Rhode
Island to Connecticut and points South
Time
slips away with good friends on board.
After finally leaving New Bedford we made a stop at Bristol, RI to visit
the town and the Herreshoff Museum. They
also house the America’s Cup Hall of Fame which seemed appropriate as we are
contemplating a trip to Bermuda next spring to watch the races. Any interested in crewing should give us a
shout!
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| Artful Farmer's Market in Bristol |
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| Seniors Protesting in Bristol |
On
our way around to Mystic CT, we spent a couple nights with fellow Krogren
owners Mark and Mary on The Good Life. These are special friends who were among the
first Krogenites to orient us on our first months aboard. Every time I open Active Captain in Blue
Charts I thank Mary for her sage tips and advice. It was good to see them face
to face and not just stalk them on our Krogen app.
In
Mystic we met up with Aramco buddies, Arch and Susan. Days were spent chatting about their most
recent three- month cruise in the Pacific and generally catching up on a couple
years of adventures. We appreciated their flexibility in planning and the
effort they made to drive from Pennsylvania to see us. While in Mystic we also
made a flying run back to Newport to check out dinghy options at the boat
show. Our trusty work horse has a
persistent leak and needs to find a retirement home.
With
the dink needs in mind we stopped on the Niantic River which was conveniently
near the Defender store and our cruising friends Dan and Jodi. They graciously
let us use their dock in the secure anchorage at the head of the river and
helped us take delivery on the new dink.
As a bonus we got a tour of their new boat as well as their gorgeous
restored historic farm house. These two are master craftsmen and decorators
both inside and out. We look forward to seeing the results when they finish
restoring their new motor sailor.
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| Erben Renewal and Water Hog at rest on the Niantic River CT |
Our
next stop on the North Fork of Long Island was also a visit with another set of
Aramco friends, Steve and Irene. Sadly,
we only spent one day in Mattituck where they have a gorgeous canal vacation
home. It was barely enough time to hear
news of the five boys and their folks.
Busy does not describe their lives and we are grateful they found time
to visit with us.
Since
the weather was favorable we made a jump from an anchorage behind Montauk on
Long Island directly into Cape May, NJ.
Not only was the weather kind, but the currents were with us and we made
the trip in just 28 hours. Speedy for
our slow girl.
Although
we intended to stay in Cape May a couple days, after a run to the market in
town and take out from The Lobster House, the next morning we headed up the bay
for a stop on the Cohansey River. Since we made quick progress with a favorable
tide on the Delaware Bay, we arrived with time to dink into the charming town
of Greenwich. The Greenwich Boat Works
Marina kindly let us use their dock so we had a relaxing walk through this
historic town. We were surprised to learn they had their own Tea Party back at
the start of the Revolutionary War. Needless to say the tiny town is full of 18th
Century homes as well as a tasty deli/restaurant. We will have to return to catch the museums
on a weekend.
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| Delaware Bay Traffic |
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| NO IDEA |
Chesapeake
City was our next stop where we again crossed paths with Krogen Forever Exploring and a lunch with
another Aramco friend. We had been trying to meet up with Judy since our trip
through Detroit in 2013. The wait was
all worthwhile because in the meantime she has relocated to Delaware a little
more than 15 minutes from Chesapeake City. We enjoyed lunch with Judy and her
daughter, Sarah, on a beautiful afternoon.
There was a lot to catch up on but so inspiring to hear of her life in
Delaware. Active retirement almost
covers Judy’s schedule of tennis, pickle ball and line dancing balanced with
more sedate fun like bingo…..almost makes us boaters feel like slackers.
Exiting
the C & D canal we made our way into the Chesapeake Bay hoping to make a
few stops on our way into Solomons, Maryland for the Krogen gathering. We had intended to hop around to favorite spots,
but the weather had other ideas. We
spent a night on the Corsica River and made a quick trip into Centreville – a
short walk from their river front park and then went on up the Chester River to
Chestertown. Instead of a few nights
there, we spent four – enjoying the town’s amenities between rain showers and
wind gusts. We had visited here in 2014
but enjoyed the handy bakery, organic market and full grocery not far out of
town. Then the shops were also a nice
diversion on rainy afternoons when we needed a break from reading or old
movies.
Finally,
the weather turned more favorable for the last runs into the Patuxent. We met
up with Bill and Lisa on Changing Course
to catch up on their trip to Nova Scotia after we parted ways back in Maine. We
managed to fill the days before the rendezvous in spite of less than perfect
weather.
But
now pesky Matthew is lurking out there. Mother nature always has the last word
on our plans. We are hoping he heads
east sooner rather than later and spares the US coast and off shore islands. If he should
head our way we will hide once again up a creek off the mighty Patuxent River.
