Days 283 - 284 Great Kills Park Marina,
Staten Island, NY
Saturday, June 4 – Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Croton Fountain
A plaque on the sidewalk commorates each ticker tape parade down Broadway
The famous Apollo Theater
Guggenheim Museum
Empire State Building
Empire State Building
Becky and Carlton rented a car so that they could drive to Kentucky to visit their daughter and her family. It took a long time to get the rental car, so we didn’t leave the marina until around 2:00. We took the express bus and arrived in Manhattan about 3:00.
We had to try a hot dog at one of the stands that are so prevalent on New York City street corners. Not bad!
Back on the Gray Line double-decker tour bus, we rode to the Empire State Building. Our plan was to go to the top, but we discovered that it cost $35 per person and that there was an hour-and-a-half wait. Our second option was to skip the 1-1/2 hour wait, but to pay $79 per person for the tour that included an IMAX movie. We passed on both options and got back on the bus to continue sightseeing. At Ground Zero we hopped off of the tour bus and boarded the express bus back to Staten Island.
On Sunday Becky and Carlton left before sunrise to drive to Kentucky. Obviously, we didn’t see them leave! We enjoyed a relaxing day on the boat.
Total miles: 0 Total bridges: 0 Total locks: 0
Day 282 Great Kills Park Marina,
Staten Island, NY
Friday, June 3, 2011
Approaching Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry
Disembarking the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry terminal
Minuit purchased Manhattan for $24
A few of the many double-decker Gray Line tour buses
Brooklyn Bridge
United Nations
United Nations
Rockefeller Plaza
Radio City Music Hall
Plaza Hotel
Central Park
Central Park
Central Park
Famous ball ready for New Year's Eve at Times Square
Police tower at Times Square
Bull on Wall Street
I-beam found in the rubble of 9-11
Construction site at Ground Zero
New York City here we come! We caught the world-famous Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. Not only is it famous, it’s also free. The Statue of Liberty was an incredible sight along the way. Manhattan, named by the Indians, means “island of hills”. We arrived at “The Battery”, now a park, but originally named because it held cannons used to defend the area.
The Gray Line double-decker bus with a narrated tour gave us a bird’s eye view of all of the city highlights including the Empire State Building, Wall Street and its famous bull, Central Park, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the United Nations. It was a hop-on hop-off tour, so we hopped off at Times Square and ate lunch at Bubba Gump’s. We had a second-floor table by the window, and the people-watching was fascinating to say the least.
Our only other hop-off stop was at Ground Zero. It is currently a construction site for the 911 Memorial and several other buildings. We were expecting to find an exhibit explaining the site, but the person at the information booth only directed us to an area where we could view the construction. We were surprised that there wasn’t more information available at the site.
At the subway we were able to buy tickets for the “express bus” back to Staten Island. After an hour’s ride we were back at the marina. That’s “express” travel in New York City.
Total miles: 0 Total bridges: 0 Total locks: 0
Day 281 Nichols Great Kills Park Marina,
Staten Island, NY
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Our luck with calm water came to an abrupt end. We had originally planned to anchor by Sandy Point, but the wind picked up from the west making that area a poor choice for an anchorage. We checked our charts and decided on Great Kills Harbor which looked like it would be protected. Wow. Were we wrong. High winds and choppy water continued into the harbor with waves over the docks. It was extremely uncomfortable. We called Nichols Great Kills Park Marina and managed to get into a slip. It wasn’t easy. Since this is a state owned marina, there was no help on the docks. Seamoore had dropped behind us by quite a bit because of the rough water. They picked a place on the dock bulkhead, and the wind blew them in hard. At least we were both finally docked. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
Total miles: 41 Total bridges: 0 Total locks: 0
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