Up the River - New York City

All my life I have had a traveling crutch - my parents, my husband, my kids, my travel buddy, Pat.  This time I had me...just me.   I have to admit I was a bit nervous but there was no reason to be, it was delightful.

Unashamedly taken from the website of Blount Small Ship Adventures.  This is the cruise I took.  The cruise visits are a bit off, due to some issues with docking we did not stop at Ogdensburg or Rome but stayed other places instead.  No biggie that I saw, other than missing the Remington Museum.

Home sweet home

The trip started in New York City.  I went a day early and spent the night on board with about half of the other passenger - there were 63 of us all together, 61 were wonderful traveling companions. The other two may have been nice, I wouldn't know, they never spoke even when spoken to, let alone smile.

After a bit of confusion (airport terminal construction had passengers shuttle bussed to somewhere unknown to be picked up) my driver and I connected - my choice over trying to grab a cab, and we headed to the ship.  He had just changed careers after being a valet parker before - which apparently was qualification enough to get me from La Guardia to Pier 60 in the minds of the limo service.  Off we went and immediately missed our turn, so he turned it into a mini tour - "Would you like to go down 42nd Street past Broadway?"   Well duh!!!!!  

Bits from the scenic tour of our what should have been a straight shot to the pier.

Even the McDonalds on Broadway was lit up in lights - but I had to ask myself why there was a McDonalds on Broadway??????

Not every building was glass and steel.

Not sure what tunnel we went through, but don't think it was the Holland or Lincoln or he would have told me since I was still snapping pictures and being a country hick in the big city.

Finally I suggested we might want to head for the ship before it sailed without me.  Checking the GPS many times he pulled up in front of a building and we sort of looked at each other.  Neither of us had any idea what to do at that point until I noticed a sign that said Pier 99.  Ummmm, "meet the ship at Pier 60" said the instructions I got.  Off we go, checking the GPS, checking the map and directions Blount had sent and for some reason I had kept, and talking to a very rude woman in some sort of security shed.  We made it after asking a couple of friendlier guys and I was greeted by Matt, who took my luggage and Jennifer, the cruise director who gave me a quick tour.

The first night I sat with two cousins from South Carolina one traveling with her husband and the other with a best friend.  In true southern manner, bless their hearts, after the first night they referred to me as their chosen sister when someone would ask if we were all together.  Barbara and I immediately made plans to go to Chelsea Market the next day, toasted new friendships and went to bed.

Woke up to beautiful weather the next morning, ate some breakfast and headed to Chelsea Market where I just knew I would run into Bobby Flay and he would invite me to brunch.

CHELSEA MARKET

Chelsea Market is in the Meat Packing District, originally a Nabisco factory complex and the birthplace of the always popular Oreo.  Now it is a food hall with various establishments selling produce, meat, ready to eat, chocolate, baked products and even beverages for adults - one reason I was there since the ship ran a BYOB policy.  Upstairs is the Food Network studios and Morimoto of Iron Chef fame has a restaurant there.  I looked, but alas no Bobby or Michael or Rachael to be seen.

Indoor fountain Chelsea Market style - looked like a pipe had been cut letting the water flow freely.

These stone benches and chairs were placed throughout the building.

 What I could see was fabulous and fresh food and darn it no appetite after a big breakfast on board, and no way to store any of the yummy cheeses and meats we saw.  Sad it was.

Just some of the fresh and perfect produce we saw in one store alone.  They also had a salad bar and we were tempted to skip lunch on board to dig into this.....

I regretted having had a big breakfast and absolutely no room for a New York Bagel - isn't that against the law or something?

It is a known fact that I love cheese - good, bad or indifferent, if it is cheese I like it.  When I saw this display cabinet I thought I had arrived at the altar of indulgence.   All I could do was look unfortunately. 

I did find my Christmas tree for this year - just need it shipped to me.

Miscellaneous shots in Chelsea Market.

The door handle of a meat market.

Chocolate camera under all that shiny cellophane.

Not sure how many Michelin Stars this place got but we decided to pass.  :)

Quail eggs for sale.

Never have I claimed the mother of the year award, never.  One reason is I do things like this - sending my son, who gags at the thought of even a chicken liver, this picture and telling him it is his souvenir.  He did not see the humor.

After meeting the newly arrived passengers we set sail.  First a quick tour of the New York Harbor and then up the Hudson to our first stop at Kingston.  Here's some of what I saw along the way.

Docked next to us was The Vibrant Curiosity

Owned by a German Industrialist, Reinhold Wurth, it was built by Oceanco for a mere $111,000,000 and launched in 2009.   Yup you read right one hundred eleven MILLION dollars.  According to Wikipedia "Her accommodation provisions include a master stateroom with its own office and private exterior deck area with whirlpool, one VIP suite with his & her bathroom, five double suites, two of which occupy the uppermost deck, and two further double guest cabins. A helicopter and launch pad is located on the top deck, while the master room features its own office and a private exterior deck complete with a spa.  ...including an spectacular atrium that provides natural light for the central staircase, which also creates great panoramic exterior views. She also has an Elevator, Helicopter Landing Pad, Tender Garage, and Air Conditioning."  They further state that the yacht is run by a crew of 26.  Wikipedia has all the boring stuff about range, knots, etc. etc. that bore me to death.  So it you are interested check out Wikipedia.


Other than the One World Trade Center I don't know what any of these buildings are...just interesting architecture that caught my eye.

Of course I can't leave Chuck out even in New York Harbor

Not the infamous Mobro 4000 that traveled the eastern coastline of America down to Belize and back to NYC with a load of trash that nobody would take back in 1987, but still a gar-barge that caught our eye.

More buildings and sailboats and things....

Ellis Island

Although the island is best known for being an immigration station processing 12 million immigrants from 1892 to 1934 it has an earlier history also, most notably that of being a federal arsenal.  Originally named Crown Fort it was renamed Fort Gibson for Col. James Gibson killed in the Siege of Fort Erie during the War of 1812.

The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building rises 102 stories and was the world's tallest building for 40 years.  Today it is the 5th tallest skyscraper in New York City and the 35th tallest building in the world. 

Governor's Island

As with most places that are in strategic locations, this island has a history of military occupation up until 1996 when it was closed.  I took this photo not because of its history but because I lived here for a short period while waiting to board an ocean liner with my mother and brother to join my father in England where he was stationed.

Hard to see, granted, but it was the view we had of the Intrepid.

The Colgate Clock sits along the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey at the former Colgate Palmolive headquarters for consumer products was located.  It is 50' in diameter and was built in 1924 to replace another clock that was relocated to Indiana.  The Colgate complex and all the buildings were razed in 2005 and Goldman Sachs has taken over the upkeep of the clock.  It is a mandatory reporting point for aircraft below Class B in the Hudson River VFR flight pattern.

Just sailing along....


And this is what we came to see...no description or details needed.

Lackawanna means Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss, to me!

Just more interesting architecture

Totally right brained so excuse me trying to be a left brain for a minute.  This is one of four ventilation shafts for the Holland Tunnel.  There are a total of 84 fans in the building - 42 blowing and 42 sucking - completely changing the tunnel's air every 90 seconds.  No carbon monoxide poisoning, thank you very much. 

Hard to read the name of the boat, but couldn't let it by without snapping it.  This is the Yogi Berra!

Time to head to Kingston, NY, our first stop on the cruise, but not without seeing a few other sights.

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument commemorates the Union soldiers and sailors that participated in the Civil War. 

The tomb of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States.

The George Washington Bridge

A HIIK (Heck if I Know) building I am assuming is some sort of religious site. 

The Riverside Church, tallest church in America, conceived by John D. Rockefeller and has hosted many leaders of the world (Castro, Clinton, Koffi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Desmond TuTu) as well as civil rights leaders and activists. 

I would like to tell you that someone else took this horrible photo but alas, it was I.  But I included it because it is the prison Sing Sing.  It got its name from the Native American tribe Sinck Sinck (stone upon stone) from whom the land was purchased.    This is where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage in 1953.  The expression of sending someone up the river comes from sending someone to Sing Sing from the New York City courts - literally sending them up the river.

Another gawd awful photo but meaningful to me.  We passed West Point after dark.  All I could see was a faint outline of the buildings and the lights.  I knew what it was, since I spent many hours playing along the Hudson below those buildings when Daddy was stationed there.  I had to take a photo and hope that my graphics program could help.  This was the best it could do but I know what it is, it brings a smile to my face, and a bit of a longing for those care-free days when I was a kid.

And it's a wrap....tomorrow (loosely meaning when I get a chance to post another one) we will cruise the Hudson and go to Springhill, home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt at Hyde Park.