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.