12/31/08
We are back in Oriental! Our last trip here was in May 2008, and was followed in June by Lin getting bucked off a large, angry horse, and getting fractured. It feels really good to be back, in more ways than we can say. It is freezing here, not much different than home, but greener. Probably in the 20s and very windy, but of course there is no snow.

We flew out of Manchester at 7 am, with two stops and time spent waiting for our next flight in each airport. Our third flight was a 50-seat propeller deal, and landed at 3:30 pm. Our rental-car was not far away, and we arrived in Oriental about 4:30. Long day! We could have traveled half way across the world in that same 9 hours, but the trip was worth it, we are back in Oriental where we feel so comfortable, and the people are so nice.

Our boat looks lonely:


It's good to be back in NC. The boat is fine but looks lonely. Since we haven't seen it for so long and it's been closed up since May, we were really worried about mildew and dampness, but there are no problems that we can see. That's a huge relief.

Here's where we stayed:


Rather than stay on the boat this time, we are staying in the old town jail, which is the back lower quarter of the original fire station and town hall, and has been renovated into a nice little rental space. It is comfortable, cute and private. Flora, the owner has provided a gas heater and an electric heater so it's cozy. We are pleased to have met another super-nice resident of Oriental!

Our back door:


Our jail has its own entrance and little back yard. The room has a painted wood floor with a large rug, exposed brick on 3 walls, a sofabed, assorted tables, chairs and other furniture, and a tv. A step up from the sleeping and living room area brings you into a small kitchen/storage area, where there is a stackable washer and drier, a microwave, some cabinets and coffee maker. There is also a good sized bathroom. We think it is quite charming and sort of makes Lin think of Ocean Park, another favorite place. Lin was thrilled when we were told that somewhere in the apartment there is a little lizard, who was unwilling to be chased out into the cold before we arrived, and ran under a piece of furniture, so it's still in there somewhere. It probably would have liked the big spider that was in our tub, but the spider didn't have a chance with us around. Moe caught the spider and set it outside.

The original jail keys:


Outside our back window we can see across a couple of lawns to the water and all the boat masts, so Moe likes that. Flora made us feel so welcome, it almost feels like we are sharing her home with her. We are hoping to meet her husband Jeff later. Oriental is different! We walked the three blocks to the boat after we unloaded our bags, and two complete strangers that we passed on the sidewalk wished us a happy new year. I think that would never happen in NH.

Our plans for this evening are to chase a dragon.


1/1/09 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last night was fun. We went to our favorite and normally very quiet restaurant, M&M's. It was mobbed, and while we were waiting for a table, we started chatting with the couple in line in front of us. Mary and Al moved here in 1997 from Sandwich MA, and have a daughter that lives in Epping NH, about a mile from Lin’s horse. Small world! We ended up joining them for dinner, and then everyone left in a hurry at 8 pm to catch the "running of the dragon". Hopefully we'll see them again when they come up here to visit their daughter later in January.

What a blast! The dragon was huge and long, and attracted a huge crowd. http://towndock.net/news/running-of-the-dragon-2008-into-2009?pg=1

Check here for pictures and to hear how it sounded! http://towndock.net/news/dragon-runs-from-2007-in-to-2008 Make sure your volume is up as loud as it'll go, so you get the feeling of being there!

Hundreds and hundreds of people were on the sidewalk and crowding the street. Everyone was making a huge amount of noise, with little air horns, shaking 5 gallon pails with rocks in them, banging pots and pans with wooden spoons. It was a crazy, loud huge mass of happy people, dogs and kids, all mashed together trying to catch the dragon to put our hands in its mouth, which is said to bring you luck in the new year. We caught up to the dragon a few times, which was hard with all the people, darkness and banging, and the dragon snaking this way and that through the crowd, up and down the street. After a tough 2008, we were feeling a need for any extra available luck.

In addition to the noise of all the folks in the street with kitchen implements and other loud noise-making items, the whole dragon run was all happening while a bunch of drummers were pounding on bongo drums to keep a wild and primitive beat for the dragon to move to as it went up and down the street. One lady holding a little dog had her back to it and with all the noise did not know it was coming. The dragon put it's giant head and open mouth right over the lady and her dog, all the way down to her waist! There was a second dragon run at 11:30, but by then we were fast asleep in the jail. We would've loved to have seen it again, but we were just too tired.

A peaceful next morning, as seen in this view from the Bean:


This morning we had our usual breakfast of coffee and multi-grain power bagels at the unusually crowded Bean. The crowds are the only hint at the number of people that were here last night, and we hear it will be quiet and back to normal here by later in the day. Across the street from the Bean is the Town Dock, where a boat very similar to ours just tied up. The sky is blue, the water is flat, and there are huge pelicans soaring overhead. They land in the water with a very ungraceful crash and splash, as if someone has thrown a large object like a suitcase in. It’s COLD again today - in the mid-20s with a lot of wind. Still nice, though!

Our little room mate:


Moe spent some time working on the boat, while Lin did “work” for home, and caught up on e-mails and phone calls at the Bean. After, while dropping off the computer and phone at the jail, Lin was excited to meet our roommate, a little chameleon. He was cute, and exactly like the little lizards she kept for pets as a child. Of course there was a photoshoot, then a visit in a warm hand. I hope we see him or her again! Spent some time hanging out on the boat, doing some boat laundry in the jail followed by some light shopping and a fantastic lunch at M&M’s. The huge and all the fresh air caused a serious need for a long nap for Moe, and a chance for Lin to catch up on computer stuff.

Making a new friend:


Later we will probably go for a walk down by the water and look for pecans and pine cones that have fallen from the trees. The plan for this evening is to broaden our horizons and try a new nearby restaurant called the Silos. This is conveniently across the street from a much-loved spot of Moe’s, West Marine.


1/2/09

The view from the Bean on a calm morning:


It's a bit warmer this morning, maybe even 40. We are getting some good relaxing time in. It feels good to eat, read, walk around the quiet little town, talk and laugh with folks we're meeting here. Each time we come to Oriental, we meet more people, and recognize people from the last trip.

Greg from Clancy’s Marina told Moe this morning that someone accosted the dragon at its 11:30 pm run, and tore out three of its teeth! Who would do such a thing? What is the world coming to? Everyone thinks this is just awful, to ruin something so important and well loved.

Pelicans:




We tried to eat at a different place last night, called The Silos. Alas, it was closed. We went to our usual haunt and had a great dinner, a good nights sleep, and were back at the Bean this morning for breakfast, a chance for Lin to catch up with her work, and a chance for Moe to meet the man who dove under the boat in August and cleaned all of the seaweed and muscles off of it. They've already grown back, yuck!

Our mission for today is more relaxing, with a trip to local shops to pick up some provisions and a heater or dehumidifier for the boat. Moe spent some time working on the boat, while Lin worked on work e-mails and phone calls, and did some reading. Moe met and talked with the canvas repair folks who may help fix up the old canvas on our boat.

Shopping at some local stores resulted in two small air-circulating heaters, which we put on the boat to combat dampness and mildew. The boat has been at Clancy’s Marina for a full year now. Did I mention Clancy’s is named after a dog? Dogs are everywhere in Oriental. They are all very polite and social, from what we can see.

Chico is Jason's dog, and is a Boston Terrier and Pointer mix:


A sailboat across the dock from ours is the home of Jason, who is from Kansas. He arrived here in Oriental in August with his dog Chico and $8 in his pocket. He docked at Clancy’s and found a job three hours later, so has been here ever since. He's planning to stay until the Fall, and then maybe head to the Bahamas. Chico is almost two, was thrilled to meet us, and loves big sticks.

We are getting to know people and dogs here. A couple of them remind us of Dixie, same basic size and color, but one with wild scruffy hair, and another with short smooth hair. Ray’s big white Shepherd mix, Shadow wanders the Town Dock area greeting people and relaxing on the front porch of the Bean.

Friendly dogs of Oriental:
















In the afternoon we went to our friend Happy's house for a visit and a cup of nice tea, which happened to have been made by Mary, who we'd met and had dinner with on New Year's Eve. Happy told us Mary grew the mint and other plants in the tea in her garden. It was very good. We had fun catching up with Happy and enjoyed our time with her.

Moe's got a good book about boats:



After an afternoon rest with more reading of really good books, we went next door to the old Town Hall and spent some time Flora and her husband Jeff, had a tour of the place, and sat and talked for a while. The building has some great history and used to house the town fire department, court and magistrate’s office. Now it has three charming and bright bedrooms upstairs, a big kitchen and living area downstairs along with several bathrooms and a nice fireplace. Historical photos and decorations are everywhere.

The evening was finished with a huge dinner at the Silos. The dining room was the second floor of a metal silo, very loud and quite crowded, but the food was great. We were back home in our jail by 9pm, snuggled in with our books. We have not seen our little reptile friend since this morning, but Lin put down a plate of fresh water for her.

Dragons are everywhere in Oriental. This one is in the small pond next to The Bean:
















Dragon eggs can be seen in different parts of town:



1/3/09

We found our little friend again this morning, sitting on one of the slats in a window shade, where it can get warm from the sun. We have decided to name her Fauna. She seems to turn brownish when she’s cold, and get green when she’s warm. We went for breakfast at The Bean, and found Ray is back from his trip, comfortable on his usual couch in the corner. Ray, why do they make you sit in the corner?

The "Wits End" and local fish market:






We ran into Happy again this morning, and met some new folks, including Ken, a race horse vet. Ken might help Lin adopt a kind older retired throroughbred from the racetrack in NH next year. After visiting with folks for a while at the Bean, Moe went to work on the boat and Lin stayed a while longer to catch up on work. Later we walked past the last part of the farmers market, which is on the grass right next to the Wit’s End, a cute and crooked little building near the center of town. There were good things to eat there. From there we went on to visit the Oriental History Museum, which had a lot of interesting information and artifacts from times gone by.

Moe and the boat. The blue canvas and vinyl windows are all off for the winter.





We had dinner with Flora and Jeff at M&Ms. It was nice to spend some time relaxing, laughing and getting to know each other. Ray had a little gathering at his house this evening, too. We went by later for a glass of wine and dessert, and got to know Ross, Cindy, Rusty and their 12 year old son Luke. Others were there but we’re not good with remembering names. Luke was very interested in Moe’s honeybees, and might start a hive of his own next year. It was a really nice day.


1/4/09
Today was spent in sort of a rush. We had our last breakfast, visiting and e-mail at the Bean. Thank you, Eric and June for taking such good care of us! Packing, last minute things to take care of on the boat, and then lunch at M&Ms. On the way over, Moe saw another little lizard sunning itself on the walkway, so we decided it it was warm enough for him, it must be warm enough for Fauna. If we saw here after lunch, we'd try to convince her to go outside where there is sunshine and food. We were lucky! There she was on the windowsill, not too difficult to catch at all. We put her outside the back door of our jail, and let her go in the green grass.

Fauna is free!











Then we did one last check on the boat, and headed off to New Bern to find a hotel for the night, so we could drop off our rental car and be close to the airport. Monday January 5th was spent flying home. More snow is on the way!

See you in a few months...

MAY 3 - 8, 2008 (draft)

Oriental, NC. We love it here. We flew into North Carolina on Saturday May 3, rented a car, and headed to Oriental. The weather is perfect, warm and breezy, with clear skies and no humidity.

We arrived in Oriental too late for the annual town-wide yard sale, but still had time to catch the end of a festival here in the park next to the water. Crawfish and roasted red potatos, a zydeco band and little kids dancing barefoot on the green grass. It was fun, and what a nice afternoon to sit outside next to the water and eat, relax, and listen to music. On the way back to the boat, we enjoyed walking past the nicely kept houses and flower gardens, and saw two cottontail bunnies nibbling clover on someone's front lawn. (Ray, I can hear you laughing!)

Tim and Paula have left Oriental, and are moving north again. It was sad to see their empty spot next to our boat, and we hope we will see them again. Tim made us a great meal on their boat the last time we were in Oriental, and the best cole slaw ever. We were pleased to learn that a local boating magazine published a story about Tim and Paula and their boat in the May 2008 edition. You can check it out here: http://www.carolinacurrents.com/detail.php?718,,



We went for lunch and shopping in New Bern with Sonya,Lin's friend from a previous job. Sonya and her family live in North Carolina now. We also took the ferry with our car to Beaufort, saw wild horses on Shackleford Island, and met a couple of hungry but shy stray cats in a park near the shore.

Later we were invited for a wonderful dinner at Ray's, who made us feel like royalty. We had a chance to meet his friends Laura and Gil, who live up the street.

Dinner at Rays. Ray is a GREAT COOK!!

Yesterday, Thursday December 6, 2007, Lin and Moe flew from Manchester NH To Norfolk VA. We took a taxi and arrived at the Portsmouth Boating Center at about 3:30 pm. IT'S FREEZING HERE!!! Cold enough to see your breath. The winter coats we wore down on the plane sure came in handy. Shortly after we arrived at the boat, Moe surprised Lin with an early Christmas present: an electric space heater.

At 5 pm when Karen from the Marina got finished with work, she took us into town. She'd made us a 5:30 reservation for dinner at a great restaurant called Brutti's. Super meal. After we ate, the hostess from Brutti's gave us a ride back to the boat. People are so nice here.

With the cabin door closed, and the heater on, we slept pretty well after about 11 pm. It took a while to warm up, but we slept in fleece pants, warm socks and a couple layers of long sleeved shirts, so we were ok. LOVE that heater. :-)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2007.

Today we left the marina at about 8:15 am. It is cold, but not as bad as yesterday. The high today was probably 45, but it was breezy and damp. Leaving Portsmouth and Norfolk (on the other side of the water), we passed some large military ships and a huge ship from Monrovia. We also passed a snow-covered barge with a snowman on it.

Our first LOCK of the trip, Great Bridge Lock, was interesting and kind of fun. We are really on the ICW! This afternoon we reached MILE 1000 of the trip. Throughout the day, we spotted 4 Bald Eagles.



Just before dark, we arrived at Midway Marina and Motel in Coinjock North Carolina, settled in on a dock with power and turned on the heat. There is a nice little store with good hot coffee, and a restaurant next door named Crabbies. The store has all kinds of supplies and even some food, but no milk for our coffee. And we must have our coffee! The gentleman running the store kindly called his wife and asked her to pick up some milk for us at a local store, which was really nice. Some of the same boats that were travelling in front of or behind us today are here, too. We'd travel alone for a long time, but everyone would catch up to each other when we'd have to stop to wait for a bridge to open.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2007

We woke up early and left the marina at 6:45 am for what we expected to be about a 10 hour ride. We got to see the sun rise over the waterway, and more of the knobby-rooted trees that someone said are cypruses.


Passing through Abermarle sound was like crossing an ocean, except it was flat and calm all the way. Part of the time, we couldn't see land. We spotted a few pelicans today, and another bald eagle. Very cool! We arrived tired but finally warm at the River Forest Marina at about 4:30 pm. The temperature has been rising all day, and it's probably in the 60s. Bryce, the man who helped us tie up to the dock, says tomorrow will be in the 70s. Yay! We were pleased to find that we have free internet right on the boat, so finally a chance for Lin to catch up on e-mail for work. River Forest Marina is in Pungo Creek, in Bell Haven North Carolina. We're at about mile 135 on the ICW, and have reached mile 1101 on our trip.

On our way to New Bern NC, where we'd planned to leave the boat until our next trip, we looked on the maps and charts for a place to stop and rest. There was a little town called Oriental that sounded like an interesting place to check out. We were fortunate enough to find a free town dock, right across the street from the best coffee shop in the world, "The Bean".

Oriental is a great place! Small, cute, friendly town. Nice people, some great shops, art gallery, a handful of really good places to eat. At the Bean, we were told that the locals that hang out there often hold up signs with numbers on them, rating people as they dock their boats across the street at the Town Dock. Luckily, nobody was watching us when we came in.... although I'm sure they would have been ever-so-impressed by Lin's amazing dock-lassooing techiques.

In Oriental, there are boats and kayaks and bicicles. Lots of folks have dogs, who are all polite and give you a nice greeting. There is no leash law, and often dogs hang out on the porch of the Bean while their people are inside. Most streets do not have lines on them, and there are no streetlights that I remember. At one point, we were walking down the street back to the boat, and a couple standing on the town dock said to Moe "Are you from New Hampshire?"

Everywhere we go, there is someone who knows Moe.

This particular man was an acquaintance of Moe's from "home". Tim was in Oriental with his wife Paula, living and traveling aboard their gorgeous custom made boat. We spent some time with Tim and Paula, walked around town together, ate together, and laughed together. Tim was able to get us a spot at the place where he and Paula were keeping their boat, the Dorothy Gale. Clancy's Marina is named after a dog, which in our eyes makes it even nicer. We were able to dock directly across from Tim's boat. We decided to cancel our trip to New Bern, leave the boat in Oriental for a few months, and spend some more time there.

In town, we met some really great people: Melinda, who brought us real mistletoe that grows down there, June, who was so friendly and cheerful every morning at the Bean as we came stumbling in for our coffee, Happy, who is as lovely as her name, and Ray, who was kind enough to pick us up and drive us 30 miles to the airport at 5 am on the day we headed back home. It was hard to leave Oriental because we met so many great people in such a short space of tiem. It's beautiful and quiet there, and we are looking forward to when we go back!

Moe, Bernie and Ron flew from Manchester, headed to Baltimore.

Huge apologies from Lin, who is way behind on getting this posted due to a loss of computer memory...

OCTOBER 2007

Not worthy of jury duty, Moe woke up at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning October 2nd, deciding to get the boat further south. That was a week or two earlier then planned, but due to a slow moving high pressure system crossing the country, it looked like a perfect opportunity to move the boat down the Jersey coastline. With numerous calls to friends, comrades and family members, a victim was found. My father in law, Bernie was an able crew, with many years experience on sailboats.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007
We departed Manchester at 0730 on Friday, October 5th. Unlike all the other times, traffic was not a problem and we arrived at City Island Yacht Club at 1230. That was even after several stops, the grocery store for provisions and West Marine for charts on the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay. We convinced a sailing coach from Cornell to bring us to the boat because the launch was out having lunch. We tried to tip him, but he would have none of that, his “good deed for the day”, he said.

So we quickly prepared the boat for departure. The boat was much more of a pleasant sight to see compared to last time. Although the flying rats visited a few times, the boat’s new seagull deterrents worked pretty well. We left CIYC at 1330 with hot and humid conditions. Although we were going to be fighting the currents through Hell’s Gate, I wanted to get fuel and get closer to the Jersey coastline for an early departure on Saturday. Plans don’t always work out.







We made it down the East river to the tip of Manhattan and arrived at the doorsteps of Liberty Harbor Marina. I tried to reach them on the phone all day but with no answer. Needless to say, at 1615, they finally picked up the phone to say the fuel docks just closed. Of course I had a backup plan, the Atlantic Boat Basin was further south, but was open until 1830 and had accommodations for us for the evening. We headed south and visited the Statue of Liberty one more time. She was shrouded with a lot more haze compare to my visit with her in August.

Having backup plans on a journey like this is always a good thing. As soon as we left the green lady, the fog just rolled right in with little warning. The last place you want to be is in NYC harbor in the fog. There is a lot of commercial and commuter traffic zipping around the harbor. We slowed the boat right down and navigated with radar and the GPS. Slowly maneuvered the boat to the shoreline and out of the shipping channel. Once we went under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge that goes to Staten Island (also not ever seeing the bridge itself other than the radar screen, we took a hard right and made way to Great Kill Harbor. Richmond County Yacht Club is located in Great Kill Harbor. Although RCYC was not quite in the direction we wanted, it was going to be a safer journey. There was not much in the commercial boat traffic and no need to cross any shipping channels. We arrived just as the fog began to lift but the sun was setting.
We arrived at the mooring at 1930 having traveled 33 nm.

RCYC had a great facility with full launch service. We went ashore and had a nice relaxing dinner in a local café. Watched a little of the NY Yankee game getting mauled by another team. We had to keep our comments to a dull roar in order not to get the Yankee fans up in riled up.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2007
Fog was slow to lift in the morning, delaying our start to the big run down the Jersey Coast. We got started before the fog fully lifted at 0845. We poked our way through the fog to the Atlantic Highland Municipal Boat basin to get fuel. We arrived at docks at 0930 and fueled –(210 gals – Yikes!). Getting fuel in NJ is on average of 30 to 40 cents per gallon cheaper than on the NY side of the river.

We left the fuel docks at 1000 and then headed around Sandy Hook. There were lots of sports fishing boats out. Although the seas were a little bouncy, it was all man made. After we rounded Sandy Hook, the boat traffic was not an issue. The journey down the NJ coastline is relatively easy. We traveled close to shore 2 to 3 miles all the way down. The issue with the NJ coastline is that there are very few places or inlets to duck into in case of bad weather. The drive along the shoreline was not very interesting. The shoreline is just a row of houses with little or no green space. We used water tanks and high-rise condo projects as references points – Yuck! However, the water was flat as a pancake; just what the doctor ordered.

On the way down the shoreline, Bernie and I took shifts driving. During my off time, I researched for a nightspot for us to stay. Since we had the late start due to the fog, getting to Cape May was way out of reach. There was not many options and we were seriously considering dropping the hook inside Little Egg Harbor Inlet. However, when we arrived at the inlet, waves were breaking off shore, the chart and GPS and depth sounder had all conflicting information. There were no marks due to the continuous shifting of the sand. I made the corporate decision to head to Atlantic City. Although we would be arriving at night, the Absecon Inlet is better marked and lighted to get into and I besides that, I wanted to hit the blackjack tables.

I found at spot at the Kammerman’s Marina, which worked out perfectly. They were located only 10 minutes in the harbor. We arrived in Atlantic City and docked at 1930, one hour after sunset. We had traveled 90 miles today. Unable to find any restaurants open, we were forced to drink beer all night long. Well to be honest, we were both so wiped out from our long day; we enjoyed a toasted banana sandwich and went right to bed. Bernie is not fessing up, but I think he snuck out and hit the casinos while I was sound asleep.




SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2007
We were tied up right at the fuel dock, so at 0700 we fueled up, bought some provisions and were on our way by 0730. We had another three hours before hitting Cape May. Bernie drove while I calculated our options. Between Cape May and Cape Charles there were few options of inlets and transportation back north. We would have had to drive two long days and get in late at our final destination. Not ever seeing the place I picked out for the month layover concerned me as well. So we changed our destination to Baltimore. This route will take through the Cape May canal, up Delaware Bay, through the C&D canal and then down the Chesapeake to Baltimore. The goal was to put a long day in on Sunday, and arrive mid-afternoon on Monday, giving us plenty of time to close up the boat.

Delaware Bay is huge. We had a little haze and had difficulties seeing from one shore to the other. The seas were very calm due to the stalled high pressure system over us. We motored out way up the bay up to the C&D Canal. We arrived at the canal at dusk with another hour or so to go. The guidebook spoke of free slips in the basin at Chesapeake City. However, when we arrived, there were numerous boats anchored in the basin. So we called the Chesapeake Inn and secured a slip for the evening, all according to plan or was it luck. Today, we had traveled 101 miles with only 60 miles left to our destination.

Our provisions were low and we were starved. So we headed to town for a nice dinner. We arrived just in time prior to closing and had a great meal. The basin was very calm overnight. In the morning, as Bernie showered, I went to town to pick up breakfast and lunch; Awesome apple pie for breakfast with coffee, and grinders for lunch. When I got back, we took off and ate on the fly.







Since we traveled pretty much all the way through the C&D canal, when we departed Chesapeake City, we were vitually in the Chesapeake Bay. There was a little haze but very flat again. The bay has many crab pots but nothing compared to the New England lobster pots. We stayed a little out of the shipping canal to avoid some of the large cargo ships they were going up and down the bay. Bernie was always interested in racing them, a true sailor at heart.

We made our way up the Patapsco River up to Baltimore. The early impressions were not very good. Very industrialized to say the least. A lot more pleasure crafts than we had seen along the way. As we headed northwest up the bay, the traffic got more and more congested. We made our way into the bay to Middle Branch Mooring. After going underneath a gorgeous South Hanover Street bridge, our eyes gazed upon the new home of Cricket.

Yikes! Half the docks were wiped out in some prior storm; the remaining pillions and docks were in very tough shape. The dock master road around in a skiff and was shirtless. All the boats at the marina were, let’s say vintage ----junk. I was very disappointed. I really did not feel comfortable leaving the boat here for a month. Either it would be stripped cleaned or washed away in the next tide change. We got the boat into the tight quarters with a little effort. After the boat was secured, Bernie went on a stroll of the marina. I, on the other hand, got my guidebooks out and starting making calls. I quickly found a marina nearby which was only $40 more per month but sounded great. I told the dock master at the Inner Harbor East Marina that we would be right over. I then searched for my able crew and found him talking to the shirtless dock master. I gave him $10 for helping us and then gave him the bad news. He understood my concerns, and made our way to Cricket’s new home.

WOW! What a great decision. The Inner harbor has new docks, security and is located right in downtown. We found out that is was so cheap is because we got the winter rate. Nice! While Bernie enjoyed his book, I washed the boat from top down. The seagull mess from CIYC is slowly being cleaned off, but it is going to be a long process.
Afterward, we walked to Little Italy had had a great dinner. This part of Baltimore is very similar to the north end of Boston. It has lots of restaurants of choose from. The people were very friendly. After our meal, we slowly walked back to the boat to pack. Lin on the home crew secured us tickets on Amtrak from Baltimore to NYC for Tuesday morning at 0800.





Early on Tuesday we finished packing and took a cab to the train station. The train ride was very relaxing and quick. We arrived in New Rochelle station at 1130 and got taxi rid back to CIYC. The drive back home was with little traffic again. After stopping for fuel for the car and ourselves, we still arrived in Manchester by 1730.

Thanks Bernie! It was a great adventure.

SUNDAY September 23, 2007

The clouds have gone, and the sky is a perfect clear blue. We all had a great nights sleep, it was quiet, the water was flat, and it was a nice temperature for sleeping. Haverstraw Marina was very nice. It is huge, with so many boats they give you a map of all the docks when you check in. They have nice bathrooms with a good sized laundry room, a game room, olympic sized pool, marine store, and nice park area to walk dogs in.



There is a large sculpture at the entrance called "The Mariner's Gateway". On the way past the marina building to see it, we walked by the New York office for Normandeau Associates, which reminded Lin of some great friends she met back home, at the branch near where we now live. Small world! our neighbors on the close-by boats were all friendly and greeted us cheerfully this morning. No complaints about Haverstraw at all, it is a very nice place!


We left the marina at about 12:15, and headed north. The river is beautiful! There are huge rocky hills that raise right out of the water, which is very deep. Sometimes it is over 150 feet. Most of the river is undeveloped, or at lease appears so from the water. There are steep, rocky hills and lots of trees. Not too many houses, but a few small towns along the way, including Cold Spring, which looked just like it was right out of Mayberry. We considered stopping there, but it didn't look like we could get our boat in. We also passed a few power plants, including a big nuclear power plant. We wondered which way we'd go if it exploded. Up, I think.

We passed West Point Academy, parts of which look like a big old gray fortress. We went by Pollopel Island, and saw troops of people in huge, oversized canoes, and the ruins of what looked like it had been a castle.

Now we're at the Torches Restaurant Marina in Newburgh. We got here about 3:30 this afternoon. Lin lassoed the dock front of the cheering crowd outside the restaurant, and then a live band began to play. Ok, not really. We were parked in front of the bar, which is now piping music outside, and is surrounded by burning tiki torches. The afternoon choppy water from all the speeding boats has died down, and now the water is flat and calm. A leisurely afternoon was followed by a great dinner just up the street. We were able to get outside seating and tie Dixie on the fence next to our table. She shared our bread and drank water from a goblet. We 've gone 420 miles since our trip started. It's clear and cool, more great weather for sleeping!

MONDAY September 24, 2007

This morning we slept in until almost 8:00. We awoke to another perfect September morning, clear and blue and cool. We took off early to catch a lift north with the incoming tide, and saw some interesting sights and two old lighthouses that have been restored. There were hardly any boats on the water today, which made it extra nice. We saw a lot of trains runing along the shore. Some were sleek bullet-fast passenger trains, and others were cargo trains. We saw one cargo train with 5 engines, pulling 107 cars!

We arrived at the city of Kingston Municipal dock around noon. It's a really cute town, all of the brick buildings have been re-done and painted in different colors. We are almost next to the Kingston Maritime Museum and a trolley museum. There was a wooden boat show at the Museum and they had no room for us there, so we tied up next door at the town dock. Lin had a bunch of phone calls to deal with for work, and Moe and Dixie got their bearings on shore. After that, we all had a nice walk through town, had a great lunch at a Mexican place where Dixie was welcome to join us in the outdoor dining area. We did some window shopping, and took turns holding Dixie so the other could go into a couple of antique stores.

By mid-afternoon, it was really hot outside. We came back to the boat and Moe took Dixie on another walk while Lin did more work. There is a lot going on back home! We had dinner at a great Italian cafe, where the owner told us Dixie "was more than welcome", and then had dessert just a few doors down at a little Italian Ice shop. moe and Lin had Guiness and Mango flavored Italian Ices. The owner here gave Dixie a tiny ice cream cone filled with vanilla soft serve. She loved it! Yes, she is a little spoiled.

The temperature has dropped quite a bit, so it should be another great night for sleeping. Dixie (aka Cujo) keeps her ears tuned for any sounds, and barks like crazy if she hears anything unusual. It's just like having an alarm system on the boat.

This is the farthest north we're going to make it on this trip, and we'll be heading south tomorrow with the outgoing tide.

TUESDAY, September 25

Another busy morning of work and e-mails for Lin. Moe and Dixie went on a long walk on shore, and then we all had breakfast on the sundeck. It's a gorgeous sunny morning again, and the weatherman says it'll be another hot afternoon. Tomorrow we are supposed to get rain and thunderstorms, so we may try to get further south today than we'd originally planned. There were hardly any boats on the river today, but the few that we did see were all speeding and leaving huge wakes behind them. After a long and leisurely day, enjoying the scenery on the Hudson, we arrived back at Haverstraw, in the exact same slip we were in a couple of days ago. It was another hot day but is now cooling off nicely. September is great. We have traveled 493 nautical miles since we started our trip in June, with traveling time of 78.5 hours, traveling at an average speed of 6.3 knots. Because of the bad weather forecast for Thursday, we plan to make it back to City Island Yacht Club tomorrow. This will give us plenty of time on Thursday to prepare some type or seagull-proofing system for the next time we leave the boat.

Friday, September 21, 2007

We arrived back at CIYC at about 9:15 pm, loaded our stuff onto the launch, and headed out to the boat. Dixie was excited to be back and acts like a true boat dog now. On the launch, she stands up on the side and sticks her nose up into the wind, her long fur and tail blowing out behind her. The life jacket is no problem for her now. The launch brought us up to the side of the boat, where it’s easier to unload our stuff than onto the swim platform. Lin and Dixie climbed up first, stepped onto the deck, and ...CRUNCH!! Crunch?!? What the heck is that?!? As our eyes adjusted to the dark, we saw that the sides and deck of the boat were covered with dead crabs. Big ones, little ones, crushed ones, broken ones. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Everywhere. The seagulls must have been partying here for the whole month while we were gone. Ohhhhhhhh, there is a lot more than crabs here. There is poop everywhere. Seagull poop, thick, white and dripping, dried in layers all over the blue canvas cover of the boat, the dinghy, deck, roof, radar, and solar panels. Yuck!

This week we plan to go up the Hudson River as far as we can, then back down again to City Island. There will be a lot of sights to see, and hopefully not too many seagulls. What a mess. Well anyway, we are back on the boat and back in New York. Or as Lin was recently reminded by her brother Jeff, and to quote the famous words of Ace Frehley, WE’RE BACK, BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE….

And we definitely need some sleep.

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Moe woke up at the crack of dawn, left Lin on the boat to snooze, and took Dixie and his credit card in to town to do a little shopping. He arrived back at the boat with some oat cleaning supplies, a seagull repellant whirlie-bird thingie, some good information about a nearby IGA, two cups of coffee and two hot breakfast sandwiches. After breakfast we took the launch in, and drove into town to finish our grocery shopping. We got back to the boat and Lin put away groceries while Moe struggled to scrape and hose seagull poop and more dead crabs off of the boat. It is horrible to see in the daylight! Didn’t smell too good, either! The weather report called for clear skies, so we headed out towards the Hudson River. The weather man was wrong. It POURED. Where the seagulls had pooped on the roof, the 303 waterproofing had dissolved, and rainwater mixed with seagull poop leaked through the canvas over the flybridge and onto us. Yuck.

We left City Island Yacht Club at about 11:45 am. We traveled west on the East River to Hell’s Gate, then north up the Harlem River into the Hudson River. Eventually the rain stopped, and we had cloudy skies but decent weather the rest of the way. Since we don’t have enough water or water pressure to really wash the boat well, we booked a slip at the Tarrytown Marina, near the Tappan Zee Bridge. When we were just about there, they called Moe on his cell phone and let us know that they’d over-booked, and didn’t have room for us after all. Argh! We had no choice but to travel another hour and a half north to the Haverstraw Marina. The Hudson River is pretty, what we can see of it. There’s a lot of fog and mist, so you can’t see far. The left side is mostly heavily treed with high, straight rock cliffs, and the right side of the river is somewhat developed –but doesn’t look overcrowded, as we’d expected.

We had a nice lunch of English muffins, all natural peanut butter, big fat tomato’s from our garden, and cold milk. It is like camp, only better!

Heard on the radio: “We got some fog here, I can’t see ya”. “Put the radar on.” “Ok, I got the radar on.” “Good, can you see land?” “No, I’m on land.” There are very few boats out here today, probably a good thing.

Dixie is having a good day, sleeping under Moe’s feet as he drives the boat, begging for treats, and trying really hard to sneak up on the bow to munch on a few leftover crab shells. We arrived at Haverstraw around 5 pm , fueled up, pumped out, and moved tour slip by about 6 pm. There are a lot of boats here, some really big ones. We were fortunate that the people in the slip next to us came over and helped us tie up. The boats are very close together. People here are all very social, and have come over to introduce themselves and say hello.