We headed out on Zendo by 9:20 bound initially for Stonington, CT. We didn’t know how far we could get but we wanted to go as far as we could because the following day the weather was going to deteriorate. Our ultimate goal was to get to New London where we would ride out the next few days in a comfortable marina. Our main concern was that the winds were going to kick up on Long Island Sound for several days because of stormy weather. We can handle rain but choppy seas and four foot plus waves are not for us. Our only limitation for the day was the time of sunset as we don’t like to travel in the dark.
The day turned out to be overcast and cool but the seas were not bad at all with 1- 2 foot waves. We made decent time and passed our first bail-out option in Point Judith and decided to proceed past Stonington as well. As the day wore on, we decided we would try to get to New London even though we would be arriving by sunset. And so by 7:10 just as the sun was setting we arrived at the Shaw Cove Bridge that would lead us to Crocker Boat Yard. Unfortunately, the bridge was down awaiting a train to pass. So by the time we got to Crocker’s Marina it was definitely dark. Jonny thought he knew what slip we were assigned so we headed for it and had a tricky docking job because we had to back in. Of course, there were no dockhands at this time of day but we managed to tie up, get the electric set up and settle in. The slip was pretty funky, especially the finger piers which were very wobbly. But we were relieved to have made it all the way to New London and we settled in for the night.
The next day we were doubly relieved to have made it to New London because it was very rainy. We discovered pretty quickly that we had docked at the wrong dock and not only that but the wrong marina! We were at a dock just next door to Crocker’s and we would have to move our boat to another dock and slip. This time it was easier because two dockhands came to help and fortunately the rain let up for the short time it took us to move. So now we settled in a second time and decided to opt for a weekly rate since we would be here for at least five nights.
Jonny’s cousin Jimmy had graciously offered to loan us a car just as he did when we stayed at his in-laws’ dock on our way up earlier this summer. It’s always good to see Jimmy.
On Sunday, our good friends Peter and Paula drove down from Longmeadow, MA and we went out to lunch at Captain Scott’s. It was fairly cool that day and we had to sit outside on the picnic tables as that’s all there is at this popular seafood joint. We always have fried clams here but we were disappointed this time because they were overcooked. We did enjoy our favorite Rhode Island clam chowder and a scallop roll. Afterwards we took Archie and their dog, Wyatt, for a good long walk at Fort Trumbull where they had fun running off leash.
The weather has been dreary and cold and unfortunately our inverter died and that means that we have to go to extra lengths to get heat. Jonny spent the next several days troubleshooting the issue and deciding what to do about it The plan changed from day to day. Fortunately we had a space heater that we moved from salon to cabin as needed and before the week was up we had purchased a second one. We did not freeze!
We had made appointments to get our flu shots and Covid boosters on Monday so we got that done first thing. Afterwards we had lunch with Jimmy. He took us to one of his favorite haunts, Mr. G’s. We were all surprised that Jonny had never been there before. It was a good place for grinders and burgers and beer!
I needed a haircut and Jimmy was nice enough to get me an appointment at the salon next to Mallove’s on Tuesday after my Spanish lesson. I was quite pleased with the outcome! After that we went to the T-Mobile store and finally got ourselves new I-phones which always takes three times as long as expected. Later that day Jonny presented me with my birthday gift - a beautiful silver bracelet that complements the one I wear every day. I love it!
On Wednesday Jonny continued trying to solve the inverter problem by talking to several experts and pricing various alternatives. In the meantime, he bought another portable heater and even brought home electric blankets in an effort to ensure our comfort until the inverter could be fixed! We really didn’t need the blankets but we kept the extra heater. That evening we drove to New Haven to meet my cousin Sally for dinner. We went to Sally’s Apizza, one of the three great pizza restaurants in New Haven. I used to go there as a kid with Sally’s family and mine. We had great pizza and it was a good opportunity to catch up with Sally and tell her about our visit to her second home on Martha’s Vineyard.
We planned to leave Crocker’s on Friday so we spent all day Thursday doing boat chores including laundry, defrosting the refrigerator, grocery shopping, and blogging. We treated ourselves to a better fried clam lunch at Ocean Pizza since we were so disappointed at what we had at Captain Scott’s. This batch was quite delicious! After that I had my book club meeting with Lisa and Maddie.
We took Archie for a long walk at Fort Trumbull where he enjoyed running through the beautiful grounds overlooking the Thames River.
We’ve noticed that the leaves are starting to change colors beginning as always with the maples.
That night we had a light dinner on board and got ready to leave early the next morning for a long cruise to Milford, CT. My apologies for the scarcity of people photos in this blogpost. I don’t know where my head was but we did have a very nice visit in New London!
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