Empire

 

This was one of the Empire apples I ate while in New York. It’s motto, “The Empire State” started, possibly, by George Washington in a letter he wrote in 1785. “New York is the Seat of the empire,” wrote he.(1)

OPEN OCEAN

The New York section of our journey begins in New Jersey. Our cruise South, down the 55-mile-long Delaware Bay, took four hours and thirty minutes. So, one might say it is a large bay. We saw Delaware to the West and New Jersey to the East. (A new state!) The sea conditions were good, as predicted. It was an overcast day, making the water grey. Ho hum. 

On the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay, I saw what I believe was my first active nuclear power plant. It looked enormous among the flat landscape on this cloudy day.

Besides the nuclear power plant, our Delaware Bay leg was unremarkable, with an assortment of tankers and recreational boats, like us. 

Once we got through Delaware Bay and stopped for an overnight at Cape May, we carefully watched the conditions for transiting outside New Jersey in the Atlantic Ocean.(2) We planned two New Jersey stops: Atlantic City, (Google says a.k.a. "America's Playground"?!) and Massaquan, a small town with a protected marina. 

The weather from Cape May to Atlantic City was a good-enough "go" forecast the next day. So I donned my Relief Band(3) and we set out for the ocean. Poseidon delivered the conditions we expected. 

Heading out of Cape May at “O”-dark-hundred. Optimism abounds.

We stayed at a marina, popular with Loopers, and went into the adjacent casino once for breakfast.(4) We hung out at Atlantic City for three nights because the weather turned too windy to continue right away. 

We were relieved, frankly, that we got great, although overcast and cool weather as we pulled into Atlantic City. Here’s what it looked like, coming from the Atlantic Ocean. It was like the lower lip of a smile, with teeth missing. 

We had never been to Atlantic City, and I admit that it felt, frankly, a little creepy. The casinos were spread apart in three distinct neighborhoods. There was no strip, like there was in Las Vegas. We thought the new-looking wide boardwalk along the waterfront was nice for strolling. But, along much of it there were no restaurants or stores. There were empty lots along the boardwalk (many for sale) and spotted here and there within the town. 

As the wind died, we escaped from Atlantic City to the snug harbor of Manasquan for just one night.

NEW YORK CITY AND BURROUGHS

It was an exciting new day because our destination was finally New York City! To get there, we had a thirty-mile cruise in the ocean followed by about twenty miles through Lower Bay, south of Manhattan. 

As we moved North, our anticipation built at twenty miles out. There, skyscrapers started to grow over the horizon. However, it wasn't long before we discovered we were seeing the Brooklyn skyline, not Manhattan!  

After going under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, we sighted a tiny Statue of Liberty. Like the skyscrapers, it grew larger and larger.

The “we made it to New York” picture! It was feeling of victory. It was a thrill to see it just as the emigrants had on their trip to Ellis Island.(4) 

This is the story behind our iconic picture with our boat. There were a number of us Loopers who arrived at the Statue of Liberty at the same time. We tried to take pictures of each other. It was challenging because we were in the ferry lane and this part of the bay was filled with wakes, so everyone was bouncing side-to-side and up and down making it hard to maneuver. 

On night one, we anchored in a little bay behind the Statue of Liberty. For the next three days, we stayed at a marina next to the Statue at Liberty Landing Park in New Jersey. 

Our first night—having dinner with my cousin-once-removed, Florence Siegel, and husband Jerry. Florence is my family’s much-loved, always-lived-in-Manhattan contact. We had a theater-meal which starts at 4:30pm. Such a NYC thing, perhaps?  

The show we saw was “Hamilton.” We were there in the middle of the week and the theater was still packed. I was impressed with the ornate theater:

New York City was the jumping-off point for a week-long visit from our long-time friends, Meredith and John Radzins. It was an exciting place to kick this off because there were so many possibilities for tourists, like us.

I love this pic of Mike, me, Meredith and John because it exemplifies what I remember best of this leg. Being together was relaxing, fun and filled with spectacular views. We needed to take this short ferry ride from our marina to Manhattan. In the evening, we endured muggy subway rides back. 

While Meredith and John checked out the 9/11 Museum and Memorial, Mike and I rented bikes and crossed the Brooklyn bridge. I was eager to relive this—I biked the bridge about 10 years ago. This time, I realized that with the advent of electric bikes, this type of outing has changed. There are different lanes for bikes to increase the safety of pedestrians, so we shared narrowlanes with fast moving bikes and mopeds. This picture was our walk back, happily pushing our bikes in the pedestrian walkway.

We had our fill of the big city and pushed off North. We decided to go on the route-less-traveled up the East River and the Harlem River, which joined the Hudson River shortly after we spied the Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. It was a great decision because there was almost no boat traffic--but it was still scenic.

Here’s a video of the lovely intersection where the Harlem River meets the Hudson River:

HUDSON RIVER 

This week-long segment, on the Hudson River, was about one hundred and fifty miles long. 

One highlight was the cliffs along the shores and the copious, deciduous greenery.

Did you know much of the shore of the Hudson River was rocky cliffs? I did not.

Receiving a private tour of West Point (thank you to my cousin, Leda Mareth’s sister-in-law, Deborah Carter!) and seeing the Roosevelt home were also highlights. 

Here were the preserved chains used to secure the entire width of the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War to prevent the British Navy from proceeding up the Hudson. Cool and surprising history, because in modern times it seemed innovative. 

Thank you Deb, for the tour! I imagined this was the best view of the entire Hudson River Valley.

Mike and I trying to read one more sign in front of the Roosevelt home that we toured the next day.(6) Next, was FDR’s presidential library, the first presidential library. This was first ever visit to a presidential library. What a great way to learn history! 

Here was his desk from the White House, complete with funny little knickknacks. History is best when it’s humanized, IMHO. I could have read the fascinating, critical letters from key figures that Roosevelt posted in his library all day…but we had to move on…(7)

It surprised us that the Hudson River (like the Potomac River) had little recreational boat traffic. There weren't many places to go by boat along the shores and few good places to anchor. We learned first-hand that unlike the Southeast, waterways in New York (and the Northeast) have four seasons so they don't have enough boater business during the short summer season. So, good marinas and dockside restaurants are far and few.

At Albany, it was time to say goodbye to perfect guests Meredith and John. They asked to come back again, so it must have gone okay! It was time to think about the pros and cons of which way to go for our next segment. 

ERIE CANAL

We wanted to go to Montreal and possibly Quebec City, but via which route? Do we go North, to Lake Champlain and Richelieu River to Montreal? Or, do we go first West via the Erie Canal and Oswego Canal, into Lake Ontario, and down (which is Northeast) the St. Lawrence River? The Champlain route was reputed to be more scenic and it would save us eighty miles. However, there was a fixed bridge that was perhaps six inches above our flybridge arch.(8) We went the conservative route and made the left-hand turn at the Erie Canal. 

Someone had the bright idea to put a road-type sign at the “Y” where the Erie and Champlain Canals begin. You can’t miss the turn if you don’t use charts. We went left.

Depending on the route, Loopers go through 150 to 250 locks during the year. We had gone through locks in the 1990s in Seattle and during our Yonne River, France, trip in 2023, but we felt some trepidation about how it would go with Sacagawea. By the time we went through twenty-three locks in the Erie Canal and eight locks on the Oswego Canal during this segment, we had our equipment and routine worked out.(9)

In between locks, the Erie Canal was beautiful, much like the Yonne River a year ago. Lush, green, deciduous trees and bushes with white flowers lined both sides. It even had a few white swans.

There were small, two-hundred-year-old towns along the Erie Canal. Each town had its own story of industrial boom and bust. Each offered free docking along concrete walls, typically at a city park. It was a great way to meet other Loopers.

Getting ready for early morning transit in Amsterdam, NY. It says “Amsterdam” across the bridge. We tried to go alone through locks as much as possible to make it faster and easier. This is not always an option.

Returning to Sacagawea after after sunset—a walk along the Erie Canal.

A more interesting lock…greenery…old infrastructure…an active train overpass…and onward into the lock:

Looper friends behind us caught us in the act of chilling in our cockpit (aka back porch). This was along the free dock in Sylvan Beach, the jumping off point into Oneida Lake.

NIAGARA FALLS

Back at Albany, Mike determined that we needed new house batteries. So we left the boat and rented a car. We picked them up after a two-and-a-half-hour car drive West to Syracuse. Fast forward, once we got through our Erie Canal segment, we rented a car again, returned the old batteries to the battery store, and went to Niagara Falls for one night. 

Our view while walking along the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. In the background, center, was the narrower falls on the U.S. side, then to the right, half of the U-shaped ginormous falls that cross the border (cut off of this frame), the bottle-blue water, rainbow from the prolific, unceasing mist, and an amazing blue sky. My experience: mesmerizing, surprising, and exciting.

OSWEGO CANAL

Oswego Canal was similar to the Erie Canal, but the compass pointed North. There was one final lock right before the canal opened up to Lake Ontario. There was one final free wall, as well, to spend the night. 

The first thing we did after tying up on the free concrete wall was march out to Fort Ontario to see Lake Ontario for the first time.  At the end of the canal, there were huge waves that crashed against a hurricane-worthy, rocky breakwater. We were stuck in Oswego for three days until the wind calmed. 

We guided ourselves inside Fort Ontario, learning about the changing uses/eras of the fort. We asked an eager tour guide one question (it escapes me now) and he proceeded to tell us the Wikipedia history for about fifteen minutes!(10)

The morning of low wind, all the Loopers moved one by one, like ants marching to a picnic, to fit into the lock and experience Lake Ontario. The sea conditions were fairly flat and the horizon was long. You could not see land across the lake. After we entered the lake, Loopers dispersed to their next destinations. Some went straight to the closest Canadian city, Kingston, Ontario. We opted to spend the next ten days, give or take, in the 1000 Islands area. It straddles the Canadian-United States border and was reputed to be beautiful and a bit like the Pacific Northwest.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) I conducted online research to see where “empire” came from. The story was a little suspect, as it seems websites quote each other. I looked for the actual letter online from George Washington to New York Mayor Duane, but I couldn’t find it. If you can, let me know. 

(2)There is an intracoastal route, which doesn't rely on weather, but the charts showed us it was too shallow in spots. It also required a slower pace. 

The go-decision sea condition we agreed to was two to three-foot seas/swells with one to two-foot chop.

(3) The Relief Band sends a pulse up your arm and disrupts the nerves that make you feel seasick. I used this when we went outside in the Pacific Ocean last year during our Alaska trip. Unfortunately, my batteries ran out about an hour before we ducked into the harbor. I felt quite sick but managed somehow to hold it together. On the leg to Manasquan, I took Dramamine and felt fine.  

My Relief Band. A game changer for me.

(4) We stayed at the large marina in front of the Golden Nugget. There were quite a few boaters on the trek North. We had two full days to get to know some better. And, we exchanged information about where to anchor or get a slip around pricey New York City. It's so surprising to us that there were few acceptable marinas for boaters like us around New York City. 

(5) Mike and I both have family that came through Ellis Island on their emigration to the United States. 

(6) Roosevelt family factoids: The home was owned by Roosevelt’s mother, who lived there with Eleanor and Franklin. Franklin loved political cartoons and Navy ship artwork; his mother practically wallpapered the entry hall with his collections. To go upstairs in his home, Franklin pulled himself up and down via rope with a dummy-waiter type lift to the second floor (he was paralyzed from contracting polio). He must have been so strong.

(7) FDR (a Democrat) was the only president to be elected to a fourth term. He died during his fourth term. The 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms, was ratified after FDR died by a Republican-majority congress. 

(8) And that relies on the measurement we made by hand. However, some wise boaters also pointed out that fresh water is less buoyant than salt water. We measured in salt water. And, the boat's waterline may also rise if we have a lot of water and fuel. And, the water under the bridge may be a little higher or lower. So it's a moving target. Because of this, we opted for the Erie Canal route.

(9) The first few locks were the most nerve-racking because we didn't know how Sacagawea would react to each lock's current as the lock master filled them. At first, we experimented with equipment (fender types, fender boards, and their placement). We tweaked our routines too; who was in the stern or bow depending on whether the lock had hanging ropes or cables. 

(10) Surprising facts about Fort Ontario: It’s old; built before the revolutionary war by the British Army. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, it was held, taken, and then held again by the British Army. Fifty years later it was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt again. It was the only internment camp for Jewish refugees in the United States during and after World War II. 

SUPER-SIZED TRAVELOGUE EXTRA

At first, I couldn’t put my finger on how New York, or at least upstate New York, that I saw, was different from the states to the South. It was the lawns! Everywhere was mowed lawns. In front of waterfront homes, parks, and businesses. Maybe it’s because it’s just covered in snow during the winter-plus? 

I thought to show a montage of all the lawns we saw in the Empire State. However, supporting the case for brevity, here is one of the many sit-on lawnmowers we saw. This guy is good! He doesn’t quite rival Niagara Falls for being mesmerizing, but he comes close:

Merry Maryland & Phab Philly

On the second floor landing of Bancroft Hall, the dormitory at Annapolis Naval Academy, looking down at the front entrance. An impressive-looking college steeped in naval tradition.

ZIG ZAGGING THE CHESAPEAKE

We had great experiences zig-zagging around Maryland in May. We visited the small communities of Solomons Island, on the Southwest side of the Chesapeake, and zigged to St. Michaels, along the mid-Eastern side of the Chesapeake. We stayed in each town for one night.

The red line is our actual course from Washington D.C. to Cape May, New Jersey.(1)

At Solomons, we borrowed the marina’s bikes and pedaled less than a mile to a popular indoor/outdoor bar. Per usual, we played dominoes and had drinks. The next day, at St. Michaels, we anchored in front of a ritzy hotel. We dinghied to shore to do the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. It featured twentieth-century wooden boats endemic to the Chesapeake. It also explained the boom and bust of the oyster industry over the last one hundred years. The oyster industry was decimated by overfishing and pollution. You got the sense that they wanted to preserve the arduous way of life for the hard-working watermen (oyster and crab fishermen) and can packers. 

Me, admiring ol’ wooden boats at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. TBH, I’ve seen quite a few maritime museums now. Astoria, Oregon, you had the best so far! I have a feeling I’ll probably keep visiting them.

We also met, for the first time, Mike's second cousins, Juliet Taylor and Jill Graf, who live near St. Michaels. They took us to our first Chesapeake Bay blue crab restaurant. After evading so many crab traps on our routes, it was great to finally munch on some! We ordered two each. They were served steaming hot in Bay Seasoning. On the side was malt vinegar and butter warmed over individual Sternos. We found them delicious; briny and a bit sweet, somewhat like the Dungeness crabs we're familiar with but blue crabs are a bit smaller. 

Next, we zagged to the middle-West side of the Chesapeake to Annapolis, home of 1) the U.S. Naval Academy, and 2) the Maryland State House. It was exciting to approach Annapolis from the water--even though it was a Wednesday. Many recreational boats were darting this way and that. The town's colonial skyline was colorful. Lotsa people were hanging out at the dockside pubs lining the harbor. We opted for a mooring buoy, centrally located. There were so many mooring buoys that a water taxi cruised the harbor, shuttling eager boaters to and fro.

Here’s one lovely view at sunset along the waterfront in Annapolis. Small sailing skiffs were all ready for the next class.

During a ninety-minute tour of Annapolis, we learned many fun facts. (2) Again, I didn’t do any research ahead, so it was all new to me. Three long-lasting surprises:

• The end-of-the-year tradition where the freshmen, “plebes” climb together to the top of a greased obelisk to replace a plebe “Dixie cup” hat with an upperclassman hat. This marked the end of the plebe requirements such as jogging across the quad to and from classes.
• John Paul Jones was buried underneath the chapel after being buried in France (where he was much admired) and then re-buried, where his body was “lost”. He was considered the initiator of the United States Navy and was a life-long mariner. He was admired for rousing his crew by saying, “I have not yet begun to fight,” when all looked lost in one of his many naval battles.
• Students mostly studied STEM. There was a cap on the percent of students that study liberal arts.

This was the dormitory at the Military Academy! It’s Bancroft Hall and was designed by a French architect—in the Beaux Arts style. Not very military-ish, but certainly impressive.

We also enjoyed another long visit to a historic site that we mistakingly thought would be a quick-in and quick-out, the Maryland State House. Yes, it’s just the state capitol building, but it’s also steeped in history. It was the first post-revolutionary war capital, although just for one year until 1784. It was also famous for being the location where George Washington relinquished his position as General.(3)

The State House delegated the whole, original room to a type of reenactment of this event. I thought it was engaging how they put a statue of George Washington in the room, reading his speech to Congress. From the signage nearby, “Washington bowed to Congress, and read the speech he had written on a single sheet of paper. As he spoke, Washington’s ‘voice faltered and sunk’ with emotion…after which Washington bowed to Congress. In gratitude for his service, the members responded by removing their hats.”

We also met up with my Mom's cousin, Larry Shotland, as well as his local friend, Dee. They drove us around town, helping us complete some errands, (thanks Larry!) and topped off our time with a first-class dinner overlooking the harbor.

Fancy dinner with my mom’s cousin, Larry Shotland, and friend, Dee, with a wide view of Annapolis Harbor. It was a wonderful evening getting to know Larry better. I love meeting our relatives along this trip.

Here, a departing shot of Annapolis, with the domes of the Naval Academy, graceful sailboats, and colorful waterfront homes:

On our trek to the Northernmost part of the Chesapeake, we would have stopped next in Baltimore, but the authorities only allowed recreational boaters to pass under the Francis Scott Key Bridge(4) on Sundays.

PHILADELPHIA

Our final zag in the Chesapeake was Northeast, where we exited the Chesapeake and entered a relatively small waterway: the twenty-mile-long Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (aka "The C and D"). For the first time since we started living in Sacagawea, we took two days off in a hotel in Philadelphia.

This was purely a history-finding trip. We went to the Museum of Art(4) and a Rodin museum. 

We took a walking tour where we heard about the controversy surrounding whether Betsy Ross was the actual maker of the first United States flag. We learned about Ben Franklin's lightning rod, which has led us to notice stylized versions everywhere.

We found the streets in Philadelphia a bit gritty, much like Savannah. Preserving three-hundred-year-old architecture, sidewalks, and roads must be expensive work. 

No walking tour of old Philadelphia is complete without a meander down Elfreth’s Alley, “the oldest surviving residential street in the United States.” So charming. And narrow.

Back at Sacagawea, we had renewed enthusiasm for the trek. While we found the C & D Canal not especially remarkable, the dock master at the Delaware City Marina was. He held a "Captain's Meeting" each evening. The purpose? To guide Loopers on transiting down Delaware Bay to Cape May, the Southern point of New Jersey, and pivot point, to continue North along the Atlantic Coast. Delaware Bay is a fifteen-mile-wide body of water that opens to the Atlantic Ocean. The dock master lectured on Delaware Bay weather, currents, and tides and reviewed the forecast. Most boaters planned their go, no-go decisions together at the Captain's Meeting. We wish other marinas would host such an event for tough segments like this one. Mike, especially, has done this informally with other boaters at critical points at various marinas. However, we always consider local knowledge the best source.

We found the houses and towns so cute and liveable-looking in Maryland. Boating also seems to be an important feature of the Maryland experience. Unlike other parts of our trip so far, this includes sailing.

The next chapter: New Jersey and New York. This required a cruise outside of canals, into the big, blue Atlantic Ocean.  

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) I figured out how to extract this as a report from Nebo, an app that most Loopers use to track and communicate where they are with other Loopers.

(2) Annapolis is a four-year college where the student's costs are paid by the U.S. military in exchange for five years of service. Currently, 30% of the students are women. Everyone must participate in athletics, whether it's Division One football, other inter-league sports, or intramural sports.

(3) From another placard nearby, “By resigning as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington confirmed the power of civil authority—the Congress—over the military. Four years later, the principle of civilian authority over the military was enshrined in Article II of the United States Constitution which says, ‘The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States…’.” The implications of his speech were a big deal at the time. We mostly take it for granted, now, don’t we? 

(4) You may know of the tragic cargo ship accident that disabled the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Commercial traffic was the primary user of the waterway. Authorities created an alternate route for commercial vessels to transit under the bridge. A few weeks after the accident, authorities allowed recreational boaters to transit during a two-hour window on Sundays. We didn’t want to stay a week in Baltimore. 

During my time in Washington D.C., I stumbled upon fun facts about Key’s Star Spangled Banner. Posted in the National Gallery: “Francis Scott Key’s song roused a nation’s spirits during the War of 1812. He wrote the words to fit the melody of ‘To Anacreon in Heaven,’ a well-known 18th-century British tune…it gained new popularity during the Civil War, and by the early 1900s it was a fixture at public ceremonies and celebrations.” In 1931, Congress made ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ America’s national anthem.”

(5) This museum was filled with eighteenth and nineteenth century European “period rooms”, filled with the decorative furniture, paintings, knick knacks, fireplaces, etc. of the original homes that were remodeled or otherwise changed. 

I also learned that tea came to England only in the late 1600s from China. It slowly became embedded in British life starting with the upper classes until it became commonplace after fifty-ish years. 

Yet another fun fact from the museum: the Netherlands was a great source for decorative tiles because they used tiles extensively. Tiles stood up better to a wet climate—half of the Dutch population lived at or near water.