Stonington, CT

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We left Newport on September 24 originally bound for an anchorage near Fisher’s Island off the coast of New London, CT.  Our habit is to identify a port that we want to travel to but we often re-evaluate our destination based on timing, wind conditions, currents, etc.   This time we changed our mind because the anchorage on Fisher’s Island was a bit too open to the northeast winds and we wanted to be near a town that we could explore.

We passed Pt. Judith lighthouse compound as we headed to our  new destination – Stonington, CT where we could take advantage of a cost effective mooring and  the launch for shore explorations.

After a four hour journey on a  warm and sunny day, we arrived in Stonington Harbor where we took a mooring ball among some beautiful sailboats.  In New England we’ve found that sailboats far outnumber powerboats and trawlers like ours. 

The historic town of Stonington is another charming gem along the New England coast.  We took advantage of the local launch to bring us ashore where we explored this quaint town on foot.  Since we are past Labor Day we didn’t encounter a lot of tourists in this popular seaside town.

We had planned to stop at a the local ocean-side fish market to buy fish and make dinner aboard.  There we found a most unique arrangement.  In an old warehouse type of building a section was designated as a self-service fish market.  Packets of flash frozen fish, scallops, shrimp and stuffies (stuffed clams)were placed in freezers with a sign on the wall posting the prices and asking shoppers to deposit their cash or checks in a box – the ultimate honor system!  After agonizing over which combination of seafood to purchase, we decided to delay our decision until after we had a chance to explore the town a little more.  We would buy our fish on the way back to the boat.

As we walked up and down the streets lined with shops and restaurants, we got thirsty and decided to stop for a cold beer.

We discovered a very local bar called Noah’s  that has been there forever.  This was just the kind of place we were seeking – lots of locals hanging out in an old-style bar filled with wood and local memorabilia.

Fortunately we arrived at happy hour and took advantage of 2 for 1 specials of the local craft beer choices that they featured.  We also discovered that they had a very appealing menu but we stuck by our plan to buy and cook our own seafood aboard.  After only one round of beers, we took the bartender’s suggestion and ordered from their happy hour specials - $5.00 for most of their regular mouth-watering menu items.  That did it – the food was delicious – mussels in wine sauce, oysters on the half shell, a great pate’ and much more.  We threw in the towel on cooking our own dinner and just ordered more appetizers and beer. 

And, we just had to take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate Lynn’s birthday which was the following day!

When we returned to the boat that evening, Addie and Lange popped open a great bottle of champagne and we had our own private dance party late into the night.  Luckily, none of the neighboring boats complained about the loud  music!

  Fortunately, we didn’t have to get up early the next morning to get to our next stop, New London, CT – Jonny’s home town. 

Newport, RI

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We left the Sandwich Marina on Sept. 23 for our first day of cruising with Addie and Lange who flew in from Miami the night before.  Our original plan was to cruise to Fairhaven across from New Bedford.  But the day was so beautiful and the waters on Buzzard’s Bay so calm that we decided to take advantage of the great weather and go on to Newport.   It was great to have a pilot on board to assist the captain on the cruise!

On our way to Newport in Narragansett Bay, we passed the “cottages” on the Cliff Walk.  These amazing mansions were built as summer homes for the rich and famous such as the Vanderbilts, Doris Duke, etc. in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

We arrived in Newport  at 4 p.m. and took a mooring ball.  This was by far the largest mooring field we have stayed in and it was filled with incredible sailboats of every type – racing, cruising and many award winning models.   We were lucky that the Newport Boat Show had taken place the week before we arrived. Otherwise, we would never had been able to find a place to stay here.

  

From our mooring, it was a short  dinghy ride into this historic and very nautical town.

We walked all afternoon always on the lookout for a good and not-too-touristy place to eat.  We were surprised that so many restaurants were closed.  We weren’t sure if they were already closed for the season or they  were just recuperating from the previous week’s boat show (one of the country’s largest).  

We ventured outside the main part of town and happened upon an area called Historic Hill.  This was a very nice section  where many of the town’s original buildings  are located.  It was there that we saw the church where JFK married Jackie.   We also found the perfect place to eat - an Italian restaurant that was filled with locals.  Always a good sign!   We benefitted by the long walk back to the dingy which helped in working off some of those delicious calories!

After stopping for Lange’s favorite fudge, we  got back to Zendo where Lynn spent considerable time on the phone  with Stephanie who is dealing with all the “fun”  challenges that come along with managing people!  The rest of the evening was spent exploring options for our next port of call.  

 

Sandwich, MA

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We hoped for a better travel day on Sept. 22 and we got one  (at least it was somewhat better than the day before).  The day started off a little rough but the seas calmed down a bit after a few hours.  Unfortunately, we had the waves on our beam the whole ride which makes for a very rolly and fairly uncomfortable ride. We bounced around so much that at one point when Lynn was lying on the flybridge settee she was completely knocked onto the floor (but no harm done)!

We were looking forward to meeting our good friends, Lange and Addie, who were flying in from Miami to join us for a few days.

After a long seven hour cruise, we arrived at the Sandwich Marina where we passed the Coast Guard station, a rather imposing edifice next door to the marina. 

Addie and Lange were waiting for us and after a celebratory drink at a local pub, we settled in for a quiet dinner aboard Zendo.  We had fun catching up with each other and planning our next day’s cruise through the Cape Cod Canal and beyond. 

Hingham, MA

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After a fantastic weekend in Boston, we left on Sept. 21  at 6:30 a.m. to continue our journey down the New England coast.  Our plan was go to Sandwich at the eastern end of the Cape Cod Canal.   We knew it could be a rough ride because the winds were up but at least one forecast was somewhat favorable so we decided to give it a try.   However nature was not on our side.  Once we left Boston Harbor, the wind was blowing 25 – 30 mph and the waves were big!!  It was a fight for Jonny to steer  properly and with the wave action on our beam, it was getting a little scary.  We know our boat can take more than we can and we determined that these seas were more than we could take.  It was time to “bag it” and find a safe harbor.

We found a perfect safe harbor in the town of Hingham.  The Hingham Shipyard  had a history of hosting major ships over the last 50 years but the marina itself looked new and very inviting.  A retired  dockhand helped us to get into a tricky docking space given the windy conditions.  Once we tied up, we realized that we had the whole day to ourselves without any particular chores to get done. What a luxury!

Our marina was located in a perfect setting for a day off.  Within just a couple of blocks, there was a very attractive shopping/restaurant/movie complex including this uniquely named restaurant!

In addition, Mark Wahlberg’s family, being from the Boston area, had opened two  restaurants in this complex, one of which was a burger joint named – what else – but Wahlburger’s!

We hadn’t been to a movie since we let on this journey and we had the afternoon open so for the first time in our lives, we went to a Monday afternoon matinee!  And guess what was playing, Black Mass, the movie about Whitey Bolger, the Boston crime boss.  What fun!

Afterwards, we engaged in some retail therapy and then headed back for a quiet dinner on board.  We’re hoping for a better travel day on the morrow. 

Boston, MA

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We finally arrived in Boston, our long anticipated destination, on Thursday afternoon, September 16.  We were in town to attend a specially organized cousins party hosted by Lynn’s cousin Tanya and her partner, Tom.  They were kind enough to time it to align with our travel schedule.  We were also very excited because Stephanie would be flying in from Philadelphia to join us.

This was the busiest harbor we’ve been in since New York Harbor.   We had to pay especially close attention as we entered it due to the many different channels intersecting the harbor and all the ferries going this way and that. We stayed at Constitution Marina located at the head of Boston Harbor and next to where the USS Constitution is docked.  Constitution Marina is actually located in Charlestown and we were docked right next to the bridge.  The folks at the marina were kind enough to give us a great slip to accommodate the open “house” we were planning for Saturday afternoon.  

That night Tanya joined us onboard Zendo and the three of us went out for an Italian dinner in the North End.  We checked out the amazing Italian bakeries where we would get the cannolis for Saturday night’s dessert.  Mike’s Pastry was literally filled with over 100 people waiting in line for Italian pastries.  Apparently those lines last until the place closes at 11 pm.

The next day we spent preparing the boat for the open (boat) house that we had invited the cousins to on Saturday afternoon before the big party.  We also took time to ride our bikes along a wonderful boardwalk that lines Boston Harbor.   Stephanie flew in that evening which of course, became the best part of the day!

On Saturday, we hosted the open house for Lynn’s  cousins, most of whom had driven from the Waterbury, CT area for the party.  We were happy to have our friend Michael Finch and his friend, Eddy join us too.  We wanted everyone to see how we’ve been living for the last five months!

 

Later that evening we headed over to the beautiful Back Bay home of Tanya and Tom. 

Besides being excited about the party, everyone was looking forward to seeing Tanya and Tom’s home which  had been featured in Boston Home due to the great design and renovation that Tanya had accomplished.  What a fantastic party it was!  The setting, the food, the company, the music,  the dancing -  the entire evening was a blast.  We are so lucky to have such a fun and fabulous family!

We slept in on Sunday morning  having gone to bed after 2 a.m.the night before.  Since we weren’t sure when we would see Stephanie next, we wanted to make the most of our last day together.  We passed on the opportunity to have brunch with the cousins in order to do a city tour of Boston.  Stephanie had never really seen the city (other than for a quick job interview) and Lynn and Jonny hadn’t been there in almost 30 years!  We stopped for a nice lunch and  therapeutic Bloody Marys before Stephanie caught her flight back to  Phili.

Next stop is Sandwich at the start of the Cape Cod Canal.