On the Roaring Raritan River with Jim & Gail

Saturday was very cool for mid-August, but perfect for an all-fishing, non-swimming day on the boat! We drove on down to Edison to meet Jim and Gail at the Raritan River Boat Club and set off. I have had very limited exposure to the waterways of the New York area, so this was a real treat. My Uncle Arthur used to have a boat off of Massapequa and my dad swam in the East River as a child, but that's about it.

The boat club was a location for The Sopranos twice: once when the detective jumps off the Route 1 Bridge, and once when one of Junior's crew as rubbed out. Along the Raritan River we passed some fantastic non-HBO-televised sights... from the wrecked yacht of the shah of Iran and the sinking ferry boat from Staten Island to impressive power plants and the expanding Garden State Parkway bridges, it's a place of true urban river beauty.

Much of the land just off the river used to be landfill, and some of it still is, but most have been reclaimed by the wildlife that used to own this land: fox, deer, osprey & egret. We were not too successful with the fishing, pulling in only a sea robin and tiny fluke. Honestly, I felt better about leaving all of the wildlife in place. More for next time!

We had a great time just relaxing on the boat, enjoying the weather, company and beverages. Late afternoon we drove into a marina for some food and steady land. The place had the biggest shrimp I've ever seen! The steamers and French onion soup were also top notch.

We had a great day, and there are plenty of great photos of the day and the awesomely cool sunglasses that I was wearing. Take a look here.

No really, there are heaps of great photos, so please take a look.