Page 69 of Smuggler's Cove
“I guess we’ll find out.” Lincoln paid the crew member for their tickets. “Three round-trip tickets, please.”
The interior of the boat looked like a 747 jet, with rows and rows of seats, and two aisles that ran between the rows and the booths along the windows. A service bar was in the middle.
“This is much more civilized than I imagined.” Madison was used to seeing the small shuttle ferries from Weehawken to the West Side of Midtown that took ten minutes. This boat could accommodate over a hundred passengers and crew and looked extremely comfortable. They found an empty booth on the port side, where they could view the Statue of Liberty as they left the harbor. A few miles south, they would pass under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Once they were settled, an announcement was made about safety and life jackets. It went on to advise the passengers that the upper deck was open, and please proceed with caution. Madison was sitting backwards and marveled at the receding city skyline. “How did I not know about this?” She craned her head to get a better look.
“Maybe because you never had the need to use this mode of transportation.” Lincoln was also impressed.
“And it only takes forty minutes. Amazing.”
Twenty minutes later, they were under the great bridge that connected Staten Island to Brooklyn. A crew member stopped as he passed them. “It’s a beautiful day if you want to go aloft. It can be a little breezy, but the view is awesome.”
Lincoln chuckled. “I guess we look like tourists, eh?”
“I overheard you guys when you came aboard.” He grinned and continued to the bar area.
“What do you think?” Olivia asked. “Shall we be tourists?”
“You guys go ahead. I’m just going to hang out here,” Madison said.
Once the boat was past the bridge, a small area of water opened to the sea. They were crossing the harbor and into Sandy Hook Bay. Madison got up from her seat and moved to the other side of the ferry, where she could see the tip of Sandy Hook. Several minutes later, they were passing the Coast Guard Station, and she got a tickle of butterflies. Not from the motion of the boat, but the anticipation of seeing the captain again. If they signed the lease for the house, he was going to be the first person she planned to call. She was rehearsing her story in her head about jetties, wharfs, and piers.
Olivia joined her as the boat continued along the shoreline of the park. Several minutes later, another announcement was made that they were arriving at the first stop, and all passengers were asked to remain in their seats. Madison was almost giddy.
A crew member made an announcement: “We will be arriving at our one and only stop, Highlands. Please remain in your seats until the boat has docked. Thank you and have a nice day.”
Madison and Olivia scurried back to their seats, and within a few minutes, the boat was docked. The three were impressed at how easy it was to get to their destination. No tunnels, no traffic.
As they walked down the dock toward the parking lot, they spotted the white Cadillac and a middle-aged woman wearing a red blazer. “That must be her,” Lincoln said, and waved.
Irene greeted them with a big “Hello! Welcome to the best-kept secret on the shore. I’m Irene. You must be Lincoln.”
“I am.” Lincoln smiled and held out his hand. “And this is my sister, Madison, and my wife, Olivia.”
“Very nice to meet you all. Such a shame about Kirby. He was a fine man. And how dreadful about that person they found. A treasure hunter, I heard.”
Apparently, news traveled extremely fast in the small community.
Irene went on, “This place is steeped in history, from the first Dutch settlers to the fort, the lighthouse, and Marconi’s telegraph.” She opened the doors for her passengers. “We’ll go past some of it.”
Irene started the engine and began the short drive to Portland Road. They turned on a street named Water Witch. Irene went on to explain, “It’s named after an inn featured in James Fenimore Cooper’sThe Water-Witch.”
Madison was taking in the scenery when she spotted a large brick structure with two lighthouses on each side on the top of a hill. “Is that the lighthouse you were referring to?”
“Yes. Built in 1746 by the New Jersey Militia to warn New York of incoming warships. The twin lights were completed in 1828. Marconi set up a kite-shaped receiver that enabled transmission from ships offshore, creating the first wireless means of communications.”
“You are an impressive wealth of knowledge,” Lincoln said.
“There is also a museum up there. It’s quite well done. There you can see one of the bivalve Fresnel lenses—the lens used in lighthouses that produce light that shines far and through fog. And, if you don’t have creaky knees like me, you can climb inside one of the towers all the way to the top.”
“How high is it?” Madison inquired.
“Sixty-four steps to the observation deck in the north tower, and sixty-five in the south.” Irene made a quick turn to a winding driveway. “It’s not bad, but my knees get cranky.” She parked the car in the best spot to view the terrain.
Everyone got out of the car and exclaimed how spectacular the views were. “They were quite right in their description,” Lincoln said.
“It’s breathtaking,” Madison echoed her brother’s sentiments.
