point keeps them straighter.

We returned and this time were not let through the crowd. It was a huge Saturday potluck. We were invited to eat with them but had already before our walk. At least we could have desert. Ethan and Aaron took them up on that one. We talked awhile and learned more about the local area. It’s not what we would pick as a perennial vacation spot, but it’s easy to see why these people do. It’s a privilege to be with them for awhile.

Restored lighthouse at entry to Rondout Creek.

The kids made fishing friends. Unlike most marinas, fishing off the docks is OK. Watching them reminded me more of what I had heard about my Dad’s childhood than my own. On our first loop through here we learned that upstate New York is small town America with a heavy dose of old history. It’s nothing like NYC.

Police still looking for objects from fallen Navy Seal as we left Liberty Landing.

We enjoyed Manhattan as we went north on the Hudson. I stayed as close as I could without police or Coast Guard intervention. They might wonder who is on that 25 ton boat and how much of that 25 tons might be high explosive. NYC is a target. The Navy was gone but the cruise ships and the Intrepid are still there.

Lower Manhattan as we head upriver

We arrived in Haverstraw Marina before 1 PM. Dave and Barb from Hallelujah were also there so it was good to catch up. They were also going north but soon leaving their boat to visit relatives in Maine. We were leaving the next day to DC to pick up our youngest son Jordan and two older grandkids Ethan and Aaron at Reagan National.

Grant’s tomb, made famous by Groucho Marx’s quiz question, and St John’s in Harlem.

We’re well out of NYC when we pass the new Tappan Zee bridge.

Sue wanted to do the Capitol, Library of Congress, Museums and monuments with everyone. We were originally thinking of Boston and Newport RI but Ethan and Aaron had never seen DC and Jordan was very young when we last took him there.

The museum order of enjoyment for the kids was Natural History, Art, Air and Space and American History. On our first day we saw the Lincoln Memorial and then walked east on the mall. There was an old guy at the WWII monument. His son told us how he had been bomber crew shot down over France. He hid in a farmhouse and then with the resistance for 8 months before making it back to England. There will never be enough books to tell all the stories.

Sue and Jordan leaving the Lincoln Memorial. Among Americans, no man spoke as this one did.

I left Sue and the kids at the Capitol and went to the Rayburn house office building for tickets to the Senate and House Chambers. I used a tunnel that first passed through two other such buildings. A lot of walking and long halls. I saw mostly young people who work for nothing to fix up their resume. Of course chances of meeting a real senator or representative were near zero. I asked directions of the first distinguished gentleman going my way and then asked what he did. He was a lobbyist. So I ventured, “You with healthcare?” Bingo! We talked more, but not about his job. IMO the Obama team screwed up healthcare. I think the Republican’s chances of doing any better are slim.

The second of Thomas Cole’s “Voyage of Life”. Our favorite paintings at the Gallery.

Library of Congress

This morning Jordan returned to Austin and the rest of us took a one way rental back to Haverstraw NY.

Big disappointment now that we’re back at the boat. I gave the marina boss a list of things to fix/maintain on the boat, dinghy and motorbike and was assured all would get done. I’ll check for sure tomorrow but it appears nothing at all has been done. This is not a huge surprise. It is usually difficult to get a boat fixed. We’ll look for a more reliable place.

Jefferson’s library is on display in the Library of Congress. He owned this book as well as his slaves.

We’ll take a day tomorrow for groceries and for me to put back the things they were to work on and leave for the north the next day.

Sue and I walked the Highline Trail north to south Sunday morning.

Sunday morning we had to move to our slip for the rest of the week and got over to Manhattan around 10 AM. We took an Uber to the north end of the Highline Trail. Sue was not feeling well last year when Sharon, Paul and I walked this.

Plantings and flowers along the Highline.

Many views along the way. This reminded us of the Bridge of Sighs.

Sue liked the trail much more than I expected. Part of it was all the plantings along the trail. They were more extensive than last year. NYC is always interesting and it’s really great to see it from a different point of view. The other difference was all the people. It was Sunday before memorial day and fleet week as well. Maybe 10 times as many people as I saw last year, all having a great time.

Memorial Day Monday was busy at the Met. This is the main entrance area.

The Met is big enough that once we got inside it was not so crowded.

We had lunch near the trail south end and then went through Chelsea Market. Again the Sunday crowd was tremendous. Don’t even think about going to the bathroom there unless you can wait in a line easily more than 100 feet long. They must have thought out the equal opportunity issues, since the line for the men’s was even longer than that. The longest and second longest restroom lines I had ever seen. It was great fun to walk the aisles past any and every kind of food, huge fish market and very packed restaurants and eating stalls of every description. There was even a somewhat counter cultural bookstore in which to park myself while Sue went through shops with kitchen gadgets, clothes, etc.

Passageway between the Met central area and American wing. Largest museum in the US.

We walked through more of the Chelsea area, had dinner at a pretty “reimagined” Mexican restaurant and then went home via Uber and the ferry.

A Fleet Week event had gone badly wrong that day. A Navy Seal died doing a low level jump from a helicopter due when his parachute failed. This happened right at the mouth of the channel to our marina, so the entire area shut down with no boats in or out while they searched for the camera he was wearing and other items. Our ferry diverted to another Jersey City port and we went home from there.

Interior of a church I stopped by along my Tuesday walk.

Since leaving Baltimore the weather has been somewhat cold and with a bit of rain from time to time. Monday was best spent indoors, and the Met was big enough to spend the whole day there while seeing maybe a fifth of it. With not so good weather again Tuesday Sue stayed home to rest while I went out. I stopped by the New York City Museum (so so), went to a great hole in the wall Chinese take out place for lunch and stopped by the Met for a few hours. The rain threatened but didn’t really come so I walked through part of Central Park and then further south until I had to catch an Uber to get the evening’s last ferry back to our marina.

It’s hard to match the grand old buildings of Manhattan. They are everywhere.

Our last day was a surprise. Good weather showed up that afternoon despite the predictions, so we went over to Battery Park and the Wall Street area. Sue also got a bit of shopping in at the downtown Macys and other stores in midtown.

Atlantic City in the morning sun as we left. Boardwalk goes from the largest building to the left.

It’s Saturday night and we made it today to Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, a 15 minute ferry ride from the NYC World Trade Center dock. The prediction for Saturday being the first of several decent travel days stayed the same from Wednesday until today. The winds were way down and the sun was out for the first half of the day. It was lightly cloudy with a following wind for the rest of the day, so there was zero relative wind and just warm enough. The 2 – 3 foot waves were long period traveling in our direction and just a little faster, so it was a slow rise and fall with no crashing or rocking, pretty much like we’ve had before off the New Jersey coast.

A whole lot of boats just past Barnegat inlet. Triangles are AIS boats.

The preceding days were pretty bad. Two days ago a boat a few slips down went out the Atlantic City inlet and came right back in again. Today with the bad weather and waves finally done it was busy out there. Boats of all types were out fishing as we passed near Barnegat and Manasquan inlets. A number of other boats were going north like we were. Today was the day we had all been waiting for.

Jersey City & Statue of Liberty to the left, Manhattan to the right. We dock just this side of tallest Jersey building.

Today was the day everyone was waiting for to get into Liberty Landing Marina as well. Since we could not reserve a slip until we could guarantee our arrival we were surprised to get a one. It is one of the few marinas that take larger boats near Manhattan. It took three phone calls and a bit of begging. We are in someone’s permanent slip and have to move to another tomorrow morning. I think we can stay there. We’ll be here for 5 nights and then move about 50 miles north up the Hudson.

Pretty big crowd today (Saturday). Last year this was the most crowded place we visited.

Coming into New York harbor, as well as traveling the Hudson past Manhattan, are the most spectacular views we have seen from our boat. Everything is so big. This time we first noticed the tops of One World Trade Center and the Empire State building from 33 miles out. Everything is so big. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge or Manhattan skyline can be clearly in front of us but it still takes hours to reach them. There is no reasonable substitute for New York City.

We had a great dinner at the Liberty House restaurant on the east side of the marina. Sue liked the atmosphere as well. White table cloths without the white butcher paper on top and a tall candle! They really went all out.

Hot weather not predicted yet for this week in NYC, but things should be pretty good except for rain on Monday.

We’ll visit Manhattan tomorrow.

Looking from the beach side to the boardwalk at Caesar’s Palace.

Tuesday morning (23^rd) we woke up at 8:00 since there was no intention to go anywhere. I looked at the weather and discovered the forecast had changed enough to maybe go. The wind was now to be SE 90 degrees off the NE direction of the 3 – 4’ waves instead of opposed, which would make the waves steeper and hit harder. It was only 4 hours to Atlantic city, so if it did turn out bad we could take it for that long. We went out before on a 3’ prediction and had a bit of a time, but we decided to go and were underway just after 8:30 and out on the Atlantic by 9:00.

The wind was NE although the waves were more from the east, closer to the same direction. It’s hard for me to judge the wave height by looking. They seem smaller from up top and larger when I’m looking from down below. The ride was not motionless, but much less movement than expected.

We wound up at our usual Atlantic City stop, Frank S Farley State Marina which is managed by the Golden Nugget casino. Frank was a longtime NJ state senator and Republican party boss. Yet another facility like most bridges and locks named after a politician. I suppose that incentivized them to bring home the pork to get it built, but I still don’t like it.

We do like museums and these places are also in St Augustine and the Inner Harbor. We’ll have to go in sometime.

Now wave predictions are 4-6’ and more until Saturday so we have time to burn. With our full disclosure agreement I had to tell Sue that there was a large discount mall a few minutes away downtown near Caesar’s Palace casino. We spent the rest of Tuesday shopping for our two grandsons who will arrive June 2 along with youngest son Jordan.

Wednesday we went back downtown to see the famous boardwalk. It was interesting and even the weather became agreeable during our walk. The Steel Pier amusement park at the other end had rides more like those at a portable carnival than a theme park. We have passed more impressive amusement parks along the New Jersey coast. We returned to the “Playground” shopping mall which is three floors on a pier extending off the boardwalk into the Atlantic. It should be an upscale mall since it has an Apple store, and on the 3^rd floor has the Atlantic surf showing through big windows all the way out to the end. It must have seen better days but now half the spaces are empty. Maybe the discount malls should be more than a block away?

“Beach chairs” across from the food court on the mall 3rd floor. Just a few food court stalls and less people here, but Memorial day is coming.

Caesar’s Palace had low ceilings in its hallways, restaurants and slot machine areas. Nothing like the impressive “Roman” great halls and open spaces in the Las Vegas version.

We decided to eat at Rain Forest café on the boardwalk. The food was just OK, but I was shocked to see all the aquariums, large columns of water at the entrance and extending under the entire length of the bar, etc. without a single fish in them! They tried to make up for it with a lot of bubbles. I remember dinosaurs and other threatening robotic animals the last time we were in one of these, but this time it was a couple of giant dragon flies up in the trees and an ape off in the distance.

Things are getting tough when these places are closed.

It all seemed like Atlantic City’s day may have passed. Granted the continued cold rainy weather is keeping people away and things are supposed to pick up by Memorial day. Still, if you’re looking to invest in casinos or business properties I’m not sure this is the place to do it.

The Inner Harbor from our boat the night before we left. Still many people on the walkway to the left.

Nothing else to do, might as well write a blog entry. We’re in the canal that cuts through the southern tip of New Jersey in Cape May waiting for weather that allows us to go the 120 miles up the coast to NYC. This will be the fourth time we have made this crossing and the first time we had to wait more than a day for weather to do it. The cold windy weather that came as we left Baltimore is still with us today.

The Saturday trip up the rest of the Chesapeake and through the C & D Canal to our third stay at Delaware City Marina was windy but minimal movement for us.

Just saw a little, but most homes were 1800’s, some early 1800’s.

We had never thought about the town behind the canal where we docked, but discovered some of it this time when Sue decided on a walk before sunset.

We saw a number of pre Civil War homes and buildings. With the weather back to cold we walked only an hour but covered quite a lot of this small town. Later I found that 204 of the buildings that the 1500 residents of Delaware City live in and use are in the National Historic Register. Something else we need to get back to see more of.

Looking back as we left Delaware City Marina

Looking forward along the marina canal. Delaware City to the left, state park to the right.

Winds and currents can cause steep waves 6’ or more in Delaware Bay since its southeast is completely open to the ocean. These are not waves we ride up and over but the kind that can slap the side of the boat really hard. The dockmaster meets with those going south at 5 PM to go over the next day’s weather on the bay. While Saturday morning was bad, with even some commercial ships turning back, Sunday looked good with the current switching in our favor at about 8 AM.

The first large ship we passed in Delaware Bay was headed toward Philadelphia.

We left just before 8 and had some waves toward the last. We saw some smaller boats having a rougher time but still making it OK. We were docked Canyon Club Marina by 2 PM.

One of the lighthouses in the middle of Delaware Bay.

I checked the NOAA app at noon today and thought we might leave for Atlantic City Tuesday. When I rechecked at 6 PM it looked bad through Friday, the end of the forecast. The guy at the marina desk said one boat went out on the Atlantic this morning but then decided to come back. No chance of leaving here tomorrow, but after that we’ll be watching. If I can get a decent forecast the night before that stays OK at 5 AM next morning we’re out of here.

Star Gazer at the end of the Baltimore Inner Harbor

We leave Baltimore tomorrow after 9 nights. We saw more museums: the Visionary Arts where all artists must be amateurs. It’s pretty left wing counter cultural but a lot of fun. We also saw the Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American history. The Museum of Science and History was our last one. There was a lot of old technology on display there with half of it being from our childhood world. These museums were not quite as world class as those we saw before, but we enjoyed all of them. We also rode the water taxi to Fells Point, the closest thing to an “old town”, and other Baltimore places.

On the men’s room wall at the Visionary Arts Museum. Click to enlarge.

A great ship model of the Lusitania until viewed closely. It’s made entirely from toothpicks.

Baltimore has a reputation that keeps people away. For 7 of our 9 nights here we have been the only boat on the dock. While there are problems in some parts of the city, we saw none anywhere we went. Several places we went have already replaced much of their older housing with modern versions of the row houses that once dominated much of the older city. Many large public housing buildings from the 50’s and later “urban renewal” have been torn down. There is a lot here worth seeing and doing. We’ll be back.

Arriving at Fells Point on the water taxi.

The weather went from cold for a few days to breezy just right for a few days and then hot for these last two days. No problems on the upper Chesapeake, so we’ll leave tomorrow (Saturday) for Delaware City at the top of Delaware Bay. The predictions show possible problems on Delaware Bay, but I think we can get past that. The issues on the Atlantic, where we need two days to get past New Jersey are more of a problem. We may have to wait some days in Delaware City or more likely Cape May.

After the Jewish Museum and touring two old synagogues we visited the Jewish deli for the best corned beef.

We went to an unexpected church service here.

We’re still in the Inner Harbor at the Baltimore City Dock for our 2^nd time in Baltimore. Someone did come by yesterday to collect the docking fee. We’ll be here at least 7 days, maybe more.

A room at the Walters Museum.

The Walters Art Museum where we spent Friday was top dog. We ended up spending all day Saturday there as well. Sunday after church we spent at the Baltimore Museum of Art. We weren’t too sure about going there since what we could find about it touted their impressionist and modern art. Turns out they had a lot of 17^th and 18^th century European and American art as well, and we had plenty to see.

Faberge eggs at the Walters Museum.

Another thing that turned out good was lunch. Museum restaurants are usually very good and among our favorites. We got there after church all ready for lunch and forgot it was Mothers Day! Of course they mentioned it at church but we did not connect the dots. No way could we reserve a table and the museum is on the John Hopkins University campus, so no other places to eat nearby either. They still had two places (and only two places) left at the bar with the same menu however, so we were saved. As expected, lunch was great. In fact, the seating was great. The two places left were together at the corner of the bar, so we halfway faced each other as we often do when we have a table, just sitting a bit higher.

Tiffany window of the Baptism of Christ at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Sunday morning we grabbed and Uber to the First and Franklin Presbyterian Church. Its current building, built in 1859, is on Madison street. It was started in 1761 and had another location from which it got its name.

The choir sang at the back and at times moved to the side balconies.

The service was very good and the pastor did fine, but what blew us away was the music. They have a very good pipe organ and someone who really knows how to play it. The choir was phenomenal. The last time I heard one that good was 50 years ago at compline at St Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle. Sue agrees it was not just good but outstanding. They sang above the congregation, usually in the back by the organ but sometimes from the connected side balconies. A formal service even by Presbyterian standards, but hey, do formal that well and we’ll be back.

Ran into this on the way to the restroom. Mercury pendulum. Wonder how old it is.

The congregation was not large considering the size of their building, but was a good mix of young and old. We talked with several people after the service when every one met for berries and cream. They thought they had a good choir, but didn’t seem to see anything special about it. Puzzling to us. Maybe we’ll learn more when we can get back there.

Sue out in front of the church. We like traditional. This is traditional.

Today, Monday, we spent at the Baltimore National Aquarium. As good as any aquarium we have seen. Sue was not able to see that when I went with Sharon and Paul last year.

It finally started to warm up Sunday and now is back to fine weather today. We still have places to see. Will 7 days be enough?

The big room in Bancroft hall. I think the dining hall is below this.

We spent another day in Annapolis walking around parts of the the naval academy campus we had not seen before. We wanted to see the formation before lunch, like we did last time with Paul and Sharon, but it’s finals week and they don’t do it now. We did see a few more buildings and spent more time in the museum.

Townhouses on the way to the academy.

Just like the swimming pool at the Alcazar in St Augustine, we have a new favorite for lunch in Annapolis. The officers club, otherwise known as the Alley, is open to anyone weekdays from 11:00 to 2:00 for lunch. Of course you can’t park a car anywhere near it unless you are an officer, but even so it must not be widely known. If fact, none of the 3 midshippersons we asked had ever been there or had any idea who was able to eat there and they don’t answer the phone. The only way we could find out was by going over there and asking.

Sue in the Alley after we finished lunch. As close to being a naval officer as we’ll ever get.

The salad buffet was the most extensive we’ve seen outside of Sweet Tomatoes. Along with that on Wednesday was fried chicken and whatever you can think of to go with it. The price with a generous tip was under $26 for both of us! It had White table cloths, subdued quality décor, enough other diners so it did not appear empty but it would not have been crowded or noisy with twice that many. Why the place was not packed to the gills we’ll never know. Subsidized by the Navy? Anyway, if you’re looking for us at lunchtime in Annapolis you’ll know where to find us. It’s right by gate 3.

Faculty housing. They’re all duplexes, but plenty large. Some of the best housing in the city.

We’ve seen Annapolis several times before, and our decent weather was leaving with rain predicted most of Thursday, so we decided to pull up stakes and head to Baltimore, less than 40 miles (as we travel) away. Forecast waves and wind were 1 foot and light and that’s how it turned out, with a cold steady drizzle all the way until we tied up at the city dock in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It never got above 60 degrees.

No one was there to help us tie up and no one showed up today (Friday) either. When I called the number in Active Captain that worked last year it was disconnected and the dock was completely empty when we arrived. Like in Annapolis, however, being empty could be due to people in their right mind not being out on the water yesterday. The power hookups work fine and the restrooms are a very short walk over at the visitor center so no complaints. We’ll see if we end up paying.

Great models at the museum. This large brass model of the Maryland battleship is at the visitor center.

Closeup of the Maryland.

This is a great place to stay and we’ll be here at least a week. It’s convenient to get to but other boaters just don’t come. It must be Baltimore’s reputation that keeps people away.