June 2021 – Loopin' with Mike n Pam

HANGIN’ ON THE HUDSON

June 25, 2021July 3, 2021Mike & Pam

Moseying up the Hudson River we enjoyed every mile. So many different looks, from the southern portion urban sprawl, to the northern hilly remote nature meccas.

Can’t help but think about Captain Sully’s amazing heroics back in 2009 when he saved 155 lives by splash landed an airbus in the middle of the Hudson.

From sunrise to sunset, the Hudson River Valley has beautiful surprises around every bend.

Mysterious ruins are a popular stop on the local tourist boat.

Had an impressive dining experience at the Culinary Institute of America #wheresmike

Saugerties Lighthouse is a bed and breakfast with a breathtaking view!

VIDEO – West Point cadets at work!

Ankle breaker hike to Hannacroix Falls, Ravenna, NY to splash around
and cool off with the locals on a 90 degree day.

Looper fun – a daily check to see who’s where on Nebo – a rare sighting: navigational line-em-up channel markers –
had dinner with long time gold Looper pals in Hyde Park NY, Susan & Pete
& enjoyed docktails with new and old Looper friends at Shady Harbor Marina

VIDEO – Little Beers with Dock mates

Troy,NY – our last Hudson River quaint towns before we made a left turn to start the Erie Canal.

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Also…. discovered we have a starboard transmission issue which will take some time, 3-4 weeks, and cash to fix. We haven’t decided when or where we will get the repairs. One option is to just keep movin’, although slower, another is to take a break and pick up later?!? We’ll see……….BOATS!

MANHATTAN MARATHON

June 25, 2021June 26, 2021Mike & Pam

Big shoutout to John Calascibetta & (Tony & Jim) and the Great Kills Yacht Club for their phenomenal hospitality.
Great staging place to visit the Big Apple. Jim set us up with all the info and tools we needed.
He is a huge AGLCA advocate and will go out of his way to help make your visit a great one.

Two bike rides to/from subway, two ferry rides, eight subway rides and 33,000 steps
and 14 hrs is all we needed to complete our Manhattan Marathon.

Ground Zero – very moving, especially when you see roses added for the deceased birthdays.

The Oculus is a new transportation hub since the PATH train station was destroyed along with 7 other buildings

The Empire State building is a must stop..

VIDEO – Times Square

Topped of the day at Yankee Stadium where the Yankees beat the Royals in
9th inning dramatic fashion. Don’t really care…Go Cubs

Our Cape May Marina provided us with this giant keychain for the bathroom facilities.
Their hope is that guests won’t leave without returning because it is sooo big.
Well…..because it is soo big, we needed to carry it around in Pam’s back pack ..and guess what??
We mailed it back to them from New York…

We nudged in front of a fellow boater (they didn’t have a radio) and asked them to snap a
few money shots. Looks like we are making off with the Lady in this one!

CHESAPEAKE = VAMDDE+DC+NJ

June 17, 2021June 22, 2021Mike & Pam

The sights and sounds of the east coast seem amplified here in the Chesapeake. Between the naval presence, the architecture, and the shoreline beauty there’s always something to behold down each finger and around each turn.

SAMMONS ISLAND! – Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

The original Drum Point Lighthouse on display at Calvert Maritime Museum, one of the four Chesapeake cottage type lighthouses.

From the anchorage we were able to watch the Naval air station at Patuxent River practice with many types of airships including the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey….
a helicopter type airplane with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a
turboprop **aircraft**. Cool sights and sounds here!!

Annapolis is an amazing harbor town where all roads lead to the Maryland State House –
where George Washington emotionally resigned as commander-in-chief marking the
beginning of civilian authority over the military.

So fun just walking around historic districts on the east coast – The charm of the architecture is captivating

Our mooring ball at the Annapolis City Docks was right outside Ego Alley & the Naval Academy.

Annapolis is really a drinking town with a sailing problem
a local

Reacquainted with old friends from Ottawa, IL now living in Annapolis

Annapolis Naval Academy – If you look closely at the wave in the submarine sculpture you see
faces of actual seamen lost at sea – commemorating 100 years of the submarine force.

Every morning we woke to the academy trumpet blowing Reveille and the Star Spangled Banner & in the evening, instead of a conch horn, we would get a full blown Taps…something we looked forward to at the end of each day! Bancroft Hall houses the entire academy student body, 4,000 midshipmen, the largest college dorm in the world.

The Jersey Shore – Cape May, NJ – an Atlantic coastal town with a Victorian influence.
Great charming beach town we would return to in the future.

Always fun to have friends visit along the way! Thanks Kathy and Dave

Barnegat Light, NJ – a fishing town with a more modern fleet than we’ve seen thus far – we missed the ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ by one day:(

We left at first light to outrun a storm – we were escorted by the local Coast Guard –
the inlet is wild & willy, Sea C plowed bow first like a champ into 9 foot rolling waves.

MEET VIRGINIA

June 16, 2021June 18, 2021Mike & Pam

A quick stop in Deltaville, VA, a sleepy fishing and sailing town, introduces us to the state of Virginia which leads us to a great stop at Norfolk, VA.

Anchored out, paid $11 at the local marina which enabled us the use of bikes, courtesy car, laundry, pool, showers etc. Did a little provisioning with a fellow looper, one load of laundry, & grabbed some coffee in the AM in this tiny, one road town!
Didn’t realize that this is also the headquarters for **Curtis Stokes** the famous Loop sponsor yacht broker!

Didn’t have time to wait for the super slow dryer, pulled anchor & took advantage of
the beating sun under way! #thereareracksforthat

This bridge came immediately after a lock. The tender ran this operation like a drill sergeant –
“north bound boats move up quickly, south bound boats make room etc”. Everything was timed to precision.

We use an app that helps us time our pace with the scheduled opening of each bridge, yet we still find ourselves waiting, especially when a RR bridge is quoted as OPEN unless a train is coming but every boater we talked to had to hail and wait…?!?

As we neared Norfolk we cruised past dozens of warships, realizing the depth of military presence.
We were to stay clear by at least 100 yards, or else!

Excellent dock right next to the festival park and USS Wisconsin naval ship. Caught up with ol’ Looper buddies, Steve and Kristin on Legacy, had dinner at a great nearby restaurant, Saltine, to swap stories & catch up.

‘The Big Wisky’ (the last battleship!) served in three conflicts over its 6 decade lifespan.
Go Badgers! #almamater

Big gun battleships gave way to aircraft carriers.

Chrysler Art Museum a must for those who appreciate art.

Mermaid is the mascot of the town. Many sculptures were around town, all privately owned
as they were part of a fundraiser campaign at some point.

Too many mermaids to count. Don’t ask how many pics….

Cannonball shot by Lord Dunmore remains embedded in
St Paul Church – quite a ways off the water really!

Many churches have historical cemeteries…always interesting reads.

Our marina neighbor, Andrew Cilla, is the owner and designer of this ultra modern “Outback 50”.
This is hull #1 and he is looking for buyers, *Versatility, Comfort and Efficiency*.
https://www.outbackyachts.com/

MOVIN’ THRU THE OUTER BANKS

June 11, 2021June 12, 2021Mike & Pam

So many places to see and so little time to get it all in. It is impossible to capture all of the places we visit and the people we meet. The blog helps us to at least capture and share a few highlights. Our Snail Trail map has become a valuable tool to help us remember where we were on particular dates since it is all becoming blurry…