Croton-on-Hudson ended up being a great stop. The marina was just okay with few amenities–no fuel, pumpout was self-service and inconveniently located, no laundry (1 mile away and $3.50 a load!), a pool on-site but only available to people who live in the attached condo village. But the location was fantastic. There was an Enterprise a short walk away, walking trails for miles in either direction, restaurants not very far away, and the train station was 1.4 miles from our slip.

We rented a car one day so we could make the short drive to West Point to join up, er, take a tour with our buddy boaters, Jill and Kevin. The bus tour was a great overview of a great institution. We learned about some of the traditions, the history, and that Coach K went to West Point. All of us felt very patriotic after our visit, though I think we all agreed getting up at 5:15 am for PT was not a stellar selling point and thus ended our contemplation of a potential career change.

Before returning the car, we went grocery shopping and to do laundry. The laundromat charged $3.50 for the washer and 25 cents for 6 minutes of drying time. I wish we had used the car to take a peek at the nearby waterfall.

My birthday was on Sunday, and my birthday present from Owen was tickets to see The Music Man on Broadway. We had this planned for, oh, I don’t know, since we first heard the announcement that Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster were doing the show together YEARS ago. Covid delayed and delayed again their show, but we were determined to see it. We were so excited to go.

The day before the performance (and the day after the Tony Awards, where they both appeared to be PERFECTLY FINE!), we received an email that Hugh Jackman had Covid and would be replaced by his no-name understudy. We were offered a full refund for our tickets. We were bummed, but we took the refund and decided we would see another show instead.

Well, none of the other shows we hadn’t already seen jumped out at us, so we took another look at The Music Man. We found tickets in the row in front of our previous seats for 60% of the price of our refunded tickets! We decided the understudy was probably at least 60% as good as Hugh Jackman. He turned out to be fantastic, and by the end of the show, we thought, “Hugh who?” The no-name understudy’s name is Max Clayton, and he was a great Professor Harold Hill.

So, anyway, the trip from Croton-on-Hudson to Grand Central Station could not be easier. The tickets were $45 total for both of us, round trip. The train station was just over a mile from the marina. Someone probably would have given us a ride if we asked, but it was an easy walk. We were dumped off right at Grand Central Station, which made for an easy walk to the Morgan Library, which Owen wanted to see, and Times Square.

When the show was done, we went to an Irish pub and ate nachos. Nachos at an Irish pub. That’s how we roll.

Then we hopped back on the train at 11-something at night. An hour later, we were back in Croton-on-Hudson. It was a good deal and an easy way to get to the City without having to pay the marina prices involved with staying so close to the action.

The past few times we’ve been to New York, it was in 24-36 hour visits, and that’s just how we like it. We do something different each time, and over the years we’ve managed to hit the major tourist things. You’re not going to see everything, but pick a few things you want to do and you won’t be disappointed.

Unless Hugh Jackman gets Covid. (Just kidding. The replacement really was good!)