October 29, 2005 - Lobster Run
I've been wanting to fly to Maine in the fall for the past couple of years but was always cancelled by weather.  I finally made it!  I took off Friday from work and headed out to the airport.  Friday's weather looked good, although Saturday up in Maine looked a little iffy.  I decided to go for it.  It was just me.  I intended to bring a cooler for the lobster, but it wouldn't fit in the Citabria.

Here I'm just about to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey.  The skies were a little overcast but the visibility was great.

I stopped at Millville airport in southern New Jersey to get breakfast at the Flight Line Restaurant.   I ordered the P-47 omelet.  Huge portions.  I ate as much of it as I could because I knew it would be my last meal until I ate dinner in Maine.  Few airports have restaurants and it's hard to know where they are when you are going cross-country into the unknown.
I cut across New Jersey to the shore, then turned north and flew up the Jersey Coast.  That's Atlantic City dead ahead.  Not too many people on the beaches.  
There are stretches of the beach that are unpopulated.  Those small dark squares are pickup trucks.  Their owners are surf-fishing. 
The Jersey Coast ends at Sandy Hook, followed by Lower New York Bay.  It's hard to see in this picture, but you can see the New York city skyline dead ahead.  And luck is with me, the skies have cleared enough to let some sun through. 

As you might imagine, with three major airports -- JFK, La Guardia and Newark -- New York City has some serious airspace restrictions.  But amazingly, you can fly up the Hudson River as long as you stay below 1100 feet.  

There were lots of big ships like this all over the place. 
Approaching the Verrazano Bridge, connecting Staten Island with Brooklyn.  Upper New York Bay is on the other side.  The Statue of Liberty is straight ahead with Manhattan on the back right.
The Statue of Liberty.  To the right of the Lady is Ellis Island.  I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately.  There were helicopters all over the place, plus a couple of fixed wing transiters like myself.  You really had to keep your head on a swivel.  From this point on, the transit was an unreal experience.  It was just overwhelming, everywhere you looked was a spectacular sight.  Plus looking for traffic and keeping an eye on altitude. 
Manhattan.  What can you say? 
Unreal.
 
The Empire State Building.  Like anyone needs to be told. 
The U.S.S. Intrepid which is now a floating museum. 
They have a nice selection of aircraft on deck including an SR-71 and an F-14 Tomcat.  Plus the Concorde to the left.   I'll have to visit the Intrepid someday.
Traveling up the Hudson.  The George Washington Bridge is up ahead. 
That forested area is Central Park. 
Looking back at Central Park.  It's a big park. 
Flying over the George Washington Bridge.  I don't usually fly this close to bridges but I have to stay below 1,100 feet so I have no choice. 
 
On the left are these rock cliffs. 
I continued up the Hudson because I wanted to see West Point, home of the U.S. Military Academy.  You can see why they named it West Point.  (Point of land on the West side). 
A good shot of West Point.  It really isn't very big;  smaller than the Naval Academy, which I wouldn't say is big.  I bet it's a beautiful place in a few weeks during peak foliage. 
After West Point, I turned East-Northeast.  There were some nice cumulous clouds not to far above me so I climbed and cloud surfed for awhile. 
I stopped for gas at this little airport called Great Barrington which is in the southwest corner of Massachusetts.  Nice, friendly airport. 
 
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