October 1-7          North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Sunday was a sunny day and we welcomed the opportunity to leave the boat for a trip to Boston.  We were saddened by the purpose of our journey—a visit to our good friend, Jerry who was seriously ill in Massachusetts General Hospital.  Jerry was in palliative care which would soon transition to hospice care.

The hospital one of the finest in the United States, is a warren of corridors through old and new buildings which are exceptionally maintained.  We easily located Jerry’s room and were pleased to have a lengthy visit with him and Jill. They are bravely facing the sad prognosis for his illness but were encouraged by the exceptional care and kindness provided by the hospital staff.

We decided to return to Wickford via Fall River which gave us a long stretch of scenic beauty as the foliage lining the highway was in bursts of gold and red.  In Fall River, we had a late lunch at a recommended Portuguese restaurant.  My baked bacalao (cod) was delicious and David indulged in one of his culinary favorites, liver and onions.  Our cute waitress was from Portugal and we enjoyed conversation with her.

On Thursday, we made another scenic drive to Putnam, Connecticut to visit Maria Carpenter at The Rectory School, where she is an administrator and teacher.  We were awed by the magnificent buildings and setting.  The 300 or so fortunate students have an outstanding curriculum, including ice skating!

After our tour of the school, we drove several miles to Maria and John’s historic home on a wide expanse of lush green hills with pastures, red barns and stone walls.  Their 1812 home has been beautifully modernized while maintaining its heritage features.  I was thrilled to see Maria’s Fontanini nativity as well as many other family treasures.  Maria showed us her huge jar of lemon peels soaking in alcohol which will be the basis of her delicious limoncello.

A special treat was a lovely dinner at Anya, a beautiful restaurant near the Carpenter’s farm.  It is an elegant event space and the food and service were superb.  We reluctantly bade farewell to our good friends returned to Wickford.

Now we are saying goodbye to dock mates and marina staff as we pack to return to Texas.  The boat will be shrink wrapped and remain at the dock.  Our car will be stored in one of the marina’s buildings.  Both will be winterized.  We have had a very good summer on The Bottom Line and look forward to returning in 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

September 21-September 30            North Kingstown, Rhode Island

After cleaning the boat interior and enjoying some “down” time, we were ready to have guests.  We had briefly met John and Betsie Tegtmeyer who lived near us on their boat Day Star, a beautiful blue-hull 55’ Krogen Express.  We were delighted they joined us one evening on our aft deck.  They had recently returned from showing their boat at the Newport Boat Show and we learned they were the owners of the Krogen Express company.  They have a home in Vero Beach, Florida and will return there for the winter before resuming their boat show sales efforts.  The KE is renowned for its fine craftsmanship and exceptional performance.

Intermittent rain and cooler weather brought a feeling of fall.  Golds and reds are seen in the leaves of the many trees along the roads.  We regret we will leave before the magnificent blast of color that will come later.

We were delighted to have an afternoon visit from Nancy and Chris Dressel, whom we met last year on our Tauck tour of Provence.  They live in Pennsylvania and were vacationing in Newport.  It was great to see them again! 

 We ordered shucked oysters for David and Chris.  Nancy and I had shrimp cocktails.  Sauteed scallops on salad greens followed with blueberry pie and ice cream for dessert.  It was a leisurely lunch with ample time for great conversation.  We were reluctant to see them leave and plan to stay in touch.

Three days of rain and wind kept us on the boat.  When John Carpenter called and invited us to go to Providence for dinner, we yelled “Yes, Yes.”  John expertly drove through the rain and heavy traffic to our restaurant in downtown Providence.  Mill Street Tavern is a local favorite with excellent food and wonderful ambiance.  It was great to again be with John and Maria, two of our favorite friends,  

 

 

 

 

 

September 5-20   Essex and Saybrook, Connecticut

After days of pleasant cool weather, we were subjected to a heat wave, an unusual occurrence for the East Coast in September.  Heat and humidity limited our excursions away from the boat. We were increasingly concerned about the tropical storm/soon to be hurricane off the coast of Florida.  It was on a northward path and veering eastward toward Maine. Our planned trip to Essex and Saybrook was now questionable.

After a day of delays and uncertainties, Dave and Samantha finally arrived in Providence at 5:00 PM on September 11.  We celebrated with dinner at Blu on the Water. It had been five years since they had been on The Bottom Line.

Dave recently completed transporting a boat from Seattle to Los Angeles and was excited about continuing his boat captain career.  He is writing an on-line course for training transporting boat captains.  Safety of the crew and the vessel are his main objectives and he is explicit in his instructions. We were impressed with his knowledge and common sense methods for assuring a successful voyage.

Our seven-hour journey to Essex was delightful. The day was sunny with little wind.  As a professional with considerable experience (plus four years in the navy), Dave always takes the helm and becomes captain and navigator.   Samantha, who has joined Dave on many trips, becomes first mate and manages the lines.  I oversee the galley and David happily retires to the sofa with Pretzel for a long nap.

Exiting Long Island Sound into the wide expanse of the Connecticut River, we passed Saybrook, waited for the bascule railroad bridge to lift for sufficient clearance and then continued past large, beautiful homes lining the shores to Essex.  We docked at Essex Yacht Club, a lovely pristine facility only a few blocks from Main Street.

The following morning, we hired Uber to give us a brief tour of Essex neighborhoods.  The area is lush with aged trees, magnificent shrubbery and historical homes set in beautifully maintained landscapes.  The town, once a thriving shipbuilding center, retains a significant nautical presence with several large marinas.  We enjoyed shopping in the charming stores, mostly housed in historical buildings of white clapboard sidings.  Essex is the quintessential New England village. 

Main Street is dominated by the Griswold Inn, built in 1776 and still functioning as a hotel, restaurant, and lively bar scene. We enjoyed a great dinner in their lovely dining room, filled with old nautical prints and memorabilia.

Hurricane forecasts indicated we needed to cancel our plans to return to Wickford on Friday.  Our reservations at Saybrook Marina, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, were extended until Sunday.  After an hour journey down river from Essex we were assigned a favorable dockage, protected from wind and easily accessible to shore and the lovely facilities of the marina.

Dinner at the marina restaurant was excellent and the staff was very helpful.  We enjoyed the marina shuttle to town and made several trips to explore this small but very viable community. Dave and Samantha were constantly occupied in cleaning, organizing or repairing items on the boat.  David and I happily watched them work!

The hurricane passed us by without any significant wind and Sunday was a perfect day to return to Wickford. Dave and Samantha spent most of the journey on the bridge to have a splendid view of the shore and the many boats in the Sound.  Arriving early, we rested before the farewell dinner for our guests at La Masseria in East Greenwich.  Their visit had been a wonderful opportunity to have long conversations and enjoy new experiences together.

 

 

 

August 31-September 4            North Kingstown, Rhode Island

We delighted in cool days with occasional rain.  Rhode Island is a great summer destination and we enjoyed day trips to surrounding towns.  Rupe left us for a month in Florida so we are on our own.

Kennedy and Taft arrived shortly after midnight on September 2 at Providence Airport (we are becoming accustomed to late arrivals) and we were thrilled to see them.  We never have enough time with our precious granddaughter and her adorable husband.  We treated them with a late night/early morning snack of spring rolls and sushi on the aft deck, 

On Saturday, they explored Wickford before returning to a lobster/oyster feast on the aft deck.  At Taft’s request, I made a Maine blueberry pie for dessert.  Sunday was a brunch at Castle Hill Inn in Newport with a view of Narragansett Bay filled with sailboats.  It was truly a delightful experience..

Returning to the boat, Kennedy and I visited Needlepoint on the Bay in East Greenwich to choose a project for her.  We were pleased to find this beautiful shop with excellent help.  Kennedy’s first needlepoint effort will be a Christmas ornament featuring a Westie puppy (similar to her own).  She was immediately enthralled with “needling.”,

On Monday, I awoke to find Taft and Kennedy playing Mah Jong on the aft deck.  Kennedy is now a Mah Jong instructor and is “obsessed” (her words) with the game.  Afterwards, they ran four miles through the neighborhood and the town before returning to pack and join us for lunch at Tavern on the Green. They were wonderful, considerate guests and we hated to see them leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                         

 

AUGUST 19-30                       North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Our sixty-nineth wedding anniversary was on August 20.  We always enjoy having a special celebration of this significant event in our lives.  This year, David took charge and booked a night at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport with a six-course prix fixe dinner in their lovely dining room.    We arrived early and had a light lunch on the patio overlooking Narragansett Bay.  Our dinner was excellent and service was the best ever—very attentive and personal.  It was as lovely evening. 

On Saturday, Julie and Greg Galier, cousins from Dallas, arrived at the train station in Kingston, a twenty-minute drive from Wickford.  Once again, they had accompanied their son, Tripp to Seton Hall University in New Jersey where he would start his sophomore year.  We greeted them on the boat with shucked oysters and lobster rolls. 

Sunday was a good day to show them the fabulous Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth.  We then returned to Newport and they toured the Breakers Mansion.  We enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner on the patio at Castle Hill Inn.  Greg raved about the Bronzino (and we all agreed!) which was exceptional.  We returned to the boat for blueberry pie and ice cream. 

They returned to Newport for shopping and sightseeing on Monday.  We remained onboard to finish projects and then we joined them for a lovely dinner on the deck at Blu on the Water in East Greenwich.  With cool weather and a full moon, it was an opportunity to acknowledge a special relationship with two wonderful people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUST 2-AUGUST 18        NORTH KINGSTOWN, RHODE ISLAND

We have experienced considerable rain in the past two weeks so the exterior of the boat has remained very clean.  I have continued to work on making a catalog of David’s Southwestern Indian pottery collection.  David began collecting in the 1960’s and has continued to date.  It is a small but select assortment of Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, and Acoma pots, bowls and vases.  I hope to have my part of the project completed before we return home in October.

On August 16, we journeyed by car to New Haven, Connecticut to visit the Yale Art Gallery.  We left Pretzel on the boat.  The trip took only about one and one-half hours, mostly by I-95.  Traffic was moderate and we enjoyed being out of the boat. 

Yale has the oldest college art collection in the United States and has benefited significantly from generations of generous donors (mostly prominent alumni).  Housed in a Modernist building designed by Louis Kahn and opened in 1965, it has expanded the collection considerably through the years.  Unlike the Kimbell Museum which has retained Kahn’s original design, Yale has modified the interior of the galleries and extended access into an older structure.  The renowned tetrahedral ceiling is still intact and the museum benefits from the intimacy it provides.

I have enjoyed reading A History of the Yale Art Museum book purchased as I was leaving and was surprised to learn their exceptional collection of Modern Art was primarily a gift of Katherine Dreier, a friend of Marcel Duchamp, Gertrude Stein and many early Twentieth Century artists.  Her photograph depicts a dowdy, little lady in sensible shoes who could have been a Baptist Sunday School teacher in the 1940’s.  At one time, she owned a collection rivaled only by MOMA and the Gugenheim Museum.  Yale was the fortunate beneficiary of her largess.  It was delightful to view the galleries devoted to her collection and other donors of Modern Art.

After a delicious lunch (mushroom and chicken pappardelle, grilled octopus with avocado and pear arugula salads) at Harvest Restaurant across the street, we took a short tour of the campus before returning to Wickford.  Our plans to visit the Yale Center for British Art were changed due to its temporary closure.  Just as well, as we needed to return before dark. 

As a teaser for those of you who love art, I am including some photographs of my favorites.  In order, the artists are:  Yuan Dynasty Blue and White Porcelain,  Diego Velasquez, Franz Hals, Franz Hals, Sandro Botticelli, Fernand Leger, Hans Hoffman, Edward Hopper, and Amadeo Modigliani.

 

 

 

 

July 21-August 2                     North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Warm, sultry weather impeded our progress as we prepared for the visit of The Sisters, Stephanie Usher, Cindy Barnes, Lyn Potter, Sharon Arnold and Pinki Meals.  With Rupe’s absence due to a family tragedy in Honduras, David and I slowly and methodically completed projects to make the boat a welcoming destination.

On Thursday, July 27, our guests, minus Pinki who was fighting a respiratory problem, arrived in Boston, took the train to Wickford Station and were met by David.  Life was very exciting after that!  Within a few hours, a lovely rainstorm brought cool weather which remained throughout their visit.  We sat on the aft deck, ate lobster rolls and played the card game Five Crowns until midnight.

The Sisters took our car for a day of exploring in Newport while David and I remained on the boat to make a curtain for the aft deck.  They spent several hours marveling at the extravagance of the Breakers, the jewel of Newport’s mansions, ate a delicious lunch and did some major shopping.  Dinner was at Blu on the Water in East Greenwich followed by more hours of Five Crowns.

Wickford Village was their destination on Saturday to see the historical homes and visit the quaint shops.  They returned early to the boat for a light lunch and naps, exhausted from walking and talking.  Dinner was at Tavern on the Sea in Wickford.  The Sisters were easily recognized as a unique group by the large red crab or lobster headdresses they wore everywhere.  A little girl at the restaurant was enthralled by the decorations and Stephanie gave her the one she wore.  The expression of absolute delight from that sweet child made our evening!  She politely inquired if she could wear it home and was ecstatic when told she could.

Their busy visit continued Sunday when they left the boat with David to board the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.  They shopped, ate lunch and then enjoyed a private tour of the island with a narration of history, geography and gossip.  Dinner was on the boat with grilled salmon steaks. 

We reluctantly took them to the train station on Monday morning for their return flight.  We loved having them visit and were overwhelmed by their generosity (lovely gifts every day) and thoughtfulness.  Each Sister is unique and special which has undoubtedly contributed to their long-standing and close friendship.