Kingston, NY

On the morning of Thursday, August 3 we took our time and went for one last walk in Catskill before heading out at noon. We stopped for a pump-out at Hop-O-Nose’s fuel dock and made our way out of Catskill Creek on a grey, overcast day. It was quite windy as we entered the Hudson and fortunately as we turned south it was mostly at our back. We passed the Kingston Lighthouse on our way out.

We cruised almost four hours to Kingston where we turned into Rondout Creek and made our way to the Kingston Maritime Museum which had just a few slips for rent. Fortunately they had one for us so we tied up just across from their boat-building operation.

The cost of dockage included entrance to the museum so that afternoon we visited what turned out to be an interesting set of exhibits about maritime life on this part of the Hudson. 

We decided to stay two nights as we are enjoying a slower pace of cruising. We hadn’t been in Kingston for a few years so we wanted to have a chance to  once again explore this interesting and historic town.

The next morning the three of us, Archie included, decided to venture out. First, we walked through the lower part of Kingston, the area that built up along the waterfront.  It’s an attractive area with several restaurants and interesting shops and lots of historic architecture.

Then we walked two and a half miles uphill to the oldest part of town which is called the Stockade.  This area is especially historic as it was built in1658 as a defense against the friction that was occurring between the Dutch settlers and the Native Americans. There are an amazing number of original stone houses and buildings in this part of town as well as many trendy shops and restaurants. 

In 1777, Kingston was designated as the first capital of the state of New York so there are even more historic buildings from that era. 

The town has its funky, hipster parts, as well.

As we walked back down the hill to the lower part of town, I decided to try and find a salon so I could get my hair cut. Archie and I are both in need of haircuts. I know we can get him into PetSmart near Delaware City but my finding a good salon is usually more challenging. Since we had this afternoon and the next day as a possibility I decided to try my luck.  Google helped me find  a salon that was well reviewed and I called and left a message at one that was just a couple of blocks from our boat. As we got closer I decided to stop in since I hadn’t heard back from them. Unfortunately, the owner was  booked all day but she referred me to another salon right around the corner where she gets her hair done. Fortunately, when I stopped by there, they were able to take me right away. What a lucky break! And I was not only very happy with my haircut but the stylist gave me the best head massage I ever had while she washed my hair! 

Jonny and Archie returned to Zendo ahead of me after stopping for bread at a local bakery. When I returned to Zendo our plan to do a number of chores was interrupted by a couple we had met on their boat at Chipman’s Point. Scott and Betsy who have a very nice Nordic Tug were staying at the marina next to us and saw Zendo as they were walking over to have a drink at a nearby restaurant called Ole Savannah. They stopped to chat and invited us to join them. That sounded like more fun than chores so off we went. We had a good time getting to know them over drinks and appetizers. They are from New City, NY and quite familiar with the area we are in now.

That evening we had leftovers for dinner and went to bed a little earlier because we planned to leave early the next day for a long day of cruising.

Catskill, NY

It’s August 1 and how time flies when you’re having a good time. And we are certainly enjoying our cruise this year. On this Tuesday morning I prepared for my Spanish lesson while Jonny walked Archie one last time in Coxsackie. We left for our next destination by 11 a.m. bound for Catskill, N.Y. with a stop in Athens on the way.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water.

We hadn’t been to either of these towns and they were described as being charming so of course we needed to visit them!  When we arrived in Athens at noon we were the only boat to tie up at the free town dock that was next to a very pretty park. We had lunch on board and before long another boat tied up behind us.

After lunch we walked into Athens to check it out.  It is smaller than Hudson, across the river, and not as updated. The New York Times had described it as one of the up and coming towns on the Hudson River as people from the city are coming up and buying properties and moving in. There were certainly signs of that but there were still a number of houses that were in need of repair. The center of town had good bones and was definitely in the process of  being fixed up.  Because it was a Tuesday, many of the shops and restaurants were closed.  It seems that in this part of the world businesses that cater to tourists are open only from Thursday to Sunday since people come up from the city on the weekends. 

We returned to Zendo and after a quick rest, proceeded on to Catskill, another short but beautiful cruise.  We passed Olana, the hilltop home of Francis Church (that we had toured on the way north) and the iconic Esophus lighthouse.  The beautiful Catskill mountains are on the west bank of the river.  When we visited Olana on the cruise up, we looked out at the beautiful vista that incorporated the town of Catskill and the nearby mountains.

When we arrived in Catskill we turned up the narrow and wooded Catskill Creek and decided to stay at one of the little marinas there rather than find an anchorage. Our friends, Ken and Fred, had stayed at Hop-a-Nose Marina so we called the marina and they told us to come on in. We nestled into one of their two cozy transient slips and tied up. What a charming little place in the bend of the creek! We knew right away that this was the kind of small town marina that we like best. One of the friendly live-a boards helped us to tie up. The marina includes slips on both sides of the creek but we were on the preferred side because it was just a very short walk into town.

However, we hung out on board for awhile and Jonny made a delicious one pot dinner of cod, eggplant and potatoes. By the time we finished eating it was starting to get dark but we walked into town anyway.  We were very favorably impressed with Catskill’s charm and we decided to stay an extra night so we could explore (and also because Jonny needed a place with good internet connectivity the next night since he was hosting a Zoom webinar for MTOA). That night we had an inredible full moon. 

On Wednesday after Archie’s obligatory walk and our lunch onboard we took a long walk through town and up a fairly steep hill to visit the Thomas Cole homestead.  Thomas Cole was the founder of the Hudson Valley landscape art movement and he was a mentor to several others who followed that art form including Francis Church, whose home and grounds at Olana we visited on the way up.  Cole’s home was not nearly as grand as Church’s and one could actually imagine living there.  The setting was magnificent and it was this setting and others like it that he painted. His home was filled with his art as well as an exhibit of art by many women artists, many of whom had not been adequately recognized until recently. 

The town of Catskill (home of Rip Van Winkle) is very charming with lots of interesting shops and restaurants and many homes under renovation. It was smaller than Hudson, and definitely bigger than Athens. We would probably rate Hudson, Catskill and Athens in that order.  Housing prices in all these towns have skyrocketed since Covid but there are still probably some deals to be had in Athens and Catskill for someone willing to invest in some significant updating. 

The town was hosting a Cat’s Meow Auction where participating artists painted cats in very creative ways to raise money for the community. There were more than 65 whimsically painted cats lining the streets. It was fun walking through town and discovering all of the creative cats of Catskill! 

Later that afternoon we had a light dinner at a restaurant called New York that specialized in Polish food including pierogies, which we ordered along with a kale and Brussels sprouts Caesar salad.  Jonny ran his webinar that evening which went very well.  Afterwards we planned for the next couple of days and had an early night in our sweet little marina.

Coxsackie, NY (return trip via Troy)

Jonny took Archie for some grocery shopping on the morning of Monday, July 31. It turned out that a couple who we had met last year were tied up in front of us. We had never seen their boat before but they recognized us. They had volunteered with us at TrawlerFest in Baltimore. So for the next hour or so Jonny and Chuck caught up on their respective travels. They were headed north to Lake Champlain and of course, we had just been there so Jonny shared lots of advice and observations with him. 

Afterwards, Jonny, Archie and I went for a walk along the waterfront towards the Waterford lock, the first lock on the Erie Canal. It is quite impressive in that the water is rushing through with great force.

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We also stopped at the dockside office to pay for our power usage. The two volunteers showed us a world map hanging behind them. It had pins in it representing all the visitors they have had in little Waterford.  It was amazing to see scores of pins from visitors from every continent who had stopped at this little spot on the river.

Our plan for the day was to cruise across to nearby Troy, NY which is on the eastern bank of the Hudson.  We left Waterford by 10:40.  As we approached Troy we had to go through the last lock on this part of our voyage - the Troy Federal Lock. This is the biggest one yet. We were the only boat to tie up there so it was an easy passage.

As soon as we went through the lock, we were in Troy proper and we tied up at the town dock where again we were the only boat with this interesting bridge in sight.

We wanted to have lunch, explore a bit and then travel on to Coxsackie where we would spend the night on the town dock.  It was lunch time and it just so happened that the restaurant we were most interested in was right next to us on the waterfront. We sat out on the porch of Dinosaur Barbecue Restaurant and shared an order of fried green tomatoes for an appetizer and one order of ribs and pulled pork.  Jonny got his requisite draft beer and we enjoyed a delicious meal together (and even had some leftovers to take back with us).

From there we walked through Troy. What a nice surprise it was! Troy is full of architectural gems at every turn. Around the turn of the 20th century, Troy was reputed to be the fourth wealthiest city in America.  The industrial revolution took hold in this area due to the confluence of major waterways that supported water-powered industries. As a result, there is a plethora of beautiful Victorian architecture downtown and many elaborate homes in the area. 

We also passed some interesting retail stores.

We walked through the beautiful grounds of Russell Sage College. I was especially interested to see it because my cousin Sally had gone there and I had no idea how beautiful the campus was.  It was right across from the more famous Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

After a couple of hours in Troy we headed out once again - this time bound for Coxsackie, a three and a half hour cruise. We arrived by 6 p.m. and tied up at the town dock.  Archie was happy to run through the adjacent park.  We took a walk through town and because it was a Monday most everything was closed except for a cute Italian bistro. The menu was enticing but we had eaten a big lunch and decided to skip it.

Instead, we just had cheese and crackers for dinner and watched the latest episode of Outlander before calling it a night.  We did manage to catch a beautiful sunset and dramatic full moon!