Getting to NYC and cruising by the Statute of Liberty was a huge milestone for us on Escapade. Traveling on the water is so very different than any other form of travel. It’s not necessarily the fastest way to travel…a horse and buggy might actually be faster! That said, it’s hard to describe the sense of adventure and accomplishment that comes with traveling on a boat.

Our first two days in NY were spent gently swing on a mooring ball in Great Kills Harbor. We did go into the city from there via foot, train and ferry. From there we cruised over to Hudson Point Marina on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River where we stayed for 5 more days. There were two ferry options from there right into lower Manhattan so the location was ideal to explore the city.

Wally and I were both really excited to cruise Escapade into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I felt the sense of wonder that so many of America’s immigrants must have felt when they arrived and disembarked at Ellis Island. So much uncertainly but so much hope that a new life could be created and better times would be theirs.

We had a beautiful day to make the short cruise from Staten Island into the New York Harbor and past Lady Liberty. There were also several other Loopers headed that way so we all coordinated to get pictures for each other.

New York is still a melting pot of cultures, languages and food. We loved seeing and hearing all the sights and sounds, hearing multiple languages around us and eating different ethic foods. It can also be a smelly city but hey there are over 8 million people living there!

NYC is huge… no doubt! But what great transportation options. We used trains, ferries, the subway, buses, Uber/Lift and walked miles. Never once did I feel unsafe and in general people were kind and helpful.

Our worst experience was the dang hop on hop off bus tour we took on our first day in the city. We always do this when we land in a big, unknown city and it USUALLY is a good experience. I think it was a double whammy – mediocre bus tour combined with 2 major events which were going on in the city on a Sunday. We got rerouted past many of the things we wanted to see because of a parade and the traffic was awful in that area due to the street closures. Of course, they didn’t tell us about the reroute when we bought the ticket – oh well. My butt was asleep from sitting so long and we were both bored, hot and tired.

Things got better from there and we had a plan everyday for where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. We have both been to NYC before at different times in our lives so it was fun to see the city together.

Since we had both been to some of the major tourist attractions in NYC before, we skipped a repeat of those. We did take in the 911 Memorial which was sobering and haunting. It brought back all the horrors of that day and watching the attacks on the news. I can remember being horrified by what I saw and so scared for all my colleagues that were inside the nearby American Express Tower.

The Museum of Modern Art was on both our lists as was the NYC Public Library building. We both enjoyed MoMa, but I must say the library was absolutely beautiful inside and had some amazing art as well. I think I actually enjoyed library it more.

We also decided to skip the popular high end restaurants and eat at small ethic or local restaurants that got good ratings. That was a big win!! One of our favorite lunches was at a hole in the wall Indian restaurant and a small Italian bistro.

We spent part of a day just wandering Central Park, eating pastrami sandwiches on dark rye bread from a local deli and listening to local musicians in the Strawberry Fields section of the park. Can you guess what band’s songs they were playing??? – Yep, the Beatles.

We were amazed by all the wonderful parks in New York City… so many great places to get outdoors and relax. We loved the Empire State walking and biking trail that runs for miles along the NYC side of the Hudson.

Another big surprise was how much we enjoyed Jersey City where we were docked. It felt less frenetic than NYC, had great parks and a beautiful river walk which we did every night. It also felt like we were part of a neighborhood with people out walking their dogs and enjoying the evening.

Nearby were two great markets and some very nice restaurants. I am here to tell you that the bagels were just as good on the Jersey side too.

It was nice to have a break and stay in one marina for 5 nights, our last day was spend cleaning up the boat and getting ready for our friends Tom and Lisa to join us. We love having friends on board and were excited to cruise the Hudson River with them.