Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): June 9

Cruising By the City

Liberty Park - Anchorage

Last night's anchorage was worse than being in the ocean all day...we rocked and rolled all night long from the strong winds and ferries that kept coming by. As soon as we were up and ready we pulled the anchor and made our way up Raritan Bay, under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and into the Hudson River. It was a cloudy dreary looking morning, not the best for taking pictures, but we really enjoyed our ride. It was so exciting seeing the Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge, Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty. There were freighters, ferries, sailboats, police boats and pleasure crafts everywhere...from what we have heard, weekends are less crowded than during the week...it's going to be crazy when we leave here on Tuesday.

Before we anchored by Liberty Park we rode up the East River and around Governor's Island. We had a wonderful view of the Brooklyn Bridge and large buildings on the east side of Manhattan. It was especially fun to cruise right past the Statue of Liberty. What an experience. We are anchored in a little cove next to Liberty Park, very calm and peaceful here...plenty of room, there are six boats in the anchorage this evening.

Pam, Donny, Stan and I took our bikes to shore and rode along the wonderful path that runs next to the river. We had some great views of the New York skyline. The sun came out this afternoon and it really made everything much prettier. We rode past Liberty Landing Marina, where we will dock tomorrow, and then up the river to where we can catch the PATH to Manhattan. On our way back to the boats we stopped at the Iron Monkey for a cold beer and a few snacks. We are in Jersey City and it seems like a very nice place. Everyone has been very friendly. We spent the evening on the boat just relaxing and figuring out what we want to see the next few days. It's hard to believe we're in New York...we have traveled over 4500 miles since we left in March 2011.

Lower Manhattan Skyline