June 26 – Tuesday
Departed the anchorage about 7:30 bound for Kingston, NY and some marina that would allow a walk-about and a good cleaning of the boat to remove the salt coating we picked up along the Jersey coast. The weather was HHH but as we approached West Point the sun shone thru the haze to give the view of the U.S. Military Academy and the bluffs below it a faint glow. Except for the heat the passage was uneventful and we entered Rondout creek at 2:00PM just like the GPS kept telling us all morning long. Based on info in the cruising guide and also a web site we had checked out, “Hide Away” Marina seemed like a good choice based on it’s location and description of services so we had phoned ahead for reservations. When we hailed, John the owner / manager advised us to continue up this abandoned canal to the end and he would be there to assist with docking. He was, and when I spotted him and the facilities I swear I could hear the theme music from the movie Deliverance. It was too bad that “Hide Away” marina wasn’t better hidden from us when we were making the choice. Contrary to the guide, he only dealt in cash or reluctantly, checks. After we got FLIGHT squared away I went to the office to check in and found John planted in an old barber chair under an awning in front of the building with a big fan blowing across his ample plus torso. The charge was $54. including electric & water. When I learned it was cash only, I found a fifty, ten, and 3 ones in my wallet and told John I would need change. It worked to my advantage that he was too lazy to get off his fat ass for the change and settled for $53. The handing over of the $$$ was all that was involved in the registration process – no name, address, boat name or CG registration number required. Just $54. or as close as you could get. And oh yes, no key or combination needed for the bath house either, since the lock broke a “while back”. All in all it worked for us but our friends on Renaissance had a problem with their electrical service (it blew the breaker when they turned on their A\C unit) and the water (there wasn’t any connected to the faucet at their dock so 250+ feet of hose would be needed). They abandoned “Hide Away” for the spiffy municipal dock we had passed on the way in – no problems there but not quite as colorful.
We walked to meet Kathy & Gregg at the nice restaurant (Mariner Harbor) near their new dock and had a great dinner. Polly had the special, lobster and clam bake but I went with Italian cuisine since the name of the family that owned the place was Guido – both dinners were excellent.
Another restful night thanks to the dual air conditioners aboard FLIGHT with plans for a very early departure to beat the heat – even though it meant we would miss the possibility of complimentary pastries and coffee that John might have been including with our stay package.