After a good night's rest following our overnight passage up the Jersey coast, we were ready to take on New York Harbor. It was a bit cold and bleak as we headed north, but that did not matter when the Manhattan skyline beckoned and Lady Liberty came into view.
Meanwhile, the ship, pleasure and ferry traffic was intense. Here is what our GPS screen looked like:
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| All the blue and red triangles are boats |
The sightseeing ferries seemed to be packed with schoolkids heading to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and their enthusiastic voices could be heard over the din of boat engines and helicopters, The Cap'n responded to their waves with a blast of Freedom's horn -- and we were thanked with a cheer and even more waving. (I'd like to think they told that story when they got home)
After making our own pass by the statue, we headed into our anchorage behind Liberty Island. It was a spectacular site: the Lady's gleaming torch held aloft against the night sky and the new World Trade Center towering, and twinkling, across the river. Best anchorage ever.
Thursday morning we headed up river a bit to the Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City for a two night stay. Ham was relieved (pun intended) to get to shore.The rest of the day was filled with chores (interior and exterior boat cleaning, laundry), but I must admit I spent a good deal of time just looking at the view of lower Manhattan.
On Friday morning we hopped on the ferry to Ellis Island. Sharing the ride was the Governor's Foot Guard of Hartford CT. Established in 1771, it is the longest continuing military guard in the country. In 1780 the Guard accompanied Gen Washington to his meeting in Hartford with French General Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau to discuss strategy and coordination between the Continental and French armies. They were headed to the Statue of Liberty for the ceremonies marking the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Also on board were a group of French students all set to participate in the festivities. Standing guard in the harbor was a stealth French War Ship. It was an exciting day to be in New York.
To be honest, we had hoped to visit the 9/11 Museum that morning, but the tickets were sold out. Second choice to start, Ellis Island proved to be the perfect choice. The exhibit "The Peopling of America" told the why's and the where's of the immigrant migration across the US. We will be following many of the same routes those brave people followed and stopping in many of the towns and cities and they peopled. The exhibit offered us a new way to look at our journey.
We ended the day with a fun on board party Our guests were my cousin Nancy, our friends Dave and Jenny, and our daughter Monica and her entourage of sorority sisters. It was night full of photo-ops and laughs.
More photos of NYC:
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