New York, New York - September 3 to 7, 2009

New York, New York – September 3 to 7, 2009

New York City is BIG and BUSY!! We love it.

The 79^th St. Boat Basin, where Polar Pacer has been docked for the last 6 days, is reasonably peaceful in the midst of it all. The wakes from passing ships, barges, tug boats, ferries, cruise boats and pleasure boats make it a bit rough during the day but when the river traffic stops for the night it is quite pleasant. The original plan was to take a mooring ball but they do not allow catamarans on them so we are at the dock. At $2.75 per foot it’s a little expensive. Showers, ice, laundry, water and pump out are included. Electricity is extra but our three 130 watt solar panels are meeting our daily power needs even on the days that are partly cloudy.

79th St Boat Basin

Ryan joined us on Friday and we have been exploring New York City together. It is easy and inexpensive to use the subway system ($27.00 for 7 days of unlimited use) so we have been able to cover a lot of ground in a short time and had some unexpected entertainment too.

Subway Entertainment

We have been to Central Park three times (Where we rode in the same pedi-cab that Brittney Spears and her children used four days earlier. Our guide had pictures on his iPhone to prove it.), Times Square, Grand Central Station, the top of the Rockafeller Center,

Central Park from the top of the Rockefeller Center

the Waldorf Astoria, MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), did lunch with the NYPD at the 25^th annual Brazil day,

pulled a boat out of the mud during low tide at the Boat Basin and walked a million miles just being tourists and admiring the architecture.

The Clearwater joined us at the docks for most of the weekend. We learned that Pete Seeger, who celebrated his 90^th birthday this year, built this replica of a Hudson River Sloop forty years ago out of concern for the environment and the then toxic state of the Hudson River. The non-profit organization that he developed around the Clearwater has played a major role in cleaning up the Hudson. For more information you can go to www.clearwater.org.

The Clearwater

We will be sorry to leave New York but must move on. We will head for Sandy Hook tomorrow and will be watching for the weather window to go farther south.