Day 40 - Homeward Bound

It's early morning in Cape May on July 1 and the weather is perfect for our 150nmile+ trip home to Cos Cob.

NJ has a huge coast...about 100 miles long and at least half of that are beautiful barrier islands. We saw miles of empty beach; loads of quaint looking stretches; and a carousel or two.

Then, on to amazing NYC. I've never had the pleasure of living in NYC but I just love this city and seeing it from the water just makes me love it even more.(Too bad it gets so cold.) We are not in The Carolinas anymore!!!

The Verizano Bridge.

It really is a gorgeous monument.

Batterypark...find the helicopter.

The Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges

Triborough and ? bridges - notice whitecapping due to currents

The beautiful Chrysler Building.

The impressive Empire State Building.

The South Seaport/Pier17 area.

So long to NYC, Hellsgate water.....hello Long Island Sound.

One of the unique lighthouses in Long Island Sound.

Back in the waters of Greenwich....and, this is our next boat (well, I hope!)

Our last bridge - The Mianus River Railroad Bridge and just 1/4 mile to go.

And, we are home! A wonderful 40 days of new places, new food, and new experiences comes to an end. Now, a whole 2100 square feet of living space....YEAH!! Thanks for coming along for the ride! XOX Jen, Bob and Cass

Day 38 - 39 - Cape May, NJ

As Chesapeake City is part way along the C&D Canal, our trip started with about 9 miles of C&D Canal and then we had to go the length of Delaware Bay to reach Cape May. We had a lot of big company on this busy route.

We rolled into Cape May, NJ in the late morning and proceeded to the docks we had chosen due to preferable location. OH NO! To say that the docks were in bad shape is a huge understatement. To say that the non-verbal man (covered in tatoos) and the 12 year old boy were helpful would be an even bigger overstatement. Luckily the power situation was very scarey and nearly non-existent so we used it as an excuse to move on to a larger, slicker marina.

Once at the slicker marina, all settled into place. The town of Cape May is a National Historic Landmark due to the amazing Victorian homes in town and the beautiful, Victorian inns along the beach. You just think you've seen the prettiest one and then another one is there that is even more impressive. Here are some of the ones in town.

The beach is lovely and must stretch at least 5 miles down to the Cape May lighthouse and estuary area. Here are some of the impressive Victorian inns along the beach.

Here are a couple more scenes from the beach area. Not bad!!

And, a few scenes from our spot in the marina.

And now meet Cassie's new buddy - Stella! Note how Stella has her little paw on Cass's. They really had fun chasing each other. Cute! Cute! Cute!

Two nice days in Cape May and now, home to Cos Cob.....East River and Hell's Gate here we come!!

Day 37 - Chesapeake City, MD

It was a wet, cold day of travel from Annapolis to Chesapeake City but the water was nice and flat.

This impressive bridge is the only one that crosses the Chesapeake Bay and sits just a bit North of Annapolis.

From the Chesapeake Bay we turned into the C&D Canal (Chesapeake and Delaware). Old Ben Franklin was one of the earlier advocates for creating this canal as it would cut out over 300 miles of travel for ships. They began digging in 1822 and finally opened this 14 mile canal in 1829.

Chesapeake City has a very quaint downtown and many of the homes have been restored to their late 18th/early 19th century state. The 100ft bridge in the background is one of about ten (not all this high) that cross the canal.

The commercial aspect of the C&D Canal can easily be seen.

And, a few fun scenes from Chesapeake City.....a clever sign; an original backyard smoker; and a sailboat martha stewart would love - homemade sail cover and color coordinated bug netting.

On to Cape May, NJ...most likely our last stop.

Day 35 - 36 - Annapolis, MD

It was a bit of a rough day along the Chesapeake especially crossing past the Potomac River. But, Capt Bob smartly tucked behind a larger boat for an hour or two until it settled down.

As you get closer to Annapolis, the Chesapeake narrows in...so, it was nearly perfectly flat for the last couple hours of the journey.

Entering into Annapolis by water is really impressive - you can see the important tall buildings of the town and naval academy and there are beautiful boats (mostly sailboats) everywhere you look.

We enjoyed two days of nice strolls around the downtown area. It is such a pretty place. We arrived on a Sunday and town was packed but Monday brought a little more space and a chance to explore.

We had a great spot at the Yacht Basin Marina (right next to the Annapolis Yacht Club). We were surrounded by impressive boats and daily duck visits - Cass was on full "duck alert".

On Monday, I talked Bob into the short walk over to the Naval Academy. The buildings have such intricate details and the grounds are so well kept. Above are pictures of the chapel courtyard (when the plebes return from their summer sail, they are upgraded to youngster when they can see the cross of the chapel from the harbor), foyer of the memorial hall, and some of the cadet housing.

Below are pictures of The Battle of Midway memorial, senior professor housing (not bad!), and the perfect hydrangas of USNA.

My favorite picture that I took in Annapolis was of the traditional working sailing boat of the Chesapeake - the skipjack or catboat of this area. It is just so pretty...even at the dock!!

Tomorrow, Chesapeake City, MD!