Today we went to to The Bronx Zoo. It’s a beautiful zoo, very green and spacious. We got up early to make sure we had the whole day there. We saw the sea lions performing a show for their feeding time. The biggest male was very close to us. He is quite a star! Then […]
Looking Down at Manhattan – The One World Observatory
Today was the day. It was sunny. The sky was clear. It was a weekday. The perfect day to go up to the top of New York’s tallest building! One World Trade Center (also known as One WTC, 1 World Trade Center, 1 WTC, or Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World […]
Gone to Governor’s Island
Today we met up with Carlijn in Downton Manhattan to take the ferry to Governor’s Island. The ferry ride was only 7 minutes, so we didn’t get seasick. A Leaky Boat Making it to the ferry had been quite an achievement that morning. We were just about to go, and already running late… Nowadays we […]
A Visit to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island – in Pictures
Walking to the ferry in Battery Park 
First glimpse of Lady Liberty from the harbour 
On the ferry 
Here we are! 
We walked around on the pedestal, taking shelter from the rain under her skirts… 
The view from just below her feet! 
Entering the museum, we spotted this friendly ranger. Zoë wanted to take a photo with him! 
This is a life-size copper model 
This was Lady Liberty’s original colour, before turning the weathered, oxidized green hue she has now 
The original torch was replaced in the 1980s. The metal flame she has now was actually in the artist’s original design 
Watching some short movies on a curved screen 
Statue of Liberty memorabilia… 
The kids enjoyed the audio tour. They had a kids’ version! 
Another life-size model, of her left foot this time! 
On the Liberty Island grounds, we spotted this small statue of Joseph Pulitzer 
After a short ferry ride, we arrived at Ellis Island. This is the famous registration room: first stop for immigrants coming to the US between 1892 and 1954 
In that time period, they processed more than 12 million immigrants 
At the far end this room, immigrants would enter a bunch of smaller room where they went through various tests and interviews – medical, legal etc. 
If you were allowed into the country, this was the last room: the place to buy train tickets! 
The view from the registration room. Many immigrants must have stood here, anxious about their fate
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
Today we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! It was hot, busy, and Beau kept asking why we didn’t just take the subway… Despite all this, we still had fun! The bridge is so iconic and beautiful, and the views were awesome. When we arrived the Brooklyn end, we headed for DUMBO. Not the flying elephant, […]
Our NYC Staycation – Road Trips Part 2
Our third little road trip from New York city would take us to Bear Mountain. We liked the name, and it’s a nature reserve so we imagined ourselves really going into the wilderness. We were pretty disappointed when we arrived to the queue for the car park… There was staff everywhere directing cars to available […]
Our NYC Staycation – Road Trips Part 1
We have been living in a real house the past 4 days! We are staying in our friend Carlijn’s apartment this week. She is staying in a friend’s apartment not too far from us. So we are all on staycation. The last time we did not sleep onboard Spacegrazer was one and a half years […]
Beat the Heat – Day at the Museum
Yesterday was one of the hottest days on record in New York. The temperature was forecast to reach 38C, but ended up being 43 in some spots in town. Our plan to beat the heat had been to spend the day inside the air-conditioned American Museum of Natural History. The museum is only 4 blocks […]
Living the High Life in NYC – Walking the High Line
Today we took the subway to Penn Station and walked to the High Line for an elevated stroll along the west side of downtown Manhattan. The High Line is a walking track, built on a disused train track. Their website explains it much better: The High Line is a public park built on a historic […]
A Day in Brooklyn
Today we rode the subway to Brooklyn. Destination: the Children’s Museum of Brooklyn. The kids played shop, pretended to run a pizza restaurant, built chairs and tried Mardi gras costumes. On the way home, it rained. We had a great time regardless.
Feeling Like a Normal Tourist – Taking the HOHO Bus in NYC
We have been sailing the world on Spacegrazer for more than 3 years now, so we do not consider ourselves tourists. No, we are intrepid travelers, adventurers, floating gypsies… Just call it something interesting. Being in a big city like New York though, we are behaving a lot like tourists. And that’s okay, because sightseeing […]
Arriving in New York City
We wanted to be in New York City for Fourth of July, and we made it! Entering the Manhattan area was pretty exciting. We were all on deck, lifejackets on, camera ready. After sailing under the Verrazano Bridge, we could make out more and more of the famous skyline. A tiny Statue of Liberty also […]
Life’s a Beach in Barbuda
Barbuda is one of the most beautiful places we have seen in the Caribbean so far. There are miles of pristine beach – quiet, clean and with the most amazing colours. The first day we spent anchored near Coco Point. We had been told to look out for the wild horses that roam around the […]
Gathering in Guadeloupe
Arriving in Guadeloupe and its little outlying islands, Les Saintes (or The Saints), we had to check into France again. I like the French islands because I get to polish up my high-school French, and, more importantly, we get to stock up on amazing cheese, wine and fresh baguettes and pains au chocolat. Our first […]
Dominica Days – Portsmouth
We would have loved to stay in the bay of Roseau a bit longer and do more hiking and exploring, but the swell was uncomfortable and we had enough of rolling around in our beds at night! So, we cast the lines off of our mooring buoy, said goodbye to our awesome guide Mr. Beanz, […]
Dominica Days – Roseau
Dominica is beautiful. One of our guidebooks said that if Christopher Columbus would sail around the Caribbean now, he would probably only recognise Dominica. Unspoilt nature is what makes this such a fantastic island. Dominica is also the only Caribbean island to have a surviving population of Carib Indians. The Carib Territory is an area […]
Piñata Party – Kai and Zoë turn 6
Kai and Zoë are now 6 years’ old! When we moved aboard they were 3. A lot has happened in that time. We have adopted a new birthday tradition from our friends on Mrs. Chippy: piñatas! Since we generally cannot buy them underway, we made our first piñata ourselves this year: a red Angry Bird. […]
Cumberland Bay – Saint Vincent
Bye Bye in Bequia In Bequia we had said goodbye to our friends on Nikau. They have to travel faster than us, since they plan to go through Panama Canal and sail their boat all the way back to New Zealand. It has been amazing hanging out with this cool family. They make fantastic videos […]
Beaching it in Bequia
No we did not beach Spacegrazer anywhere, luckily. But we did go to the beach a lot, and when we did, we beached our dinghy. So there you have it: the island of Bequia (pronounced Beck-way) is good for that. Beaching it baby! I had actually never heard of Bequia before sailing to it. Reading […]