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,