Nyack, NY

We got up early on Monday, October 15 to catch the favorable current down the Hudson River.  Our goal was go get David to Poughkeepsie so he could get a train.  He planned to meet his daughter, Olivia, in NYC for lunch then fly back to Miami later in the day.

We took off by 7 a.m. in rainy and foggy weather.  As we left Kingston’s harbor we started off on the flybridge and cruised past the lighthouse but soon we were all below in the warm saloon where we spent most of the day.

Lynn made a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast using a dry frying pan because we don’t have a toaster onboard.

We didn’t get to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Hudson but we did manage to discern some of the more noteworthy structures such as the Vanderbilt mansion.  We arrived in Poughkeepsie and found a little municipal dock where we dropped David off in a location that allowed him to walk a short distance to the train station.

Continuing down the Hudson, there were lots of trains going up and down the tracks that line the riverbanks and we passed the towering cliffs of West Point and World’s End.  

As we entered a wider part of the river the waters kicked up and we had a pretty rocky ride which caused Georgio to be a very unhappy camper!  Eventually the waters settled down and we cruised more comfortably.

Since we were on the Erie Canal, Jonny had planned to get fuel at Haverstraw Bay Marina which had the cheapest diesel prices anywhere.  As we neared Haverstraw Bay, Jonny phoned to tell them of our imminent arrival.  To his dismay, they told him their pumps were down and might be open by 9 the next morning.  It was only 1 p.m. and we weren’t inclined to stop cruising.  Jonny got on the phone to call a bunch of marinas to find the second best fuel prices.  After extended discussions of which place to choose and to avoid going hours out of our way, we chose a marina in Ossining, NY.  We stopped to fuel up and then headed to the other side of the river and down to Nyack where there was a large mooring field and a place to anchor.  As always, we love seeing the type of catboat that we used to own.

If the weather had been better, we would have dinghied in to Nyack which is a very pretty town with lots of shops and restaurants.  But we just wanted to stay warm and cozy inside Zendo. 

Lynn headed to the galley where she made a big pot of lentil soup and prepared a dinner of leftover rotisserie chicken, green beans and fingering potatoes. 

The anchorage, just north of the Tappan Zee bridge, which we thought was fairly well protected turned out to be surprisingly rocky.  We had poor television reception, which also surprised us so we couldn’t watch Lynn’s favorite PBS News Hour.  Instead, we spent the evening reading and updating the blog and going to bed early so we could get started by sunrise the next morning. 

Kingston, NY

We returned to Zendo from our stay in South Florida on Saturday, October 13. Georgio was happy to see us and we didn’t discover until it was time to go to bed that he intended to punish us for our extended absence. Jonny’s side of the bed was soaked through the comforter, two blankets, sheets and even the mattress pad.  What a pain!  We had to completely strip and remake the bed before we could go to sleep.  And this was the marina with the terrible washer/ dryer!

The next day we were expecting the arrival of one of our very good friends in Miami,  David Brayer.  He was visiting friends in upstate New Year (he’s from Rochester) and wanted to join us for a couple of days.  So while we waited for David to arrive, Lynn got a ride to the laundromat in town with three huge sacks of laundry (thanks to Georgio)!  Fortunately, this laundromat had mega washers and the whole task was completed in 90 minutes! 

By the time Lynn returned to Zendo,  Jonny had scrubbed the brown stains off of Zendo’s bow and  David had arrived so we were ready to shove off.

It was a dreary, chilly day and we started off driving from the flybridge.  But before too long we all went into the saloon so Jonny could drive from the lower helm. 

Fortunately, by the time we reached our Kingston, New York destination the weather had improved somewhat.  We had been here three years ago when we did the Down East Loop but had stayed at a marina on the other side of the river.  This time we tied up at the town dock which was much more convenient.

Kingston is an interesting and historic town and David had never been here so we wanted to show him the sights. We strolled through the lower town and  checked out the sights.  There was lots of older architecture and interesting shops. 

Then we headed up a hill to the upper town.  Lynn can never resist photographing laundry hanging out to dry, which has become a fairly rare occurrence these days.

It turned out to be a two mile walk but we were up for it, passing a number of murals along the way. 

There were a number of Ginko trees with really beautiful leaves.

We finally arrived at Keegan Ales where we rewarded ourselves with their local brews.

From there we walked to our favorite sight in Kingston, a four corner intersection where all the buildings are made of stone and date from the 1600’s.  This neighborhood, called the Stockade, is very hip and trendy with good restaurants and bars and lots of historic buildings.  We had made dinner reservations at a new Italian restaurant there that was highly rated.  We discovered a very cool bookstore and pub (called Rough Draft) in one of the buildings at that intersection and we spent some time browsing and checking out the interesting display of books before heading across the street for dinner.

At Palizzata we enjoyed a delicious dinner of various Italian delights prepared just a little differently. By the time we finished dinner, we were ready to Uber back to Zendo where after a short while we all hit the sack.  The next day we would take David on a quick  cruise down the Hudson where we would drop him off at a town where he could catch a train to the airport and return home to Miami. 

Side Trip to South Florida

This is a summary of our October 8 - 13 trip to South Florida to find a place to live.  Our original plan was to get a furnished condo to rent in Miami for six months while we searched for a place to buy, having sold our home in Miami Beach in May. On this visit home we would stay at Jonny’s brother, Andy’s and spend time with their 93 year old mother, Janice, Andy’s partner Ed, and try to see some of our friends.

But first we had to check out the condo that we had a contract on.  We met Tom, our realtor, at the condo on Tuesday morning.  Lynn loved the space and the layout, especially the large well equipped kitchen.  But what she and Jonny didn’t love was the ground floor location just 30 feet from Biscayne Bay.  And Jonny was not happy with the limited water views and the larger number of parking lot views.  Even so, we decided to go forward with the inspection that was scheduled for the next day.  We also had our friend Aileen come over to see what improvements were needed and to give us a ball park estimate of them.  She had done a great job of managing the renovations to our Rivo Alto Island home while we were on our last extended cruise.  To make a long story short, we decided not to proceed with the purchase due to the ground floor location, the less than desirable views, the small balconies and the fact that the work that was needed to fix it up eliminated the value proposition that the price offered.  Lynn agreed with the decision but was somewhat disappointed because the condo was so large (3 bedrooms and 3 baths) and had such an interesting layout and kitchen. It would have been a great space for entertaining and for out of town guests. 

We spent the remainder of our time that week having Tom show us an array of condos for rent in Miami.  We found one that was reasonably  priced (for the area we wanted) in a condo community called Cite’ which we had our eye on all along. It’s close to where we used to live and is within walking distance to the Arsht Center where we are active volunteers.  Unlike most Miami condos, it even came with two parking spaces.  We can be comfortable there while we look for a place to buy, maybe even in the same complex.  And it’s right across the street from a nice park right on Biscayne Bay.

In addition to visiting with Andy, Ed and Janice, we had a delicious dinner at Aileen and Michael Haerting’s new condo where Michael cooked one of his amazing dinners.

We also met Michael and Christina Bracken for lunch at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club.  Andy made a great dinner for us one night and we went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Pompano Beach where he lives.  (Can you tell how much we prioritize food?)

We are so appreciative of the support that Andy and Ed have given us that allowed us to take this seven month trip to Canada.  Andy has received and reviewed all of our mail and most importantly taken full responsibility for always being there for for Janice.  Ed has supported him in his efforts and kept our car in his carport for these seven months.  He picked us up at the airport in it having just had it washed and detailed it to look much better than how we left it with him!

Coeyman, NY

Sadly, Sunday, October 7 was to be our last day on the Erie Canal.  We went through lock 7 at 10 a.m. and cruised along the Mohawk River which makes up part of the Erie Canal at this point. The Erie continues to be a lovely waterway and we are so glad that we came this way.

As we approached Waterford we prepared to go through the flight of five locks, each of which was 35 feet in height.  Going through these locks took a couple of hours with each of them being about a mile from the other.  All our passages went very smoothly and we were the only vessel in all of them!

We cruised past Waterford which we had stayed in on our Down East journey but would skip this time. 

We were now on the Hudson River and in Troy we went through the last lock of our journey.  The wind had picked up by then and we had to struggle a little to stay straight in the lock.

We proceeded past Albany and a pair of bridges that had a beautiful lacy appearance.

Our destination was the little town of Coeyman just south of Albany.  We had tried to find a marina in Albany but “there was no room at the inn” at any of them (due to all the boats that were having to exit the Erie Canal and be put up for the winter).  We had reservations at Coeyman’s Marina where we would leave Zendo for five days while we traveled to Miami. Originally our plan was to take Georgio with us and leave him with Andy for the rest of our cruise. But for various reasons (including the fact that we would miss him) we changed our mind and found a petsitter for him at the marina. 

The local boaters at the dock were very friendly and helped us tie up.  We got a kick out of the name of the restaurant at the marina, seemingly named after our friend Yannis - but we didn’t eat there.

Upon arriving at Coeyman’s we started our list of boat chores which for Jonny meant cleaning the outside of the boat and for Lynn meant laundry.  They had a free washer and dryer but unfortunately it didn’t work well and it took Lynn at least ten back and forth trips to get just two loads inadequately washed and dried!  In the meantime, Jonny met one of our neighbors who had the same boat as ours but a year newer.  This never happens so he got to go aboard and see it and compare it to ours.  That evening we packed and ate leftovers for dinner trying to use up as much food as we could since we would be away.

The next day we did more boat chores (oil change, vacuuming, freezer defrosting, etc.) and caught an Uber to the Albany airport for our flight to Fort Lauderdale where we would stay with Andy for the week.  

Niskayuna, NY

We planned to leave at 7 a.m. on Saturday, October 6 when the lock opened but didn’t get around to calling the lock tender until after that.  We were informed that another vessel heading west had already called and he would have to lock through first.  Apparently the rule is whoever calls first goes first even though the other vessel wasn’t even in sight of the lock and we were right there on the lock wall!  

When it was time to lock through we went to tie up inside the lock and Lynn reached for the lock line with the pole as she always does.  Jonny went to reach for an aft line and mistakenly put the boat in reverse instead of neutral.  Because of this Lynn couldn’t continue to hold the line and to avoid losing the pole that hooked onto the line, she tossed it up onto the lock platform. Fortunately she could climb onto the platform (which you are not supposed to do) and retrieve the pole.  All this caused Jonny to be very grumpy and he was kicking himself for these little mishaps.  Fortunately, he gets over things quickly and was able to move on!

The dams and bridges by the lock walls can be mezmerizing.

Because the weather was so chilly we drove from down below for most of the day.    Georgio took a stroll around the deck to get some fresh air!

The cruise took us past Schenectady and we saw some lovely little waterfalls along the Mohawk River as well as impressive architecture and the start of some fall foliage.

The weather didn’t keep the fishermen away but beyond that there were very few pleasure craft out.  The Erie Canal closes on October 10 so we and everyone else need to be off the Canal by then. 

We arrived at the lock wall in Niskayuna at 4 p.m. and decided not to go through because the western side had power and we wanted to be warm that night.  In our cozy cabin we treated ourselves to a delicious steak dinner with the rib eye steak we had purchased at the great butcher shop in Toronto.

Fort Plains, NY

The morning of Friday, October 5 was as cold as predicted with tempatures in the low forties! Fortunately we were able to run the generator to warm up the cabin. We got a nice early start at 7 a.m. and locked through the first lock in New London immediately since we were docked at the lock wall. The day was cold enough that Lynn spent most of it in the saloon and Jonny spent a good part of it with her except when it was time to enter or exit a lock. We continued to cruise through attractive, mostly rural countryside but it was not as pastoral as the western end of the Erie Canal. 

It was to be a long day of cruising because we wanted to make time and get south of Albany a day before we were due to fly to Miami.  We went through seven locks in all and each time bundled up in coats to go on deck for the locking.

During this long day of cruising we went through the highest level in the canal at which point we started to lock down rather than lock up.  For several of the locks we traveled with another boat that was headed to Islamorada having come from Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands which we had visited earlier in the summer.

At one of the locks we  had to tie up outside of the lock and wait for about 45 minutes because the lock door was jammed shut with a log and other debris.  A westbound cruiser was stuck inside the lock and was unable to exit due to the stuck door.  Several workman were trying to dislodge the debris and after several thwarted attempts they were finally able to fix the situation and we all locked through. We have been encountering quite a lot of floating logs and similar debris in the last couple of days. 

Little Falls was home to Lock 17 which at 40 feet is the highest vertical lock in the canal system. Rather than opening with large swinging gates, this one looks like a guillotine and moves up and down.  It is quite impressive.

We considered staying in Little Falls which the guidebook touted as a charming village but decided to push on and dock at a lock wall further along. 

Lock 16 looked like an attractive place to stop in a pretty, park-like setting.

When we learned from a lock tender that the pedestal there didn’t work and the lock 10 miles beyond it had a working pedestal, we decided to go there instead.  If it was as cold as the previous night, it would be nice to have power!

We arrived at Lock 15 in Fort Plains, NY which was not nearly as pretty as the earlier lock.  It was within sight and sound of a highway but it had power and it was too cold to be outside so we were OK.  We were toasty warm with the heat on and had a cozy dinner and evening on board watching one of the movies that Andy had supplied for us.