UP THE COAST AND DOWN THE SHORE

It's a rainy Monday morning and we're docked at Lighthouse Harbor Marina in Weehawken, NJ, across the Hudson River from Manhattan.  The view is wonderful; the weather is not!  We were planning to cruise up to Milton, CT, this morning to meet with old friends, Kathy and Jim Mathiessen.  Perhaps we'll be able to take the short trip later this afternoon.

Last Wednesday we crossed Delaware Bay in a light fog and arrived at CapeMay NJ where we were greeted with an oppressive heat wave and a recalcitrant air conditioner on the MollyBelle.  We escaped the heat by moving to a seaside motel until a mechanic came Thursday morning and fixed the problem which was an electrical issue.  Thursday promised to be a very long hot first day of summer and the Atlantic Ocean was very calm, so we decided to leave Cape May at noon and head up the NJ coast to our next destination, Belmar, and a visit with our Florida neighbors, Doug and Susanne Sweeney.  Our five-hour cruise up the NJ coast was delightful!  The breeze was so cool--we hung our heads out over the bow like puppies out of car windows--and the memories of days gone by "down the shore" came flooding back!

Once again on land, we enjoyed our seaside day with the Sweeneys on Friday, culminating with a delicious meal at their magnificent Belmar home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...what a view! 

As expected, it was very exciting for us to cruise into New York Harbor on Saturday under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson between the majestic New York skyline and the growing parade of buildings on the Jersey side of the River.  We were looking forward to taking some of our family out for a boat ride on the Hudson, but the conditions were very rough--Capt Dick said the waves were confused--due to all the boat traffic in the harbor.  So we visited on board the MollyBelle while tied up at the dock and then walked over to the Chart House Restaurant where we enjoyed dinner outside on the deck overlooking the skyline of New York with the buildings bathed in the light of the golden sunset.

Visitors to the MollyBelle