Burlington, VT

When we woke up on Saturday, July 9, Zendo was covered with bugs - hundreds of mayflies. What a mess! We had to use the wet vac to get rid of them but as it turned out they were here for much of our Lake Champlain stay. Afterwards, we took Archie for a walk on the nearby beach where he had a blast wading in the shallow water and fetching sticks.

We took off for Burlington by 10:40 on a lovely day and arrived by1:00 after stopping for a significant refueling. We decided to stay at the Burlington Boathouse Marina for one night so we could prepare for our 10 day road trip but we’ll move her to a mooring while we’re away. Next to the marina is a beautiful boardwalk. We wish Miami took such care with its waterfront making it available for everyone to enjoy.

Our plan was to drive to Greenport, New York to attend an MTOA Rendezvous then head over to Philly for a doctor’s appointment for Jonny and finally to drive back to Burlington. That evening, we thought we would go into Burlington for dinner but it poured rain so we decided to stay in. 

The next day we got up very early and moved Zendo to a mooring, then got a private launch to shore and an Uber to the airport where we picked up our rental car.  The rain had been so intense that Vermont experienced terrible flooding and parts of the highway we were planning to take was closed. Fortunately, the highway opened up as we started our drive but the flooding we saw along the route was significant. 

We drove to New London where we met our friends Liz and Steve Kemper with whom we were sharing an Air B and B in Greenport on Long Island. But first we had an important task to accomplish. We had to pick up Stephanie and Ryan’s wedding rings from Mallove’s, Jonny’s cousin Jimmy’s jewelry store. So exciting! The rings are beautiful!!

We then met Liz and Steve at our favorite seafood stand - Captain Scott’s where we had lobster rolls, fried clams, and steamers - all our favorites! 

After stopping for ice cream at another favorite, Michael’s Dairy, we took the car ferry to Orient Point then drove to Greenport.

We had a very nice Air B and B right in the center of this cute town. This is a photo of the train station there.

The MTOA Rendezvous was very enjoyable. Jonny and I presented a workshop on the Down East Circle Loop cruise we took the first year we started cruising.  It was fun catching up with MTOA friends and meeting new ones. Some of the social activities included visiting two wineries, riding an antique carousel and an evening of contra dancing!

Archie was very well-behaved during the entire event!

On Saturday when the Rendezvous ended we headed to Philly for a few days. Of course, Stephanie and Ryan were thrilled with their rings. That afternoon the four of us headed to an engagement party hosted by Michael and Christina Bracken for their daughter Sophie and her fiancé Jason who just moved to Media, a lovely town outside of Philly. Stephanie and Sophie first met at their day care in Miami and we’ve been friends with the family ever since.

We had a fun couple of days with Stephanie and Ryan which included eating at one of their favorite restaurants and trying a new one as well.

Our visit corresponded with Jonny performing another of his acts of love by installing a new ceiling fan in their bedroom.

And of course, Archie and their Corgi puppy Eloise had a fabulous time alternating between wrestling their hearts out and then collapsing for hours.



We stayed through Monday because Jonny had a follow up appointment with the retina specialist which went well and we left for Burlington on Tuesday morning. Once again, it rained like crazy for much of the 7 hour trip but we made it back safely.  That evening we met the two Johns who we had dined with at Chipman’s Point and we got together for a delicious pizza dinner at a restaurant in Burlington called American Flatbread.

After all those hectic days we decided to hang out in Burlington for a few days which was quite lovely.  One afternoon we rented e-bikes and rode along a 10 mile coastal path to beautiful Mallet’s Bay.

We cooked on board a few nights but ended up eating on the foredeck to avoid the ever constant mayflies which seem to prefer our aft deck.

A couple of days later we met Ryan’s dad and uncle for breakfast at another cool restaurant called The Friendly Toast. They were in town for a beer festival. They were supposed to ride their Harleys but the rain interfered and they drove their cars instead.

Because we had had such a big breakfast we skipped lunch but started to get hungry by mid afternoon so we decided to have a very early dinner at a French restaurant called Leunig’s that had an excellent fixed price early bird special. There was still a chance of rain so we sat outside under a canopy and yes, it rained once again.

Later that evening the rain resulted in this gorgeous double rainbow. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

On our last day in Burlington, we had beautiful weather and went into town to their farmer’s market which disappointingly had absolutely no vegetable stands. But we had fun walking through town and finally made it to two of Burlington’s many brew pubs which made Jonny very happy.

All in all we had a wonderful time over the last couple of weeks. Burlington is a very cool and accessible city, the scenery all over Lake Champlain is fabulous and we are happy to be here. 

Boquet River, NY

We had a pleasant walk through Westport on Saturday morning, July 9.   As we walked towards the town center a horse-drawn buggy with an Amish or Mennonite man and his young daughter. Passed us.  I asked him if I could take his picture and he said I could take a photo of his horse. I partially complied!

Westport is actually one of the prettier towns we’ve visited this year with inviting walking trails and gurgling streams.

It has a sweet little downtown with nicely maintained homes.  We stopped for coffee at a cute coffee shop with outdoor seating.

We finally left Westport at 10:05 for the short 90 minute cruise to Essex, NY. The last time we were here was in 2015 when we lost our anchor trying to anchor in a nearby area. This time we anchored near the ferry landing and after doing so we went into town to walk around, which we never got to do previously.  Essex is quite historic having been settled in 1765. It’s an attractive town of only 621 full-time residents with four times that many in the summer!

Essex is even prettier than Westport with lots of well-maintained, stately homes and shops.  We walked by several attractive homes, churches and municipal buildings including the town hall and library.

The road along the coast yielded beautiful views including some of Zendo.

We stopped at a local pub for a beer and sat on their porch overlooking the water. 

When we returned to Zendo Jonny was concerned that we would be better off anchoring further north in a more remote spot from the ferry dock.  So we moved about four miles north near a wooded area with a nearby beach.  Jonny brought Archie in for a walk while I worked on our presentation for the MTOA conference. 

That evening Jonny made a delicious dinner using our leftovers in a creative way as he so often does. Later on he went to read in our cabin while I watched TV.  However, afterwards we started to experience an inundation of bugs near every light source. Midges and mayflies descended upon us in force. We tried to kill as many as we could but all we could  feasibly do was to close the hatches and doors, turn out the lights, turn on the fan, go to bed and hide under the covers! 

We will be heading to Burlington, Vermont the next day where we will leave Zendo on a mooring for week while we rent a car and drive to Greenport, New York for an MTOA Rendezvous then on to Philly before returning to Burlington. A road trip!

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.