Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Restaurant Row in Kingston with Ship to Shore where we had dinner

So far this week our trip down the Hudson has been trouble-free with smooth sailing and we really enjoyed the stop over in Kingston, New York This city has a population of 24,000 and dates back to the arrival of the Dutch in 1652. It was the first state capital of New York State and a thriving arts community. We enjoyed the meal we had last evening at the Ship to Shore Restaurant. When we arrived in the Kingston harbour, we went to the Savanah Restaurant to dock overnight for free, as long as we had dinner there, but they told us we could not, because their dock needed repair, so our only option was the town dock for the minuscule cost of $154.55 US per night. Noisy docks, kinda dirty showers and a washroom with a washer/dryer, but it was in a nice location. So today, another boater we met on the Erie Canal portion, told us he just arrived at Kingston and docked at the Savanah Restaurant and they told him he could stay overnight, if he had diner there. How frustrating is that! He got it free and we paid.

So now, after stating this publicly, I have exhausted my frustration with the City of Kingston, but I will put a negative review on their web site for the ridiculous charges and lack of nice accommodations they offer to visitors. However, they do have nice lights on their bridge at night.

Captain Conrad

As I was cleaning the outside of the boat this morning, and doing some exterior work a cute, small, 4 year of boy named Conrad, stuck his head over the railing and looked at me.... and then I said hi and he smiled. His mom, in a very subdued voice, said, "he asked if he could see the boat" so I invited them onboard for a small tour. He was thrilled when he got on and he wanted to see everything, including the engines. We sure made a cute, young boy happy, and maybe it will inspire him to one day have a boat.

There was a weekend of celebration in the town of Kingston this past weekend, and they had all kinds of Port-A-Potties all over the place and this morning a gal impressed me with her muscle and determination to get two loaded onto a trailer and remove them from the downtown area. Before she loaded them, she did a full pump-out from two units, and "I bet that stunk" and then she muscled them both onto the trailer. I wanted to give her a shout out on how hard she worked so I have posted this video to prove that she did good.

All I can say is "Way to go Girl !"

We left Kington at 11:15 am and slowly boated out of the channel back into the Hudson River. We plotted our course with an expected time of arrival of 5 pm. Kyle took the helm this morning, including leaving the dock and down the channel to the river. He is getting to be a pretty proficient operator of the boat. Basically he has progressed from the dingy to the big boat. Advancement to his onboard status is imminent.

We expected an interesting day on the Hudson as there are many more interesting things to see, the closer we get to New York City. And today didn't let us down.

Maid of the Meadows Lighthouse

There were many lighthouses along the way with the first one being the Esopus Meadow Lighthouse, which was built in 1871 and is a stone foundation structure. It is the only surviving wooden lighthouse on the Hudson River and was nicknamed the "Maid of the Meadows." It was built on the edge of the mud flats, where cattle once grazed. Rising sea levels have brought the levels of the tidal Hudson up, and today, the lighthouse flats are covered with thick beds of water chestnuts that shelter young striped bass and other fish. In 1990 there was a commission to restore the lighthouse as it had tilted 18" from the foundation, however today it stands erect.

As we passed under a bridge we noticed that it was a pedestrian bridge and it was very long and 120 feet off the water. The Captain took a selfie looking up at some people on the bridge, but as we passed under the bridge, we also noticed an elevator to get people up. At least we thought it was an elevator.

For the better part of the morning the girls relaxed on the bow and admired the views before having a snooze. I have to give them credit for doing much more than being nice deck fluff. Our trip would be horrible if it wasn't for Jan and Cynthia to cook, plan meals, do the dishes, do the lines in the locks, and just keep The Captain and Kyle busy and in line. Thanks Gals.

Oh, by the way ..... this is a Blog Message I received on our most recent blog, stating the facts................ so to the girls - OOPS, I'm Sorry ! But you do look good on the bow!

We saw this storm brewing in the distance

As we travelled further down the river, we came upon Hyde Park, which is a very high end area with lots of interesting things to see and do. We are talking about stopping here on our way back to Canada to see some. The first place we passed was the Vanderbilt Mansion and it is really covered in trees so the photo is not that good. We also passed the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Estate where there are daily tours and a museum Both the President and his wife are buried on this estate.

Roosevelt Home Vanderbilt Estate

Just a bit further down the river and in Hyde Park, lies the Culinary Institute of America. (CIA as it is called for short) and it was an impressive campus. It is a School dedicated to professional culinary education offering Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Food Business and Wine Management. It was founded in 1946 and they have a campus in New York, California, Texas and Singapore. They say that the Apple Pie is a must, when you visit and tips to the staff all go to a pool, to defray graduation costs, We are thinking of stopping here on our way home.

A little far down the river we passed a very nice 55 Fleming Yacht heading north and as it passed. we realized it was called "Travellers" from Toronto. Always good to pass fellow Canadians especially in a Fleming Yacht.

There were lots of nice homes and building on the waterway and we took several pictures as we went south.

As we wound down the Hudson and was nearing West Point we came upon a place called Bannerman Castle which is located on Pollepel Island. This Island was purchased by Frank Bannerman in 1851and used as a warehouse for his surplus product. He owned a ship chandlery in New York City that engaged in the purchase of worn rope for Papermaking. His store on the 500-block of Broadway opened in 1897 to outfit volunteers for the Spanish American War. The business bought weapons directly from the Spanish government before it evacuated from Cuba and then purchased over 90 percent of the Spanish guns, ammunition and the equipment captured by the United States military and auctioned them off by the United States government. Bannerman's illustrated mail order catalog expanded to 300 pages; and became a reference for collectors of antique military equipment.

Bannerman purchased Pollepel island in November 1900, for use as a storage facility for his growing surplus business. Because his storeroom in New York City was not large enough to provide a safe location to store thirty million surplus cartridges, in the spring of 1901 he began to build an arsenal on Pollepel. Bannerman designed the buildings himself, and let the constructors interpret the designs on their own. The castle, clearly visible from the shore of the river, served as a giant advertisement for his business.

The building was never totally constructed and in 1918 Bannerman died and the building has not been used since. Today it is under the control of the Bannerman Castle Trust. The Trust is making the island safe for volunteers and the public to enjoy as an educational, cultural, historic and recreational facility that promotes historic tourism in the Hudson Valley.

Around 3 pm we were nearing West Point and it is a very large site. The United States

Military Academy (USMA), established in 1802, is renowned for producing exceptional leaders. Situated in West Point, on the Hudson River, the Academy was initially founded by President Thomas Jefferson to train officers for the rapidly expanding army. Throughout its history, West Point has evolved, adapting to the changing needs of the nation's defense. USMA has consistently upheld its mission of educating, training, and inspiring cadets to become leaders of character, prepared to serve their country with honor and distinction. The Academy’s rich history links its graduates as part of a Long Gray Line, and those graduates have played an integral part in the nation’s history.

The grounds of West Point includes many buildings but from our perspective on the water we were only able to take pictures from the "rear view."

The roof of the Sports Complex says "BEAT AIR FORCE"

As we boated past West Point, we went through a 15 minute torrential rain storm, so we slowed down a bit and planned an arrival at the Cortlandt Yacht Club for when we thought the rain would stop and magically, we arrived and the sun came out.

It stopped raining as we arrived at the Yacht Club and MAGICALLY, a rainbow popped up over the marina. Tonight we rest before our big day into New York City tomorrow.

With a busy day behind us we are excited to usher Kyle to New York City and for our crew to enjoy 6 days in the city. Can't wait for pictures of Lady Liberty. It is time to rest and prepare for another day on the water as we cruise to NYC tomorrow morning.

Here is our Nebo Log for the day. We travelled 83 Kilometers over 5.27 hours at an average speed of 15.2 Km/hour