First, I went on a kayaking trip with my club. We left around nine and crossed the river, then paddled up to Edgewater. The tide was good so we pressed on, into points previously unexplored by me. We went under the George Washington Bridge, past a little playground, parking our boats on a thin sliver of a beach on the north end of a riverfront park.
Passing under the bridge was an awesome, as in awe-inspiring, process. First of all, it's big. It's a huge, double-decked bridge. Second of all, it's high. When you're sitting literally on the surface of the water, it is practically another natural artifact, like the palisade cliffs. Finally, there's the noise. There's traffic - trucks, cars, and (oddly) visible bicyclists, but there's also the wind, breezing down the Hudson and suddenly split in two by this giant bridge.
When we got out, we just hung around and snacked. There was no real food so we were limited to the trail mix and fruit and water we'd brought along. The view was gorgeous. We could see the Goldman building in Jersey City, the Empire State Building, the entire riverside of Manhattan, the Cloisters, and points north.
Coming back, we crossed above the bridge, which is unusual because the river's a bit wide there. We passed the little red lighthouse - a landmark Ive heard of but never seen. It's a small, two-story tall, narrow lighthouse under the Manhattan side of the bridge, sitting like a bright bolt of thread against the rocks and marshy growth at the base of the bridge's tower. We gave it a fair clearing due to Coast Guard regulations.
Coming back was quick, a bit hard at first due to some eddies around the bridge, but once we were clear, the current carried us quickly. You could see by the time we got to the boat basin at 79th street. We were strung out, so I had us stop and wait, and even without paddling we drifted about twenty yards per minute.
After we got back, we put everything away, I showed and changed, then got lunch and ate in Central Park.
One of the things I wanted to do this weekend was visit a park up in Inwood. The pastor at my church mentioned it in a recent sermon, including the fact that it had the only remaining natural forest in Manhattan. I took the 1 train up to 207th street. It was like another world - el barrio - as I walked a few blocks uphill to the park's entrance.
The long trip was well worthwhile. There are a few baseball parks that ive way to a salty marsh; the Harlem river laps at the boundary. Walking further out and through the forest, you can see a giant C painted on the Bronx-side cliffs, and you can see a smaller bridge connecting Manhattan to the Bronx. Around the corner is a railroad bridge, much lower and closer to the river. The paths wind over the rails and into a park on the river front. I walked past numerous baseball games, and realized many of the events were promoting a local politician.
It was a long, hot day in the sun. I am happy to be back home for the evening.
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