Woooo, here we go! We spent the afternoon today arranging and re-arranging groceries to pack into our cooler tomorrow morning. Lin's parents are picking us up at 8:30 to drive us to Marion MA. Dixie watched with great concern while we bustled around the house all afternoon and evening, boiling eggs, making fruit and pasta salads, packaging things in small, stackable containers that will easily fit into the refrigerator on the boat. Last minute laundry and packing are next. The weather is hot and muggy, and thunderstorms are threatening the next few days. Oh well, it's part of the adventure!
We have a couple of concerns about while we're gone....who will feed our adopted cat, who lives outside but loves to sneak inside when we aren't fast enough? And, how will Moe's famous bees fare while we are gone? Our fingers are crossed. Maybe Wendy will stop by and check on them....
Thursday, July 26, 2007:
We are back in Marion Harbor, at the Beverly Yacht Club. We arrived around noon-time (thanks, Mom and Dad!), after driving by Lin’s childhood home only 6 miles away. It was wonderful to see again and brought back lots of memories.
Beverly Yacht Club, at Marion Harbor MA.
When we arrived at the BYC, we went straight out to the boat with coolers and bags full of food, clothes, and supplies. Dixie is much more relaxed this time, and has been more than happy to don her bright yellow life jacket for a ride in to shore on the launch. She stands with her feet up on the seat and watches the water with her fur all blowing in the wind. We hope she doesn’t jump, because as far as we know, she’s never been in the water. We have to work on that, and get her to learn to swim with another dog who loves the water so she won’t be scared.
Dixie is much more comfortable this time!
While we were at home over the last few weeks, Moe came down to the boat with a few friends and installed two new batteries. The batteries for this boat weigh about 140 pounds apiece! We’ve run the refrigerator all day just off the batteries, and they are still showing as fully charged. To be extra sure, Moe is running the generator for a little while to give them a boost before we all go to bed, so we won’t have to worry about running the refrigerator all night.
Tomorrow we head out to Jamestown Island, just across the bay from Newport, Rhode Island. We’ve got a mooring reserved for two nights at the Conanicut Marina. Today was hot and sunny, but the weather report predicts some clouds and thundershowers over the next few days.
We have a couple of concerns about while we're gone....who will feed our adopted cat, who lives outside but loves to sneak inside when we aren't fast enough? And, how will Moe's famous bees fare while we are gone? Our fingers are crossed. Maybe Wendy will stop by and check on them....
Thursday, July 26, 2007:
We are back in Marion Harbor, at the Beverly Yacht Club. We arrived around noon-time (thanks, Mom and Dad!), after driving by Lin’s childhood home only 6 miles away. It was wonderful to see again and brought back lots of memories.
Beverly Yacht Club, at Marion Harbor MA.
When we arrived at the BYC, we went straight out to the boat with coolers and bags full of food, clothes, and supplies. Dixie is much more relaxed this time, and has been more than happy to don her bright yellow life jacket for a ride in to shore on the launch. She stands with her feet up on the seat and watches the water with her fur all blowing in the wind. We hope she doesn’t jump, because as far as we know, she’s never been in the water. We have to work on that, and get her to learn to swim with another dog who loves the water so she won’t be scared.
Dixie is much more comfortable this time!
While we were at home over the last few weeks, Moe came down to the boat with a few friends and installed two new batteries. The batteries for this boat weigh about 140 pounds apiece! We’ve run the refrigerator all day just off the batteries, and they are still showing as fully charged. To be extra sure, Moe is running the generator for a little while to give them a boost before we all go to bed, so we won’t have to worry about running the refrigerator all night.
Tomorrow we head out to Jamestown Island, just across the bay from Newport, Rhode Island. We’ve got a mooring reserved for two nights at the Conanicut Marina. Today was hot and sunny, but the weather report predicts some clouds and thundershowers over the next few days.
Heading out of Buzzards Bay
Friday, July 27, 2007
Moe and Dixie took an early launch in to shore this morning, and Dixie had a nice (successful!) walk. Lin stayed on the boat, made coffee, and read some more of The Good, Good Pig. What a great book! We left Marion at about 9:45 am, under bright blue skies with a huge hawk circling overhead. He seemed to be looking at Dixie, but he was probably just fishing.
Moe and Dixie took an early launch in to shore this morning, and Dixie had a nice (successful!) walk. Lin stayed on the boat, made coffee, and read some more of The Good, Good Pig. What a great book! We left Marion at about 9:45 am, under bright blue skies with a huge hawk circling overhead. He seemed to be looking at Dixie, but he was probably just fishing.
Just cruising along....
The weather held up nicely, except for one patch of dense fog that popped up in front of us like a curtain. On the other side, there was more clear blue sky and a couple of fast ferries. We were glad we were out of the fog when we saw them!
Round Hill Point Radar Dome
Near Round Hill Point, we saw a huge radar dome. We arrived at Newport at about 3 pm, and passed some large, amazing sailboats, and Fort Adams, which we visited a couple of years ago. After docking at the marina and filling up our fresh water tanks, we picked up our mooring not too far from the Jamestown Island Bridge, and are settling in.
Coming in towards the Jamestown Bridge
There is some wind so the boat is rocking, and Dixie is uncomfortable… she’s on the couch next to Lin. There is no internet connection here, so we’ll have to post this in a few days when we can pirate off of someone else’s wireless. We took the launch in to shore and went to a great place for dinner called Tricia’s Tropi-Grill, took Dixie for another successful walk, and caught a launch back to the boat by 9 pm. We are socked in by pea-soup fog, and everything, inside and outside the boat is damp from the humidity. Tomorrow we’ll try to walk into town and see if we can get internet access at the library.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Dixie woke us up at her usual time this morning, about 6:30 am. She’s doing better every day. We had coffee and took an 8 am launch in to shore, and headed up the hill in the main part of town to the spot Dixie had chosen the day before. After our walk, we went to a little place called “A Touch of Heaven” for breakfast outside. People are impressed by how polite Dixie is. She’s been very good, considering she’s just barely over a year old, and this world of boating is all new to her. After breakfast, we walked back up the hill to the library, where we both took a few minutes to check our e-mail. It was a really nice and very friendly library, which happened to be having a book sale: “a buck a bag”!. Naturally, Lin picked out a bunch for her and Moe to share. Then across the street to buy Dixie a bottle of water, down the hill to do a little shopping at a nice store that let Dixie shop with us, and then back to boat around noon-time. It is hot and very humid on shore, but more comfortable out here on our mooring with breezes coming from every direction. The refrigerator has run all day without draining the new batteries at all…. Those new solar panels that Moe installed were well worth the time and effort. Moe spent some time up on the fly bridge reading one of the new books with his eyes closed, while Lin continued to enjoy The Good, Good Pig.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Dixie woke us up at her usual time this morning, about 6:30 am. She’s doing better every day. We had coffee and took an 8 am launch in to shore, and headed up the hill in the main part of town to the spot Dixie had chosen the day before. After our walk, we went to a little place called “A Touch of Heaven” for breakfast outside. People are impressed by how polite Dixie is. She’s been very good, considering she’s just barely over a year old, and this world of boating is all new to her. After breakfast, we walked back up the hill to the library, where we both took a few minutes to check our e-mail. It was a really nice and very friendly library, which happened to be having a book sale: “a buck a bag”!. Naturally, Lin picked out a bunch for her and Moe to share. Then across the street to buy Dixie a bottle of water, down the hill to do a little shopping at a nice store that let Dixie shop with us, and then back to boat around noon-time. It is hot and very humid on shore, but more comfortable out here on our mooring with breezes coming from every direction. The refrigerator has run all day without draining the new batteries at all…. Those new solar panels that Moe installed were well worth the time and effort. Moe spent some time up on the fly bridge reading one of the new books with his eyes closed, while Lin continued to enjoy The Good, Good Pig.
Sailboat racing at Conanicut Marina, Jamestown, RI.
Later, Moe watched the Shields Regatta, which was right in front of our mooring field, and reminded him of the good old days, when he raced sailboats. Lin watched some of the race from the shower! Our plan for this evening, after more relaxing, is to go back into town with Miss Dixie, have dinner and take a walk in a different direction to see what we can see.
Sunday, July 29, 2007:
We left Jamestown this morning at about 9:30, after Moe and Dixie had a quick run in to shore. Breakfast was on the boat this morning, since we wanted to get out before the wind and waves picked up. About half-way into the four hour trip, we ran into fog, fog, fog. Being in the dense fog is like being alone in the dark. You don’t have any idea what is out there, or might be approaching you. The water looks the same, black and rolling, on all sides of the boat. The sky is the same color in all directions, and you can’t see the land or even which direction the sun is in. Thank goodness for radar, which tells you when something is approaching, even though you can’t see it. And thank goodness for the GPS, which showed us the direction we were going in was right. It’s strange to know a big boat is approaching from behind you, and then watch it pass you on the radar, but never see it.
We arrived at Block Island about 12:00, and were lucky enough to get a mooring in just a few minutes. You can’t reserve moorings here, it’s first-come, first-served. Streams of boats were leaving as we pulled into the harbor, which is called the Great Salt Pond.
Sunday, July 29, 2007:
We left Jamestown this morning at about 9:30, after Moe and Dixie had a quick run in to shore. Breakfast was on the boat this morning, since we wanted to get out before the wind and waves picked up. About half-way into the four hour trip, we ran into fog, fog, fog. Being in the dense fog is like being alone in the dark. You don’t have any idea what is out there, or might be approaching you. The water looks the same, black and rolling, on all sides of the boat. The sky is the same color in all directions, and you can’t see the land or even which direction the sun is in. Thank goodness for radar, which tells you when something is approaching, even though you can’t see it. And thank goodness for the GPS, which showed us the direction we were going in was right. It’s strange to know a big boat is approaching from behind you, and then watch it pass you on the radar, but never see it.
We arrived at Block Island about 12:00, and were lucky enough to get a mooring in just a few minutes. You can’t reserve moorings here, it’s first-come, first-served. Streams of boats were leaving as we pulled into the harbor, which is called the Great Salt Pond.
As fast as the boats were leaving, there was a line of boats pulling in. We picked up our mooring out in front of a place called Champlin’s Resort. All afternoon, Champlin’s has had loud, bad karaoke, blasting out across the harbor.
.
.
Free pump-out at Block island, and Dixie makes a new friend.
After we arrived, we took the launch in to shore. We took Dixie for a walk on the rocky beach overlooking the many boats, and she was excited to wade into the ocean up to her tummy, for the first time. She had a great time trying to pick up stinky old mussel shells and run to keep them away from us… good thing we had her on a long leash! A short walk brought us to Dead Eye Dicks, where the three of us had lunch under a large canopy on their deck, overlooking the harbor. It sure is hot! We’ll relax for the afternoon, shower and have dinner on the boat.
When we were walking around the neighboring docks yesterday afternoon, we saw an old metal tug boat, which someone had lovingly and painstakingly resorted, cleaned, stripped and repainted. The tug was called “The General”, and had been made into a live-aboard. There were pretty curtains in the windows, nice wicker furniture and a huge gas grill on the decks, nice-looking lamps and pictures on the walls visible inside. In the doorway to the main cabin of the boat, a black and white cat greeted us as we walked by. He looked happy to have a big old boat for a home. Later in the evening, we heard the owner of The General come over the radio, and invite the launch operator over for “the cannon”. The cannon?? Sure enough, we sat on deck eating our dinner, and from the direction of The General, we heard two loud booms of a cannon. When our ears stopped ringing, we suddenly realized we could hear a bagpipe from over in the same direction. It was the first time any of us had heard bagpipes playing “When the Saints come Marching In”, or “Anchors Away”. VERY strange!