Westport, NY

We left for Westport, NY early on Friday, July 8 because thunderstorms were expected later in the morning and we wanted to be securely anchored before they arrived.  Jonny brought Archie in for a walk and tried to tie up at the nearby marina but a less than friendly man there told him that he couldn’t do so.

Upon his return we pulled up the anchor and left by 7:40 a.m. for the short 90 minute cruise to Westport. The skies were overcast and it was just a matter of time when the storms would arrive.  We found an anchorage in Westport just outside of the marina but once the anchor was set Jonny wasn’t happy. He felt like it was too close to the marina and a nearby sailboat so we moved a bit further south and this location was more to his liking. Obviously, it’s important not to be too close to anything especially if the winds whip up in a storm. 

We dinghied in soon after and saw that John and John had Ecstasea in the marina. We went over to say hi and to see if they would like to have lunch in town with us. 

They agreed and we climbed the steep hill up into town. As we did so the skies darkened considerably and just as we arrived at the charming inn it started to rain hard.  

We had chosen a restaurant called Mountain Dog Restaurant and Pub housed in the historic Gables Inn.  We were seated at a table in a small quaint room just off the porch. We were able to keep the screen door open for a cool breeze and watch it pour outside.

After a nice lunch we all walked quickly back to the shore, this time downhill, in order to avoid the next deluge.  The town is quite lovely with beautiful homes and well-maintained businesses. Fortunately, we made it back to Zendo just before it started to rain again.

Now that we were all cozy on board, we spent some time reading and relaxing. Later in the afternoon we worked on our presentation of the Down East Loop for the MTOA conference.  Because it was Friday night, we tuned in to our favorite news shows, PBS News Hour (which we watch every night), Washington Week, and Firing Line. We skipped dinner having had a big lunch and went to sleep at a reasonable hour. 

 

The next day we’ll be heading for Essex, NY and by Sunday we should be in Burlington.

Port Henry, NY

We took our time leaving Chipman’s Point Marina on Thursday, July 6. After one last walk through the gorgeous countryside, Jonny stopped at the marina “office” to stock up on another of this marina’s benefits - ice cream!  They have a big freezer loaded with tubs of various flavors of delicious ice cream. It’s a help yourself set up with paper bowls and an ice cream scooper all for only $1 a serving!  Jonny stocked up on their maple walnut flavor.

We took off at 10:20 for the short three hour cruise to our destination, Port Henry, NY.  

It was a very hot and sunny day.  Heat records are being broken throughout the world this year and we are very glad to be up here and on the water for the summer.  It was a lovely cruise - the scenery is stunning. The lake was flat as a pancake. This part is very narrow, almost like a river, and didn’t begin to widen until we passed Crown Point.

We found an anchorage just outside of Port Henry by 12:45 and had lunch.  It was too hot to walk into town yet so we decided to cool off in the best possible way by going swimming.  It took me a while to lower myself in but once I did it was well worth it. The water was refreshingly cool and it definitely did the trick.  

Afterwards we read and relaxed until 4:00 when we took the dinghy into town. We landed by a park with a nearby beach.

Port Henry is a hamlet within the town of Moriah.  It has a population of 1,200 and it was known in the past for iron ore extraction and processing, harvesting smelt and ice fishing. The town has definitely seen better days.  We trudged up a very steep hill to reach the center of town. Along the way many of the homes were in various states of disrepair and there were few open businesses.  When we got to the top of the hill there were a few more stores and businesses but none with any real appeal to us. The shopping was limited to a Stuart’s (sort of like a 7-11) and a Dollar Store. We took advantage of both and stocked up on a few items.  There was a local bar and a cold beer was certainly in order but even Jonny refused to take advantage of its uninviting presence. I tried to capture some of the nicest images as we walked through town and not the less attractive ones.

Upon our return to Zendo, Jonny thought we might be better off moving to a more protected anchorage since the wind was anticipated to pick up. So we moved a half a mile north and settled in for the evening.  We had a delicious dinner of lamb chops, broccoli and quinoa on the aft deck.

Our plan was to leave early the next morning since thunderstorms are expected and we want to get settled before they hit.

Orwell, VT

On the first day of July while Jonny took Archie on shore for a walk, Archie took off chasing who knows what and didn’t return when called. Of course, eventually he returned and Jonny returned to Zendo quite upset with our little dog. We left shortly after that for the quick 30 minute trip back to Chipman Point Marina. 

Jonny spent a good part of the day identifying the source of our propane leak to no avail. I managed to use our electric hot plate to prepare macaroni salad as our contribution to the the pot luck supper that the marina was sponsoring that evening.  It was a nice event as they had a guitarist and a fiddler  playing lots of songs from our era.  We sat with two John’s - one of whom we had met at the dock in Whitehall. His friend, John, had joined him for part of his cruise.

Later that evening, Chip, the owner of the marina set off a surprisingly extensive fireworks show from a barge on the lake. It lasted over 30 minutes and was really impressive especially since his right hand man was not available to help him.  Of course we had a ringside seat from Zendo.

The next day we went for a long walk in the surrounding countryside with Archie. He was particularly interested in some cows but they couldn’t have cared less about him!

Back at Zendo Jonny kept fussing with the propane problem and finally Chip, the owner of the marina, came to look at it. He confirmed that the regulator needed to be replaced but we wouldn’t be able to get one until after July 4.  In the meantime, I took the marina’s loaner car and drove into the tiny and charming town of Orwell (population 1,235) to go to the post office and get some groceries.

The grocery store was closed but there was a wonderful farm stand that had beautiful vegetables and I stocked up on tomatoes, strawberries, green beans, onions, potatoes and even yogurt! Jonny had called to say that the two Johns wanted to have dinner together.  I was excited to get the last strawberry rhubarb pie at the stand so we would have a delicious dessert!  I stopped at a little convenience store on the way back to get a few more staples. 

The countryside around Orwell is just beautiful with rolling hills and beautiful farmland. It was a pleasure to drive through the winding roads and see beautiful vistas at every turn.

That evening we were going to share dinner with the two Johns at a picnic table but it started to sprinkle so we changed plans and ate on our aft deck.  For a spur of the moment meal, we had quite a nice feast with flank steak, macaroni salad, fresh green bean salad and of course, pie for dessert!  It was a pleasant and relaxing evening.

We thought we might anchor off of Ticonderoga on July 4 to watch the fireworks there. As we headed out around 4 p.m. the sky up ahead became increasingly dark and we saw lightening in the distance.  After consulting the radar on our weather apps, it looked as if the storm might cause the fireworks to be cancelled, so we made an executive decision and headed back to Chipman Point and returned to our dock..

Jonny made a nice salad with the leftover flank steak and as we ate dinner it appeared that the rain was never going to come.  He was still determined to check out the fireworks even though we don’t usually travel in the dark. Despite my weak protests, he took off on the dinghy armed with a phone and flashlight to see what there was to see. Archie wistfully watched him go and anxiously awaited his return while I hunkered down for the evening.

About an hour later he returned only to report that while there were fireworks, they weren’t at the fort but further away in the town of Ticonderoga. Therefore they weren’t nearly as dramatic as the ones we saw at Chipman’s two nights earlier. We didn’t miss anything and he got to make his evening dinghy ride.

On Wednesday Jonny got a ride into town with Chip’s mother to buy the regulator we need to fix the propane system while I did laundry. This marina only charges a dollar for a load of laundry and that includes the dryer. I did three loads while here! Note the high water marks on the steps from previous storms!

Jonny, in the meantime, was able to get a temporary regulator for the propane system and spent quite a bit of time installing it in the smallest possible space under the upper helm.  If he was even five pounds heavier I don’t think he would have been able to reach in to install it.  

We enjoyed our last afternoon in Orwell working on our presentation for the upcoming MTOA Rendezvous.  The highlight of the afternoon was a visit from Michael Goldfield, my friend since junior high school. He travels almost daily between his home in Dorset and Burlington and we always see him and Melina when we are in Vermont or in Maine where they also own a home. We’ll see more of them when we return from the Rendezvous. 

That evening we had another lovely walk in the area around the marina.  The nearby farm had chickens and most surprisingly, two peacocks and a peahen! We didn’t know that they existed in this part of the country.  They are actually considered neighborhood pests in Miami!

After nearly a week here at Chipman’s we will be leaving the next morning bound for Port Henry, NY - a new destination for us. We’ve really enjoyed being in this gorgeous and laid-back country setting!

East Creek Anchorage

On Friday, June 30 we took our time getting ready for our very short cruise. While Jonny walked Archie, I vacuumed using the new vacuum cleaner we bought at the beginning of the trip. This has been a great improvement over using our wet vac which required me to vacuum Zendo on my hands and knees for the last eight years. I can’t believe we didn’t spring for this sooner!  Our plan for the day was to anchor overnight near Fort Ticonderoga. We had been invited to come back to Chipman Point Marina the next day for a pot luck supper and fireworks but we weren’t sure if we would be able to get a slip so we were going to play it by ear. 

Before leaving we stopped for a pump-out and ate lunch on board finally leaving Chipman Point at 1 p.m.  Thirty minutes later we  arrived at a beautiful isolated anchorage on East Creek just northeast of Mount Independence.  Mount Independence got its name in 1776 from Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys who were camped there, across from Fort Ticonderoga, when they heard the news about the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Jonny wanted to mark our anchor rode so we worked together to measure and mark it in 25 foot lengths using some spray paint.  We then did some of our respective tasks - Jonny working out payment issues for his mom’s facility while I did my Spanish homework.  Stephanie called to tell us how bad the smoke was in Philly from the Canadian wildfires and we noticed how the skies around us were getting more and more hazy as the afternoon wore on. 

The day was also heating up so Jonny decided to take a swim off the stern of the boat.  The top layer of water was quite pleasant but it was very cold beneath the surface so he didn’t stay in for long! Archie was tempted to join him but he decided otherwise.

Later we climbed in the dinghy to take Archie on shore. We thought we might find a place to tie up near a trail but most of the places we passed didn’t look very accommodating.

The only place that looked easy was a boat dock by the grounds of  Fort Ticonderoga. Unfortunately there was a sign that said Do Not Enter but since it was after 5 p.m. and no one was around we ignored the sign and tied up.  We climbed over the chain blocking the path and walked up to the beautiful grounds surrounding the fort. Archie was in heaven running through the grassy lawns. What a gorgeous setting! We had visited the fort during a previous trip so we were happy to just walk through the lawns and enjoy the scenery.

Afterward we returned to Zendo and I started cooking dinner. Midway through cooking, the propane ran out on our stove. Yet another challenge!  Jonny had refilled the propane tank, which usually lasts the whole season, before we left Delaware City. Apparently we’ve had a leak.  So we finished cooking dinner using our grill and an electric burner that we fortunately had on board.  A new item has moved up on the priority list!

So now it was definite that we would be returning to Chipman Point the next day so we can attend the pot luck dinner, see the fireworks, AND get this propane problem resolved!