Sailing with 'Sophisticated Lady'

Arriving at Lady Liberty!

Taking in the Massiveness of Manhattan

Being tied to a dock feels good, the sights and sounds of New York are overwhelming and somewhat mesmerizing. After the solitude and absence of noise that surrounds you when at sea, the air seems to have layer upon layer of voices, sounds, and almost a pulse of energy. Your system seems to take a surprised step back and exclaims, “oh yeah, that’s what civilization is again”.

First Dock since the Caribbean!

Ashley is so excited that she is almost doing cart wheels, and that is not easy for a tiny dachshund! Borja seems to almost run off the boat, I hope it is not something we have done! Actually, I think he was eager to get on land and home to his wife. Mark, Rick and I smile as we head to the lovely patio and order our lunch. Everything sounds great and we all end up ordering and eating way too much food. It had been a rough few days and we ended up skipping meals and snacking most of the time. Alongside the sun dappled patio is a giant chess board with life size pieces. It is very surreal to watch the two men playing, walk onto the chess board and lift the pieces that were the same size as them. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland and I expect to see the rabbit run by mumbling about being late, very late. I enjoy the simple act of people watching, a hobby I love, in a city perfect for the sport.

Now that's a Chess Set!!

Mark booked his flight online, computers are so handy when you have reliable internet! As he hopped on the bright yellow taxi boat we felt a sense of loss and relief. Rick and I realized we were going to miss our crew but on the other hand we had not been alone for over 12 weeks! Yikes, that is a long time.

Mark & Rick celebrating another successful offshore passage

We decided to make our way down the Hudson and grab a mooring ball at the 79^th Street Boat Basin. We stayed there last year and it was a great location. The only downfall is there is a wicked current that whips by the boat and the boats almost sail on the ball! It is extremely tricky to get the dinghy successfully docked on the transom. You either zing by way too fast to grab a rope or end up having to ram the boat straight at it and hold it there with the engine revving till you grab the line. No one wants to fall in the Hudson River climbing in or out of the dinghy!

The Rotunda restaurant at 79th Street Marina

Inside the Rotunda

Our friends Doug and Wendy from “Latitude” are there as well and it’s great to see them again. We all shiver and comment that we are definitely no longer in the Caribbean. Wendy and I rush to do laundry. When you are at sea everything seems to get either soaked or damp with salt water and it takes on this pungent, musty smell almost instantly. The smell of fresh laundered towels and bedding is like a warm spring breeze. I start to unpack all the things I had put away to go off shore. Everything not bolted down has to be put away carefully so as not to go flying in a big wave and bean someone in the head. It feels so good to be putting them back in their spots and not wrapping them in anticipation of killer waves!

'Sophisticated Lady' starting to feel like home again!

I love this marina because it borders the boardwalk and a huge park that appears to go for miles and miles. The boardwalk is always full of joggers, walkers, dogs and babies. People of all ages and backgrounds rest on the benches reading, chatting and just enjoying the outdoors after a long winter. The spirit is one of friendship, joy and rejuvenation. Most people smile and say hello as they pass. It feels like being on a holiday and you can’t help but feel happy, relaxed and part of a great cosmos.

We finally made it to Broadway!

Walking straight up 79^th takes you to Broadway where you can buy or see anything you might need or want. There are cafes, newsstands, flower shops, liquor stores and every other shop you could ever want. The smell of the air changes as you pass each place and I close my eyes and try and guess what kind of shop we are beside by smell. Some are definitely better then others! Ashley and I enjoy a walk about town, buying flowers, dog bones and fresh fruit on our travels. What more does one need?! It feels so good to be able to walk and walk and to be surrounded by so much life, action and change. Everywhere you look your eye sees a vignette, a different NY story on every corner to be seen and enjoyed.

All the guys that work at the 79^th Street Marina are great. They are friendly, chatty and just plain nice folk. Jose goes out of his way to tell me there is a big street festival on Leslie and 79^th the next day well worth going to. Rick and I decide to go and to take the camera and enjoy a few hours there. I was expecting a couple of blocks of vendors, some balloons and a guy selling roasted chestnuts. As we walked up 79^th we didn’t see a soul and we both thought maybe we had missed it. We both stood in slight shock and awe as we stepped onto Leslie. The street was closed to all traffic and in both directions as far as the eye could see were vendor upon vendor and thousands of people filled the streets! It seemed to go forever and we laughed and said “which way!”

Now that's a street festival!

It was hard to make any head way as every vendor and his wares caught our eyes and we bought spices, t-shirts and hand painted Japanese plates for the boat. The street was literally filled with people, dogs, food, merchandise and balloons to add that festive air.

One of our favourite street vendors

You could buy anything from rugs and socks to honey and a 20 minute neck massage. To quench your hunger and thirst along the way were fresh lemonade stands, loud beer tents and grilled corn and shish ka bobs that made your mouth water as you passed. Everyone laughed, ate, perused, bartered and found treasures they had to have. There was something for everyone at a price fitting every budget big or small. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday in the city that never sleeps.

Armed with our faithful camera, Rick and I set out to spend an afternoon in New York City. We knew one of the many entrances to Central Park was across the street from the Museum of Natural History, a place on our list of stops, so off we set. It is a beautiful sunny day and we only need a light sweater and our shades.

Museum of Natural History and Science

Rick wants to take some pictures just inside the museum for his kids. They filmed the movie “Night at the Museum” there, a movie his boys loved, and the dinosaur they brought to life is right in the main foyer!

Central park is so vast and green that it seems endless as you stand on the edge peering in. It is somewhat surreal to turn a corner, one minute surrounded by immense walls of stone, concrete and glass, and the next to be engulfed in a jungle of fresh, fragrant green teaming with wild life.

I think of Central Park as the pivotal center of this immense city. A center filled with growth, life and places enjoyed by all who wander its trials. To me it is the soft underbelly of a great and powerful beast.

Finding Peaceful Solitude in a City of Millions

We enter the park jostling amongst school groups of yipping, sprawling kids clutching their lunch bags and knapsacks, giddy with the freedom from books and desks that a school trip heralds. Their excitement and pure joy for life at that moment is catching and you almost feel years of adult burdens quietly slip off your shoulders and roll under a bush, lost for now. Rick and I climb one of the groups of truck sized boulders to bask in the sun and tempt the birds deliriously flitting around in search of food. Every living thing seems to stretch, tilt its face to the forgotten sun and come alive in the warmth of spring. There is such a feeling of peace, relaxation and renewal swirling throughout the park that you feel you must have stepped through an unseen door, into a secret garden.

Hard to Imagine You're in NYC

Every so often I hear the clip clop of horse hooves striking the pavement and a colourful carriage, trimmed with flowers carries passengers on a romantic ride through the park. It takes you back to a simple time of unhurried journeys, top hats and long skirts. Throughout the park are ponds, open fields, leaf covered paths, secluded rocks to rest on and gazebos for shade. We come across Turtle Pond which is aptly named.

Carriage Rides in Central Park!

As we gaze out at the couples lazily rowing each other around the pond, I notice rocks with what looks like bronze statues of turtles on them. As I get closer, I realize they are real turtles of all sizes lying on the rocks, happily sunbathing without a care in the world! There must have been hundreds of them clumsily perched atop one another on every rock surface dotting the shoreline. What an incredible sight to see in the middle of New York City!

The Turtles of Turtle Pond, NYC

The Stark Contrasts of NYC and Central Park

We continued to walk and walk and walk, every so often studying a park map in an attempt to find our way out somewhere near the south side subway entrance. A task easier said then done. We came across small lakes, stone walkways lined with enormous ancient trees, band shells awaiting music to fill the air, heritage buildings and even a zoo. People jogged, strolled, climbed, lay relaxing in the grass & simply enjoyed the park and all it offered. Sharing an ice cold ice cream bar and a New York hot dog as we rested our weary feet on a shady bench seemed the perfect end to our tour of Central Park.

Finding Our Way Through the Subways of NYC

Next on our agenda was to visit Soho. We hopped on the subway and somehow figured out in the maze of tunnels and trains heading in every direction, how to find our way there. I love the village of Soho for its art, funkiness, narrow cobbled streets and tiny cafes manned by servers dressed in fresh white and black uniforms. The streets are filled with cool, chic people and the galleries and shops are filled with impossibly expensive wares that impress the eye and would certainly empty out most pocket books! We meander and criss-cross the streets going into shops that catch our eye and looking at each other and rolling our eyes as we dared to glance at any price tags. Rick wonders why we do this when we aren’t about to buy a thing and I try and explain it’s shopping, but he isn’t a women and just can’t grasp the concept. Where are my girl friends when I need them! We thankfully stop at a lovely café for a bite to eat and a cool drink, our poor feet are not used to all this land and non-stop walking!

Feeling slightly rested and refreshed we look up and realize we have no idea where the subway is and really can’t stand the thought of any more confused wandering. We stop and ask the nearest New Yorker who happily stops and spends a long time working out where we need to go and the best way to get there. Anyone who says New Yorkers are not friendly is very wrong. Everyone we have encountered has been friendly, proud of their city and happy to help. We stagger onto the appropriate subway and make our way under this vast city, full of surprises, people from every walk of life and something for everyone.

Cheers,

Terri (& Rick)

'Sophisticated Lady'