July 20 – 24,
2015
Gonna be a busy Monday! Off solo for a cardio walk to the
retail intersection of Warwick, RI, I returned to Brewer's Marina to bid Sam
safe travels and to start the first of two loads of laundry in preparation for
Sus' arrival early afternoon. Having spied a Supercuts early this morning, I
off-loaded my bike and made a hasty trip to the retail intersection once again
to have little Miss Hair Stylist make some minor adjustments to the Groton
Supercuts cut of ten days prior. You know women and their bad hair days; after
a series of bad hair days everyday, I knew what tweaking was necessary but
wasn't brave enough to tackle it myself (and allowing Clay was out of the question!)
Ahhhh, happy camper!
I met Sus' taxi upon my return and
led the way to the boat for her to settle in. With female companionship,
there's now strength in numbers! Watch out, Quickdraw! Note: 'Quickdraw' is
Sus' nickname for Clay...no explanation needed. Sus and I headed to the pool
for some lounge-and-talk time where we were joined by more and more 'swimmers'
as the 5 o'clock hour approached. Folks in these parts are quite unfamiliar
with...and equally curious about...the Great Loop, so the conversations
gravitated toward that topic. Clay had opted out of pool time, but he would
have loved sharing his stories. For someone who doesn't talk much, he's become
quite a talker!
Tuesday morning I persuaded Sus to
test her biking legs as we boarded our funky bikes and set off for again the
retail intersection for a few produce items at the Stop and Shop (grocery
store) and a 30-pack of Bud Light cans at a nearby liquor store. I was hesitant
with bungee-cording a 30-pack to my book rack, so I asked the shopkeeper if I
was unable to handle the 'package' could I return it? She laughed as did I. Sus
was impressed. Clay was impressed. Heck, I was impressed! Now I know my
limits...20# of wine backpacked; 30-pack of beer cans strapped.
We prepped for an early afternoon
departure, bound for Newport, RI and arrived at Goat Island Marina some two
hours later. I assessed our location, realizing we were a short bridge away
from the harbortown proper. Clay chose this location for the
lesser-priced-per-foot dockage, but we had an eye-opener when we realized his
resource was outdated (2007). Oh my, pricey! Dinner aboard of skewered grilled
scallops, zucchini, and jasmine rice ended our day...but Sus and I agreed that
scallops aren't particularly a favorite of ours. Taste buds must be genetic.
A recap of Wednesday...We explored
the Newport harbor on our morning walk, then regrouped for a tour of The
Breakers (mansion) which was an awesome experience. Thanks to those of you who
recommended this, and to Clay for arranging it! "The Breakers is a
surviving jewel of the New York Central Railroad fortune, making a statement
about the global sensibilities of the Vanderbilt family. The 70-room summer
estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt II includes a two and a half story high Great
Hall and a Morning Room adorned with platinum leaf wall panels. Its interiors
feature rare marble, alabaster, and gilded woods throughout." Sus and I
felt a certain 'kinship' with these folks, having performed the role of the
dancing horse in our HHS production of "Hello Dolly." Check out the
story with characters Dolly, Cornelius, Barnaby, and the rest. Brings back
memories, even if the connection isn't quite legit!
Clay had purchased his online
mansion ticket for an additional mansion tour during which time Sus and I were
to 'shop.' But we spent considerable time exploring The Breakers (with our
audio tour guiding our way and loving every minute of it); so Clay opted out of
the second tour and chose to return to the Newport harbor with us for lunch at
Belles (outside dining complete with ankle-biting flies). Following lunch, Clay
returned to the boat while S&S wandered the shops, then boarded the launch
for a waterway crossing home. With our fatigue and tired feet, the $3pp launch
ride was a bargain!
Docktails on the fly bridge, Sus,
Clay and I enjoyed wine/beer and snacks while recapping the highs and lows of
the past twenty-four hours. A short distance but a very long wait away was
dinner at the Marina Cafe & Pub which came highly recommended by our launch
captain. Top draw was the fact the Marina Pub was CLOSE; top drawback, the
restaurant had run out of food but attempted to fill our selections
nonetheless. Bad decision on their part. Shame on you! Be honest with your
customers! But we made the best of our dining (dis)pleasure and had yet another
memory to share...and laugh about later.
Thursday morning gave us our final
shopping opportunity in Newport before moving on. Sus and I bought matching
turquoise souvenir sweatshirts (she's very convincing...I found out later that
she had specific instructions from the Captain to "make Sally buy
something.") It will be a great addition for our northern route through
Canada and the Great Lakes next summer '16!
A noon departure from Goat Island
Marina saw the SaSea Sally cruising toward Cuttyhunk where an extremely stiff
wind blew us into a very crowded mooring field. Broken communication with the
dock master made us question the logistics of parking. Our directives from the
dock master were to "find an open mooring ball and tie to it."
Repeatedly, we found firstly, very few open mooring balls; and secondly, those
available were either stamped 'private' or 'Anderson,' 'Smith,' 'Jones,' etc.
Again, broken communication conveyed an emphatic 'NO' for those labels.
(Please note that by now, the first
mate was frenzied with the captain having run over a number of mooring balls
without telling her he had the boat in neutral when running over said balls.
Sus had the foresight to stay out of the way and mum! It was extremely windy!)
Plan B: What were those vertical poles/pilings just north of the mooring (ball)
field? When questioned, the dock master said they're mooring pilings...just tie
to them. When Clay inquired, "How?," I'm convinced the dock master
thought we were idiots! No, just inexperienced! Just collecting memories here!
Piece of cake...once we figured the technique (this was only our second
encounter with moorings, and we have since found each mooring to be designed
differently, especially a pole). A sigh of relief was heard from crew and
captain alike once the mooring was completed. Please remember we had almost
gale force winds accompanying us (maybe not quite gale force but it was
extremely windy).
It being now 4:10 p.m., Clay silently went to work launching the dinghy
(and I'm sure praying the motor would start). It was quite evident he knew
something we didn't. Communication? Ah, lobster order had to be placed in
person (which means payment made) by 5 p.m. Sus opted for a shower while Clay
and I dinghy'd to shore to order dinner. Trading places an hour later, I
showered while Sus and Clay dinghy'd to shore to pick up the now-cooked
lobster. Assuring Clay we had no lobster crackers nor nut crackers aboard, he
purchased a set while ashore, then went about cracking and picking. Tasty!
Friday morning we walked the
Cuttyhunk hill to reveal a stellar view; it seemed to be the 'thing' to do in
Cuttyhunk. We stopped at The Market for a look/see; Clay seems to be in the
mode of souvenir shopping, purchasing hats, tees, and koozies from these ports.
Score a ball cap here. Shortly, a slick maneuver disconnected us from the
mooring post, and we were destined for more adventure on Martha's Vineyard.
Stay tuned for the next installment
of SaSea Sally Adventures with sister Susan aboard.
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