Mother Daughter European Vacation

I had an amazing time exploring London, Madrid and Barcelona with Melaina.  We did a lot of walking, sight seeing, tasting local foods and drinks.

Next, Ken and I are taking the train to Manhatten to explore the big city.  Then, heading south toward the ICW.

Home port

This is where we are anchored for a few weeks until Paula returns from Europe.  The days are long with high heat and humidity and occasional thunderstorms.  One thunderstorm blew through with 63 mph winds.  Our boat went sideways with the wind, waves and rain.

New York!

After leaving Cape May we had smooth sailing up the NJ coast for a stop over in Atlantic City. The next day was long, over 70 nautical miles (12 hours of ocean sailing) to rest on anchor at Sandy Hook, NJ. We had a rough crossing into NY Harbor with overcast weather, lots of boat traffic (freighters, ferries, tugs, and power boats crossing our path every which way).  We were in awe to see the massive buildings looming from the sea. Here our some pics of what we saw, with a little help from the internet.

 Atlantic City.  The NJ coast was all sandy beaches.  Beach goers would back their cars and SUV's to the shore and camp out for a day at the beach.  There were lots of large resorts and mansions lining the shore.

 The Statue of Liberty in all of her glory.  It was amazing to see this icon from our boat.

New York is huge.  We feel so small and simple in our little sailboat.

Our next plan is to cruise up the east river and anchor in Port Washington for awhile.  Paula will be flying to London on the 18th to meet daughter, Melaina.  They will be traveling to Spain to explore Madrid and Barcelona.  Ken will remain on Kiva, probably doing boat projects. When Paula returns, we will really explore NY.

New Jersey shore

Our home at Bert Jabin Marina while working on the boat.

Passing under the William P, Lane Bridge in the Chesapeake Bay.

Ken at the helm.

Sunset at Swan Creek anchorage.

Nice tat.

Sailing selfie.

Cute Cape May, NJ.

Our berth at South Jersey Marina for a night.

Signs of the cruising life.

Tomorrow we will leave Cape May to head up the Jersey Coast.  It should take us 3 days at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, with 2 rest stops, to reach Sandy Hook which is the northern tip of NJ. It took 7 days of anchoring and marinas to get to NJ from Annapolis.  Only had one scare on a windy, rolly anchorage where we were taking on water.  We had to pull anchor and head back up the C&D Canal to find shelter and fix the problem.  We are working out the kinks as we go but loving the cruising life!