June 21st, Haverstraw Bay on the Hudson River

First day of summer and the longest day of the year. 

On Wednesday we traveled from Great Kills harbor to Tarrytown, which is about 20 miles above New York City.  The trip up under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and past Manhattan was spectacular.  But it was rough.  A NYPD patrol boat waked us from the side and sent our boat flying.  The one thing our boat can’t handle is a wave on the beam.  The boat handles it okay, but the contents don’t do as well.  Luckily nothing was broken and we continued past Manhattan at 7 mile per hour.

We stayed two nights in Tarrytown and took the train down into the City to visit my brother, Tim, who lives in the Meat Packing district.  It was a beautiful day and we walked on the High Line, which is an elevated park built on a raised railroad bed.  The railroad was built above the roads so that trains could drive right into the meat packing plants without interfering with traffic on the street.  It’s a great park with impressive landscaping & plantings that rival any botanical garden.  It will be interesting to see how the gentrification of the meat packing district & robust development adjacent to the High-Line affect it.

 

We enjoyed lunch & a World Cup game at the beer garden under the South end of the High Line.  New York is great, of course, for people watching, small parks & ethnic richness (the 20 bicycle gang “event” at rush hour; the bathroom that was “men, women, LGBTQ or whatever”, etc.).  Tim is the consummate tour guide providing a good dose of walking along with local history & a taste of just what you’re after.  His friend, Francine, had an abundance of stories from growing up in a US military family home-based on the French Riviera and various adventures since – and she generously treated us to a delicious Spanish dinner in her favorite neighborhood restaurant.

Given the currents we opted for a short hop to Haverstraw/Half Moon Bay so that we can ride the current up to Kingston early tomorrow.  There is a festival with great music & an array of boats from rowing, sailing & tall ships to go-fast varieties – the place to be this weekend if you are in Westchester County.