We start off bright and early from the marina at the Golden Nugget. It looks like a beautiful day to head to NYC.
However, the clear blue skies quickly disappear under an all encompassing fog.
Unfortunately, the fog stays with us for the majority of the trip. Captain Tom says it was the thickest he has been in, and we have experienced many foggy encounters on the Ohio River. The unexpected weather conditions definitely made for a slower, longer and more stressful journey.
Despite the fog, we experienced our first whale spotting. A humpback whale was just off our boat. I wasn’t quick enough to capture the whole event, but did get some tail. 😁
As we enter Ambrose Channel, the shipping channel into the port of NY and NJ, we cruise by the West Bank Lighthouse, which has warned sailors for years of the dangerous sand bars.
As we enter the narrows, the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, we cruise under the Verrazano Bridge. We are in the company of many sailboats along with police water patrols. Just our luck as we enter into this port today, the Around Long Island Regatta is taking place.
We manage to maneuver slowly through the sailboats and head to the Statue of Liberty.
We head to Liberty Landing, which is on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.
The views from the Liberty House Restaurant cannot be beat. Every night they hosted at least one wedding.
Liberty Landing Marina offers a convenient ferry into lower Manhattan on weekdays for a price of $7.00 one way. We are only here for one full weekday, so we make the most of it for our sightseeing day.
The last time I was in NYC was 21 years ago with my daughter, niece, sister, dad and step mom. We actually were on the observation deck at the World Trade Center just a mere 3 weeks to the day of 9/11. So it is an emotional sight to see how much has changed since my last visit.
The first thing we do is head to the 9/11 memorial.
Between 1 WTC and the memorial, lies the museum. We bought timed tickets online, and thankful we did as the ticket line was crazy. The museum was very well done, very crowded, and very somber. Many areas prohibited pictures, but here are a few we did take.
We also manage to find our way on the subway, with no issues, and head toward Hudson Yards. We decide to tour the Edge. It is the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere. It is suspended in mid-air, 100 stories high.
The Hudson Yard area, where the Edge is located, is part of a redevelopment project for this part of New York. Edge opened in March of 2020 and next to the Edge is the Vessel.
The Vessel was opened in March of 2019 at the cost of $200 million dollars. It is a honeycomb structure, 16 stories high, 154 flights of steps, and 80 landings. Unfortunately it has been the site of 5 suicides from March 2019 to July 2021. It is now permanently closed.
Our second day in the New York area, we stayed in New Jersey as the ferry does not run on the weekends. We walked to a farmer’s market in Jersey City and visited the empty sky memorial in Liberty Landing Park.
We had a great visit to New York! Our feet and credit cards are hurting, but well worth the bucks and the blisters.
Until next time New York, rest easy! Up the Hudson River we head.
Natalie and I visited the 9/11 memorial with her Girl Scout troop on 8th grade. It is so well done but very somber place. A must for every American to understand the horrific events of that day. Thank you for sharing a small part of it. Love the edge pictures, the Vessel is disturbing. As always, learning so much from afar and love the blogs!
Thanks Teresa!❤