Stats for June 18, 2019

Origin: Statue of Liberty anchorage

Destination: 79th Street Boat Basin, Manhattan

Distance: 8.6 miles

Speed: 6.5 mph

Time on the Move: 1 hour and 18 minutes

After an amazing night anchored behind the Statue of Liberty, I was anxious to check out our awesome view again. I peeked out the windows, but I was confused because I literally couldn’t see a thing. Everything was white. That rain I was hoping to avoid the day before ended up bringing in fog as thick as pea soup when it finally moved in at some point overnight and left us without any view of the Statue of Liberty or that massive skyline.

At first I was disappointed, but the more I thought about it, I started to get worried. We were supposed to leave our anchorage and head for a marina that morning an to start exploring the city. We didn’t have too far to travel, and we sure have traveled in thick fog before, but I just couldn’t imagine traveling through the area relying on radar alone with all that commercial traffic everywhere.

I started to feel trapped and panicked that we could be socked in for a while. After about an hour of wondering if we were ever going to be able to leave, the fog started to lift. Mike and I had already looked at the weather and thought we saw a break in the fog coming (unfortunately right when the rain was scheduled to start), but the increased visibility wouldn’t last long. Sure enough, the fog lifted just a bit, that beautiful lady appeared, and we fired up our engines to brave busy New York Harbor.

Most loopers arrange for a great shot of their boat in front of the Statue of Liberty to be taken by another boat and then the favor is repayed so both boats get great pictures. Unfortunately, we weren’t with any other pleasure craft as we rounded the island, so we were forced to take selfies instead. Everyone was ready for some quick pictures, as we had to avoid ferries and their imposing wakes, while being sure to stay outside of the bouyed safety perimeter around the island.

Some quick pics and Mike was back at the helm. We knew we didn’t have far to travel today, but we were a bit uneasy about the commercial traffic in the area. Obviously seeing what was coming at us was a definite advantage (or maybe it made it worse…?).

Overall, the ride up the river to the 79th Street Boat Basin was busy and wavy, but not more than was expected for New York City. Mike and I both had our heads on swivel most of the time, keeping an eye out for the next high speed vessel heading our direction. It was wavy with all the wakes, and our grill that was sitting on the floor of the sundeck fell over as well as some fishing poles sliding out of their holders. It was doable, but we sure were thankful when we arrived at the marina.

After a quick pump out and a tricky docking experience, we were all tied up and ready to explore NYC! The forecast was for rain and more rain, so we gathered the ponchos and umbrellas, got a quick rundown on where we could catch the subway, and headed off. Just by chance we came across the captain of the sailboat in our pictures from the night before, and I was able to text him a dozen amazing pictures of his boat in front of the skyline and the Statue. Lucky guy!! Karma pays off, I hope.

We made a quick plan for the rest of our day, as we were leaving the boat around noon, and we decided to head to Times Square. Sure enough, as soon as we came out of the subway tunnel, it started pouring. Ponchos are a good look, don’t you think?! So much for Hayley wowing the fashionistas of NYC! But I mean, look at her…she still tried her best!

We wandered around a bit, but we were just getting soaked and weren’t enjoying the sights the way we should have been, so we reconvened. We decided to go to a discount ticket booth to see what shows we could get tickets for that night. Mike took one for the team and stood in line for almost an hour to get us tickets to Stomp while the kids and I took shelter in the nearby M&M store. We were psyched for Stomp, but we felt bad for Mike standing out in the rain for so long.

Once we had Stomp tickets, we had a timeline for the rest of our day, so we spent some time at lunch figuring out what to do with our afternoon, especially since it was raining. We ended up heading towards the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. We were surprised to find out that admission is free on Tuesday afternoons after 4:00, so we all got in for free–bonus!! Waiting in line was very somber and we spent a lot of time talking to the kids about what happened that day and what we remember going through. While the actual event was so long ago, we can still remember so many details like it was just yesterday.

The kids seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and were interested and respectful. They had some questions, but not too many. Hayley really seemed to enjoy the room of memorials dedicated to all the victims .

The museum has some interesting artifacts and captures the events of the day, as well as commemorates the victims and heroes. One that I distinctly remember that I don’t have pictures of is the only window that didn’t break as the towers fell. There is a picture of the collapsed tower with one window intact and that window is in the museum. It was a very sobering stop, but it was an important one for all of us.

From there we headed to dinner at Shake Shack where we were happy to relax and sit down for a bit before Stomp. Stomp was just a few blocks from our dinner spot, so we headed there and went right to our seats. It was an amazing show that literally had Colin and Hayley on the edges of their seats the whole entire time. Definitely worth the hassle of standing out in the rain for a while. We all loved it!

The only downside of Stomp was a silly mistake I made. I was taking Hayley to the bathroom in the dark, and I wanted to be respectful, so we snuck out quickly and quietly, and I thought I knew what I was doing. Unfortunately the ramp up the walkway turned out to be stairs and I fell up them, hard, right on my shin. I ripped my jeans and got a huge bruise. It was embarrassing and uncomfortable, but at least nothing was broken?!

The next morning we were up early making plans for the day and figuring out creative ways to dry all the soaking wet stuff we wore the day before. Luckily, the marina had laundry on site. Unfortunately, all our clothes and tennis shoes were soaked. AND, the weight of the shoes kept flinging the dryer door open, so we literally had to stand there and hold the dryer door closed while the shoes bounced around and around. It was annoying!

Our plan for the day started with a trip to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium to see the Yanks beat the Rays. It was surreal to be in Yankee Stadium, just thinking about the history of that famous organization and my favorite, Derek Jeter (he’s from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where I’m from, and was even in my mom’s class long ago!). The kids were all stoked to be there. There was a kids play area close by our seats, the Yanks were on fire, and we even got to see a grand slam!! While it was far from sunny, at least it didn’t rain on us until just as the game was ending!! I’ll call that a win!

After the game, we headed for some early dinner, deciding to walk through part of Central Park on the way. It was raining and there were puddles everywhere and it just wasn’t what we imagined, so we headed out of the park and straight to eat. After dinner (lunch?) at a little diner that reminded me of Seinfeld, we walked down Broadway towards the marina. We got sick of hearing Mike sing “On Broadway” over and over and over again, but it was exciting to be there. The buildings were beautiful, the flower stands were beautiful, and the weather was wet. Our poor feet were shriveled up like raisins by the time we got back to the boat, ready for a break from the rain.

Many, many thanks to our boat buddies onboard Manatee who took this picture of INNTW at the 79th Street Boat Basin as they passed right by, leaving us in their wake as they headed towards our home waters of Lake St Clair to finish their 29th loop. That’s right!! 29!! They loop from Michigan to Florida EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR., chasing summer all the way. And they still are kind enough to take pictures of other boaters. Amazing.

Our last morning in NYC we were headed to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It wasn’t raining, but our shoes were still soaked from the day before and puddles were everywhere. Staying dry was a losing battle.

We were all able to listen to audio tours packed with tons of good info about what we were seeing and the history of the Statue. Each receiver had numbers, so you entered a specific number for what language you wanted to hear or for the kids’ version of the tour. It was a genius idea! The kiddos were extra motivated because they wanted to earn another Junior Ranger badge!

After exploring the Statue of Liberty, we boarded another ferry for the very short trip over to Ellis Island, where about 12 million immigrants passed through on their way into this new country. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing and moving the stories and the buildings were at Ellis Island. Listening to the audio tours really made the experience of arriving in America come to life, and it made us understand the adversity that people faced upon arrival, after a long, strenuous journey.

Many of the immigrants who arrived here between 1892 and 1954 came directly upstairs to enter the massive Great Hall to begin their screening and processing. Doctors stood watch and gave physical exams as well as offered opinions on new arrivals’ health status based on observation. If you were found to be ill or suspected of illness, you could be sent right back to your home country.

New arrivals headed inside and left their only belongings in a big pile unattended while they proceeded upstairs to undergo physical exams. Approximately 120,000 immigrants were turned back and sent to their home country either because they were unwell or because the workers thought they would become a drain on the system (unescorted women and children). All arrivals were supposed to have a recommendation from someone who could vouch for their character and productivity.

Interestingly enough, we thought we might be able to get some good info on Mike’s ancestors from when they arrived in the United States, but they were mostly all in the US well before Ellis Island even opened. Mike’s mom traced the family geneology back and knows where their families lived in Europe, but we also learned that people traveled to main port cities to catch their steamships across the Atlantic, so their departure port wasn’t necessarily where they were from. Also, many immigrants had never seen their name written down, so workers did their best to spell the names correctly, but many names were unknowingly changed during this transition from spoken to written language.

Luckily the pouring rain was short lived this time, so after happy hour and a quick lunch, the sun was shining. We headed right to Central Park to take advantage of decent weather. We were surprised to see giant rocks perfect for climbing and a huge, flooded playground. We climbed around and burned off some of our rainy day energy stores.

Knowing we were heading out of town the next day, we decided to head to Times Square to get a better idea of it’s energy in decent weather. We weren’t satisfied with our first attempt at a visit in the pouring rain, but on this night, the weather was clear and the lights were bright. It was perfect. We were amazed by all there was to see. And we were exhausted after a busy few days exploring the city.

Thank you so much for reading and following along on our adventures, and thank you for your patience and continued interest!!