East Hampton, NY

Like almost everyday, we started by taking Archie in on the dinghy for a walk through Stonington. This time we walked down by the little beach and enjoyed our stroll through the village’s lovely streets.

We didn’t leave our anchorage on Monday, August 16 until 11:25 for the short cruise across Long Island Sound to East Hampton on the eastern end of Long Island.  It was a beautiful day and the seas were calm - just what we like.  We passed the beautiful Southold Lighthouse on the way.  

We arrived at our anchorage in Gardiner Bay, just a couple of blocks from our friends Ernie and Sophie.  We had visited them two years ago and anchored in Three Mile Harbor, on the other side from where they live.  This time Ernie recommended Gardiner’s Bay because there would be light winds out of the south making the bay very calm and we would be just 100 feet off of the beach at the end of their street.  It was a lovely anchorage - we were the only boat and we could bring the dinghy right up to the beach and leave it there safely.

Ernie was there to greet us when we arrived and we walked up to their home.  Sophie arrived a couple of hours later.  They made us a delicious dinner which we ate outside on the comfortable deck and planned our time together for the next two days.

We dinghied back to Zendo and had a very peaceful and calm night on board with this amazing sunset!

The next day was our 35th wedding anniversary which we had celebrated over dinner in Stonington the night before.  After walking Archie on the beach which he quite enjoys, we put him in his crate on Zendo because Ernie had planned an outing on his fishing boat for us.  He picked us up after lunch and whisked us away for the afternoon to give us a tour of the waters and shoreline where he fishes.  He has a charter business and takes people out on fishing expeditions.  It was a very different experience being on his boat which travels at 30 mph compared to Zendo which travels at 8 mph!  The eastern Long Island coastline is stunning and there is everything from multi-million dollar mansions of the rich and famous to deserted beaches to striated cliffs.

 

It’s really quite dramatic.  We cruised into Montauk Harbor which used to be a sleepy fishing village and is now home to faboulous yachts.

We also periodically stopped at different locations where Ernie would take his rod and reel and throw out a line. He eventually snagged a decent sized bluefish but his policy is to catch and release.



That evening Jonny and I decided to make dinner for them.  We made ravioli from our trip to Little Italy and homemade marinara sauce. Sophie made a wonderful tomato and mozzarella salad and Ernie made garlic bread on the grill.  We sat on their deck and feasted to our heart’s content.

Our last day in East Hampton was filled with more exploration.  After a lunch of fresh tomato sandwiches and delicious leftovers, we set out to visit Long House Reserve.  This 16 acre garden was planned and owned by Jack Lenor Larson, an internationally known textile designer.  It has a fascinating array off sculptures, art works, water vistas, ornamental plantings and a fabulous exhibit of his gorgeous and unique textiles.  We stayed for a couple of hours and could easily have lingered longer.

Our plan was to move Zendo that night to a Shelter Island anchorage that had been recommended to us.  Ernie and Sophie wanted to show us Shelter Island by car so Ernie, who hadn’t been aboard Zendo yet, joined us for the short one and a half hour cruise while Sophie drove to meet us there in her car.  She had to take a ferry to get from Sag Harbor to Shelter Island.  

By 5:30 we had a arrived at Shelter Island, another beautiful  anchorage with a plethora of stunning sailboats.  There was a very sweet fleet of little wooden sailboats (Herreshoff dinghies) flitting all around us as we arrived.  It must have been a women’s sailing group because they were all about my age and having a great time.

Sophie met us at the dock where we dinghied in with little Archie. She then proceeded to drive us around the island which is more rustic than East Hampton with a mix of more traditional waterfront homes along with others on the winding wooded streets and lanes.  It’s a beautiful place but a bit more remote since one has to take a ferry to get there!

By this time, it was getting late, so we stopped at a local pizza place and ate dinner outside at a picnic table on the lawn.  Sophie drove us back to the dinghy dock and we said our good-byes.  Ernie and Sophie certainly showed us a great time at their lovely home and the stunning area in which they live. We are most grateful!

Stonington, CT

On Sunday morning, August 15, we took Archie for a walk to Fort Trumbull that was just a half mile from Crocker’s Marina.

It was surprising that Jonny had never been there having grown up in New London.  It was a beautiful setting overlooking the Thames River.   The fort was built to protect the colonies from a British attack from the river during the Revolutionary War but it was never actually engaged in defense maneuvers.  Instead it served in various capacities over the years as a training center,  a supply center, and the Navy’s underground sound lab doing top secret work (and the reason Jonny never went there growing up).  The fort was open with descriptive signs and recreated spaces throughout giving the interesting history of the fortification. 

After our interesting walk, we left our slip at the marina at 11:40 for the short cruise to Stonington, the easternmost town in Connecticut.

It was an absolutely beautiful day - the high temperatures and humidity had abated and Long Island Sound was calm.  We went up the Mystic River to get fuel passing by the charming villages of Noank and Mystic.  The harbor was filled with boats of all sizes on this gorgeous weekend day.

By 2:25 we arrived in Stonington.  Our choices were to spend $100 on a mooring ball (the highest we’ve ever seen) or anchor in the same area for free. Guess which option we choose!  Stonington Harbor is stunning and our anchorage was filled with sailboats.  As the afternoon progressed, many of the sailboats left and we had plenty of open space around us.

The first thing we did was to take Archie into town to do his business.  Stonington is a historic Connecticut village and is considered to be one of the prettiest coastal towns in New England. Originally part of Massachusetts, it officially became part of Connecticut in 1662.  One of its historic claims to fame is that it repelled British attacks during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Pretty impressive!

The town is lovely with many old homes and churches that have been kept in great condition.  We enjoyed strolling through the shady streets and along the waterfront where there is a tranquil small beach.  Even the new construction is in keeping with the historic look of the village.

That evening we planned to celebrate our upcoming 35th wedding anniversary with a dinner at Noah’s Restaurant. We were searching for a nice place to eat and this one seemed to fit the bill.  It wasn’t until after we made the reservations that we realized that we had been there before. On our first big trip on Zendo when we did the Down East Loop in 2015, our good friends Addie and Lange joined us for the cruise from Sandwich, MA  to New London. It was September and we stopped in Stonington to celebrate my birthday.  We found this cool, friendly pub to have beers that day and we were having so much fun that we stayed and ate their excellent happy hour offerings for dinner.   Noah’s now has an excellent Sunday dinner menu so it was the perfect choice for us to relive a fond memory and celebrate our special event.

After a delicious dinner including the famous Stonington scallops we took the dinghy back to Zendo and savored our brief sojourn in this charming New England town.

New London, CT

We took our time on Friday morning, August 13 with each of us going for a paddle first thing.  Stony Creek’s Thimble Islands are such a perfect place to paddle - it’s calm and there are lots of interesting places to explore.  We took Archie for a quick walk on the small beach there where the port-o-potties have a map of all the islands and their names!

By 10:15, we unmoored Zendo and took off bound for New London.  We never can resist a trip to Jonny’s hometown even though the only member of his family who still lives nearby is his cousin Jimmy (who unfortunately we weren’t able to see this time).  It was a sunny day and very hot in keeping with the heat wave that is spreading over the country this season.  We had a smooth passage with calm seas and it was a good thing because we had forgotten to give Archie his CBD chewies that prevent seasickness. It took a bit longer than usual to get there however, because the current was against us the whole way slowing our speeed to an average of 6.5 knots.

As we approached New London, Jonny became quite moved as he always does to see his hometown from the water.  It is a beautiful sight with the traditional tall white New London lighthouse and the uniquely styled square red brick Ledge lighthouse in the middle of the entrance.

With Groton on our right and New London on our left we entered New London harbor and alerted the Shaw Cove RR Bridge to open to let us through.  I took the helm at that point and guided us to our face dock berth at Crocker’s Marina.  This is a very convenient place for us to stay because it’s right in town and we can walk to many of our favorite places.  We were delighted to be berthed next to a Catalina 30 sailboat which was exactly like the one we owned and loved in Miami Beach for several years!

After setting ourselves up for a couple of days on that very hot afternoon we turned on the air conditioning to cool off.  At first it started switching on and off which has been a problem for us.  Fortunately, a bit later it settled down, possibly because the temperature wasn’t quite as high and it didn’t have to work as hard.

We were eager to visit one of our favorite outdoor restaurants and proceeded to take Archie for a walk to Captain Scott’s.  We ordered steamers, lobster rolls, and corn on the cob and sat at one of their picnic tables looking out on the marina where Zendo was docked.  We finished up with a delicious ice cream cone from the dairy next door.  We were very happy with our choices!

The next day was filled with boat chores. Jonny worked hard cleaning the outside of the boat and washing off that “Georgia smile” that irritatingly surrounds Zendo’s hull. Meanwhile I defrosted the freezer (which has to be done every two weeks) and did two loads of the never-ending laundry.  

Our niece Samantha, Andy’s daughter, kindly drove down from her home near Boston to spend the afternoon with us. She was craving Captain Scott’s, clearly everyone’s favorite, so we happily returned there for lunch. This time we had their famous fried clams, a scallops roll, and Rhode Island clam chowder.  Sam then drove us to our favorite Michael’s Dairy which really took us over the top.  No more food for us!

That evening after Sam left for home, we walked into downtown New London to check out their funky bar scene.  There were plenty of choices and we chose one that had the best selection of beers on tap.  It was a nice way to end our visit to Jonny’s hometown!

Stony Creek, CT (2nd visit 2021)

We got up early to take Archie for one last walk in beautiful Southport harbor on Thursday August 12.  We really enjoyed staying at the Pequot Yacht Club and we liked it even more when the club manager charged us for only two of the three nights we stayed on the mooring!

After stopping at the fuel dock to fill up our water tanks and get a much needed pump-out we took off at 10:30 to return to the Thimble Islands. We are heading east once again as we explore Long Island Sound. It was a sunny and hot day but the seas were a little rolly so we were glad that we had given Archie his CBD which we have to hide in his ground turkey or he won’t eat it!  Thankfully, it works and he was a good traveler.

We arrived at the Thimble Islands and tied up at our friend Ted’s mooring ball.  This is such a good set-up for us.  We love it here.  Surrounded by beautiful little islands, we can easily take the dinghy into the lovely village of Stony Creek where the locals are starting to recognize us! And we can stay for free! What more can you ask?

Jonny went for a swim while I worked on the blog. We had a 6:00 Zoom call with the company that bought Jonny’s mom’s senior living community.  Then we took Archie in for a long awaited walk and finally sat down to dinner.  We were going to have a homemade squash and tomato gratin, salmon and corn on the cob. But it was so late by the time we were ready to eat, that we put the gratin aside to have another day and just ate the fish and corn. Later on we did some trip planning to determine where we would go next.  New London was the winning entry!