West Point and Culinary Institute tours from Croton, and 3 more towns on the Hudson River

On Tuesday, June 23, after our guests left and after a rainy afternoon, we took lovely a walk on the Croton River  right next to Half Moon Bay Marina. Steve, the owner of the marina,  had recommended this and said there was a  911 Memorial at the end. The walk also has plaques and signs about the history of Croton and Half Moon Bay.  It was a beautiful path along the river  and indeed we saw their Memorial dedicated to those from the area who had lost their lives. It's called "Reaching through the Shadows" and is actually a sundial using a recovered steel beam from the North Tower. We then walked to the local restaurant Steve recommended called Tavern at Croton Landing. On the way back we met a young boating couple,  James and Kayley and baby Jane,  who plan to do the Loop in the future. 

On Wednesday, June 24, we drove with Sue and Lance who had rented a car, to  nearby West Point Military Academy and Army Post. The Army has been at this location since 1780 during the Revolutionary War. We started out at the Visitors Center which is a museum in itself and then a bus took us on to the post and the Academy. We toured Trophy Point and saw the huge links of chain that were part of a chain stretched across to Constitution Island to keep the British ships back. Our guide, as he pointed to the island where the chain would have been, also mentioned a white farm house  where 2 unmarried sisters once lived, one of which wrote the song "Jesus Loves Me" among other songs and books they wrote. These sisters,   Anna and Susan Bartlett Warner, held Bible Studies for West Point cadets. Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the last cadets to attend their class. Also at this location (Trophy Point) is the Battle Monument, a memorial to the Army soldiers in the Civil War. 

We also toured the Plain where all of the marches take place for the Cadets and our guide pointed out several statues of famous West Point Graduates. We saw the superintendents house (Notice the Go Army Beat Navy printed on the porch). We saw the old chapel and the large newer chapel, and several famous gravestones of graduates including General Custer. 

After the tour we ate lunch at Westy's near the post and then we stopped at the 100-year-old Croton masonry dam. The dam and views were stunning. After a rest back at the boat we drove to the Culinary Institute for dinner! Sue was able to snag a reservation to the Italian restaurant there. The restaurants are run by the students and the food was amazing! The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is located in Hyde Park overlooking the Hudson with beautiful views. 

On Thursday, June 25 we left Croton-on-Hudson Half Moon Bay Marina for Marlboro Yacht Club on the other side of the Hudson. On the way it was fun to see West Point from the water!  We saw many other beautiful sights on the Hudson on the way there, including Bannerman Castle on an island, and Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh.  Marlboro Yacht Club is an all volunteer club and the people couldn't have been nicer. They helped us dock, showed us around, and took our photo by our boat. The best part was they had a pool where we spent time all afternoon since the temperature was in the 90s. On Friday, June 26 our next stop was Catskill, New York to an older marina called "Hop O Nose".   On the way we passed Poughkeepsie which has the longest pedestrian bridge, 1.2 miles,  which was converted from an old railroad bridge. We also saw the Culinary Institute up on the hill, and caught a glimpse of the Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Site. We saw three different old lighthouses on the water; Saugerties, Rondout, and Esopus Meadows.  In Catskill, we walked around the town where we saw lots of painted cat statues. We stopped at an old house with a cellar bar called Captain Kidd's Inn. The house itself was built in 1797 and is where president  Martin Van Burn was married in 1807. Later we had dinner at Creekside Restaurant where the food was excellent and reasonably priced! Back by the boats we had a bonfire with wood supplied by the marina. 

On Saturday, June 27, still working our way up the Hudson we stopped in New Baltimore at Donovan's Shady Harbor Marina. On the way we saw beautiful views of the distant Catskill Mountains, the towns of Hudson and Coxsackie, and another lighthouse Hudson-Athens.  Shady Harbor Marina has it all: great ship store, laundry, showers, pool with a bar, fire pit with movie screen, and an excellent restaurant called Boathouse Grille. The staff are all very friendly and they even had donuts and coffee in the mornings. I was able to catch up on laundry and sit at the pool at the same time due to the proximity of the laundry room next to the pool. We had a wonderful dinner at the Boathouse Grille. They also have great Harbor Hosts who previously did the Loop.  Diane and Bob  gave us great information and even made us a placemat with her artwork on it. Eric and Karen emailed us great guides for the Erie Canal and the Trent-Severn in Canada. Our next part of the journey will be to finish the Hudson In Troy and start the Erie Canal and we will spend America's 250th in Brewerton, New York on Oneida Lake.  Stay tuned and Happy 250th Birthday to America!