Lorenzo & Delois Johnson

We had a good trip from Kingston to Waterford.  We purchased  fuel, and the pump prices are quite high.  Diesel fuel is significantly above $5/gal, often close to $6. 

We passed through our first lock today, the Troy lock in Troy, NY.  Passage through the lock went OK, but we definitely need to polish our routine. 

We are docked at the Waterford town dock and visitors center.  We are preparing to rent a car and drive home tomorrow to visit an ill family member. 

Our four traveling companions are going to stay here and wait for us to return.  They will take care of Lil’ David in our absence, and that will give us peace of mind.  We are really appreciative of the support we are receiving from Gary / Judy and Bill / Mary Anne. 

Today, we had a really beautiful trip from Half-Moon Bay Marina to Kingston, NY.  We adjusted our start time in order to optimize the tide induced durrent, and it worked well for us. 

I was absolutely amazed at the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley.  You would have to see it to believe it. 

We passed Sing Sing prison, West Point Military Academy, the boyhood home of President Franklin D Roosevelt, and many other Historical sites. 

We arrived at the Kingston City Marina at around 4 pm.  After we were all secure in our slips, we walked around the dock area.  This is a real downtown City marina, with all the attendant restaurants, shops, museums, and other tourist attractions.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the waterfront.  The food was good, and we enjoyed the meal. 

We decided to spend another day here (Tue) and allow the wives to visit the local Wal-Mart to shop.  We are ready for a lazy day, and the weather is perfect.  We have finally had a warm day, and we even ran the A/C for a short period.

Today, we are docked at the Half-Moon Bay Marina, in a town called Croton On Hudson.  The marina is a very nice facility, but it is not a true Marina.  The property is owned by the large condominium complex here, and the slips are intended for the use of the condo residents.  Unused slips are rented to transients based on availability. 

This place is really beautiful.  It is a post card perfect setting, and it is awesomely beautiful with all the natural beauty.  mother Nature is awesome.  The marina is in a bay nestled between two mountain ranges. 

We had dinner at a very ujique eating establishment.  It was combination

We are in New York, the big city.  We are anchored in Liberty Park, behind the statue of liberty.  From where I am sitting as I write this , I can see Her.  If I look behind me, I can see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  I have been over that bridge many times before, but this is my first time under it.

This is the kind of things that dreams are made from.  I wish that I could share it with all my family and friends.

Our stay in Atlantic City was enjoyable. Sorry folks but nobody in the group gambled, so there are no large tales to tell.  I was amazed that Lois was able to get crabs in an Italian Restaurant/Pub.  She is getting desperate, because we will soon be away from crab country.

There are four of us anchored here tonight.  The fourth boat is a friend of Bill and Mary Anne’s, and He was very helpful in getting us into this anchorage.  This place is perfect.  Well protected from wakes, good depth, and good wind protection.

   I placed the generator in service for Lois.  I had enough black bass filets to make a meal for two, and she was anxious to cook them.  She needed the generator, so who am I to argue???  We had fresh black bass filets, grits, fried sweet potatoes, toast and coffe.  All of this while sitting on the aft deck with the Statue of Liberty keeping us company, and a good view of the City as a bonus.  She even treated me to a glass of after dinner wine.  A good meal and wine to boot…  wonder what’s going on ??

The trip from Atlantic City was long, but uneventful.  We left at o5:30, in order to cover the 102 miles we had planned for today.  For us a normal travel day covers 40 to 50 miles, so doing 102 was a stretch.  We arrived in the anchorage shortly after 4:00 PM, glad to have the salt water, large waves, and planning based on wave predicted wave heights all behind us for a while.  The weather today was good, with very few big waves.  The boat traffic was fairly high along the New Jersey coast, but did not present any problems for Us.  Our planned day for tomorrow is a short day (30 miles), with a stay at the Half Moon marina. 

We left Cape May at 0700.  Bill and Mary Anne traveled with us, so we had three boats traveling together.  The Ocean was not pretty, but tolerable, and we made the trip to Atlantic City in a little over 5 hours.  We are docked at the Kammerman’s Marina in Atlantic City.  The boardwalk is only a 10 minute walk and all the casinos are nearby.

Bil and Maryanne hosted a wonderful dinner for the group.  We really enjoyed the dinner and the wonderful company.

Today, Lois, Mary Anne and Judy took a taxi to downtown and spent the day doing the things that women do.  I spent the day doing Captain’s work; removed and inspected the satellite dish for obvious causes for malfunction;  Changed starries oil and filter, and a few other minor tasks.  Apparently Lois had a good time. They walked on the board walk, visited stores, etc. 

For dinner, We took cabs to a restaurant/pub named Angelos.  It was a very nice place, and the dinner was wonderful.  (Lois 45, crabs 0)I reflected on how blessed we are to be having such a wonderful experience.  Bill and Mary Anne are very nice people, and we all get along well as a group.  Their presence has definitely made a good thing better.  Gary and Judy also seem to be having a good time.  We are very grateful to have those two on our list of friends.

We are leaving early in the morning to make a run for New York.  We are expecting another boat to join us in our trip North.  They have made this trip many times, and will add more experience to the group.  The weather promises to be acceptable, and we need to get through the city before Monday.  This weekend is when the Navy brings the Fleet to town to celebrate memorial day.  We would like to not actively participate in those festivities.  Large crouds, crowed facilities, lots of boat traffic, and a generally stressful time is what we have in store if we wait.

We would like to get North of New York City into the Hudson River.  Weather and wind concerns will go away at that point and we will be in fresh water for the next 3 months.   (No crabs)  This will also change the pace and general tone of this trip.  We will be into a totally different kind of boating environment, with fewer concerns and situations to guard against.  One of the great things about the Americas Great Circle Cruise, it will allow You to experience the full gamut of types of boating , all types of boating areas from the hustle and bustle of New York to the quiteness and serenity of the Tennessee River;  The awesome beauty of the Canadian waters, and the different scenery to be found in the great lakes and Chicago area. 

We left Delaware City at 0700 this morning and arrived at Cape May, Nj at 1 PM.  Good trip down th ebay, quite smooth and uneventful.  Was surprised at the volume of large ship traffic in the Delaware Bay.  Required a constant lookout, because they were traveling quite fast.

We are docked at UTSCH’s  Marina, and it is the largest Marina we have visited to date.   Good accomodations, though a little tight getting into the slip.  

The four of us went for a walk around Cape May, and bought some supplies from the Wa Wa market.  We also stopped at the local seafood market and bought fresh Salmon and shrimp.  We cooked dinner for everyone, and at the last minute invited a couple we met to join us for dinner.  Lois served salad, grilled salmon, stir fry vegetables, baked sweet potatoes, and homemade corn bread for dinner.  The meal was very good, and the company was even better. 

Bill and Mary Anne Osborne are the new friends.  They are fellow loopers, and are approximately 60% complete.  They will complete the Loop when they reach Green Turtle Bay Marina  in Mississippi.

Tomorrow morning, the three vessels will travel together to Atlantic City, for a few days of playing tourist.  The weather report looks good for tomorrows travel. 

We have not been able to get the service needed to restore our satellite TV system to service.  We have not stayed in one place long enough to get the work done.  We have been using the cable TV connection at the marinas until we can get our unit returned to service.

More Tomorrow

Today marks the first full month of our adventure.  I am very grateful that we have been blessed with the opportunity to experience this adventure.   A quick summary:

1.  It has been much more fun and enjoyment than We expected.  Yes, I would be happy to live like this forever.  I am very glad that We did not let our fears and doubts keep us from venturing out.

2.  The trip thus far has gone well.  I expected a lot more problems, both large and small, than we have experienced.  This old boat has surprised even Me at her performance.  The only problems thus far is the failure of our 4 year old  satellite tv system and the washing machine acting up.  The washing machine was acting up when we left, so that does not count.  I suspect that the satellite was damaged by lightning while we were in Colonial Beach during the Gale.  The two girls in the engineroom, Starrie and Portia, have been real champs.  They haven’t missed a single beat.

3. The costs have far exceeded our predictions, but are still within our capabilities. 

Monday afternoon the rain stopped for a while.  We walked into the village of Chesapeake City, and enjopyed a leisurely lunch at a local restaurant.  Lois and Judy enjoyed window shopping at many of the boutiques.  Chesapeake City is a beautiful and quaint little town that seems to have avoided many of the ills of our society, such as traffic lights and people rushing around in a hurry.

Today, we travelled, in the rain,  to  Delaware City De.  We are at the Delaware City Marina, in a small cove off the Delaware Bay.  We topped off with fuel (ouch!!) getting ready for our assult on New York and points North.  We walked to a local restaurant for dinner (Lois 36, Crabs 0), and it was quite pleasant.  I almost held hands with Lois on the walk back, but I came to my senses just in the nick of time.  

Tomorrow, we go head to head with the Delaware Bay, traveling 50 miles down the Bay to arrive in Cape May NJ. We expect to spend a few days in Cape May, and when the weather cooperates, We will travel to Atlantic City where we will spend a few days.

To all of our concerned friends and family, we are doing fine, and we are having a good time.  We miss You, but not enough to cause us to turn around and come back.

To Jonathan Vereen, We are not far from You tonight, but I have not been able to contact You.  I will try again when we get to Cape May.  Frosty, Cliff, Louise, send me a phone # for Bubba.

We are now on the move again.  We really enjoyed our stay in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.  We had lots of other things we wanted to do there, but we had a good travel day available, and there will be several days of foul weather starting Sunday night.  If we had stayed on in Baltimore, the weather would have interfered with our tourist activities, and we would have been ready to leave as soon as trhe weather cleared.  We are making a special effort to provide a smooth ride for our mates.  (we were DIRECTED toward that decision)

We had a very enjoyable visit with Thaddeus, Faye, Emma, Donna B and others  in the family. Last night, Donna invited us to one of Her favorite restaurants, a Seafood Buffet Restaurant.  The food was good, and the service was excellent.  The owner is pretty savvy;  He provides each patron with a pitcher of drink of choice.  I fell prey to this ploy, and filled up on the pitcher. 

I was accompanied by Donna, Lois and Donna’s daughter .  They got their money’s worth.  A serious dent was made in the crab leg inventory in the Inner Harbor.  I wanted to leave their table, and pretend that I did not know them after the scrap bucket was dumped for the fifth time, however I stood by them.  I was making plans as to how I, the responsible male, would get them back to the boat.  I had noticed that they were walking slower each time they went back to the crab bar.   Plan A was to simply roll them down the steps to the street below, similiar to rolling logs.  From there, I could walk back to the marina, and bring the boat down to the waterfront, and back it up to the dock.  From there, I could easily roll them aboard.

I was able to scrap my plan when all three were able to proceed under their own power, slowly, back to the boat.  I kept a close eye on them in case of a delayed reaction to over indulgence.  

We left early (0700) this morning in order to get across the Bay before the high winds and heavy rain that had been forecast for the afternoon arrived.  As we were idling out of the harbor, Portia and Starrie were idling slowly, but we were clipping along at a good clip.  I suspect that word got around about the crab feast last night, and the remaining survivors were escorting Lois out of the inner harbor by pushing us along.   (Lois 32, Crabs 0)

We had a smooth and uneventful trip to Chesapeake City, arriving shortly after the rain and wind started.  We will stay here two days, waiting on the weather to change, and then proceed North to Cape May, NJ.  (60 miles)  The trip down the Delaware Bay can be quite uncomfortable if the wind is above 10 MPH.

Lois cooked dinner for everyone tonight.  That sure was nice of Her, because I was not looking forward to going out in the rain to find a restaurant.  She made cornbread, barbecued chicken breasts, corn on the cob, salad, and hot sweet potato pudding for dessert.  Gary and I both really loved the made from scratch cornbread. 

If the weather cooperates, we will increase our pace.  We are anxious to get to the Hudson River in New York.  Winds won’t be such a large factor after we reach the Hudson.

Hopefully, I can change oil and filters while we are here waiting for the weather to change.  I am not sure that this Marina will dispose of 14 gallons of used diesel oil.  Starrie and Portia may have to wait a while longer for their desert if the marina wil not accept the old oil. 

We are having a wonderful time.  I wish that all of You could come and share it with us.  My descriptions are not adequate to portray the enjoyment we are experiencing.  Our lives are very simple, no rush, nothing is urgent, and anything and everything can wait until tomorrow.  We are eating for the joy of it, and we do not have family around to remind us of what we should eat.  Alarm clocks wil not work on a boat; (law of Lorenzo Physics) and knowing the day and date is not important to us.  

Lorenzo and Lois

We had a good travel day today.  We left the anchorage around 0730, and continued traveling North.  The weather was very beautiful, and the seas were smooth.  We arrived in Baltimore around 4 pm, and proceeded to our assigned dockage at the Baltimore Inner Harbour Marine Center.

The trip through the Harbor was very interesting. There was lots of boat traffic, mostly large ships and one pesky barge and tug.  It was interesting watching the tugs helping the ships in and out of their berths.  Staying out of their way was also very important.

We ate dinner at the Rustic Scupper Restaurant, located on the marina grounds.  (Lois 21, crabs 0) The food was excellent, and worth the price.  This is a top notch marina; gated access, in-slip pumpout, Wi-Fi, telephone, cable, etc all included in the daily rate.  (Significantly higher than the norm) On the other hand, we are all the way downtown in the inner Harbor.  This place is awesome.  There is so much to see and do all within walking distance.  A single ticket gives You access to the water taxi for a full day.  This will allow You travel all over the inner  Harbor at will.  They have at least one of everything here, and it is all quite beautiful and a very pleasant place to be.  Spending a few days here should attune for the rough seas we have exposed the ladies to in the last few weeks.

My first Cousin, Thaddeus Davis came by to welcome us to the Inner Harbor.  Hope to see more of Him and the other family members tomorrow.

Starrie and Portia are purrring away like kittens.  Seems that the more we run them , the better they run.  We have covered over 800 miles since we left home, and there are many more (approximately 5,000) to go before we reach Holden Beach again.  They have a lot of  work in front of them.  At least they are dining on the best diesel fuel ever, if the price is any indication.

My challenge for tomorrow is to get the satellite working and start prying Lois away from here.  She can walk from the boat directly to a mall, a restaurant, a museum, an aquarium,  the  “Torsk” submarine, a shopping center,  a real live pro baseball game, or many other attractions too numerous to list.  I am going to start a rumor that they are serving all You can eat crabs in Havre De Grace on Saturday night.   Might help to get her to leave here.

We are on the move again.  We had a very good day today.  No rain and  smooth seas makes happy wives. 

We are anchored at a very scenic anchorage off the Patuxtent River.  Several other boats are spending the night here also.

Anchoring has many advantages over marinas.  First, it is approximately $100/night less expensive, it is much less stressful, and it is easy to get an early start the next day.  The scenery is usually very good, and it is very quite and relaxing.  A glass of wine makes all anchorages significantly more pleasant.  I like to spend the night on the hook when we have no other reason to visit a marina.  A secret benefit is the absence of malls and shopping centers.

Lois prepared a very good dinner for the four of us.  We enjoyed a leisurely meal on the aft deck, and a good time was had by all.

Gary fished and I watched.  If He had graduated from fishing to catching, I was planning to join Him.  I had my hopes high for fish and grits for breakfast, but looks Ilike it will be oatmeal instead. 

The weather is quite pleasant tonight.  We will not need heating or A/C, so no need for the generator.   

Tomorrow, we wil move on to the Baltimore Inner Harbor.  Hoping to see Carl, Emma, Faye, and all the rest of our family members who live here. 

Our satellite system went on the blink yesterday, so we will have that taken care of while we are here.

Lorenzo and Lois