New York, New York!

We left Brielle, New Jersey at 6 am, Saturday, June 30, to take advantage of the lack of current right after high tide (remember that railroad bridge!).  Winds were from the south and waves predicted at less than 1 meter-as Rich said, conditions were "golden" for our last time in the ocean.  John and Mary Frances loved the trip, Mary not so much.  As Mary Frances caught waves traveling slower then we were (20-25 mph), she surfed along their crests, sometimes losing as much as 5 mph before sliding down the front of the wave, gaining all the speed that had been lost plus sometimes a little extra.  Honestly, the ride was fine.  Ocean waves (at least in our limited experience) don't break like our great lakes waves, they're more big, gentle swells.  If Mary hadn't looked off to the side, she'd never had known that the troughs between waves were VERY DEEP.  If our previous ocean and gulf experiences had been better and she had been able to sleep more than an hour the night before, she may have actually enjoyed the ride.  As it is, she just breathed (gasped) a sigh of relief as we turned toward New York Harbor and our ride smoothed out.

These are the twin lights of Navesink near Sandy Hook, NJ.  The first fresnel lens used in the US was installed here:

Sandy Hook Light:

  
Our first view of the New York City skyline:

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge:

West Bank Lighthouse as we approach the bridge:

 Fort Wadsworth and its lighthouse tucked under the bridge:

The water was flat and there was very little traffic at 8am this Saturday morning.  John piloting Mary Frances in New York Harbor!

Old Orchard Shoal Light:

The grandest lighthouse of all!

Both of Mary's Polish maternal grandparents passed through here, her grandma as an infant, her grandpa as a young man, avoiding conscription into the Russian army.  One of her maternal great-grandmothers also came through Ellis Island as an infant. John's maternal grandfather passed through here as a child.

The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal at Liberty Landing State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.  It's a much quicker trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from here than from NYC and the traffic and lines are not as long.  One of Barbra Streisand's scenes in Funny Girl was filmed at this railyard.  We met a caretaker here a few years ago who played the conductor who handed her down from the train.

Approaching Liberty Landing Marina:

As we approach our dock, Mary hands the stern line to a dock attendant and asks him to cleat it off at about 3 feet so John can use it as a pivot point to bring the bow in.  She picks up the mid-ship line and turns to step off the stern with it, but the stern is now about 10 feet away from the dock.  The attendant has not cleated off the line and is letting it slip through his hands.  John works the stern back close to the dock, Mary steps off and cleats the mid-ship line and the attendant finally cleats off the stern line.  Evidently that is how they are trained to handle lines here, as we watched many boats dock and the harbor attendants always let the boat drift away.  When there are 2 of them, they hold lines from each end of the boat and pull the boat back in after letting it drift away, but when there's only one it's up to the captain to figure out how to get the boat back in after the line is handed off.

Our home for 8 days:

The marina business office is a retired lightship:

Our view.  The tallest building is the new One World Trade Center:

The Liberty Landing ferry to the city.  We'll travel on one often over the next week.

The ferry terminal on the NYC side:

How do you make more room for parking?!

The busy, bustling, big city:

We first visit the USO office at Port Authority to inquire about show tickets.  We receive the discount codes for desired tickets and a voucher for 72 hours worth of discounted hop-on, hop-off downtown and uptown Grey Line bus tours plus a tour of Brooklyn, as neither of us has ever been there.  When we are at the box office buying tickets for Jersey Boys, we look across the street and they are setting up for the matinee of Jesus Christ Superstar on its last day.  Mary saw a touring company perform JC Superstar at Central Michigan University back in the early 70's.  John has  never seen it live (do NOT bother with the movie!).  We both love the music so cross the street and buy tickets. WOW! Josh Young, the actor playing Judas, was nominated for a Tony for best supporting actor in a musical.  He is amazing, as is the whole show.

When we returned to Jersey City, there was a wedding party in the park.  Mary Frances is in some of the wedding pictures.

Monday Rich and Carol are traveling from their Cape May home to their Boonton, NJ home and swing by to pick us up for dinner.  John presents Rich with one of his general's coins, a rare honor.  Rich immediately threatens to stalk John for the light-hearted part of the military coin-if you have yours and John doesn't have his, he has to buy you a drink.  Since John only has the one he has carried since he became a general and that was the one he presented to Rich, he calls his sister Jackie and asks her to overnight express her coin, promising to tell her where he has another at home that she can retrieve next time she checks our house, as she doesn't want to be without hers. 

Yes, the best part of the Loop is the people!  Carol, John, and Mary in front of a terrific backdrop:

Tuesday we start our 72 hours of bus availability with downtown and uptown tours.  The statue of Teddy Roosevelt in front of the Museum of Natural History, played by Robin Williams in the movie "Night at the Museum":

Our guide told us the 2nd largest Rose Window in the world, after Notre Dame in Paris, is in St. John the Divine Episcopal Church.  We've been unable to confirm this, but the church is wonderful.  It has been under construction for over 100 years.

The famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem:

Times Square-the New Year's Eve Ball:

Bob the Naked Cowboy-Miami kept arresting him, here he's just another street performer (not really naked-he has briefs on behind his guitar):

Two NYC icons:

The Flatiron Building:

There are wooden water towers on top of many NYC buildings:

Tiles for America-after 9/11 many teachers had schoolchildren draw as therapy.  Some pictures were made into tiles and hang on this fence:

This reminded us of Gaudi's buildings in Spain:

Chinatown:

The Chrysler Building:

St. George the Dragonslayer, patron saint of Armor.  John commanded the armor battalion in Michigan for over 5 years.

Who knew the skating rink in Rockefeller Center holds outdoor cafes in the summer?

We think the pigeons here are southerners at heart, as they seem to have no respect for General Sherman:

On Wednesday, July 4th, we saw Jersey Boys and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Waiting for the fireworks:

The view is somewhat obstructed at Liberty Landing, but the fireworks are still spectacular. The backdrop is a little different than in Mackinaw City:

Another view of One World Trade Center:

A picture of our marina taken from the NYC side.  The water is choppy from so much boat traffic:

Thursday we took the Brooklyn tour.

A fun piece of Brooklyn artwork, mimicking those rooftop water towers:

Another parking solution:

The Brooklyn Bridge.  Part of the reason we took the Brooklyn tour was so we could go over it, but buses aren't allowed.

Brooklyn's version of the Arc de' Triomphe:

We always look for libraries:

Replacing cables on the Manhattan Bridge:

The oldest tavern in New York City.  The British used it as a headquarters during the American Revolution and George Washington said good-bye to his generals here after the war.

The Manhattan Bridge-2 decks, cars and other vehicles drive on both levels, trains run on the outside of the lower level:

Racing in the harbor: