Heading East....and, a Weather Change!

It's an easy walk to the train station from the mooring field in Port Washington, so we met Joy around 11. After lunch, we just relaxed and enjoyed being on the boat. It seems like we have so few times like this, since we are usually in a hurry, with long days, to get up the mid-Atlantic and New Jersey coastlines. Unfortunately, our Verizon mi-fi internet card decided it was taking a break, so we were without internet for 3 days. (It's amazing how dependent we have all become on technology. John has internet on his phone; but I felt like I had lost my right arm!) The next day we met friends for a delicious Chinese lunch, and then threw off the mooring line and headed east for Oyster Bay Cove. There Joy could, again, easily board the Long Island Railroad for New York City. Her busy work schedule only allowed a two day/one night visit, but we were appreciative of the time we did have together.

Even though it has good train access, unlike Port Washington, Oyster Bay is not one of our favorite spots. It's not as transient-boater friendly as Port Washington, and it's shore-side park doesn't allow animals. That's an immediate negative in our minds. After a night there on the hook, we pulled up the anchor midst fishing boats whizzing by in a no-wake zone (don't they get it?!) which we found very infuriating. So much for Oyster Bay. Think we'll pass it by next year. 

Now, onto another our favorite spots.....Mattituck, NY (on the north shore of Long Island). Enroute, the biting flies decided to descend upon us. Where do they come from anyway, when you're 5 miles offshore? Fly swatters were flailing through the air. Mattituck is a tiny little town, 2 miles up Mattituck Creek. There's a lovely little anchorage with a town dock just 80 feet from the boat. We took a walk into town and then settled in for the evening. Up to this point, the air temps had been quite warm (in the 80s) but a cool front was predicted, and sure enough, in the middle of the night I awoke with the need for a blanket! After a hot summer in South Carolina I was really ready for some cooler, less humid air! It was hard to leave our little spot in heaven there, but it was upward and onward to Essex, Connecticut, another special spot. As a result of the cool front, the winds were blowing pretty hard from the n/nw, but we had a delightful ride across the Sound. We scoped out the anchoring possibilities and found a perfect spot that was only a 5 minute dinghy ride to shore. If you've never been to Essex, it's very quaint, very Connecticut-like, with lots of history, and homes bearing heritage plaques showing date of construction.....1833, 1857 and such. Very cool.

We had a nice visit with our friends from Wilde Yacht Sales, Bill and Ben, who sell Nordic Tugs. We've gotten to know them over the years at boat shows and shared some good meals with them. We'll see them at the show in Newport in two weeks.

Another friend generously allowed us to borrow her car (thanks, A!) and we hurried off to the Verizon store. With my right arm connected once again, it felt good to have access to emails, the news, the weather, and all that the internet provides.  We then prepared ourselves for dinner with a group of friends at the Essex Yacht Club (thank you A&R).

As we headed out of Essex, we spotted this commuter motor yacht, a style which was the inspiration for the Krogen Express. 

Now we're headed to Newport, Rhode Island. It's a gorgeous day and the water is wonderful....a west wind giving us a little push. It's funny, some of our non-boating friends and family ask us what we do when we're out on the water all day long. We're busy! We navigate. We enjoy the scenery (like the lighthouse  here off of Fishers Island). We spend time doing things we don't take the time to do at home, like reading, cat-napping, and just plain contemplating! We do various “boathold” chores (some things never change, no matter where you are!), and watch the occasional Food Network show. But as all of you boaters reading this blog know, we just enjoy the experience!