TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE: June 2018

6/23/2018

Wednesday 6/13/2018 found us at Hammerman's Marina in Atlantic City. Once again we ran the ocean. The water was not bad, but we did deal with fog for the first few hours. Tim had the radar on, so one more thing to keep an eye on. It was interesting to see a boat pop up on radar & keep watching the fog in that direction until we could just make it out. Eventually the fog burned off & the run was uneventful.

Our dock was along a side street. We were stern in, so our view was a fence, a street & condos. The reason this is memorable is the tide. As it rose, it flooded the street & rose to the level of the garage doors. Not where I would choose to live. It did appear to be an area in transition. For the better, I think.

Once again, waiting for a weather window to safely run the ocean, we did not leave until 6/15 for NYC. It was choppy & capping, so we had to slow down or get beat up. It took us 6 hours to get to Liberty Landing Marina, which is actually in Jersey, on the Hudson, with a view of the Manhattan skyline. It was not my first choice in marina's, but it was the best choice. I think it is the only one in NYC where one does not get rocked by constant wake.

We did hear & feel a large "thump" while running. When we looked back, all we saw was rust colored water. I think there is one less sea creature in the Atlantic.😢

Our friends Sandy & Mike invited us to cross the river & stay with them, but they have a cat & Riley is not accustomed to cats. I did not want to be responsible for what would happen when they met in the apartment. It was decided they would come over & stay with us. Brutus, their dog would visit also. It was great to see them & spend time, but it ended too soon.

Docked at the same marina were many large sailboats. They were packed in & flew numerous flags. Upon further investigation, I found they were a group called "Race Around the World". Our trek pales in comparison.

Monday 6/18 we landed at Half Moon Bay in Croton on the Hudson. Nice dock in front of condos. They advertise as being dog friendly, with a special dock with easy access to dog walk area. As it turned out, dogs are not allowed near the condos, so the "special dock" is outside a fence to the condo area. It's all about marketing!!

While we were there, Tim was able to get the dinghy off the platform & get into the garage. He needed to clean sea strainers (yuk, full of barnacles) & retrieve the extra fenders for our trek up the Erie Canal.

Wednesday 6/20 found us in Connelly, NY at the Rondout Yacht Basin for the night. Uneventful.

Thursday 6/21 we docked at Shady Harbor in New Baltimore, NY. With plans to stay thru Saturday. Once again weather is a factor. Thunderstorms predicted for the weekend. It is a nice marina right on the Hudson. It is posted a NO WAKE zone, but not everyone slows down, so sometimes we get rocked. They offer a courtesy car, so we were able to get to the store. There is really nothing within walking distance. Even walking Riley is a challenge. Winding, skinny hills & no sidewalks & very little berm.

A little about the Hudson River.

It is beautiful from beginning to end. I am glad this is near the end of our trip, because after seeing this, everything else would pale in comparison.

Tim loves it because it is deep, wide, easy to navigate & very close to fresh water. The only downside, watching for debris.

There is a yearly "swim the Hudson". We saw it. Every swimmer is accompanied by someone on a kayak. A guy on a jet ski rode up to us to warn & explain.

We saw Sing Sing Prison. (Oops, I deleted the pic)

We saw West Point.

TRAVELING THE HUDSON

LADY LIBERTY

Atlantic City

BIRTHDAY BOY (4 YEARS)

BREAK WALL AT HALF MOON BAY

GOODBYE NYC

RR TRACKS ALONG THE HUDSON

RACE AROUND THE WORLD

BRUTUS & RILEY

DOCK PARTNER AT LIBERTY LANDING

BRUTUS, SANDY, MIKE & RILEY

MANHATTAN SKYLINE

PADDLE BOARDER ON THE HUDSON

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD?

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

RISING TIDE ATLANTIC CITY

HIGH TIDE ATLANTIC CITY

BRUTUS & SANDY

SLEEP OVER RILEY & BRUTUS

TRAIN TRACKS RUN ALONG THE HUDSON

VIEW FROM RONDOUT
WATER MAIN BREAK?

WEST POINT

June 11, 2018

We arrived Ingram Bay Marina in Heathsville, VA Tuesday 5/29. It appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, but close to the ICW. Billy, the owner, was very nice & helpful. He did loan us his truck to re provision. We drove 30 minutes to a what else?.... Walmart. Saw nothing but fields & woods. To add to the charm, no TV or phone reception. I thought this is a great place to do the laundry. Packed it all up & carried it to the laundry. On the way to the laundry, I was challenged by a spider the size of a silver dollar. He blinked first & went the other way, much to my relief. When I saw the laundry room, I turned & hauled my laundry back to the boat. Two reasons: dryer vent tube was sitting on top of the dyer & I knew that spider's family lived there. I did not wish to meet them.

Wednesday 5/30 we left for Calvert Marina, Solomons, MD. We ran the Chesapeake Bay which was nice. Deep water & running on plane is always a welcome break from the ICW. At this stop we were treated to The Blue Angels practicing for an air show. Also, the loaner car was a diesel Mercedes, circa the 80's. Scariest loaner we have ever used, but it got us to the store & back.

On to Annapolis, MD on Friday June 1. We stayed at Annapolis Landing Marina. In keeping with the no traveling on the weekends, we planned to stay till Monday, but remained till Thursday. Very nice, but we either needed to drive or take a water taxi to downtown Annapolis. We have done both. They have a pool & a loaner car.

The extended stay was because we finally found someone to look at the generator, (did I mention the generator was not working?) but he could not make it till Tues. Andy showed on Tuesday (nice guy). Generator is now working. But (there is always a but, isn't there?) while he was having a coffee with us, he & Tim got to talking about the inverter which has been a puzzle throughout our travels. Won't try to explain the puzzle as it is above my pay grade & would probably bore you silly. Bottom line, Andy felt he could fix that also, but he could not work on that till Thursday. The decision was made to stay. Thursday late morning we got a call from Andy. He was not able to get the part he needed for a week. We did not wish to wait. Andy said he would ship it where ever we wished & Tim could install. We went with that. We stayed that day anyway, as his call came a little late & I planned laundry & cooking before we left.

While in Annapolis we had a visit & lunch with a former work colleague Sheila & her husband Gerry. It was great to see them & spend some time with them. Gerry is retired Coast Guard & would like to do the Loop some day.

Riley & I found a park with a trail through the woods, that reminded us of The Kopf Reservation at home. This is the first time, since we left, Riley has seen a deer up close. Trust me, he showed his enthusiasm. There is also a wide open field were he can run off leash, & a restaurant he approved of. (see picture) All in all Riley approved this stop.

Tim's back has improved, not great, but much better.

Friday 6/8 on to Delaware City. We ran the last of the Chesapeake Bay & the C & D canal. The Chesapeake treated us well. There was a lot of debris in the canal & we did bump something, but luckily no damage.

We stayed at the Delaware City docks. Once again the current needed to be taken into consideration. The dock hands were very good. Typically they bring you in & turn you at the dock, but Tim was able to turn before docking. All the boats that came in after were turned by the dock hands. They have a great system.

It is a nice little city & I wish we could have stayed a couple of days, but one lets weather dictate on this trip. When leaving here, one must cross the Delaware Bay, which I'm told can be hellacious, so people hole up to wait for a weather window. Tim, the dock master, holds a briefing at 1700 every day to explain what to expect. Our weather window was open on Saturday 6/9. The Delaware was glass.

We had some time before we left, so it was decided, we would give Riley a bath. He stands very still on the dock while we soap him up & rinse him off. Once that is done, he runs & jumps around like a crazy dog. This was not the best dock for bath time. Long, narrow & water on both sides. Of course, he fell in & did not have on his harness because you can't wear clothes while taking a bath, right? We eventually got him out & rewashed him.

Saturday 6/9 headed to Cape May, NJ. Whatever happened to my no weekend travel suggestion???
Not even a great weather day & still very busy. It did give Tim an opportunity to exercise his voice.

We docked at South Jersey Marina. There are several choices in this area, all with info & recommendations from those who have gone before. The choice is made on what you want to do, how long you will stay & amenities, you just never know what you will get until you get there. Not a good place for Riley & the most difficult docking yet. There are always trade offs.

Wind, current & narrow channel make docking here a real challenge. After some tense moments, Tim was able to get us to the dock with out incident. We watched & helped others come in that were not so lucky. Tim was out catching lines & shouting directions! I'm thinking they may hire him. Once again we were lucky, as 2 of them missed us by inches, but unfortunately they hit pilings & docks.

Looks like we will be here until Wednesday, waiting for a weather window to once again run the ocean. (It is a given, that we will check with TJ,our guardian angel, before we leave) We have rain, wind & 60 degree temps. I swear, we were cursed by the weather gods!

We did get to spend time with my cousin, Patti, her husband Les & daughter Reghan. It was fun catching up.