Monday – Tuesday, June 24 – 25, 2019
It was a beautiful sunny morning with a few wispy clouds in the sky as we left Croton-on-Hudson, NY. There was a slight breeze blowing with temps in the 60s – we couldn’t ask for anything better! We went across and up the river a bit to Haverstraw, NY, to fuel up and buy some sanitation hose. (Brian needed this to fix our new head so it could flush, very important!) By 10:40am we were on our way for the day!
We went under the 4th bridge across the Hudson River, formerly the Bear Mountain Bridge, renamed in 2018 to the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge. It opened in 1924 connecting Anthony's Nose (a peak at the north end of Westchester County) on the east side and Fort Clinton on the west side. We also went by Highland Falls and then West Point. It took nearly a half-hour to go by all of West Point’s grounds which are tremendously impressive! (See photos)
The Hudson River is really quite beautiful with the palisades, and tree-lined banks. There are commuter trains on the east bank the entire way to New York City. The west bank’s trains appeared to be more freight oriented, though we wouldn’t be surprised if there were also passenger trains – just not the number and frequency we observed on the east bank.
The fifth bridge over the Hudson River is the Newburg-Beacon Bridge that opened in 1963. As with the George Washington Bridge, it included a second level that was completed in 1980. This bridge was renamed (in 1997) to the Hamilton Fish Newburg-Beacon Bridge. It’s interesting that although bridges have been renamed, all the locals we spoke with still refer to them with the original name.
Between Poughkeepsie, NY, on the eastern shore, and Highland, NY, on the western shore of the Hudson River, there were two more bridges to go under (numbers 6 & 7). The first was the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which opened in 1930, for vehicles and pedestrians. The second was originally a Railroad bridge for 85 years (1889 – 1974), that was eventually turned into the “Walkway over the Hudson” bridge in 2009.
So, if you add it all up, along 73 miles of the Hudson River, there are only seven places to get across it. (Within NYC, the tunnels provide more crossing points, but once beyond Manhattan, only a few bridges!)
As we neared Rondout Creek, the entrance to Kingston, NY, we came upon two interesting lighthouses. The first was the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse which began operating in 1872. Currently owned and operated by the US Coast Guard, it is the last wooden lighthouse on the Hudson River and is only accessible by boat. The second was the Rondout Creek Light(house) built in 1915 (the 3rd one built on the sight), but in 1954 the light was automated and the house was abandoned. The Rondout Lighthouse is in the process of being restored by the historical society in Kingston.
The Kingston City Marina’s surroundings seemed to be all aflutter as we drew closer about 4pm. While tying up to the dock, we noticed a couple of helicopters nearby and lots of people hanging around and looking up. We learned that a movie was being filmed right there at the old Rondout Bridge, which goes over the creek right next to the marina. This 85ft high bridge opened in 1921, but is only used by local traffic now, ever since a new highway bridge was built close-by. On the north bank were a couple of helicopters (one with “NYPD” on its sides) and a couple of small tent-like structures. According to the Daily Freeman (a Kingston daily newspaper), it is an HBO production starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant and will be called “The Undoing.” Wow – that’s pretty cool! We saw a couple of guys (stunt doubles?) standing by the bridge's railing, one was on it like he was about to jump! All sorts of movie tents were set up further down the bridge and a big camera boom was moving around for different shots. Brian saw one of the helicopters on the bank suddenly take off and fly under the bridge. By sundown, everything had been picked up and the bridge was empty.
The next morning (June 25th, Happy Birthday to Brian!) was rainy, so no filming was done. The sky began to clear around noon, so we went to the Hudson River Maritime Museum (Brian got his first senior discount, $2 off the entrance fee) which had a lot of interesting Hudson River history. We stopped for drinks and an excellent appetizer at the “Ole Savannah” restaurant, then did a little walking around town. After a quick dinner nearby, we called it an early night so we could be ready to leave in the morning.