Cheryl's Notes:

We woke up to a very calm morning. We took the opportunity to put the sails on the boat. I am so happy. We have been tripping over and sitting on sail bags for a week. We actually look like a sailboat again. We continued our journey down the Hudson River today. I think that we have seen homes worth more money today, than the rest of the trip combined. These homes are not worried about waterfront beaches, but instead are perched on the hills overlooking the river and the rest of the world. Most are very old and look like they have twenty acres or more surrounding their property. Of course, there are still some zoning issues here. We have McMansions on one side of the river and double wides on the other.

We passed West Point today. All I can say is wow!. It is impossible to even capture the size of the buildings in pictures. I took a ton, but am not sure that they will do it justice. The same goes for the homes on the hills. They are so high up, that I couldn't zoom in enough to get a good picture. As we were passing West Point, we were hailed by the captain of the Commander, a tour boat that takes passengers to West Point for tours. He told John that we had a great looking boat, and then added that he loved the name Leprechaun being that he was Irish. He ended up directing us to the marina where the tour boat docks. We are going to join his family for a concert in the park and then he has offered to take us on a grocery store run. We need to stock up on some things so the guys have food to eat when I am gone. It turns out that Tim and his wife, Debi, have been sailing for years and they believe in the idea of pay it forward. There are times when others have helped them on their journeys, and now they wanted to share with us. We had a great evening with them, and their daughter Deidre had red hair and freckles just like my girls. It was like being with family.

Tomorrow we head to NYC, and will be docking at Liberty Landing, a marina on the Jersey shore. The guys have appointed me tour director, but won't tell me what they want to see. It sounds like the marina offers shuttles to Manhattan and out to Staten Island. Tom wanted to visit Tavern on Green because he has heard about it from movies. We looked on the internet and the appetizers on their bar menu start at $22. We didn't even bother to check their other menus. I suggested a Broadway play and the men looked like they were in pain. I guess that I will have to pass this time.

John's Notes:

Country Bumpkin meets the big city. We are planning to spend a couple of nights in or around New York City. Last night we were told about a place called Liberty Landing. Cheryl found an ad for them in one of the free magazines we always seem to find along the way. She decides to call them on the phone and make reservations for 2 nights. When she told me how much it costs I told her that we only wanted to spend 2 nights, not a week. At $4.00 per foot per night, I still have a lump in my throat. Like I said a couple of days ago, Cheryl and Tommy can't wait to get there. Me, I can't wait to get out. Too bad we can't avoid it all together. My next surprise is the $100 we are spending tonight and we are still about 40 miles away from the city.

The river definitely has much more to offer than the canal. We met a day cruise boat coming up river just north of West Point. It was a really OLD boat and kinda kewl looking. We took a couple of pictures of it. The name of the boat was Commander. Anyway, as we pass each other the captain calls us on the radio and commented on the name of the boat. Told me that his last boat was named Shaleghly (sp?) and that he too, was Irish. We chatted for a few minutes and he asked where we were going to stop tonight. Told him that we weren't sure so he advised that we check out his marina at Haverstraw. He also offered to take us to the market if we needed it. Then he told us that there was a free concert in the park tonight and that we were invited to go along with he and his family. Like how kewl is this. Found out that his name is Tim Stirling. His boat, being just a little, but not much faster than ours, he arrived back at the marina about 20 minutes before we did. We had to check in, etc. and then make our way over to his tour boat. Tim gave us a tour of the boat. It's over 90 years old and he is in his first season as skipper. He worked on the boat last year as part of the crew. He is also a retired school teacher. Well, this story is getting long but we met Tim's wife Debi and his daughter Deidre. What a nice family. They picked us up at the marina, took us to the park, fed us deli sandwiches (which they would not allow us to pay for), drove us to the store and back to the marina. What can you say about people like this. I just hope that we get the opportunity to pay it forward some day.