We leave Belmar, NJ, before noon and go back out the Shark River Inlet to the ocean and head north on a beautiful, clear, cool day past Sandy Hook and then enter the NY harbor. 
As we go under the Verrazano Bridge, one of the worlds longest suspension bridges, we go past Staten Island, NY, on the port side (left) and Brooklyn, NY, on the starboard. An old fort stands on the hill guarding the narrows. 
As we pass by the northern end of Staten island, the whole NYC skyline opens up in front of us. The Statue of Liberty (300 feet tall and on it's own Star Island) is directly in front of us on our port side with Ellis Island just behind. We motor to within 300 yards of the Statue of Liberty and are awed by the beauty of the statue and activity of the harbor. The tall buildings of the NYC financial district are on our starboard. We slowly motor north on the Hudson River on the Manhattan side and enjoy the sights.
Our marina is the Lincoln Harbor Marina located on the NJ side of the Hudson approximately 38th street (almost on top of the Lincoln Tunnel). 
Our view of NYC is spectacular, with the Empire State Building (now NYC's tallest) on 34 street, directly opposite across the Hudson from our marina. Many of Manhattan's tall buildings make up our view across the Hudson and our views are great both day and night. Our access to NYC is by the NY Waterway ferry just one block away from our marina and it is a short ride across the Hudson to the 38th street ferry terminal and free connecting buses.
Owen and Linda and Ron and Cathie have not been to NYC in a while and we make a list of things we want to do and check off almost all of them in three days. Our list includes seeing ground zero, going to the theater (we see Momma Mia), TV shows (we settle for a tour of the NBC studios as all the shows are on hiatus during 4th of July week), sightseeing tours (we do the Grey Line tours; some good guides; some not so good), we walk Wall Street, South Street Seaport and the battery. We take the ferry, train, bus, subway and horse drawn carriage through Central Park. We have a pastrami sandwich at Carnegie Deli. We walk a lot. We have a great time. We sleep well.
Dan and Katie and Ashley and Walker and Linda (their au pair from Holland) fly in from Florida and join us on Wednesday, July 4th, about 5pm for dinner aboard KOKOMO II. Ron and Cathie come back from more Manhattan touring about 6pm with lots of goodies to eat. They had been to Katz Deli on 14th street (where "Harry met Sally" and the famous "I'll have what she had" scene took place) and they bring another pastrami sandwich and a real NY cheesecake (very light and creamy).
We have planned our trip to NYC to be here during the fireworks show put on by Macy's which is regarded as one of the biggest in the country. The show is set to music (patriotic music of course, played by the Boston Pops) which is broadcast on the radio as the fireworks are shot into the sky. It begins to rain about 6pm as a front moves through the NY Harbor area and our view of the fireworks show seems in jeopardy. Radio says one of the area fireworks shows has been cancelled (Jones Beach on Long Island) but Macy's says they will shoot the fireworks rain or shine.
The rain begins to break about 7:45 and so we crank up KOKOMO II and head out into NY Harbor with all aboard to watch the show from the boat. We motor down the Hudson River, enjoying the sights, to the Statue of Liberty and hang around about 300 yards away in front of the statue and wait for the 9pm start. Fireworks are scheduled to be shot off opposite Macy's at 34th street and will be shot over the East river. Radio says East Side Drive to be closed to traffic and available for pedestrians so people can see the show from many vantage points all along the East River. We expect they can be seen from the Statue of Liberty area by looking up the East River past the Brooklyn bridge. As darkness approaches, we can see hundreds of boats waiting for the fireworks but they are mostly closer to the Brooklyn Bridge and north of the bridge. Our area only has a few boats and we are drifting with our running lights turned on, careful not to bump into each other. One more rain squall moves through about 8:45 but it is not very heavy and it seems to clear again.
Promptly at 9pm the fireworks show begins FROM THE NJ SIDE behind the statue of Liberty, and now we are very close to this spectacular show. The NJ show has BIG fireworks and lasts about 40 minutes. The Macy's show starts at 9:20 and now we can see both shows going at the same time. Our view of the Macy's show is very good but somewhat more distant. Hard to decide which we like better. NJ show is over about 9:40 and the Macy's show is over at 10pm promptly. 
We decide that this evening is definitely one we will remember for the rest of our lives. It is spectacular with the fireworks on both sides of us, the Statue of Liberty nearby and the NY and NJ tall buildings and bridges, with their lights on, framing the whole picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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