Family

We traveled by water, air, and earth to Cape Cod and it was wonderful to be together again.













Talking on the phone isn't good enough.













Dinners haven't been the same.



















We miss you all.


















And can't wait to see you again, even in Michigan.













We love you.

Cape Cod at MiniMeg's

We came to Chatham for a family reunion with Vinnie's sister Meg, her husband George, and 8 of our 5 kids. It was Meg and George's challenge to fit 14 adults into a 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom home.










As Chiara said, we decended like locusts.













How did Meg and George do it?
Fortunately, there were inflatable beds and wide open spaces to sleep dormatory style for the younger members of the group.












Shopping, beaching, running around, eating, exploring, and painting. We all had a great time.
Thank you Meg and George.

Rhode Island

Off from Block Island and up Narragansett Bay to visit Peter and Ginny, friends from Vinnie's high school days at Albertus Magnus. They welcomed into their home two people with solo sailor tendency, near incessant chatter. It was great to be off the boat and visiting late into the night. They saw ALL the pictures and probably heard ALL the stories as well.







Their house is from the 1700's and in peaceful fields. The brook was quiet and we listened for the coyotes at night.

Long Island Sound and Block Island

We had a wonderful time cruising Long Island Sound and then made a dreadful discovery when we met Mike and Pat. They were happily sailing "Twice in a Blue Moon" with their two cats while we had left Ramone and Ubu behind in Grand Rapids. Kitty abandonment is a burden of guilt which will follow us throughout our travels. Sorry boys, but we are sure that Alessia is treating you very well.





The Long Island Sound provided beautiful beaches and great rocks for boat ballast.













We left the Sound for Block Island, a very crowded place in the summer. Hardly room to drop an anchor, but in the morning a man motors through the anchorage yelling "Andiamo, Andiamo" and selling coffee and baked goods.










We did get to enjoy another beautiful sunset in the land of boats before leaving the island.

Into Long Island Sound

We caught the tide down the Hudson and rode it around New York, past Hell gate, and into Long Island Sound. Passing under the Brooklyn bridge we said good bye to the city and the empire state building.

Hook Mountain

One day with the temperature 97, the humidity 70%, and the heat index 110, we decided to hike up Hook Mountain without a trail guide or water. It was great to be on the mountain looking down at the water and our home. The trail went further and rather than turn back, we walked ahead planning to return to the other side of the park. At every turn we greeted the highest hill and promised ourselves that it was the last hill. We stumbled over 4 teenagers with a half gallon of vodka and they gave us directions. In the late afternoon, having gone a different way, we found ourselves far away from the boat and the park, but off the mountain. It is the adventures which stay in the memory.

Bannerman's castle

As we approached Pollepel Island, we noticed small castles sitting in the water.













On shore the gateway opened to a world we were not allowed to go. Looking at the construction, we shouldn't enter if we valued health and well being.
















The castle walls sprawled above the island with the sun shining through the windows and breaks.


















Despite its disrepair, it was remarkable.














We stayed on the boat, except for several short swims. It was so hot that we watched the sun set through the windows in a quiet stupor.

Along the River

West Point was located on especially lovely area.

Up the Hudson

Along the Hudson were miles of handsome rock islands and cliffs.

Family reunion continued

Thanks to the Nyack Boat Club, we've been able to float on a mooring can in the shadow of the Palisades.

















There has been time to swim in mountain streams,


















hike along the Hudson,


















and relax on the boat.

It has been a wonderful visit with family from New York and far away. Those who could not come were greatly missed but we hope to see you soon and at the reunion next year.

Family reunion

It was wonderful to be together.













Horseshoes were flying.













New family members were welcomed.

Bridges

Above us, the bridges are humming with the cars and trucks of people who are living a normal life. They are dressed up, shopping, working, and returning to homes and neighborhoods. We are sailing under the bridge and a world away.

Ellis Island

We walked more than 2 miles in blazing heat to the ferry for Ellis Island. The building held the stories, pictures, and cherished belongings of the people who immigrated here. There were beautiful photographs of the buildings prior to their restoration. The photographer's grandparents had come to Ellis Island from Russia with only a borrowed empty suitcase.






graffiti found inside.

















Many of the immigrants traveled across the country from this train station, which is now abandoned.

Entering New York

We sailed from the Chesapeake, through the C&D canal, the Delaware, and then off shore up the coast of New Jersey, arriving in New York several days ago.

Weather

We've had some foggy mornings,











cloudy afternoons,














and beautiful sunsets. Fortunately, no real storms.

July 4th

We sat on the boat and watched the holiday fireworks, which were detonated from barges on either side.

Together

It was wonderful to be together.

Baltimore

After several days we arrived in Baltimore. The anchorage was a small paddleboat pond roped off in the inner harbor between an enormous naval vessel, the Constellation and a submarine with a soundtrack repeating, "CLEAR THE BRIDGE, DIVE, DIVE, HONK". We were the only sailboat in a pond of shrieking children in dragon boats and unwilling guests in a party that lasted to almost midnight.

Back on the Chesapeake

After anchoring near the Mall in DC and running about the city, the Chesapeake seemed very still and quiet. We anchored near islands and watched the local wildlife: jellyfish, crabs, and seabirds. In just a day and a half, we had sailed over a hundred miles and were in a very different world.

DC

During out visit with Maria's sister Liza and her family, we went to the folk life festival on the Mall. After enjoying pictures of Pakistani trucks in magazines, we finally got to see this one and it was spectacular. The musicians from Oman were also great and often the stage was packed with dancing adults and children. Some of the kids were so small that the dancers had to lift them to the platform and carried them in the dance. We enjoyed it greatly, but be assured, we were not on stage.

George Washington's Home

On our way up the Potomac we anchored across the river from Mount Vernon. Early the next morning we toured the estate which has a remarkable place in our history and is a wonderful place to wander about. We learned that the French considered George Washington to be a father of their revolution. General Lafayette gave him the key to the front door of the Bastille, which still hangs in the main hall.

Traveling the Chesapeake

We left the warships and found a few of the old traditional Chesapeake work boats. This is a skipjack which sailed by us one night near dusk.

Norfork

We left the Dismal Swamp from the oldest locks in the US while the debonair lock master played a conch shell horn. At Norfolk, the water was an enormous military complex with warships moving through the harbor and helicopters buzzing the air. We toured the Wisconsin and talked with several elderly enthusiastic veterans who served as doscents. The day was full of museums and naval history.

Leaving the Dismal Swamp

The passage through the Dismal swamp was beautiful and narrow with overhanging trees. At least once we blundered into the branches and came away with the deck full of leaves and twigs.