The drive to the Hudson Marina started out bright and sunny, but as we approached the Rip Van Winkle Bridge it got very foggy. By the time we reached the marina and began boarding the Spirit of the Hudson, the sun started to burn off the fog allowing the blue sky to appear, promising a beautiful day. With lines cast off, the Spirit pulled away from the dock and headed for Hudson Athens Lighthouse. This would prove to be the shortest trip to a lighthouse I think we’ve ever had. On arrival, about 10 minutes after leaving the dock, we were greeted by NELL member and Hudson Athens volunteer Bob Taylor and the rest of the friendly volunteers from that lighthouse. Splitting into two groups, the first group made their climb up the ladder and into the lighthouse while the second stayed on the boat and had some more coffee and took pictures.

We had two very special members on board, Marguerite MacDonald and her friend, Ken Miller. It was truly a pleasure to see them make the long climb up the ladder to the lighthouse and then to the lantern room. I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say it did my heart good to see them both on board and making those climbs which they did all day at each light.

Keeping in mind the day we had scheduled and the time constraints we were facing, it was necessary to board the lighthouse and speed up group one so group two could make the climb, allowing us to get on our way.

With both groups finished climbing and buying their souvenirs, we headed for Saugerties Lighthouse. That being the longest leg of the trip, we sold our 50-50 raffle tickets and sat back to enjoy the foliage on the banks of the Hudson River.

Arriving at Saugerties, the captain had the 2^nd group disembark first while he took everyone else to the Coast Guard station to pick up our hot lunch. Our lunch consisted of a baked 1/2 chicken, baked ziti, meatballs, salad, assorted cheeses, crackers and finger sandwiches with cookies for dessert. No one had to go hungry on this trip. The food was very good, and as you can see, plentiful.

Next stop was Kingston Roundout Light. With the Spirit fighting the current all the way, time started to run out for our visiting Esopus Meadows. So, on arrival at Kingston, we had to pick up the pace in order to allow us the time to get to Esopus Light. With pictures taken and everyone back aboard, we cast off the lines once again and steamed south on the Hudson towards Esopus. As we arrived we were informed by the captain that we couldn’t circle it due to very shallow water on the west side of the light. Because of the lack of docking facilities we were unable to climb and had to be satisfied with viewing and picture taking from the boat.

Steaming back towards Kingston to disembark and board the 2 coach busses that would take us back to our cars at the marina, the 50-50 raffle ticket was drawn with Ron Bandock winning the $167.00 dollars.

Arriving at the dock in Kingston we saw some old wooden antique tug boats and one even had a psychedelic paint job. Along with the tugs there were two WWII PT boats. An interesting end to a very nice day. We then boarded the busses and drove off into the sunset.



Thanks to Tom Kenworthy for the following photos: