Atlantic Ocean

We finally said goodbye to the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches. We made the most of our rainy, cool, windy, foggy days at Beach Haven.  It was the perfect time to regroup mentally and take a break from cruising.  We were able to provision at the nearby market and relax without studying the weather every moment of the day and the constant demands of cruising.  We always take each day in stride, but this gave us an opportunity to just slow down for awhile. 
There's no 'slowin down' for Jaxon as he runs circles around us daily!

One more lobster(ish) to play with.

 The rainy days brought on a lot of creativity with great projects and games. Morgan decided to build her own puppet. She found the wood and proceeded to saw it into shape.

 She sewed the fabric together....

 ...and painted the parts.  The finished project has some minor work to be done and final picture will come soon. She has started her own website where she wants to sell her crafts......more to come!

 The rain just kept coming down.

 We made friends with Brittany who worked at the arcade. The girls got new Webkinz from her and named them Brittany! 

We had the pleasure of buddy boating with Martyn and Allison aboard 'Last Chance' from Canada. We left the marina together and headed up to an anchorage near the Manasquan Inlet in the Meteloking River. 

 There was a big thunderstorm right before our arrival, but we were happy to have calm water, no wind and a delicious meal. 

 With sun and rain came a huge rainbow!

 We went ashore to a little beach area with a park for the kids to run and play.

 The next morning the kids knew we were in for a long day.  They hadn't played their Nintendos in so long and it made for a fun way to pass some time. 

 The homes along the Point Pleasant Canal and waters before the inlet were full of large homes.

 The Manasquan Inlet was lined with odd shaped concrete.

We were able to see first hand the 64 foot scalloped boat that had overturned in the inlet (see previous posting).  There was a towboat that monitors it 24/7 until it's moved.   

The water was calm and filled with fishing boats.  It was nice to have 'Last Chance' in tow and roll over the large waves so slowly.  We kicked up the speed to 14 mph and created a huge wake.  Our friends aboard Dragonfly said it perfectly of this experience: uuuuuuuuuupppppppp....ddddoooooowwwwwwnnnnn

 We made our way through 26 miles of Atlantic Ocean waters and around Sandy Hook, New Jersey in short time.  We could see the New York skyline in the distance and made our way another 18 miles to the entrance of the Hudson River. 

 It was amazing to see the Statue of Liberty from the water.  We were in awe and couldn't take our eyes off her.

 She was just as we pictured her...but better.  There were boats abound and waves were rough, but everyone was just staring at such a wonderful landmark. 

 Our friends aboard Last Chance took a photo of the Negotiator next to her too...photo to come!

This very young couple came all the way from Denmark on their sailboat!  They stopped and asked us to photograph them and email the photo.  

The Colgate clock was huge!

 To Empire State Building in the skyline!

 We can spot a true Lightship now where ever we go.

The police boat came right up next to us quickly but changed his mind and headed toward the air craft carrier Intrepid nearby. 

 Next to the aircraft carrier was an impressive submarine that had the ability to launch a plane from the topside....look closely.

 The George Washington Bridge was the first bridge we came across since the rest were all tunnels under the water. It was such a change of scenery that we hadn't seen in so long.  Notice the lush green hillsides all around.  There were parks, cars and trains that ran along the river too. 

The inclement weather was in our foreseeable future again as we approached a mooring field.  Just as we cleated the last line the dark skis came closer and after a day of 79 degrees and sun we felt our first rain storms....great timing! 

After a long successful day, Craig spent the evening in the generator compartment.  In the end we realized that the generator filled up with water after we went aground in NJ. When the towboat operator 'dredged' under us, the water was forced up into the generator.  After a talk with Mark, our brother in law, with some valuable advice, Craig got it all working again.  Good thing we had extra parts including oil, filters, plugs, etc.

We are excited to be in the Hudson River now. The smell of fresh water all around us and the beautiful landscape.  The Erie Canal is still closed, but scheduled to open sometime this week.  It's a new chapter in our trip....we've come so far! It is our last leg of the adventure and makes us want to slow down even more.