After rounding Cape May and mostly motoring up the coast of New Jersey, We took a mooring at the Perth Amboy Yacht Club courtesy of Tom's childhood friend Ed Ludlow and his wife Judy. The yacht club is located in an old industrial town at the west end of Raritan Bay (between Sandy Hook, NJ and NYC). The City of Perth Amboy is undergoing a revival of sorts these days and is nowhere is gritty as Tom remembers it from his youth. One big advantage for us, there is a train station a mile away that goes right into NYC.

Ed and Tom have not seen each other since high school. Best buddies in cub scouts and a while after. They each took up sailing over the years, although 12000 miles apart at the time. Once Tom and Ed reconnected, as Cary put it, "They were like two best friends that had never been apart." The two are alike in so many ways, Cary and Judy were probably waiting for the boys to finish each others sentences.

While staying in NJ, Tom had the opportunity to show Cary his old stomping grounds. Things like the little 6 room schoolhouse that he went to elementary school that now has 20+ classrooms. The almost 300 year old house he grew up in, once he could find it because all of the streets had changed so much. We even ate lunch in the same hamburger shop that Tom’s mother took him to in grade school. Fun trip down nostalgia lane.

We also had time to go into New York City to eat a corn beef sandwich at Carnegie Deli, walk through Times Square, take a walking tour of Central Park and Battery Park and to ride the subways. We still have some things that we would like to do on the way back like climb the Empire State Building, tour the World Trade Tower memorial, and see a show. It was a great time and we are looking forward to coming back.