A vacation from what? Living the good life? Why you ask, would we need a vacation?  But remember, we operate the opposite and while we are enjoying sandy beaches, sand bars and cruiser meet-ups, most of the country is freezing your buns off!  So come summer, it’s our turn for some unpleasantness in the form of boat projects. On the plus side we get to stay in one place (this time for 5 weeks), get together with friends and family, shop lots and do all those things we generally can’t easily do without a car.

Most of the boat projects were one-time deals that will make living aboard more pleasant, easier or safer. Routine maintenance like oil and filter changes never goes away, same for cleaning and making sure we haven’t sprung a leak someplace.  Now, sit back and enjoy a visual re-cap- (I’d already forgotten much of what we’d done!!)

As usual, the big camera with great zoom came in handy for feathered friends fotos!

The osprey families were active, the young ones practicing nest building, fishing and flying every day. Had several landings on our bimini top accompanied by large stick donations. Two boats near us were heavily favored by osprey and even though the boats got used, the osprey never gave up.

Friends were kind enough to invite us to their home for their famous home-made margaritas and dinner!!

We’ve missed doing it once or twice (not easy when we only had the RV!) but our family, and Russ’s family growing up, tradition on Father’s Day was to spend a relaxing few hours (at least) in Lyme’s Hamburg Cove. No anchoring, moorings only. You can pick up a rental one, but picking up a private ball is accepted practice and if the owner comes along you move to another. Only happened to us once.

 

 

 

 

And for us, what’s a boat without some deck wetness?? Discovered during the pre-purchase survey and pooh-pooh’d by the surveyor, no way was Russ going to not deal with it. Sooooo he removed the metal anchor chute dug out much of the wetter sections and let it all bake in the sun for days. Before the next rain we filled up the spaces with West System Epoxy and replaced the anchor chute.

 

The stern bench seat is a good place to sit when you want to be outside but it’s too windy for the flybridge. With only bottom seat cushions it wasn’t very comfy as the backboard was a tad hard, as you can imagine. Russ decided- ah yes another project- to move the grill. It had been placed on the left side (looking at this photo) on the stand it came with, cable ties secured it to the bench seat. One of our two propane tanks had to be next to the grill. The setup worked but it was sloppy. Russ moved the grill to the right side of the bench seat while we were at Herrington Harbor, and that seat cushion is now in storage.

This enabled us to run a propane line up and over to the propane tank locker in the flybridge so that both tanks could be properly secured and none sitting out looking messy.

The back cushion is only the length of the two remaining seat cushions.

Our 25 year-old nephew recently bought a duplex in town so a visit and pizza were in order.

 

One of the first things to tackle was the lifelines. We’d planned to remove them and send them out to be re-coated with vinyl.

You can see in the below photo, how discolored the vinyl is. Ten years will do that. But then we got to thinking that Ms Ortolan had bare lifelines, so why not on this baby?

A quick check revealed the bare wire was in great shape and all we had to do was carefully remove the vinyl, clean off the rust and put them back on. Saved a bundle of boat $$.

These folks failed to realize the current was stronger than they could paddle, especially with the blue kayak in tow.

 

 

Lunch at Lobster Landing is a must when Benj comes, not to mention we must have enjoyed these most wonderful rolls several times during our time in CT.  The place is conveniently located very near our UPS Store and storage unit. Wednesday is Senior Day- save $2.50 off the regular price. These are THE best; even the roll is special.

 

 

 

Many of you know that Russ sold his wildly successful locksmith biz in the spring of 2010. The current owner is keeping it alive and we sometimes run into him now that he’s got a box at the same UPS store that we do. We, and Benj too, hears about RL&S truck sightings from time to time. But the best by far was the time Benj saw this truck in Middlebury, VT!!  Talk about covering a huge territory.

 

 

We went to look at a boat. Isn’t that what boaters do? Those who wish to be on the water more do it too! Matt wanted our opinion on this one in nearby Westbrook (where Russ and Matt’s parents grew up).  Who are we to discourage safe boating? Our nephew has since decided a twin-engine cruiser is preferable and we have to agree. Maybe next summer we will be rafting up to a different boat in Hamburg Cove. 🙂

Much of what we bought for Twins was purchased on-line. But we did our share of local brick & mortar shopping.

Well folks, those were the highlights! Lots more occurred but I am worn out and you are nodding off so I will close for now.

The plan was to finish by July 31 so we could head off for a few weeks to cruise the Sounds: Long Island, Block Island and Vineyard with stops at our favorite islands along the way. The Real Vacation is up next!

 

 

We headed out very early Wednesday, greeted by a most benign Mother Ocean. I got goose bumps knowing home turf was within our grasp… and we weren’t out of food! My celery had rotted though. (inside joke).

Others had left on their own pre-determined schedule; the faster (than us) yachts get to sleep in.

You may observe how smooth and calm the water is; imagine our happy, happy faces and thoughts.

Oh look, the delights of Atlantic City. :-).  Time to play your Trump card, if you have one.

Somewhere north of Asbury Park, after I’d foolishly put the camera inside, a very noticeable splash occurred near shore off our port side (that would “left” side for you landlubbers).  Maybe my eye saw more than registered but I instantly thought “whale” because the splash was too big for a fish. But I said (don’t laugh), “sewer” to Russ because the chart showed drainage pipes emptying into the water and well, maybe this was a big spurt. Ok, not, but Russ kinda bought it. Of course I kept looking and the undeniable truth was, yes a whale. Slapping his/her tail to make the fishies school only to be gobbled up.

So that explains the whale watching boats we saw in Cape May and along the NJ coast north of Atlantic City. Turns out they are Humpback Whales who come in very close to the beach to feed. Only our second whale sighting ever; the first being a few miles off the New Hampshire coast in Ortolan, summer 2014.

We’d read that sand was collecting at a rapid rate on Sandy Hook, which meant that the Coasties needed to move the channel buoys so the big ships wouldn’t run aground. But is must be a big deal for the electronic chart guys to show the actual channel correctly between the buoys; just nudge it over a bit guys.  We came in near high tide; the photo below probably would have looked more impressive at low tide.

A brisk southerly wind encouraged us to alter our anchoring spot for the night and we headed toward the protection of the Atlantic Highlands rather than hang more exposed by the CG Station.

Thursday morning brought a light shower which ended before we left- ah you know we like to run from up top and pouring rain would mean driving from inside.

Full speed ahead through the Lower & Upper Bays and into NY Harbor, waving to Ms Liberty, gagging at the monstrous cruise ship and hitting Hell Gate before the current got too strong against us. Done with that by 8:30 meant a very quiet trip, in terms of other vessels. Dreary yes, but NYC is always impressive even though we’ve done this ten times. We just aren’t quite as awed and intimidated as the first couple of times.

The protected East River can be deceiving once you get into Long Island Sound. If the forecast wasn’t “Light & Variable” it should have been and since it was we decided to go farther than Guilford and tuck in at Duck Island off Westbrook. This would leave us a very short trip to our final destination.

 

On the water you are hard pressed to miss the former Castle Inn at Cornfield Point.  This grand, stone manse with a bright orange roof looming over Long Island Sound and the shingled cottages that surround it was originally built as a private summer home and its many lives are generally well-known to area residents.  I found a very recent Hartford Courant article and lifted some good info from it.

The current owners did what many dream of; drive around, spot a beauty, fall in love and buy it. This was in 2006 and the grand building was for sale. But, others had designs on the castle, and there was talk of tearing it down to build waterfront condos. Several million-dollar homes had recently been built close by.

Luckily for Old Saybrook the new owners wished to preserve the structure and worked for a year and a half, restoring it into a spectacular home that they share with the community, celebrating its storied history.

Designed to look like a Newport, R.I., mansion, the “summer house” was built on open farmland using local stones by insurance millionaire George Jarvis Beach and his wife, Elizabeth, niece of Samuel Colt, the gun manufacturer. Completed in 1908, the estate was named Hartlands, after Gen. William Hart, a relative of Elizabeth’s and former owner of the property.

Maintaining the huge home proved to be a financial burden so Beach leased the building and surrounding property to the military during World War I.

After Beach died, Gilbert Pratt of New York City bought the property and sold much of the surrounding 400 acres to developers, who transformed the area into a neighborhood of beach cottages.

In 1923, Otto Lindbergh, the uncle of aviator Charles Lindbergh, bought the castle and turned the private residence into Ye Castle Inn, an upscale hotel and restaurant that often hosted well-known actors starring in performances at the nearby Ivoryton Playhouse, including Ethel Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin. During Prohibition, the Lindberghs reportedly spearheaded a rum-running business from the shores of Connecticut to Long Island’s Montauk Point.

After the Lindbergh era, the castle became a popular site for weddings, banquets, brunch and dinner, until the early 1990s when it shut down and fell into disrepair.

Of course we know the place, Russ’s sister was married there (before my time), had a baby shower there (during my time) and the Mother’s Day I was pregnant we brought my parents for brunch.

It’s not uncommon for folks to stop by, wedding photo in hand, looking to revisit their special memories. Hey, we could do that.

“How touching is that?” asks the current owner, who regularly invites members of the community into the castle. “We have this philosophy. Just like with the ocean, it doesn’t belong to one person. It kind of belongs to everybody.”

So true.