July 31-Aug 1, Newport, RI

Fog again this morning in the harbor at Block Island. We decide we will stay put. About 10:30 the fog begins to burn off and we motor around Block Island looking at the sights and then head north to Newport.


Very pretty day on the water. No wind and flat calm. We get "buzzed" several times by the Coast Guard looking for something. Very quiet Jet plane.



We arrive in Newport about 1:30 and pick up a mooring in the busy Newport Harbor.





We go into town on the launch and head for the "Breakers", the large Vanderbilt home, built in 1895 by Cornelius Vanderbilt's grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II. "Commodore" Vanderbilt (the grandfather) was founder of the New York Central RR. The home is very large even for Newport standards and is approximately 130,000 square feet with 70 rooms. The home faces southeast and is right on the Long Island Sound with a beautiful view and cool sea breeze. Newport is a very active town with lots of shops, restaurants, tourist attractions and tourists.



Second day we tour another mansion, "The Elms", home of Edward J. Berwind, who was the largest coal supplier of his time.





We went shopping along Newport's main streets (hot today in Newport almost 90) and after lunch found a lobster wholesale supplier at the wharf. he had lots of lobsters of all sizes and sold to individuals and restaurants. Prices were interesting: 1-2 lb@$11.00/lb; 2-3 lb@ $12.00/lb; 4-7 lb@$9.00/lb and 8 lb and up @$7.00/lb. We found a 10 pound specimen and had them cook it for us as we did not have a pot that large and brought it back to the boat for dinner.

July 30, Block Island, RI

Beautiful morning. No fog, clear sky and flat calm seas. We motor about 20 miles to Block Island and enter the Great Salt Pond through the entrance channel (we have to give way to a large ferry that is taking up the whole narrow entrance channel) and continue across the Salt Pond to Payne's where all the boats are "rafted" together at the dock.



This is the first time we have done the "rafting" thing and it seems to work well in that it gets lots of boats to use a small amount of dock space. Upon arrival we decide to hibernate on the boat until later in the afternoon as the outside temperature is in the 80's. The Salt Pond is full of boats and the setting ashore is pretty rustic in the area called New Harbor. The channel to the Salt Pond was cut in 1895 and the settlement facing Salt Pond is called New Harbor.








Old Harbor is the major settlement on Block Island and it faces the open ocean and is where the town was built before the channel was cut in 1895. Old Harbor is a charming place with several large old wooden hotels, shops and restaurants. Large ferry's are active in Old Harbor and bring cars as well as large trucks which provide everything on the island. We spend the afternoon in the Old Harbor area and have a nice dinner on the porch of the wooden National Hotel overlooking the harbor and ferry traffic.




We returned to New Harbor after dinner in time for the local ceremony that celebrates the sunset and the end of the day. It begins with a bagpiper in full Scottish garb who leads everyone to the old tug "The General" at the end of the dock. We are treated to a full ceremony including a sailor playing a fife, another sailor playing a trumpet (taps of course) and several blasts from a cannon, as the American flag was lowered at the end of the day, all much to the approval of the resident boaters and tourists.

July 29, Stonington, CT

Fog again this morning. It begins to clear some about 9 am. Really pretty if we are not travelling. We pick up lobster rolls from a deli in Watch Hill for lunch. Fog clears and we motor about 3 miles back west to Stonington, Ct. and go to the Dodson Marina in Stonington. We have a choice here to be on a mooring with launch service or at the dock with a power hook up and we elect to be on the dock as the humidity and temperature are high today and we need the a/c.



We walk downtown and find a few nice homes from the 1800's, a couple of nice restaurants and a gathering in the town square to raise funds for a town clock.


We are treated to a "barbershop quartet" (15 singers in red and white striped matching shirts) concert on the city hall steps in the town square.


The fundraiser also featured croquet contests, boccie ball contests and several children's games. There were a few old cars including a really good Rolls Royce "brass" trimmed four seat convertible touring car. A step back in time.


Weather is kind of overcast all day and we have a lazy day on the boat. Stonington is famous for it's large scallops and we have some for dinner.

Owen and Irv are trying to make the girls proper deckhands by giving them closed circuit radios complete with earphones and microphones so they can easily communicate with the Captain. The plan fizzled because the girls could not stop laughing at the way the radio's looked when being worn. I think the radio's are now "sleeping with the fishes".

July 28, Watch Hill, RI

Woke up this morning to fog, and visibility was 100 yards or so. Weather warm and it seems unusual to have fog and warm weather. Must be the combination of the cold LI Sound and the warm air and high humidity that causes the fog. Fog burns off about 10 am. We went to the Mystic Aquarium this morning. Highlights included seeing the Beluga Whales and the feeding of several types of Sea Lions. One was an eight year old male at 1600 pounds that will grow for at least four more years before reaching adulthood. We enjoyed hearing them "roar" like African lions. Irv rode the simulated roller coaster and we all saw a typical California Sea Lion show. There were many exhibits of fish and other sea creatures in tanks. Spotted a Spiny Lobster and thought of Dan and Katie and all their friends who are arriving in Green Turtle Cay today.



About lunch time we motored out of the Mystic River and went into the small harbor at Fischer Island, only about 3 miles offshore. Some pretty homes but not much else and we motored on east to the Little Narragansett Bay and the town of Watch Hill, Rhode Island.


Another interesting lighthouse out in the middle of the Long Island Sound.

Watch Hill is a very touristy small beach resort town with many beach shops, an old carousel, great ice cream stores, several private yacht clubs and a nice dock arrangement for us at Watch Hill Docks overlooking everything.








Carriage house was one of the prettiest homes we saw in Watch hill.

July 25-27, Mystic, CT

Pretty morning as we pull up our anchor and motor out of the Niantic River. Flat calm. As we enter the Long Island Sound we start getting some patchy fog and as we proceed east to the Mystic River the fog becomes pretty heavy. We turn on the radar and overlay the GPS chart plotter and everything works. We slow down to 5 mph and with our radar we can "see" other boat traffic and the navigation markers. The fog becomes very heavy, our first encounter with fog so heavy we really cannot see more than 50 feet or so. We motor very slowly about 5 miles in the fog and then it clears completely as we want to head up the winding Mystic River to our destination, the Mystic Seaport Museum.




Perfect timing. The fog disappears as we enter the harbor. Our trip up the winding Mystic River is pretty and we see hundreds of boats and lots of nautical looking buildings and homes.


Mystic Seaport

Irv and Betty Skeoch from Danville, California, in front of the Charles Morgan, an origional whaling ship from the 1860's

Story tellers in costume

Storytellers play to an audience of mostly children and their parents

Ship model made from beef bone; constructed by an unknown French seaman who was a British prisoner of war. Spectacular!

Mystic Seaport Museum is a treat. It is a large complex of buildings and exhibits including several large square rigged sailing ships. Most buildings are manned with staff members dressed in period costumes giving explanations of what is being shown in the exhibit. We heard a presentation on the operation of a whale boat that leaves the mother ship and the assignments and duties of each seaman. Another costumed seaman serenaded us with a small accordion and sea songs. This may be the mother of all maritime museums.



The boat is the Charles Morgan, a wooden whaling ship from the 1860s and is the only whaling ship still preserved. Here some instructors and students are in the cross trees furling the sail of this square rigger.

We visit the pizza parlor where Julia Roberts played the part of a waitress in "MYSTIC PIZZA" and wore a t-shirt that said "a slice of heaven". Pizza was good but the "hot pastrami sandwich" was the best.

We rate Mystic as one of the highlights of our trip so far. The Mystic River is full of pretty boats on moorings, the Mystic Seaport is a real treasure with lots to see and a very nice staff of people in the exhibits. The Seaport had dockage for us right inside the seaport property and we walked the grounds at night without any of the day visitors around. We like the town which is within walking distance of the Seaport.