The wildfire smoke had set in while we were at the anchorage by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The next morning it was worse, and we had a haze that stuck with us. All our photos have an orangish hue because of it. The trip up the beginning of the Hudson River was busy by New York and then calmed down to a nice relaxing afternoon. The destination for the day was Shattemuc Yacht Club in Ossining.
Our last glimpse of Lady Liberty before turning around to head up the Hudson.
Still taking in the sights along the way passing NYC up the Hudson.
Underwater tunnel entrance
Coda playing Frogger with a BIG cruise ship.
Thank you NYC for the great times!
The haze continues…
Friends!
We got close enough in the suburbs to meet up with our friends Shwetha & Vikas and their sweet daughter Anika. Shwetha used to work with Tonia and they moved from Seattle for Vikas’ new faculty position a couple years ago. We got to see Shwetha at Amy & Dave’s wedding in April and it was fun to reconnect again over an excellent Greek meal (highly recommend Piato Greek Kitchen). Their family is the sweetest!
Ossining & the Old Croton Aqueduct
We spent a couple days wandering around Ossining. The wildfire smoke was very heavy and thus we only did short stints outside the filtered air of our boats. Our K99 masks came in handy again, unfortunately.
By town there is the Old Croton Aqueduct that was built in the late 1830s to transport water down to New York City. The area is now a park and they’ve built a cool walking trail.
The Fomo Fleet spent 6 days touring around New Your City. Did we see everything? No! Though we did hit some highlights that the city has to offer. This is a big post that will be mostly pictures to tell the story so buckle in and give it some time to download.
We stayed in a mooring field in Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. It offered awesome rates versus the mega prices up by NYC. The bus was very convenient and took us only about an hour each way to get to the city and back.
Times Square & Urban Hawker
The first stop on Day 1’s tour was to grab some grub as it was just approaching noon and we want to keep hangry tourists at bay. Boris had scoped out some must-try food spots. Urban Hawker, an Asian centric food court, was close to our subway exit and the vendor Ashes Burnnit featured the Roti John, a Singapore-style omelette sandwich, at this location. Boris raved about it so we had to give it a go and, indeed, it was tasty. Everyone else enjoyed their selections too from the various vendors. The place was packed when we left.
We then headed to nearby Times Square. We opted for that first since it was earlier in the day and less crowded. It was still crowded even for that time. We took in the classic sights and even watched as Annette’s made-to-order ~5 lb Reese’s PB Cup was constructed.
Take a spin around Times Square! Don’t get dizzy!
Grand Central Station
The next stop was Grand Central Station. It was fun to see all the cool areas and try out the whispering wall, which the kids loved. To clarify, the “whispering wall” is located with corners next to the bathroom signs so makes for some odd-looking whisperers!
Rockefeller Center & Top of the Rock
One of the recommended stops by our friend Holly, who moved from The Emerald City to The Big Apple, for seeing the cityscape was the Top of the Rock, which is the top of Rockefeller Center. The cool thing about it versus the Empire State Building is you can see the Empire from it and Central Park too. Lots of skyline to see!
Elevator ride down from Top of the RockTribute to Matt’s mom & grandma & their love of Hallmark movies passed down to him
Central Park
On Day 2 Central Park was on the list. Tonia, Mayli, the kids and I set off for the park. We probably only saw about a quarter of it, though it seemed like we saw a lot. We diverted out for a bit to grab pizza for Michael and me and hit up a great gluten-free cafe for Annette that Tonia and Mayli enjoyed too. There were horse carriages aplenty, wildlife, park and city views, a mini castle – Belvedere Castle that houses a weather station, and even a wedding! We also rode the Central Park Carousel, which has been in the park since 1871 with current carousel in place since 1908. It was both nostalgic feeling and perhaps a bit creepy as well since the non-horse characters were a bit scary. Fun nevertheless!
Chelsea Market & The High Line
After the park it was time to meet up with Boris. We decided we’d head for The High Line, which was recommended by our friend Suzanne who’s currently boating in Alaska. The High Line is an old, elevated train line that’s no longer in use and has been converted to a park and walking path with lots of artwork.
On the way there, we followed a sign to ice cream, which took us to the Chelsea Market. We stopped to have a gander and found some delicious pizza, gelato, and beer, plus some cool shops.
After we had our fill, it was High Line time. Just down from the market was an access point so we headed up and trekked north. The High Line park area is very cool to see.
Pastrami!
To start off Day 3, we hit up the local Andrew’s Diner for some pastrami sandwiches. Perhaps not the Katz’s Deli that Boris was raving about though very excellent and VERY big — enough to share three ways! Their service and friendliness were top notch. They were so good Steve & Toni went twice!
Brooklyn Bridge
Next, it was time to venture to the Brooklyn Bridge and take a walk over. The Manhattan side is packed with venders and many more tourists. The Brooklyn side of the bridge had far less people and Steve could even do a photo shoot of Mayli. It was a nice stroll with a frosty beer and ice cream at the end.
9/11 Memorial & One World Trade Center
We also visited the memorial for 9/11. A very nice and somber tribute to remember that tragic day. The two infinity pools are meant to reflect the absence of those lost with the cascading water lending to tranquility over the city sounds while falling into a void to represent the physical absence left by those that are gone. There’s also a ‘Survivor Tree’ that made it through the attacks and replanted as a living memorial. Every day, a single white rose is placed on each name who would have had their birthday that day.
Steak!
Boris had spied an all-you-can-eat Wagyu beef restaurant called Hyun. And of course, it was on the top of the list to check it. There are rules however: We could only eat for 1.5 hours. And Boris, Mayli, and I did! Really tasty!
West Village
Day 4 was a split day for the group. Tonia and I headed up to NYC to the West Village to see our friend Holly. On the way we decided to mix it up and took the Staten Island Ferry (it’s free) getting a glimpse of Lady Liberty. Tonia scoped out eateries and we had lunch at the historic Fraunces Tavern where George Washington himself used to dine. The food was excellent, drinks refreshing, and the upper floors even had a museum that was only a dollar that day each to check out. Finally, we meandered up the Hudson River, taking in the sights, to the West Village to meet up with Holly.
Holly — Tour Guide Extraordinaire!
Holly had given us some great tips for sightseeing NYC and continued in person. In the West Village, Holly showed us the building from Friends, snapping a pic of us on the street in front of it — and alas, there’s no Central Perk there! We also went by the steps from Sex in the City and Holly treated us to some delights from the Magnolia Bakery where Carrie and Miranda indulged in cupcakes — let’s just say their cupcakes and treats are indeed super scrumptious!
That was all before we had a delicious meal with Holly at a fancy Italian restaurant and then topped it off with ice cream to end the night. It was an awesome evening and we made plans to hang out again before we left town.
The Bull & Bagels
Day 5 started with NYC bagels and the Charging Bull of Wall Street on our way to the Statue of Liberty. Michael was convinced of the superstition to get good luck by touching the bull, so he stood in line to give it a rub.
Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island
On this fifth day of touring, we had a major item left to do. The status of course. We took the tour boat over and spent a few hours touring around the statue and Ellis Island. It was awe inspiring to see Lady Liberty close up and moving to read the stories of what immigrants went through to start a new life in the U.S.
Last Day in NYC
On Day 6, the final day of touring, it was a foodie and culture day. We made our way from Great Kills Yacht Club, where our boats were moored by; grabbed some boba tea for the kids; and met up with Holly, who started us out at McSorley’s, one of the oldest ale houses in New York. You order a round of light or a round of dark, beer that is. Fun!!
Chinatown
We made our way to Chinatown to take in the shops, markets, and restaurants. We decided to hit up a couple options that overlapped on Boris and Holly’s suggested lists. The first stop was Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle for a selection of dishes to share. Next up was Wo Hop, which had a bit of a line though we got in relatively quickly considering our group of seven. Wo Hop is a third-generation restaurant open since 1938, the second oldest in Manhattan, and 2022 James Beard award winner — plus featured on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel TV show and visited by countless celebrities who have signed their headshots or dollar bills posted on their walls. We were seated in the downstairs area near the kitchen and shared family style so we could all try the dishes. We’d say best Chinese food restaurant outside of China! Then, to appease the kids (and satisfy the ice cream obsessed adults), we stopped at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. They offered some flavors we hadn’t seen before. Michael even tried the durian ice cream (side note, durian is a foul-smelling fruit) and said it was actually good.
A heartfelt thanks to Holly for ensuring our NYC trip was extra special! We did ❤ NY!
Anchoring by Ms. Liberty
It was finally time to leave Staten Island. Before we took off, we did some quick provisioning at the Frank and Sal Italian Market. We found some great olives, meats, and cheeses for our next charcuterie boards.
We left our mooring balls and made the trek up to take the obligatory pictures as we passed Ms. Liberty and anchored on the side of Ellis Island. It was a bit rocky there though we managed by anchoring separately. Overnight the smoke from northern wildfires started coming in and, in the morning, we were in full-on haze.
Misc NYC photo dump
And here are a bunch of photos that we thought were neato from subway trips, including a rat sighting, to cool buildings and more. We even caught a band doing a great cover in the subway too (video clip at end)!
Sudden Inspiration 