TROY to WATERFORD

Monday was a milestone day for us in "Loop Life" terms.  It was only a three mile journey from TROY to WATERFORD but very rewarding.  We accomplishhed three significant tasks:

     1. Successfully went through our first of many locks. 

     2. Lowered our mast while underway.

     3. Purchased our a New York State Season Canal Pass. 

The weather was nice on Monday morning, but thunderstorms were predicted in the evening...this seems to be the normal weather pattern. The town of WATERFORD is the gate way to the historic New York Canal System, from the 1,000 foot town dock wall you can make a choice to proceed on the Eire or the Champlain Canal. We have a view from Thistle of Lock #2 on the Eire Canal, but are continuing Thursday morning on the Champlain Canal.  

Yesterday, after securing Thistle and purchasing our canal pass we went on a bike ride along the old canal system path, then watched Argentina v Netherlands in the World Cup Soccer semi final.

TROY to WATERFORD

Approaching the Federal Lock, lock is to starboard- rapids to port!

All secure Captain :)

Thistle in the TROY Federal Lock.

This bridge looked low? Our clearance is 23', with our mast up.....

Greg lowering our mast under way - safety first!

On the WATERFORD town dock wall Monday and Tuesday night.

We have a view of Lock #2 from Thistle.

Watching fellow boaters go through Lock # 2, it's a vertical change of 33'5"

WATERFORD is the gateway town to the canal system, this is our New York State Season Canal Pass.

Our bike ride along the old canal system, lined with many beautiful flower gardens. 

        

CATSKILL to TROY

Today we traveled about 35 nautical miles from CATSKILL to TROY.  We departed about 8 am to have a favorable tide for the 4 hour trip. The weather was cloudy with a predicted thunder storm with heavy rain showers in TROY by 2 pm. We thankfully arrived just in time to secure Thistle before the rain storm!

For today's adventure we enjoyed seeing numerous bridges, a lighthouse, cement factories and Albany, the Capitol of New York State. Once Thistle was secure we walked around the TROY Historic District, admiring the beautiful architecture. We also learned TROY is the historical home town of Uncle Sam.

Tonight we are staying on the TROY Town Wall...And it's free :) 

Tomorrow is a big day. We are going through The TROY Federal Lock, it will be our first of many locks on our way to Montreal. 

Sweet Dreams XO.

CATSKILL to TROY

An early departure under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

Hudson Lighthouse.

Cement Factories along the Husdon.

Albany skyline with pending rain.

That was tooooooooo close? We made it under this bridge with about a 2 foot clearance :)

TROY Town Wall.

TROY Historic District.

According to legend TROY is the home of Uncle Sam. The initials US are a common national personification of the American Government. This came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named after Samuel Wilson a meat packer from TROY who supplied the military with food supplies. 

We enjoyed a beer tonight while studying the procedure to go through the Federal Lock tomorrow morning.

KINGSTON to CATSKIlLL

We  traveled from KINGSTON to CATSKILL yesterday. We planned on only staying one night, but loved this port :) and stayed two nights. The trip was about  3 hours between ports (I know that's bad timing, but remember it's Captain Greg not Gilligan ). After our rain storm the last three days, today the weather was beautiful ... A nice breeze and sunny skys!

We chose Catskill Marina from the Active Captain suggestions and were very pleased with our dock. We have a pool, BBQ, shade and laundry - what more could you ask for ? Oh, and fireworks again for July 5th :)

Catskill is another historic town along the Hudson River ... But the town has a great sense of humor, with CAT statues  all around :) we really enjoyed CAT- N around town the last two days.

Today we had  a relaxing Sunday watching Wimbleton tennis, nice 5 mile SUP paddle and doing some boat chores. Then tonight we had a BBQ and Docktales with fellow boaters.

Tomorrow we are departing early to take advantage of favorable tides ....good night XO.

KINGSTON to CATSKILL

Our tranquil dock at CATSKILL Marina.

Dock Office.

CATSKILL history.

City Hall.

Potato and Sophisticat.

Catipolt, Rainbow & Crystal Cat and Winter Wiskers.

The Hero of Hyrule, Card Cat and Super Mario Cat.

Enchanted Celtic Cat and The Inn Keeper.

Buckshot, Hang Ten Tabby and Cattington.

Fish Lover and Brew Meister.

Spider Cat and Huntergames.

Our favorite " Ameri Cat " 

BBQ and Docktales.

July 5th Fireworks .....

POUGHKEEPSIE to KINGSTON

On Wednesday we traveled from POUGHKEEPSIE to KINGSTON and stayed at the Hudson River Maritime Nautical Museum for three nights. Our tip for fellow loopers is to join the Museum so you can stay on their docks (great location/$1.50 per foot). The KINGSTON waterfront is located in the historic area of Rondout. The voyage between POUGHKEEPSIE and KINGSTON was only an hour on the Hudson and  we saw beautiful Mansions and a few lighthouses.  We departed POUGHKEEPSIE early with a pending storm on the way....and we selected the port of KINGSTON because they have one of the largest 4th of July Firework shows along the Hudson River.

In the summer of 1777 the city of KINGSTON was named the first Capitol of New York State. Then on October 16, 1777 KINGSTON was burnt to the ground by the British after the battle of Saratogas. We are 91 miles North of New York City and 59 miles South of Albany. In the 19th century KINGSTON became an important transportation hub for the East coast with railway and canal connections.

We met some very nice fellow boaters at this port and enjoyed "Docktales" together (enjoying a beverage on your boat with friends and sharing travel tales). At this port we were also on storm watch with hurricane Arthur very close!  Because of Arthur we experienced some severe thunder and lightening storms with substantial rainfall.

On the morning of July 4th, it rained and rained and rained but about 4 pm the sky cleared and we watched a spectacular Firework show from our fly bridge on Thistle. Rondout had the roads closed for a music and street food festival during the evening.

It was a wonderful stop to celebrate Independence Day and Reenie's Birthday....Thanks for all of your nice Birthday wishes, they were that much more extra special being so far way from family, friends and home XO. 

POUGHKEEPSIE to KINGSTON

Mansions of POUGHKEEPSIE.

Esopus Lighthouse.

KINGSTON Lighthouse.

Our port in KINGSTON, The Hudson River Maritime Museum with Thistle at dock along the Rondout waterfront.

Old Dutch Church in KINGSTON from 1659.

Hurricane Arthur. 

The storm was right over us ... Lightening hitting a building about 100 yards away!!!!

More than a little scary ..... Greg said "That thunder would wake-up Rip Van Winkle" ....from the American Folktale by Washington Irving, in which thunder is caused by old men playing nine-pins in the sky and the thunder is when the ball strikes the pins. 

Trolly Museum in KINGSTON, we rode the historic trolly between KINGSTON and Point Park.  

Our 4th of July Trolly Ticket.... Please note "Senior" ?

Happy Birthday America and Reenie:)

Fireworks .... God Bless America !

NEWBURGH to POUGHKEEPSIE

Yesterday day we traveled for about 2.5 hours on the Hudson River to POUGHKEEPSIE. Yes, it is hot and humid and we are starting to see (actually feel is more accurate!) some bugs. We decided to dock at Mariner's on the Hudson. It's a "Dock and Dine" a free dock for the night if you enjoy a meal at their establishments ... Great find for our fellow Loop friends :)

The banks of the Hudson are still green and beautiful. There is a considerable amount of debris floating in the river, including some large logs, that's our biggest navigational hazard. Today we also saw geese and ducks with their ducklings. 

Our main reason to stop yesterday in POUGHKEEPSIE was to watch the USA World CUP game ...tough loss... :(   We soon realized that this town has a lot of history and interesting places to visit!

Our favorite was the "Walkway Over the Hudson" which at 1.28 miles is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.

We saw the 1868 Bardavon Opera House, the oldest continually operating theater in New York, during our bike ride and the main campus for the Culinary Institute of America from the River. 

Looks like we have some weather coming so, we will try to stay at the same port as tonight for a few days.  All Aboard .... Ready to depart :) 

NEWBOUGH to POUGHKEEPSIE.

On the Hudson River.

Train ride along the Hudson.

What we see on the River ...Logs, Ducks, Geese ....

Bike ride to USA World Cup Game.

Walkway Over the Husdon.

Mariner's Restaurant with Thistle on the dock (from the Walkway).

Bardavon Opera House.

Dinner at Mariner's .... "Dock and Dine" :)

Rain on the way ?