August 22-24                   Fairhaven, Massachusetts

David departed early for Boston and then on to Texas.  I enjoyed breakfast on the aft deck and looking across the harbor at the lovely homes hugging the shore.  I was eager to see more of Fairhaven but decided to take care of other matters first.  With internet connections, I am able to receive notice of bills due and pay them online.  I also needed to correspond with friends.

The boat badly needed washing by a professional with the tools and ability to reach areas I could not.   I walked to the dock office and left word to have such a person contact me.  Steve Tucker arrived shortly after lunch and immediately began working.  It quickly was apparent that he knew how to wash large boats. I learned a lot from watching him.  Five hours later he stopped but promised to return the next day and finish the job.  He started again before nine the next morning and worked another five hours.  The boat sparkled when he finished.  It was great to meet someone who really took pride in their work, charged a fair price, and did what was expected.

Tuesday was a lovely cool day and I rode my bicycle around the neighborhood before stopping at the small Visitors Center in the downtown area.  I was just in time for the daily tour and the only person present.  My guide, a young volunteer, was very knowledgeable and articulate.  We took an hour and half walking tour of the buildings and sites related to Henry Huddleston Rogers.  Mr. Rogers, a Fairhaven native, who returned to live there after amassing an enormous fortune as an executive with Standard Oil, was extraordinarily generous with his hometown.  His favorite architect, Charles Brigham was not bound by budgets.  He had carte blanche to spend funds for expensive design and details that makes Fairhaven a destination for architectural buffs.

 Rogers Elementary School was built in 1885, electrified in 1890, and is still in use today.  It is French Gothic in design and when it was built, incorporated the latest features in education.  The Millicent Library, an Italian Renaissance style structure with large stained glass windows and terracotta reliefs referencing literature and science, was named for Rogers’ deceased daughter and dedicated by his friend, Mark Twain.  The massive Town Hall (1894) is built of red granite in French Gothic style and still houses many municipal offices.  The interior features beautiful oak paneling, solid brass fixtures, and leaded stained glass windows.  The magnificent auditorium on the second floor has been the scene of many meetings and events including appearances by Mark Twain.  All were gifts from Henry Huddleston Rogers.  In addition, he was responsible for the construction of a Masonic Temple, a large Tudor style hotel, presently a nursing home, and a beautiful park in an area where once existed a stagnant pond.

Rogers, who had a high regard for education, gave Fairhaven a magnificent high school, still in use, which is an architectural triumph.  Opened in 1906, the school is of Elizabethan design with spires, leaded glass windows, marble floors, oak paneling, and stained glass.  It incorporated the latest in educational innovations and included the nation’s first indoor basketball court.

Our tour included walking through the grounds of Rogers’ most expensive and impressive gift to Fairhaven, the Unitarian Memorial Church.  With a 165 foot spire, this English Gothic cathedral-style building is a landmark to everyone in the area.  Built of gray granite from a local ledge, it is ornamented with carved stone figures and images.  The magnificent bronze doors are beautifully detailed and held multiple depictions of prominent figures in science and religion.  I noted a tour of the interior was available on Thursday and I immediately made plans to attend.

 The weather on Wednesday was exceptionally beautiful.  I enjoyed a lengthy bike ride through the neighborhoods and Fort Phoenix State Park, bordering the bay. Many homes bore plaques indicating they were built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  Most were spacious structures with beautiful cornices, moldings, and other architectural details that reflected the wealth of their owners.  As most of the homes were wood, they are today covered in vinyl siding, giving the exteriors an appearance of having been newly painted.  The lawns were mostly unfenced and landscaped with masses of impatiens, lilacs, hydrangeas, and hollyhocks.  Returning to the downtown area, I perused a needlework shop and a gift shop before having lunch at Pumpernickel’s, a local favorite.  Everyone I met was friendly and helpful.  Again, I realized how fortunate we were to have come to Fairhaven.

August 20-21                             Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Saturday we departed under blue skies for our journey across Nantucket Sound.  Many more boats had come into the harbor since our arrival.  Hundreds of mooring balls held boats of all sizes and types.  Launches were busy shuttling people back and forth.  Shortly after leaving the harbor, we saw a large group of racing sailboats, possibly the first of many more scheduled for this last day of Racing Week.

After several hours, we passed Martha’s Vineyard and ran into a squall that came suddenly with wind and blinding rain.  Fortunately, it lasted for only about ten minutes.  We turned on our new radar to detect any objects about us and discovered we had forgotten how to operate it.  By the time we found the manual and read the instructions, the rain had stopped and visibility was good again.  We are now prepared for the next squall!

By cruising through Woods Hole, we could save considerable distance and time.  This area is reputed to be treacherous because of the many rocks, narrow channel, and dangerous eddies.  We studied the charts, plotted our GPS, and entered the area with some trepidation.  Woods Hole is the home of the National Oceanographic Institute and Marine Biological Laboratory.  It is a beautiful area, isolated between Nantucket Sound and Buzzards Bay with the famous Nobska Light standing tall in the southern entrance to the channel.  Carefully following the markers, we avoided the rocks, held steady through the eddies, and emerged unscathed into Buzzards Bay for our northern heading to the New Bedford/Fairhaven area.

New Bedford Harbor, at the mouth of the Acushnet River, is entered through a massive stone hurricane barrier.  New Bedford is on the western shore and Fairhaven is on the eastern side.  Together, they hold more fishing vessels than anywhere else in the United States.  Our marina was located just past the barrier on the Fairhaven side.  We were assigned a great location, had excellent dock help, and were promptly invited to a marina party to be held later that evening.

The cool, sunny weather had brought many boat owners to the marina for the weekend and the dock party was well-attended.  One of the fishing boat captains, whose vessel was across the dock from us, brought freshly caught swordfish and grilled it for everyone.  Fabulous!  We also feasted on broiled chicken, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and a great assortment of salads and desserts.  Pirates Punch, a concoction made from chopped citrus fruits in vodka, was served with warnings that “it was strong enough to knock you off the dock.”  We had a lot of fun talking to others and learning about the area.

On Sunday, we took a taxi and went to the New Bedford Airport for a rental car which David would drive to Boston for his return trip to Fort Worth on Monday.  Our taxi driver proved to be a fount of information and we followed his recommendation for lunch.  Antonio’s, a local favorite for Portuguese cuisine, was a lovely, very clean family restaurant in a neighborhood that was obviously Portuguese and/or Hispanic.  All the food was very good but the steamed Littleneck clams were outstanding.   Apparently, Martha Stewart thought so, too, for she reportedly raved about them during a recent visit.

 Before lunch we had driven through the neighborhood  and stopped at the massive church of St. Anthony of Padua.  Constructed of hewn blocks of red granite with a towering spire, it sits in a working class area of multi-family homes and small businesses.  The front doors were open so we walked inside.  Mass had finished and the sanctuary was almost empty.  We were awed by the magnificent interior.  Great columns of simulated golden marble (an Italian process called scagliola) bore sculpted images of angels and saints more than six feet high.  The ceiling was frescoed with biblical scenes and there was a huge three-dimensional depiction of the Christ Child with St. Anthony at the end of the apse, surrounded by numerous pipes for the 1912 Casavant Frères organ.  Large stained glass windows, in the clerestory and on the main level, had multiple scenes from stories of Jesus and the Saints. It was a surprise to see such baroque splendor in New Bedford, an obvious reminder of the considerable prosperity of the area in times past.

Fairhaven is smaller and much more pleasant than its neighbor across the river.  There are many lovely private homes, large churches, spacious parks, and beautiful trees.  Fortunately, our marina is well-located and our bicycles can easily take us to nice restaurants and small shops.  I plan to use mine often to see more of Fairhaven while David is in Texas.

August 17-19                   Nantucket, Massachusetts

On our earlier visit more than fifteen years ago to the Cape Cod area, bad weather had prevented us from taking a ferry to Nantucket.  We were eager to go there and had spent considerable time trying to get reservations at Nantucket Boat Basin, the premier yachting capital of the Northeast.  Our trip had been planned to take advantage of available slip rental.  Nantucket is a fourteen mile island that more than doubles in population size each day throughout the summer. The marina had 240 slips and reservations are often made a year in advance.

Nantucket Harbor was a huge field of moored boats with the famous red-hulled lightship signaling the entrance.  We received excellent directions and easily found our slip.  Again, David docked without incident though the slip was narrow and the dock help was inexperienced.  A small crowd gathered to watch as he backed into the dock without hitting any side posts and stopping just before the swim platform came into contact with the dock.  All those years of docking in our slip at Eagle Mountain obviously gave him skills needed to do similar docking procedures of our much larger boat.  Few things are more embarrassing than failing to dock properly in front of other mariners.

We were in a great location—one block from an excellent grocery story, a chancellery, and numerous shops and restaurants.  We were in downtown Nantucket with its famed gray-shingled buildings and cobblestoned streets.  Declared a National Historic Site more than thirty years ago, Nantucket is an historical treasure with a famous Whaling Museum and numerous pre-Revolutionary War houses and buildings.  We were delighted that several previous America’s Cup sailboats were docked near us.  Since this was Race Week, boats were racing each day in the harbor with big events scheduled for the weekend.

On Thursday, we took the island bus for a tour and were fortunate to have an excellent guide.  We learned that the permanent residents are very reluctant to allow change and are extremely careful to protect the fragile ecosystem of this small place.  Most vacant land is in a land bank owned by the town of Nantucket and little land is available for developers.  Real estate prices are among the highest in the country.  Homes and buildings must be built or restored to comply with strict regulations.  It is extremely expensive to bring an automobile onto the island and most people come by boat, ferry, or plane.  Summer residents include such notables as Ralph Lauren and Bill Gates (we saw neither).

Our friends, Ann and Glenn Biggs, had insisted we contact their friends, Susan and Bill Boardman, who live in Nantucket.  We did so and they graciously invited us to their home.  We accepted with the proviso that they would join us for dinner to celebrate our fifty-seventh wedding anniversary (a few days early).  Bill and Susan moved here more than twenty years ago and restored a large home that was reportedly in terrible condition.  Their gray-shingled house near downtown is three storied with a friendship or double stairway leading to the front door.  On both sides of the entry are double parlors, each having two fireplaces (they have a total of ten). The walls are covered with magnificent murals painted by a local artist who has since moved to New York and been featured in several design magazines. The house was built in the 1790’s by a cooper on a whaling boat so it had a plain interior without grand moldings or mantles; however, the original floors remain and were beautiful—wide planked wood with a high polish. Furnished in fine American antiques and unusual decorative pieces, these rooms and the rest of the house are like something from Architectural Digest magazine.

Bill is a corporate attorney who works mainly in New York and commutes home.  Susan is an accomplished needlework artisan who has future commissions for more than four years for her work.  She showed us exquisite quilts on their three four-poster beds and framed wall pieces that were intricate, beautiful, and cleverly designed examples of needlework.  Her studio is a comfortable, second story room, with great light, comfortable furnishings, and working equipment, that she inhabits five hours a day with her terrier, Sukey. Many of her pieces have Nantucket themes but she also does personalized designs for clients.  Her works incorporate embroidery, appliqué, and quilting in tiny designs that must require considerable skill and time to execute. 

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant, America’s Seasons, and enjoyed a wonderful meal.  David had octopus salad with pork cheeks (sounds gross but he declared it to be fabulous) and crispy fluke for an entrée.  He is already planning to replicate the latter.  After dinner, we stopped by the house and had Sukey join us for the short walk back to the boat.  Although it was after eleven, the streets and restaurants were still occupied.  The cool weather was a great incentive to stay outside.  Bill and Susan toured the boat and said all the nice things that made us happy.  We reluctantly said goodnight to two wonderful people that we hope to see again many times.

The Nantucket Whaling Museum is on the list of l000 Places You Must See Before You Die and we spent most of the afternoon exploring the exhibits, listening to lectures, and marveling at the wonderful collection of artifacts.  With a 47 foot skeleton of a whale (washed ashore in 1997) hanging overhead, the enormous size of these mammals is evident and the task of the whaler becomes even more daunting. 

I especially enjoyed the wonderful displays of scrimshaw and other items made from whalebone.  Shifts, intricate and complex mechanisms to wind yarn into balls, were made of small strips of whalebone by sailors as gifts for their girlfriends or female relatives.  Some of the ones on display were beautiful works of art.  I was delighted to find in the gift shop a book featuring the work of Susan Boardman.  It will be a wonderful reminder of a lovely evening in a charming place with two delightful people.

        

August 14-16            Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

We were aware that our beautiful sunny weather was predicted to end soon so we planned to depart early for our voyage across Buzzard’s Bay to Martha’s Vineyard.  Small raindrops began to fall as we cruised through the hundreds of boats moored or docked in Newport Harbor.   Our bus tour had oriented us to specific places we were now able to identify: Fort McAdams, Hammersmith Farm (where JKF and Jackie were married), and some of the resort hotels.   The light rain ended, the sun emerged, and we had a lovely day to cruise to the island.  Unfortunately, just before we reached our destination, David noticed that once more our steering was not working properly.  He had to use the gears instead of the wheel to stay on course.

Vineyard Haven is the largest town on Martha’s Vineyard but there were only two small marinas that could accommodate us. Serendipitously, our second choice of a marina, The Black Dog, proved to be the best choice. Although very rustic, it was well-located and within easy walking distance of an excellent grocery store, shops, and transportation.  Every slip was occupied and we were assigned a face dock position between the protruding bow of a large yacht and another boat to our stern.  It was literally a parallel parking situation with only about ten feet for maneuvering.  To complicate matters more, a small wooden sailboat was moored in the middle of the narrow channel where we had to turn about and position the boat to move into our slip.  It was very tight and David had limited steering capacity.  I was nervous but he was calm and confident as he expertly turned about, missed the sailboat, and docked with incident.  Even the dockhands were impressed!

Vineyard Haven is a rustic village with many shops and houses covered in gray shingles.  Ferries are constantly coming in from the mainland and Cape Cod.  The streets were packed with visitors and the shops were filled with buyers.  We had another seafood lunch, replenished our supplies at the grocery, and returned to the boat to enjoy the harbor ambiance.

The next morning proved the weatherman to be correct.  Rain, rain, and more rain—with considerable wind.  At times, we could barely see across the harbor.  This was a great day to stay aboard.  I cleaned the boat and David made numerous phone calls.  We watched old movies and I finished my book.  We were grateful that the torrential rain would thoroughly clean all the accumulated salt from the exterior of the boat.

Tuesday was sunny again and we took the island bus to Edgartown, about six miles from Vineyard Haven.  Edgartown had grown considerably since we had visited there fifteen years ago.  It was apparent Edgartown is much more upscale than Vineyard Haven—more restaurants, finer homes, and more quality shops.  Most of the homes were white clapboard sided with dark green trim and were built in the eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries.  Hydrangeas, hollyhocks, and lilacs were blooming profusely and ancient trees shaded the brick sidewalks.  After perusing a few shops, we completed our walking tour of the town, ate a delicious lunch, and returned to the bus.

The Black Dog dock was a friendly place with boat owners exchanging stories and giving advice.  Many of the boats had children and dogs aboard and it was fun to watch them as they always seemed to be in constant motion.  We sat serenely on our aft deck and viewed the action.  There are some pluses to being older with the children grown and the dog dead.

Vineyard Haven is the home of the famous Black Dog franchise, whose logo, a black Labrador, appears on almost everything associated with Martha’s Vineyard.  Their main shop was at the entrance to our marina and was a mecca for tourists.  Little girls carrying stuffed black dogs and adults wearing T-shirts or carrying bags with images of a black dog were everywhere. The news reports this week stated that President Obama and his family would arrive Wednesday on Martha’s Vineyard for their annual vacation here.  David was pleased we would leave before his arrival but I reminded him that we would probably not be included in any of the same social events as the Obamas.

          

August 12-13                          Newport, Rhode Island

The short voyage from Wickford to Newport was easily accomplished and a scenic delight as we admired the many beautiful homes adorning the shores of Conanicut Island.  Newport Harbor was an awesome sight with hundreds of moored and docked boats and yachts.  We followed the channel route to the end of the harbor, the location of the venerable Newport Yacht Club, chartered more than 100 years ago.  We were fortunate to be assigned a face dock slip that gave  an unobstructed view of the busy scene on America’s Cup Drive, which bordered the waterfront.  The Newport Yacht Club lacks the elegance of the Annapolis Yacht Club but its location provides convenient access to the major attractions of the city.

After a brief walk, we returned to the boat and prepared for our expected guests. The weather was cool and pleasant so we placed appetizers and drinks on the aft deck and sat there waiting for their arrival.  Looking across the harbor, we saw four pedicabs coming toward us.  It was our Fort Worth guests who were arriving in style!  We were impressed.  It was delightful to see again Mary Clark, Kathy Spicer, Mary Ann Kleuzer, Sandy Barnes and Susie Boysen.  We were also pleased to meet three others, Lea Ann Blum, Julie Rosenthal, and Leslie Webb, who are part of this adventuresome group.  We spent more than two hours visiting and laughing before they departed.  The full moon on the harbor was mesmerizing and we returned to the bow to enjoy the magic of an incredible scene.

On Saturday morning, we left early to board the trolley for an overview tour of Newport.  We were fortunate to have an excellent guide and received considerable information about the fascinating history and residents of the city.  We lunched at Pier 22 on Bowen’s Wharf before I caught a bus to tour the Doris Duke mansion, Rough Point.  I had toured the famous mansions several times but not the Duke home, which only recently had opened to the public.

Doris Duke, a tobacco heiress whose enormous wealth allowed her to live a long life of incredible luxury, enjoyed buying homes and furnishing them with her diversified collections of furniture and art.  Rough Point was her family’s “summer cottage” and she inherited it and more than 80 million dollars when her father died shortly before her twelfth birthday.  She matured into an intelligent, educated, and disciplined person who accumulated wonderful things she wanted shared with others following her death.  She left her Newport and Hawaiian homes to her foundation with the stipulation that they be opened to the public.  She was a philanthropist who bought more than 90 colonial era homes in Newport, had them restored, and leased them to tenant-caretakers.  These homes are today a lovely neighborhood that showcases an important time in the history of Newport.

Rough Point remains very much as it was when Doris Duke died at age 80 about 10 years ago.  It is meticulously maintained and many items have been restored.  There are wonderful paintings by Auguste Renoir, Thomas Lawrence, Joshua Reynolds, Salvator Rosa, and many others.  The furniture and carpets are museum quality and the rock crystal chandeliers are magnificent (and clean!). A large silver swan by Tiffany held a beautiful floral arrangement.  Duke was so fond of this piece that she would take it with her when she left for another of her homes.  She owned ten large dogs which trailed after her.  Servants followed to be sure that all visible evidence of the entourage was removed. With unlimited wealth, she hired consultants who advised her as she constantly traveled throughout the world adding rare decorative art, paintings, and porcelains to her collections. With her private Boeing 737, she could easily transport her purchases.

 The acres of lawn were landscaped by Fredrick Law Olmsted, who took advantage of the rocky terrain overlooking the ocean to create an impressive setting for the Tudor style mansion that spreads across the highest elevation of the site. Walking through a narrow opening in a privet hedge, I was immediately surrounded by the fragrance of blooming white lilacs.  This hidden garden was the source for the lavish floral displays throughout the home.

Dinner was at The White Horse Tavern, the oldest establishment of its kind in this country.  Located only a few blocks from the harbor, it fills a two-storied “salt box” style structure, carefully maintained, with an excellent restaurant and a bar that is a favorite with local and visiting mariners.  Some thirty or so years ago, a group from Fort Worth, visiting Newport for the trials of the America’s Cup, became so enamored with The White Horse Tavern that they bought it and for many years prominently displayed a Texas flag in the bar.  Texans no longer own the tavern but the flag still hangs in the office.

We were delighted to see our Texas friends in the dining room and have another opportunity to talk with them.  They had visited the famous Newport mansions and were obviously having a great time seeing the sights, shopping, and enjoying each other’s company.  None were looking forward to returning home and temperatures of more than 100 degrees. We are planning to return to Newport for several days when we come back from Boston with Stephanie, Joe, Blake, and Amanda.

August 10-11                              Wickford, Rhode Island

The weather was sunny with a gentle breeze as we began preparations to leave Mystic.  One of our fenders had a short line submerged in the water for the month we had been docked and it had become covered with young barnacles.  I was in a hurry so I scraped them off with my hands—a slimy, messy job that I am not eager to do again.  Andrew came out to help us untie the lines and remove the ladder.  Maribel, in her lovely flowered housecoat, waved goodbye as we pulled out of the slip.  We look forward to seeing them again when we return to Mystic in a month to leave the boat until October

As we exited through the enormous railroad bridge, we were once again awed by the beauty of the large harbor that stretches from Mystic to the Sound.  With hundreds of boats moored offshore, we carefully made our way through them and followed a serpentine channel to Noack, where we docked for fuel.  Noack, much smaller than Mystic, is an impressive sight with many large older homes on small hills overlooking the water.  Everything is pristine with lush landscaping and flowers.  Several restaurants here are noted for exceptional seafood in casual outdoor settings.  Reportedly, much of it comes directly from the fishermen.
Across from Noack is the western tip of Fisher Island.  Owned privately by one family for more than two hundred years and used primarily for cattle grazing, Fisher Island is now an enclave of the rich and famous who fiercely guard their privacy.  A small town exists on the western part of the island but most of the eastern part is a gated community with a private club, airport, and dock that will accommodate 100’ yachts.  The magnificent homes were visible from the water as we cruised through Block Island Sound.
We were pleased we had decided not to cross the Sound to Block Island for we would have been moving against the wind and the waves would have been more than 5’and choppy.  Cruising along the coastline was more pleasant and much faster.  Leaving the Sound, we turned into Narragansett Bay, which extends to Providence and is the locale of many of New England’s loveliest and most popular boating destinations.  (Note:  The word Narragansett evokes childhood memories as I first learned it as a third grader when we studied about Thanksgiving and the Narragansett Indians who attended that first Pilgrim feast.  Narragansett was one of the first “long” words that I learned to read and spell.). The Bay holds several large islands which separate the western and eastern shores of Rhode Island.  Two huge bridges span the waterway to Conanicut Island and link the separate shores.  We cruised beneath one and will cruise beneath the other when we leave Wickford and head to Newport.

The portal to Wickford is through a long stone breakwater leading into several beautiful coves lined with small marinas.  The village is small but active and very quaint.  Situated right on the water, its Main Street is lined with eighteenth century “salt box” style homes, two storied, no front porches, with Georgian-style doorways opening onto a small stoop, and impressive buildings and churches that have been well maintained.  Newer homes tend to follow the same historic architectural style. Our marina was located about a quarter of a mile from the downtown area.  We quickly unloaded the bikes and rode to the downtown to see again this lovely place.  In December 2009, we cut short our trip to Manhattan, rented a car, and came to Wickford to look at a Hatteras we were interested in buying.  The day was miserably cold and we almost froze as we toured the boat.  (It was beautiful, we made an offer, the owner refused to negotiate, and we later made a better and wiser choice.)  Before leaving Wickford, we had driven through downtown and eaten lunch at a small seafood restaurant.  It was fun to see everything again in weather that was much more pleasant.

Returning to the boat, I procrastinated until it was too dark to wash the salt from the boat.  That would be an early morning chore.  We enjoyed a light dinner on the bridge watching the lingering sunset turn the cove into a soft mauve landscape and then seeing it change to a brightly lighted scene as the full moon illuminated the area.  It was difficult to leave such a tranquil scene and we did so reluctantly.

Thursday was cool, sunny, and breezy.  I quickly washed the boat to remove the accumulated salt and spent extra time cleaning the yellow electrical cords that had become dirty from lying on the dock for a month at Mystic.  After a shower, I joined David on the aft deck to read and write as he constantly talked on the phone to staff and clients of SGA.  He could not have been happier.  He was doing what he loved to do, in perfect weather, in a beautiful place, barefoot, and on his boat!  (We were ignoring the debacle this week of the stock market.  We could do nothing about it.  Life must go on and we choose to do so with confidence that it will get better.)

We took the bikes to the village for a late lunch at the Tavern by the Sea, a quaint place on the waterfront serving great seafood.  David, despite his resolve to abstain from fried foods, surrendered to order fish and chips and declared it to be very, very good.  I was equally pleased with my lobster salad. 

While perusing the local shops, we received a call that our boat would have to be moved forward on the dock face to make room for an incoming 120’ yacht.  We returned and supervised the move which was expertly executed by the dockhands.  The adjacent dock was 100’ in length and our new neighbor would extend 20’ behind us.  The Bayou, a monstrous blue-hulled boat (flying the flag of the Marshall Islands) was an impressive and intimidating sight as it pulled alongside us.  The crew and dock hands expertly brought it into the slip while everyone in the marina watched admiringly.

We had a light dinner onboard and began preparations for our early departure to Newport, Rhode Island.  The weather reports were favorable for our brief voyage.  We had been contacted earlier that several of our Fort Worth friends were vacationing there and would like to join us tomorrow evening for happy hour.

                                                                                                                

August 7-9           Mystic, Connecticut

After three weeks in Texas, most of it in temperatures over 100 degrees, we were excited to return to cooler climes.  We took a rental car from Boston Logan Airport for the journey to Mystic.  This would give us an opportunity to shop for groceries and other supplies before beginning our northward journey.  Breakfast had been a quick affair at the airport before boarding so we were ready for a late lunch when we arrived in Providence, Rhode Island.  Using the I Pad and GPS, we located Hemingway’s, a beautiful downtown restaurant with large windows overlooking the Providence River and the historical area of the city.  David had a fabulous seafood paella and I feasted on a delicious entrée of Caesar seafood salad with generous pieces of lobster, crab, and scallops. 

In Mystic, we made a hurried trip to the grocery store to replenish our pantry and prepare for the arrival of family for the week of Labor Day.  The Bottom Line awaited us and we quickly stowed all the groceries to have a glass of wine on the aft deck and enjoy the lingering sunset.  The temperature was 85 degrees and the slight breeze dispelled any humidity.  To our great delight, the frozen foods in the refrigerator and aft deck freezer were intact.  We had no electrical failures that might have caused spoilage.  Since our experience last year, this is always a concern.

On Monday, we returned the car to Groton, about 10 miles away.  Hertz had a driver available to return us to the boat.  Groton is another lovely small New England town with older homes, stately churches, and lovely greenery.  It is also the home of the prestigious Groton Preparatory School, attended by the Bush boys and the Bass boys and acknowledged to be a portal to Yale.

Monday evening we invited Andrew and Maribel to happy hour.  Lacking anything special to serve, I searched through my pantry and found a jar of Tostitos bean dip.  I had a bag of Scoops and plenty of cheese.  I assembled a pan of bean and cheese nachos with the more traditional cheese and jalapeno variety.  Andy, who had served in the air force in San Angelo after WWII, immediately recognized this Texas specialty and ate heartily.  Maribel had never heard of jalapenos but she was a good sport and ate several.  I was delighted Andrew enjoyed the nachos and  I gave him the remainder of the bean dip. He happily accepted.

On Tuesday, we prepared to leave.  I began to wash the boat at 7:30 AM to facilitate drying without spotting.  Using boat soap to remove the accumulated film of grime and then repeatedly rinsing was a time and labor intensive effort.  The 100’ yacht in the adjacent slip was also being washed—by three young crew members.  I was envious.  I finally completed the job shortly before noon.  David was busy applying beautiful stainless steel strips under the exterior doors leading to the salon.  This would hide the unsightly peeling paint that marred the “curb appeal” of the boat as it was immediately seen upon approach.  The finished result was better than we had hoped it would be!  Encouraged by this success, we continued to work at small projects until dinner.

The crew of the yacht next to us had continued to wash, polish, and clean every item on the exterior of the boat.  They even scrubbed the yellow electrical lines that hook to the dock outlets!  It was obvious someone was coming.  A girl crew member left and returned with bags of groceries.  We were awed to see they had an automobile bearing the same name as the boat.  Apparently, a crew member drives it to each port visited by the yacht and, therefore, it is available for use whenever needed.  Impressive!  After 8:00 PM a man and two women arrived and were greeted by the crew.  Would have loved to have known about them!  The yacht flew a flag from the Marshall Islands, which might be one of those places that grants favorable tax breaks for the wealthy. 

Our trip is planned and, hopefully, the weather will cooperate.  We are eager to begin our journey.