From Manasquan Inlet, outside in the Atlantic Ocean, to Staten Island and Manhattan

We had a perfect day to be out in the ocean. That day, we experienced small, gentle waves, lovely sunny skies, nice breeze. We enjoyed viewing all the homes on the Jersey shore along the way.

We planned to stay in the Great Kills Harbor, and hoped to stay at the Yacht Club there. John Callasebetta is the harbor host there for the loopers. He had no room for us, and recommended the marina next door, Mansion Marina. It was just fine, and we were able to go to the Great Kills YC as guests for drinks and friendly folks. John and his wife, Juliette, were there, and greeted us warmly. We talked about our plans for the next day – we wanted to go into Manhattan. John offered to pick us up in the morning and drive us to the train station. The train goes to the end of Staten Island, where you can take the ferry over to Manhattan. Another option is the express bus that runs from Midtown Manhattan to Staten Island over the Brooklyn/Staten Island Bridge. We decided to take the train/ferry over for the experience.

We bought tickets on-line for a tour bus that allows hopping on/off all day in the city. We enjoyed the train ride and the ferry ride, that took us right by the Statue of Liberty. We were surprised to see that the ferry had a Coast Guard escort on both sides all the way across!

We hopped on a bus near the Battery, where the ferry landed, and rode it down to Times Square. Wow – such an exciting place! There were street performers – one, a beautiful young woman who was almost naked (save for a thong), and all painted up with American flag colors. Couldn’t get a picture of her, though, without paying – we were too cheap! First order of business was to find a Chase Bank – we both needed cash. Once that was accomplished, we just walked around a bit and found a deli to get some lunch. I took pictures all around Times Square. When we had had enough of Times Square, we hopped back on the bus which took us to the Upper East side – big mansions everywhere. Central Park was a beautiful attraction, as was the Library. We got off on West Central Park Avenue, and took a look around. Since we lost our Max, we have been really missing having a dog. So, anytime we see a dog, especially one that looks ‘Max-like’, we naturally gravitate to him/her. Some fellows were there at the entrance to the park with a sweet dog, so we visited for a bit. We thought our bus tickets included Harlem, so tried to get on a Harlem bus – no such luck. So, we just hopped back on a bus that would take us back in the direction of the Battery. We were pretty tired at this point. I took a look at the schedule for the express bus back to Staten Island, and figured out that we could exit the tour bus near one of those stops. We did find the bus stop, but, unfortunately, two of the buses sped right by us. Not sure what that was about. We decided to just start walking on down Broadway towards the Battery, where we could get the ferry. After about a mile, we saw another stop for the express bus, and decided we’d had enough walking… Soon, a bus came by and we boarded…..to find that all the seats were taken. Oh well – we had a ride, we just had to stand up all the way through the Brooklyn tunnel, across the Brooklyn/Staten Island bridge until several people had exited the bus and allowed us to sit. We were beyond tired by the time we got back to the boat. Early night!