WORST DAY YET (16 HRS & HIGH SEAS), BEST DAY YET (THE LADY), NY VIA THE HUDSON AND THE ERIE CANAL

At this point in our journey we had reached one of the pivotal legs, which requires significant planning as far as weather and/or marine forecast. Most boats must cruise outside the coast on the Atlantic Ocean from Cape May NJ to Sandy Hook NJ, as the Intracoastal Waterway is too shallow.

We left Cape May at 5:00am with 4 boats in our "flotilla". The sunrise was serene and the seas were flat glass, although the "red sky at morn" should have been a clue to our future.

As we approached Atlantic City, the seas were still awesome at 10:00am.

By 1:00pm, we were in rougher seas and it continued to deteriorate. No pictures were taken as I was unable to stand, let alone go to the bathroom. We were taking the waves on our beam, which is not a comfortable ride in our boat. This went on for the next 6 hours. Luckily, neither of us gets sea sick, which was a plus. We had a couple of opportunities to go into harbors, but if we did we would have been stuck there for at least a week (due to weather forecast), so as a group we decided to press on.

As we made our turn towards Sandy Hook, we were all thankful to be entering a safe harbor. The sunset was gorgeous, and we anchored at approximately 8:30pm (i.e., nearly 16 hours since departure). This was one of the few outside crossings in the "Loop", and I was grateful it was finished. Most definitely the worst day yet for me 😔

After spending a few nights in Sandy Hook and Great Kills Harbor, we cruised into NY Harbor on very choppy waters dodging the high volume of commercial traffic.

As we passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the waters calmed and we were treated to the magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty (aka The Lady).

We were 3 boats in a group now (i.e., Southern Tides, Anchored Souls and Fitz Perfectly). We took turns photographing and videoing each other in front of "The Lady", dodging the consistent movement of ferries and barges everywhere.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty in our boat was a surreal experience. Definitely a bucket list item we had been looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. This "Best Day Yet" made up for the "Worst Day Yet" that we had to endure to get there.

As we continued our cruise of NY via the Hudson River, we were amazed at all the sights.

The art and architecture is also amazing.

We quickly left the city behind and began to see more green hills and rocky cliffs.

Summer cruising on the Hudson brought several obstacles our way, everyone sharing the waters!

As we anchored that evening, we were treated to a fighter jet flyover and another fabulous sunset.

We stayed an extra day at this anchorage and had the most interesting visitors, a beautiful pair of mallards. They had no problem just hopping right onto our swim platform and proceeded onto our cockpit area. Harlie had to keep watch all day, as the pair swam around the boat. Obviously, this was not a new activity for them.

Anchoring does have its challenges, as Harlie must be taken to shore twice a day to do her business.

By the way, here's proof Scott is not always grumpy looking. 😂😂

The next day brought more mountains and fog/clouds which reminded us of Western North Carolina.

West Point Military Academy came into view on this cloudy morning. We did a slow drive-by and admired the historic buildings.

The scenery on this part of the Hudson was gorgeous, although quite dreary during this day.

A few miles north of West Point, we came across the Bannerman Castle, built by a Scotsman for his collection of weapons in the early 1900's. It was designed in the style of a Scottish castle and was never a home, just a "storage unit". It has been somewhat destroyed by fire and decay, but a very interesting sight.

For some reason, castles are common here. Another one peeking out from the top of a hill.

The building on the right looked like a plane from the distance, but actually just an office building.

The Culinary Institute of America has a very large campus, including several restaurants.

Lighthouses line the Hudson River in all shapes and colors.

Bridges are also present in all shapes and designs imaginable.

As you can see from the base of this bridge, the water can be much higher at times.

Lock #1 in NY.

We were joined in the lock by a mama duck and her ducklings. We had to wait for her to pass in front of us. I guess, they were trying hard to relocate upstream.

We had decided much earlier to continue our way on the famed and historic Erie Canal, so we made a sharp left turn at this sign.

We docked on the wall just before Lock #2, the beginning of the Erie Canal. An actual map of the canal is inlayed into the bricks alongside the wall.

We enjoyed a few days in Waterford NY, the town adjacent to Lock #2.

We walked around above Lock #2 and the adjacent dam.

The original lock from the 1800's is unbelievably narrow.

While walking the streets of Waterford, we came across interesting configurations of gutters. Apparently, they are built to release water away from the houses and into the streets.

We never saw the dog, but apparently not vicious, just strange! 🤪

Anchored Souls had a guest fly in to cruise with them for a week. We really enjoyed spending time with Jane, including this scooter ride we took through the mountains to a local country store.

The beginning of the Erie Canal is filled with narrow channels, low bridges and amazing rock work. This canal was completed in 1825 and was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It consists of 57 locks and has an elevation change of 571 feet.

Each lock has an adjacent dam, all of which are designed differently.

In addition to locks, dams and bridges, we also came across these "guard gates", which are used to control the flow and depth of the canal throughout the year.

Wildlife is abundant here, just as it has been our entire trip.

Sunrises are always special and this one was no exception.

Lock #17, once the highest in the world, lifts you up 40.5 feet.

We spotted the famous red Adirondack chairs well before entering Canada.

Little Falls NY was a wonderful stop on our journey. It is surrounded by beautiful scenery and has an awesome dock managed by the local rotary club. We walked the town, visited local restaurants and met a great guy named Joe! If you know, you know!

Not sure if we could have sold them, but we seriously considered it!

The Scooter Cooter Gang struck again at the Rock Valley Brewing Co. Our rides were the talk of the establishment.

Continuing on down the Canal, we found these small boats. They looked like miniature tugs or tows, but are actually used for maintenance on the canal. The larger boat behind looks to be used for a work camp facility.

Inside the locks can be somewhat unnerving at times. In this lock, we were lowered down probably 20 ft. You can see the water level on the back gate as it seeps in from the center and sides. You can only pray they never give way. So far, so good! 😳

On July 4th, we entered Oneida Lake NY for a beautiful crossing to Brewerton NY.

Even on the boat, we had an Independence Day barbecue.

A few examples of homes seen as we entered Brewerton. One is semi-floating and the other has a resident snake!

During our 2022 RV trip we visited our best friends' grown children (Emily and Charlie), whom we consider to be part of our family. This year was no exception, as we traveled near them again by water. Emily, her husband Billy, Charlie and his girlfriend Alesha met us for dinner. It was a great evening for a boat ride, catching up on everyone one's lives and playing a little corn hole.

The next day we cruised to Phoenix NY, a very cute funky town. I'm not sure if we deserve these wings, but we're going for it.

The younger generation joined us again in Phoenix and brought the little ones this time (Adeline and Clint). A fun time was had by all!

We said our good-byes and left Phoenix through another interesting lift bridge.

We made a turn starboard and headed up the Oswego Canal, 23 miles north to Lake Ontario.

As we left Oswego NY at 5:30am, we were treated to another beautiful sunrise on Lake Ontario and the next chapter of our loop!

P.S. If anyone is worried about our sidekick Harlie, I wouldn't waste your time. She seems to be very comfortable onboard!! She's definitely a "boat dog" 😊

Look for another new blog post soon, as I try to catch up to our real time adventures.

Until next time...

NEXT UP: OH, CANADA AGAIN AND AGAIN!!