Sept 5-8, 2009 - Mantauk, NY

As much as we hated to leave Block Island, we had an advance reservation at the Montauk Yacht Club for the Labor Day weekend. Robert had discovered that it was difficult to obtain a reservation for this very popular boating weekend.

The Montauk Yacht Club was not our first choice for the Labor Day weekend because of the nightly price of a slip, but it was available and it looked fabulous on their website. Part of a hotel resort, it appeared we would have a pretty swank weekend. Yes, it was going to be the most expensive marina stay ever, but we would enjoy the many amenities and facilities. I mean, according to their web site, the marina was "named by Yachting Magazine, as a top ten marina destination in North America, Mexico and the Bahamas."

Perhaps our stay in Montauk was influenced by the fact that it was the Labor Day weekend and despite the cost and the recession, every slip was occupied. Most of the boats seemed to be occupied by families with many children. The place was packed to the gills.

Let me state that the cost of this marina was wildly exorbinant....2 times more than we have ever paid. I know I may be overstating this, but according to our experiences in other high end marinas, we expected extra value for our money. For example, in a few other marinas we had received complimentary newspapers, perhaps muffins and fruit delivered to our boat in the morning. At the Montauk Yacht Club, the only special thing was each boat had it's own garbage can that was emptied once or twice a day.

There were many downsides to our stay. Most marinas require children to walk on the docks and wear life vests. Here, children were running, riding bikes and playing on the docks with no life jackets. The marina bathroom was shared by the hotel guests using the pool. It was filthy and water sogged. The much touted spa was closed.

However, the very biggest downside were the prices and service at the hotel restaurants. Sure we understood the season is short, but the menu prices were astronomical. We felt gouged. In the coffee shop, a cobb salad was $18.00. Basic breakfast was $16.00. For these prices the servers were grumpy and unwilling to make any substitutions....if the combination wasn't in the computer, they couldn't or wouldn't accomadate us.

Ok, what about the town of Montauk you may ask? It seems everywhere the prices were jacked up 2-3 times for the summer season. During a haircut, I was told by the beautician that during season the locals can't afford to eat out. As soon as Labor Day is over, the prices immediately plummet.

Enough whining, we did enjoy a few nice walks along the beach. Montauk is the peninsula at the very north east end of Long Island and is reknown for the fishing.

The famous Montauk lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in NY state.

Here is a lobster pot that will no longer be bothering us.

One very positive thing occurred in Montauk. On Labor Day, our friends, John and Vivian Peterson, flew in from North Carolina to JFK and came by the Long Island bus out to the marina. Thanks to John and Vivian, our last night in Montauk was full of a lot of laughs and stories.

Sept 2-4, 2009 - Block Island

Robert always likes to make our marina reservations as far in advance as possible. This strategy has served us well. However, he could not make a reservation for our stay on Block Island. It isn't like he didn't try. Sadly, all but one of the marinas that had facilities to accomodate Grand Fromage were full during our designated dates. The one marina that wasn't full, Payne's Dock, wouldn't give us a firm reservation. Robert tried several times and was told each time, "call us on your way and we'll see what we can do". We were facing insecurity. What did this mean????

It was with some trepedation that we left Newport for Block Island. As per instructions, Robert called Payne's Dock while we were under way. He was told, "bring her in and we'll work it out." Okie dokie. This wasn't security, but it sounded like they'd take us.

What we found out upon arriving is that all boats are accomodated one way or another. These people are the "pack in the boats" experts. They have their methods and the methods work, as long as you are ameniable to being rafted to other boats. All of the boats rafted together made for a jolly, party atmosphere. You had instant friends. You had instant relaxation. Payne's Dock was a hoot and a half.

After we were expertly tied up, Robert wanted to settle our bill and thus inquired the whereabouts of the office. The reply was "we don't have no office, why would you want the office?" Robert said he wanted to pay and was told, "pay one of us when you leave, that's good enough for us."

Three sail boats rafted up behind us.

We unloaded one of our scooters for some sightseeing. What a beautiful island. We had a great time exploring. Here are some pictures of our Block Island adventures:

We had a wonderful time on Block Island. It is both beautiful and adorable. The residents are eccentric, but warm and welcoming. It is relaxing and unpretentious. If we ever have an opportunity to return to Block Island, we will definitely jump at the chance.

Aug 26-31 - Newport, RI

After an easy and enjoyable run from Onset, MA, we entered Newport Harbor with a very brisk wind and a strong current. From our last entry on Newport, you may remember that Newport is big boat land, plus it is a very popular destination for every size boat. What you may ask, do I mean by "big boats"? Grand Fromage is 65 feet and in most marinas we are one of the bigger boats. In Newport, the big boats are a 100 feet, 120 feet, 180 feet and more. Grand Fromage looks like a dingy parked next to these boats. Also these big boats all have uniformed staff swirling about doing every yachtly task.

When we are close to our marina, Robert always gets on the radio to notify the office of our imminent arrival. At my request as the deck hand, he asks whether we will have a port or starboard tie up and whether the dock is fixed or floating. Robert also requests a dock hand to take our lines and tie us up at the dock. We then put on our earphones and I go down to the deck to prepare the ropes and fenders. After months on board Grand Fromage with many trials and errors, not all of them pretty, we have evolved a workable and practical routine to bring our boat safely into port.

Following our routine, I had set up our lines and fenders for a starboard tie up. As we approached the dock, we saw not one, but several dock hands waiting our arrival. The dock hands were not only several places on the dock, but a couple were even on other boats. The common denominator was all dock hands were holding up fenders to protect the dock or another boat. Obviously more than one boat had previously done a bit of dock or boat bashing in the attempt to turn the corner. Uh oh. Another egad moment. Add a good size gulp to that.

We quickly became aware that we were to bring Grand Fromage halfway down a fairway and then turn left into a very narrow slot between two docks filled with huge boats. At this point, halfway down the right dock, Robert was to bring Grand Fromage sideways into our starboard tie up with about two feet to spare on all sides. Okie dokie. After coming to terms with the reality that I couldn't hide under the bed until it was all over, I tied more fenders to the port side of Grand Fromage, plus added a couple more to the bow. I held a big fender and stationed myself where I could protect another boat if need be. However, Robert is quite the captain. For all the wind, current, big boats, narrow fairways, he safely put Grand Fromage into our slip without coming close to any of the obstacles. Yeah, Captain Robert!!!!

Newport, RI is an interesting and fun stop with many things to see. We had spent one night there earlier in the summer on our way to Boston. In case you missed it, here is a link to the blog entry for our first visit to Newport. For this visit, we planned more days for sightseeing. To facilitate this, we bought multi day passes for the mansions so we could pace ourselves, mansion-wise. We also bought multi day bus tickets to get around town.

Below are some of the mansions we toured, very impressive. However we found ourselves saying over and over "this is over-the-top, "you've got to be kidding", "holy moly", "alright to visit but I wouldn't want to live here", "I couldn't live here, I'd have to behave"....that sort of thing. Click here for the Mansion Society webpage with more pictures.

The last mansion we visited was my favorite. I could definitely imagine living there. For starters, the family that owned it was not part of the ritzy-bitzy set who owned the huge mansions. This last mansion was, in my mind, a home and not a gigantic stage set for ritualistic society drama reenactments.

There is a lot more to Newport, RI than mansions. It contains more colonial homes than any other place in the USA. It is a wonderful place to stroll and admire the homes and the scenery. There are also many musical, artistic and other cultural events to enjoy.

One last story about Newport and culture....one evening after dinner we decided to go for a stroll. We had just left the marina when we passed a large tent that appeared to be getting ready for an event. We stopped to inquire what was going on. We were told it was the last event of the season for the Newport comedy series. The performer was Frank Caliendo and there were a few tickets remaining. We strolled into the tent and enjoyed an hilarious, delightful evening. 

August 25, 2009 - Leaving Boston

Before leaving Boston, there are a few photos we wanted to share.
How times have changed! The Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank was started in 1854.

We ran into this on one of our walking jaunts.

Study this sign carefully and see if you can see why we thought it was so darn funny

Clue: have you ever rented an aparatment?????

We had a wonderful time in Boston and surrounding areas. Now it was time to leave. We pulled out of the marina early because we had a long ride down the Atlantic and then through the Cape Cod Canal to Onset.

A few pictures leaving Boston. Note the blue sky.

We had a pleasant ride out of Boston Harbor, successfully avoiding barges, sail boats and fishing boats. We had decided to go a few more miles out in the Atlantic, to cut down on the lobster pots around the buoys. We had no more arrived at our waypoint to go down the Atlantic than the fog came in thick and fast. Uh oh. We had arrived at an "egad" moment.....go back to Boston or follow our route in the fog. We reviewed our navigational preparations and decided we could safely proceed with our route.

We had a long, tiring day with constant viligence for lobster pots and other boats, but we were proud to make our goal. It was a relief when the fog lifted before we arrived at the Cape Cod Canal. The town of Onset looked mighty good when we pulled into our slip.

Aug 23-24, 2009 - Boston

Daughter Daria, granddaughter Summer and grandson Baxter visited us in Boston. Always a treat to see them, it was especially exciting because they arrived on Daria's birthday!!! First was a birthday lunch at a nice resturant near the marina.

The birthday girl with grandchildren Summer and Baxter

Next on the agenda was a trip on the "T", Boston's subway to a mystery location. For the ride on the T, we needed to purchase Charlie cards. Click here to learn why it is called a Charlie card.

Daria, Summer and Baxter waitng for the T train to arrive.

Walking with the grandkids to the mystery location

The mystery location revealed! We enjoy a laugh-filled adventure with The Blue Man Group

After the show, pictures taken with a Blue Man

Here is a picture of my lovely daughter, Daria, or as we affectionately call her, DW Bob. As her mom, called Mom Bob, as it were, I am very proud of my girl. Daria is an award winning photographer with photos in the Burlington Free Press, People Magazine, Vermont Life and other publications. She and our son-in-law, Andy, have a very successful wedding photography business. You'll enjoy browsing both their website and their blog.

We stopped at a park on the way back to Grand Fromage. I think you'll understand why we are very proud grandparents.

Aug 21, 2009 - Concord, MA

One of the highlights of our adventure this summer was our trip to Concord, MA in the rental car. Not only was the countryside beautiful, but the historical information was fascinating and extremely informative. We were following the trail of the first shot fired of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775.
We started out at the Minute Man National Park visitor center. Besides some interesting exhibits, there was an extremely terrific film on the events of  April 19, 1775. Click here for the Minute Man National Park website that contains some historic content, plus pictures. I won't retell the fascinating story, but if you follow the links, you will pick up quite a bit of detail.

The Battle Road from Hartwell Tavern toward Lexington

The Battle Road leading into Hartwell Tavern

Hartwell Tavern - click here to read the significance of this restored building

During the summer months, rangers in period dress answer questions about Harwell Tavern and the first battle of the revolutionary war. They also talk about the life of people in 1775.

The picture below is from an alcove off the kitchen and shows some of the equipment used in doing laundry in 1775. How would you like to do laundry for a family of nine children using these implements? You wouldn't need a gym membership.

One of the rangers gave an extremely interesting talk about the history of the tavern and of the family that lived there. Two of the rangers in period dress then demonstrated how a musket is fired.

The rangers were quite willing to answer any question. In this picture the ranger is explaining to Robert that in the 1700's, there were many less trees, as the trees had been cut for homes and for farmland. Because of this the minute men had a much greater view of the British.

All of the fields were separated by stone fences.

We drove into Concord for the next phase of the adventure. This is an adorable town, filled with lovely, well-maintained historic homes. I could have spent a lot more time exploring Concord. We had lunch at the Colonial Inn, which has been a dining establishment since 1716 and an inn since 1889.

After lunch, we headed to the Old North Bridge, site of either the first or second shot of the American Revolution - depending on who is telling the story. Whether the first or second shot, it is diffinitively the site of the "shot heard round the world." The area around the Old North Bridge is extremely scenic and peaceful. It's hard to visualize this pastoral scene as the start of the American Revolution. To learn more about the Old North Bridge, click here.

The restored Old North Bridge....this is where 90-95 British light infantry soldiers gathered at the near end of the bridge.

On this hill on the other side of the Old North Bridge stood 400 minute men and other militia waiting to make sure the British regulars caused no harm to their village.

The statue of the minute man

Here is the plaque commenorating the event on April 19, 1775.

We drove around the adorable town of Concord. There were many interesting homes open for tours, but sadly we had run out of time. However, we did see the front of Ralph Waldo Emerson's home.

I was especially pleased to find the home of Lousisa May Alcott, author of my favorite childhood novels.

As we were driving out of town, we saw a sign to Waldon Pond....I mean this became an instant "must see"! Waldon Pond was indeed beautiful, but it was a shock in several ways. First, it was huge, what I'd consider a lake. Second, it was a wildly popular local swimming hole and beach. People were streaming in to take a dip or lounge on the bank. However I did walk a bit down a trail and found a lovely, tranquil shot of my idea of Waldon Pond.

The park built a replica of the humble cabin of Henry David Thoreau.

Inside the cabin is a replica of the minimalist lifestyle of Henry David Thoreau.

The park also erected a statue of Henry David Thoreau

I'd love to go back to the Concord area and explore some more. You never know.