August 24                 C and D Canal, Delaware

Tide is a problem in Cape May Harbor and we needed a rising tide to have sufficient depth for our departure.  Delaware Bay can be choppy and on this date, we had wind and waves.  We were glad once again we had stabilizers on the boat.  The weather cleared before we reached our marina, located midway through the canal.

Summit North Marina was located in a lovely cove and we had excellent dock help.  An impressive restaurant, resembling a French chateau, was located on a hill above the marina.  Aqua Sol had a large deck overlooking the cove and appeared to be a popular dining choice.  We enjoyed a light dinner and the casual nautical ambiance.

August 22-23               Cape May, New Jersey

Determined to make the long trek from Atlantic Highlands to Cape May in one day, we left at 6:00 AM.  We were fortunate the sea was smooth and the wind was slight.  We were looking forward to resting in Cape May for two days and enjoying again the sights of that quaint, charming seaside resort.  Unfortunately, a cold disrupted my plans and I stayed on the sofa most of our two days in port.

 

August 21                         Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

We left early from Milton on a sunny, cool day.  Long Island Sound was calm and our cruising was very pleasant as we continued down the Connecticut coastline.  We were excited about once again cruising the fourteen miles of the East River to the Battery at the tip of Manhattan.  Despite its reputed turbulence, we easily cruised through Hell’s Gate, the confluence of the East River, Long Island Sound, and the Harlem River.  No sight is more impressive than that of New York City and it was awesome to once again be going past familiar landmarks.

Hoping to take advantage of the beautiful weather, we bypassed docking at Liberty Landing and proceeded through the harbor, under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, to Sandy Hook and Atlantic Highlands.  We had been cruising for eight hours and we were delighted to dock at the lovely Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor.  Catering to smaller boats, the marina had limited dockage for us.  We were pleased to find accommodations because the next dockage was a considerable distance down the Jersey Shore.  Lovely older homes lined the hillside surrounding the marina.  We walked the short distance into town and then had a light dinner at the dockside restaurant near the marina. 

Atlantic Highlands is a bedroom community for New York City.  Residents have several ferry choices into the city.  It has some lovely downtown restaurants but the shopping area was unimpressive. The marina is a good choice, however, for mariners who want to stop before the long “outside” trip to Cape May, New Jersey and Chesapeake Bay. 

 

 

 

 

August 20-August 21                Milton, Connecticut

As predicted, the weather was sunny, cool, and without significant wind and we began our journey westward down the Rhode Island and Connecticut coastline toward New York City.  I had charted our journey to Milton, a small, picturesque bedroom community with a small historic role in the Revolutionary War.  Our cruising was without incident as we passed hundreds of beach homes, mostly large and some enormous, lining the shores for miles and miles.

Milton Landing Marina was at the mouth of a short, narrow inlet, thickly lined with boats on both sides.  We were told the depth of the inlet was greatly improved last year when Hurricane Irene came through and the great force of the wind and water moved much of the silt filling the channel. We had no difficulty navigating to our slip and were pleased to be greeted by capable, friendly dock help.

Shortly after docking, David and I went on deck with our drinks to join in conversation with the couple sitting on the sailboat next to us.  Jim and Marcia had been cruising for a week and, though they lived only three hours away, they chose to stay out one more evening in order not to “surprise” their college student son who had house-sat for them.  They were considerately giving him time to straighten the house and get rid of any “evidence” before greeting his parents! 

Marcia gave us several restaurant recommendations for dinner.  This was our fifty-eighth wedding anniversary and David insisted we go out for a special meal.  We walked the short distance to the lovely Bistro Basque, a small, charming place with an emphasis on cuisine from Spain.  We were seated at a quiet table in a tiny courtyard and enjoyed excellent service and a great dinner.  Reminiscing about that memorable night in 1954 when we married, we talked of people who were part of our wedding celebration and meant so much to us.  We both felt very fortunate to have had that special time and to be today where we were and doing what we were doing.

Downtown Milford is spread along two sides of a broad avenue divided by a wide green space filled with trees, gazebos, statuary, and flowers.  There are only small shops, restaurants, and local businesses. Apparently all the big chain stores are on the distant interstate.  On Tuesday, We had a great lunch at Rainbow Gardens, located in a large mansion on the green.  I was delighted when the server shared with me the recipe for a raspberry vinaigrette dressing that perfectly complimented my excellent fruit salad.

On Tuesday, we finalized plans to return home early.  An IRS agent was coming to SGA to examine workpapers on a client and David felt his presence was needed. We would leave on September 2 from Baltimore and would be in Texas for approximately six weeks due to other business-related matters.   Since we were predicted to have good weather for several more days, we decided to plan long cruising days in order to have ample time in Baltimore to do some “housekeeping” chores on the boat before leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

August 17- August 18                           Newport, Rhode Island

Entering the harbor at Newport was almost like coming home!  We had been here twice in 2011 and would once again stay at the venerable Newport Yacht Club.  The harbor was filled with boats of all sizes and descriptions.  David wove expertly through the maze of docks and moorings to our assigned slip, the same one we had on previous visits.  We love this dockage because it affords a great view of the nautical scene as well as the activity on busy America’s Cup Avenue.

A long walk re-acquainted us with the weekend celebratory scene in the area near the harbor.  Restaurants were packed and sidewalks were filled with strollers, dogs, family groups, and tourists.  Newport has some wonderful shops but we reminded ourselves once more that we don’t need “stuff.”  We ended the evening with a visit to the upstairs bar area of the Newport Yacht Club and enjoyed sitting on the balcony in the cool air and looking at the hundreds of lights in the harbor and on its adjacent shores.

On Saturday, there was rain, rain, and more rain.  It came in sprinkles and torrents but it came consistently all day. To our delight, we received a call from  Phil and Linda Hardberger, who were docked about a mile away, inviting us to join them for dinner.  Mama Luisa’s, their restaurant choice, was approximately two miles from the yacht club.  Since the weather was uncertain (the rain was now intermittent), we treated ourselves to a pedi-cab.  It was a fun experience to weave in and out of Newport traffic in the care of our experienced driver (who was a student at The University of Texas in Austin!) and we arrived early to greet Phil, Linda, and their guests from San Antonio, Eugene and Mary.

Mama Luisa’s is located in an old house that looks as if it were decorated fifty years ago by an Italian grandmother.  Its warren of rooms is filled with memorabilia, pictures, and knick knacks.  The food was traditional but excellent.  It was great to be with our friends again and we enjoyed meeting Eugene and Mary.  Eugene produces Alamo Beer (Motto:  A Beer Worth Fighting For!) and is currently working on a project to build his own brewery in San Antonio. Last week, he was granted a million dollar grant from that city and he is hopeful that this show of support and confidence will be an incentive for others to invest in his dream.

After dinner, David and I said goodbye to our friends and walked from the restaurant to the boat.  Such an effort would have been impossible for him before he received the shots in his knee prior to our departure from Texas.  It seems almost like a miracle and we are hopeful the great results will continue for several months.  The rain had finally ended and we made our way back to the balcony bar to enjoy the beautiful evening.

Sundays in port are ritually planned.  We awaken early, find a place to buy The New York Times, and return to the boat for breakfast, reading, and watching CBS Sunday Morning and Face the Nation.  Then we “discuss” politics and politicians for several hours.  On this Sunday in Newport, I went to the shop in the nearby Marriott Hotel to find the newspaper.  Sitting in the shop, surrounded by brightly colored children’s books was a delightful author and illustrator, Muriel Barkley de Tolly, who was signing copies of her books.  Muriel is eighty-two years old, mother of six children, a former restaurant owner in Newport, and became an author and an artist when she was past sixty-five. Her books feature her cat, her grandchildren, and notable sights in Newport. The illustrations are reminiscent of the style of Matisse with bright colors, a mixture of designs, and a flat perspective.  I bought two of the children’s books and could not resist a lovely cookbook she wrote with the help of Newport friends. All the bookstores in Newport display her books.

We left the boat shortly after noon to walk to Beverly Avenue, the main thoroughfare past the historic Newport mansions. Our destination was not the large homes but the Newport Art Museum.  Located in an enormous late nineteenth century arts and crafts wooden house, the museum displayed a small select collection of contemporary art.  In the Cushing annex, paintings and sculptures reflect more traditional styles with works by Robert Henri (a beautiful portrait of an Indian girl from his New Mexico series), George Bellows, and Childe Hassam.  The star of the collection is a three-quarter length portrait of one of the museum’s benefactors by Thomas Eakins.  Executed in Eakins’ limited palette of browns, grays, black, and white, it is a masterpiece of understatement. 

We enjoyed a late lunch at La Forge, the restaurant within the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Designed by McKim, Mead, and White for a Newport socialite who wanted to have his own private social and sporting club, the buildings are monuments to the Golden Age of Newport. The main court is surrounded by dark green painted porches and balconies hung with dozens of baskets filled with bright red impatiens.  Initially, they provided viewing for the wealthy spectators who came in the summers.   Courts are still available for play but the main facility is now for shopping, dining, and displaying tennis memorabilia from its glory days.  The precursor event to the U.S. Tennis Open was held here and tennis greats such as Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King have played matches on its grass courts.

Despite our delicious lunch, we were ready to enjoy two of the prime beef tenderloin steaks purchased at Costco.  With careful attention, David cooked them on the grill and we had a wonderful dinner on the aft deck.  Earlier in the day, I had read recipes in my new cookbook and discovered I had all the ingredients for a simple Blueberry Kuchen dessert.  While the steaks cooked, I made this delicious dish.  It was a great finale to our dinner.

 

August 16                              Fairhaven, Massachusetts

An early morning thunderstorm quickly dispelled shortly after 8:00 and we left Beverly in sunshine and cool weather.  We had rejected earlier plans to go into Boston Harbor for several days and had charted a course to Newport with an overnight stop at Fairhaven.

The sea was smooth and we had a long, pleasant day cruising to the Cape Cod Canal.  It was fun to see again the busy canal scene as people were enjoying hiking, biking, and fishing in the state park that borders the waterway.

As often happens, the water becomes choppy after the exit from the canal.  Fortunately, we had only three hours before we entered the massive gates of the hurricane barrier across the river dividing New Bedford and Fairhaven.  Last year we had spent a week at Fairhaven Shipyards South and we were delighted to return to this pristine and hospitable marina.  Battling a strong wind, David finally brought in the stern of the boat for secure docking despite the ineffective efforts of the dockhand.  It is frustrating, and sometimes dangerous, to have dock help lacking the necessary skills to properly dock a large boat.

After dinner, we took a long walk to the rocky promontory overlooking the bay.  Lined with beautiful large homes, the area reflects the former wealth of this once prominent shipping town.  Unfortunately, the lovely evening was marred when we were attacked by invisible stinging insects.  They seemed to love me best!

August 14-16                  Beverly, Massachusetts

After a wonderful ten day stay in Fort Worth, filled with constant activity with friends and family, we returned to Massachusetts.  The weather was cool and the abundance of lush greenery was in sharp contrast to the heat and parched lawns we had left behind.  We found the boat clean from recent rains.  The “signal lamp,” left purposely on to let the marina staff  know if electrical power was operating, was brightly shining and the ice maker was functioning beautifully. I had been apprehensive we would return to a freezer filled with spoiled food and an empty ice maker.  All was well to my great relief.

After a brief rest, we called Enterprise and had a car delivered to the marina.  We planned to go to the nearby Costco and replenish our supplies for our trip south.  Taking David to a Costco is like taking a child to a toy store—he wants everything and we always leave with an inflated bill.  This Costco was large and well-stocked.  We found the wonderful capers that are never in our Fort Worth store and beautiful prime tenderloin steaks.

On Wednesday morning, I awakened early to read the book I will review for the library at Broadway and have breakfast alone on the aft deck.  The book’s author, self-described as a literary library type, wrote a chapter about an unusual favorite bookstore in Manchester-By-The-Sea, a small town renowned for its beautiful homes.  I checked the map and saw that Manchester was only seven miles from Beverly.  We had the car and we could easily visit there.

Manchester was delightful with its many small upscale shops and restaurants nestled along winding streets that snaked up and down the surrounding hills.  We had no trouble finding the mentioned bookstore, Manchester-By-The-Book.  I had the pleasure of telling the owner about my serendipitous experience of reading of his store only a few hours before.  Surprised and delighted, he immediately went on the internet and ordered the book.  (He will be even more delighted when he reads that the author and her friends had a secret crush on him!) 

Visiting unusual bookstores and perusing their shelves for long periods of time is one of my favorite activities.  This bookstore was small and crowded with stacks of books everywhere.  All books were used and most were quite old.  Many volumes were from the personal library of John Updike, the noted author.  There were also a considerable number of books on New England history, the Civil War, and religion.  I found a copy of Julia Child’s The Way to Cook to replace an earlier one I had given Amanda.

We loved driving through the many shaded streets of the residential areas with magnificent homes, mostly gray shingled, set amidst lush lawns and tall trees.  Manchester is definitely a place inhabited by “the top 1%” of the populace.  Discreet wealth and privilege were evident in one of the most beautiful places we have visited on the East Coast. With only a small number of inns, it does not invite the tourist crowds.

After leaving Manchester, we visited Gloucester, a much different scene with a huge commercial harbor.  We enjoyed a late lunch at LAT 43 and a brief driving tour through the town.  Since our visit more than fourteen years ago, Gloucester had completed many beautification projects in the harbor and downtown area.  It was a very inviting scene with many shops and restaurants.

A visit to Rowand’s Seafood Market, conveniently located near the marina, provided the live lobsters for our dinner.  We spent another delightful evening on the aft deck with delicious food, cool weather, and a nautical scene spread all about us.

July 31-August 2                   Beverly, Massachusetts

The morning was sunny and the tide was up.  Without extra dock help, we untied the lines, disconnected the electricity, and brought the ladder on board.  David was moving about well and he was pleased to once again be able to manage these tasks.  The narrow river channel was filled with water and we easily cruised past the marinas and boats to the mouth marked with double stone walls.

We had to go past the three mile limit to clear the large land hook below Portsmouth.  Cape Ann is a legendary place in maritime history.  It was the scene of many disastrous shipwrecks and its rock ledges, extending far out into the water, still present hazards to the unwary boater.  The sea was choppy and the light and sky melded together to make a haze that hindered visibility. We took turns piloting during the six hour journey to Beverly Point Marina in Beverly, Massachusetts.  After leaving Salem a month ago, we had determined this would be a good place to leave the boat when we returned to Texas.

Beverly is across the bridge from Salem and is a blue-collar town.  The marina is lacking great scenery but we liked the people and thought they would watch over our boat.  When we encountered some problems with the internet, they immediately responded.  After several hours of trying this and trying that, they were successful in providing us great internet reception.  We were impressed with their diligence and perseverance.

A local fish market, located about a block away from the marina, was highly recommended by one of the dock hands.  We found it to be exceptional.  Rowand’s Fish Market (Motto: “We have live lobsters and dead fish”) provided many great choices of fresh and prepared seafood.  Their friendly staff suggested the mussels because they were large and sweet.  They were right.  We had a delicious dinner of mussels and garlic bread.  David is already planning to visit Rowand’s again before we leave Beverly and stock our freezer.

The thunderstorms finally ceased and our final evening before leaving for Texas was calm, clear, and enhanced with a gorgeous full moon that occasionally peaked out from the clouds.  Leaving the boat is always a bittersweet experience.  We are reluctant to leave but eager to return home.

July 29-30                      Kennebunkport, Maine

Our departure from Boothbay Harbor Marina was easily accomplished with the help of fellow boaters who untied our lines and waved good-bye as we cleared the turn into the harbor.  The weather was clear and cool with little wind.  Since the Kennebec River, which leads from the bay to the town of Kennebunkport, is narrow and subject to tides in July of more than nine feet, we cruised at a slower speed to be certain we would arrive on a rising tide.

Marina choices in Kennebunkport for boats more than 50 feet in length are scarce.  We finally booked at The Yachtsman Marina at a rate considerably more than the price we had paid for dockage in New York Harbor.   We were located near downtown and easily could walk to the many local shops and restaurants. 

Kennebunkport was settled in the 1600’s and has a long history of shipbuilding and fishing.  It was a major port for more than a century.  Today, its historical downtown is devoted to tourism with many upscale galleries, shops, and restaurants.  Every building has been lovingly restored and flowers and lush shrubbery are everywhere.  There are no major chain stores and the shops reflected the individual tastes of their owners.  We enjoyed browsing but did little buying.  We have enough stuff!

On the next day, we took the little trolley for an hour tour of Kennebunkport.  We had an excellent local guide.  Several “grand hotels,” built in the early 1900’s as resorts where people would come with maids and trunk loads of clothes, remain and were displaying No Vacancy signs.  These hotels retain the elegance and graciousness of yesteryear but have made accommodations for a more casual clientele. One of these  The Colony is a large white wooden structure situated on a hill overlooking the ocean.  It has both saltwater and freshwater pools.  The grounds resemble a small botanical garden.  The Colony is pet-friendly and is popular with dog and cat owners.  The hotel hosts a pet Halloween party in October and guests are encouraged to bring their precious pooches and kitties in costume. 

The gorgeous “summer cottages,” most built in the early part of the past century, line the streets along the coast line.  On a prominent peninsula only a short distance from downtown is the large brown shingled home of the former President of the United States, George Bush.  Behind it are smaller structures that are guesthouses and/or residences for the Secret Service personnel.  George and Barbara come in May and remain until October.  The townspeople seem to be very fond of them and are grateful for the huge tourism boost they give to Kennebunkport.

St. Ann’s Episcopal Church and First Baptist Church are small stone structures of simple but beautiful design.  Both are popular wedding venues and demand greatly exceeds availability.  The Franciscan Monastery is housed in a large Tudor Mansion, a gift from its American owner to a group of Lithuanian monks fleeing Communism.  Several shrines and large crosses are displayed on the grounds.  The fifty-eight acres of the monastery are open to the public and remain an unspoiled, pristine forest bordering the Kennebec River.

We were surprised to see the large sandy beach on the lower coast line.  The day was sunny and warm so the beach was crowded with sunbathers and swimmers.  Bordering the beach were more beautiful “summer cottages,” more recent and smaller than the ones on the opposite side but still very impressive.  We were told the water temperature of the ocean was approximately 60 degrees but the hardy ones in the surf did not seem to mind.

We had a light lunch at a local restaurant and then returned to the boat for a little work and rest.  I enjoyed our morning tour so much that I returned for another one in the afternoon.  The route was the same but the driver was different and had his own perspective.  I enjoyed seeing Kennebunkport again and learning more of its history.

Returning to The Yachtsman, I joined David and a delightful couple from Nashville enjoying port and cheese on the terrace.  Pat and Cindy were touring Maine and they, like us, had often been teased about their Southern accents.    They were awed by our abilities to pilot and navigate a large boat such great distances.  We had to admit sometimes we surprise ourselves!