Our plan was to stay in Fairhaven for just one night and head out towards Martha’s Vineyard. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
We arrived at the Acushnet River Safe Boating Club by 1 p.m. and tied up at an end dock. This club had great prices - $1.50 a foot, unheard of in the northeast. The low prices were because the club is associated with the Coast Guard Auxilary and all those who belong to the club have to volunteer a certain amount of time each year doing training and other Coast Guard related responsibilities. Our friends, Joe and Pat, recommended a couple to us who belonged to the club. We met Dot and Jim right away as they were on the same dock as us.
Jonny had been wanting to go to New Bedford to eat Portuguese food for a long time and now was his big chance. We found great reviews on a Portugese restaurant called Antonio’s and decided to walk there for lunch. We had to cross the bridge to New Bedford and walk along the coast for about two miles which we thought was acceptable. However, the walk was anything but pleasant. It turned out to be quite a long and dusty walk in the hot sun next to a long array of marine related businesses. No fun! But we finally arrived at Antonio’s and we were redeemed by a delicious lunch. We ordered salt cod fritters as an appetizer, a bowl of typical Portugese kale soup and one order of a specialty dish with pork, clams, and potatoes and other tasty morsels. It was huge and very good!. So large, in fact, that in addition to this meal there was enough leftover for three more servings which we ate over the next few days. We got smart and took an Uber back to the marina only to discover later that we could have taken a water taxi for only $3.00!
That afternoon we walked Archie through the lovely town of Fairhaven. Titans of the area’s whaling industry had built beautiful homes in Fairhaven as well an imposing town hall and library and incredible churches, even one with flying buttresses!
The next morning Jonny was cleaning off the boat and told me that he was having trouble seeing out of one eye. This sometimes happens when his blood sugar levels drop but that was not the case here. Because it wasn’t clearing up, he called his ophthalmologist and our friend, Hilda, who is an eye surgeon to ask their advice. His doctor told him to go straight to the ER. Dot and Jim came to the rescue and brought us to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and they took him in immediately. They did a number of tests on him thinking that it was an eye stroke or perhaps a TIA. They were concerned enough to want to keep him overnight so they could do more tests the next day.
In the meantime, Dot insisted on picking me up so I could go back to Zendo to feed Archie and then take me back to the hospital so I could spend the evening with Jonny. She and and Jim picked me up after visiting hours ended and took me around the old downtown section of New Bedford which is very charming with cobblestone streets and historic buildings. It was also hopping with night life.
On Sunday, Dot drove me back to the hospital where the doctors did a couple more tests on Jonny and released him with instructions to see an ophthalmologist, a neurologist and a cardiologist. It was especially important for an ophthalmologist to see him.
Once again, Dot and Jim picked us up at the hospital and later that evening because Jonny was feeling much better, we took them to dinner to thank them for their kindness. We had a delicious and plentiful seafood dinner at a down home restaurant in Fairhaven called Mike’s.
We decided to cancel our plans to go to Martha’s Vineyard for the next two days so we could get Jonny to an ophthalmologist and so he could rest a little, which was a good decision. These medical events take more out of you than you think. Also the weather was going to be overcast and quite windy. Not ideal conditions for crossing Buzzard’s Bay.
On Monday morning Jonny called the ophthalmologist’s office which had already received the medical information from the hospital and we were able to get an appointment at 10:30 that morning! We took an Uber to the office in Fall River and after doing more detailed tests on Jonny’s eye, the doctor was able to make a definitive diagnosis. He had a Branch Retinal Brain Occlusion, the least worst outcome as per the doctor. It is an obstruction in a vein that goes to his retina. Treatment includes aspirin and statins. Not great, but a relief that it wasn’t a worse diagnosis! We took it easy on Monday after the doctor’s visit.
On Tuesday, we took the water taxi to New Bedford to visit the fabulous whaling museum. The water taxi driver told us that New Bedford is the largest seaport in the US by dollar value due to the high value of scallops. The harbor is filled with fleets of fishing boats but they are only allowed to fish for a very limited number of days per year in order to ensure a sustainable fishing environment.
What a fascinating museum! It was chock full of information about the whaling industry and also the history of New Bedford. During the 19th century, New Bedford was the whaling capital of the world. There were real skeletons of whales hanging from the ceilings and a half model of a whaling ship. The most unusual item was a petrified whale penis. It was HUGE! There were also examples of some of the beautiful crystal that New Bedford was known for in the past as well as some beautiful art. We spent a couple of hours soaking up the history of the area and we would have needed more time to see it all.
Afterwards we walked through New Bedford’s historic district, and had a beer at a local brew pub. We followed this with an appetizer size portion of fried clams at the Clam Shack next to the dock where the water taxi dropped us off.
That evening we had, for the first time since we bought it, the ravioli from Bergotti’s in the Bronx. We took Archie for one more walk in the big park just a few blocks from our marina where he was happy to endlessly chase sticks and squirrels. The next morning we’ll continue our travels and head for Falmouth, MA.
So glad Jonathon's eye issue was not worse and hope it will all be well soon.
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