Heading up the Hudson River

We left NYC and their crazy ferries behind as we headed up the Hudson River. As usual, the weather was grey and breezy. There was a boat ahead of us that contacted us through our NEBO logging device. It has a chat feature between NEBO equipped boats. We found out that they were on their way home after traveling up the coast from Georgia. It turned out they were going to the same marina we were headed for. They wanted some pictures of their boat at the Tappan Zee bridge which was about 15 miles for our eventual destination.

The folks on the other boat have been leapfrogging their truck up the coast with them which was similar to what we wanted to do with our van. They said it was kind of a hassle renting cars to always go get their truck and move it to their next destination. They offered to take us for some shopping after we both arrived at the marina. We ended up having a pleasant dinner in town and exchanging experiences along the loop. We expect to see them again in our travels.

We ended up spending 3 nights at the Safe Harbor Haverstraw since it was free with our membership. While there, Kevin remembered a song from 1963 by Alan Sherman called Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder that depicted our feelings about the weather. It can be found on you tube.

Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh.
Here I am at Camp Granada.
Camp is very entertaining.
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.

We have tried to slow down since the Erie canal is not open. We left this morning (Saturday) for Marlboro, NY. The rolling hills lining the Hudson Valley are a beautiful Kelly green.

There wasn’t much vessel traffic, so was a relaxing trip.

We went past an island with a Scottish castle that was in ruins. It is called Bannerman’s Castle. There is some interesting history behind the castle. Francis Bannerman was known for purchasing surplus equipment from the military after the Civil and Spanish American wars. He kept the materials in Brooklyn. Finally, he had so much surplus equipment and ammunition that the city of New York forced him to find a place outside the city to store his goods. In 1901, he began construction of the castle and every type of military equipment and ammunition that he owned was shipped there for storage until it could be sold. We were told that one night something exploded and damaged the castle. Now, there is a foundation running the castle and they have tours and activities. On we went, north on the Hudson.

We came up upon the West Point Military Academy. There used to be a dock where boaters could tie up and take a tour of the academy. However, no one on the river is allowed near it. In front of the academy there were 4 guard boats patrolling the waters. What surprised me was how close the older buildings are together. It looked like a fortress instead of a school. As we were cruising by, helicopters and Ospreys lifted off from the academy grounds enroute northbound following the river.