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.