Today, we left New York City and started up the Hudson River.

Just for fun, we cruised down around Battery Park and up the East River and back to see New York City from the water. It was a nice flybridge day for that portion of the trip. Ann and her friend, Ian, who lives in New York City, were with us today.

We went under the Brooklyn Bridge with it's gothic looking stone arches.

Three landmark buildings in one view - the Empire State building on the left, the Chrysler Building in the middle and the U. N. on the right. Hard to see in the picture, it's much better in person. The Trump building is the tall black rectangle behind the U.N. Building on the right. Some say it's a detraction from the architecture here. This is as far up the East River as we went. We had been going against the wind up the East River and when we turned around, we were going back downriver with the wind, at the speed of the wind, so it was dead calm and sunny on the flybridge until we made the turn back up the Hudson.

After you leave the skylines of NYC behind, the Hudson valley is steep and verdant, populated with mansions sometimes, towns sometimes and just trees and nature where it's too steep to build roads and houses or where it is parkland.

And here's another view you really just had to be here to see in person..... it's the Hudson valleys on a turn in the river. There was a passing shower overhead and three levels of misty mountains shrouded in the distance presenting an image of sailing into a watercolor painting more than clear details, giving the feeling of being somewhere off in nature even though it's still a very populous area.

We're in Haverstraw, NY tonight and heading up the Hudson past Hyde Park tomorrow when we'll stop for a few days to see the area.