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It has been a long time since the last post - almost 2 months. We have been busy adjusting to land I guess. Ken went to the National Speleological Society Convention in Indiana for a week, Linda and Jane headed for the Cape, Ken and Linda went to Freeport, ME on an LLBean Bike and Camping Weekend, Linda, Ken and Paul went to Phila, PA for Aunt Marion's Memorial Service. In the middle of all that, Linda has been enjoying the bog, and there have been many trips to the shore and visits with friends and family. Linda also has gone back to work on a per diem basis - which apparently means "full time." The pictures are a sampling of all these events.


A sampling of the food and fun on the LLBean Biking Trip. We covered 51.02 miles in 2 days - a record for us. We were with 13 other people and 2 guides. It was a wonderful time. After a dinner of steak and lobster last night, we woke up to lots of coffee, fruit, and blueberry pancakes.

The camp ground set up. Each couple or family had their own 12-person tent, set up with a lantern, a winding flashlight, cots, sleeping bags and sleeping sacks.

The view from our tent. We arrived first and picked the tent right next to the water. The other tents were at least 5 feet farther back. Who says arriving early doesn't pay?

The NSS Convention in southern Indiana. We're sitting around trying to agree on the next cave to explore. The Convention was home to over 1200 campers for a week. Agreements on caves were generally made about 5 minutes before leaving.

My tent and equipment after a day of caving.

Debbie, Bob and Diane at Aunt Marion's memorial service. It was wonderful seeing all the family, especially the next generation. Sorry about the picture quality.

Branford fireworks picture from Alison's boat.

The crew of Alison's boat headed out for a rough day of checking the 5 lobster traps. Fortunately we all survived the "World's Deadliest Catch" moments.

Linda and Jane, 'nuff said.

The bog in dry July, 2007.

Our walkway now extends over 40' thanks to Tom's generous gift of his walkways from the shore.

Linda and Dara - both avid birders.

Our little boat (photo taken last year)

Dave called last pm - he just earned his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do! We are so proud of him (again!!) I remember when we took him to check out his first karate schoolin Canton- I think he was 10 years old- he just took to the discipline of it and the physical aspect of it, too.

Ken & I have improved the walkway and "dock" at the bog at our house- using all recycled wood from previous projects- some from Tom, some from Garth, some from us. The baby heron is funny-looking but cute- visible right from the water's edge on our property. Speaking of baby birds- we have 2 or 3 baby phoebes in a nest on our front porch! The poor mother thought it was a quiet place when just Andy was coming to watch our house. Now that we're home- she's not so sure about us! The babies look like mini Don Kings with their fuzzy heads sticking up!

And I have been asked back to work (at the front desk) per diem- I have 3 days coming up. It should be interesting since it's a new location for the office, and I am not used to sitting!!!

There's No Place Like Home...

We're back in CT and safe! Ken made it back from Florida in 2 days. The front of his truck was COVERED in squished love bugs- he went thru swarms of them in Florida- but my knight in shining armor came to rescue me! Cory & I were having fun exploring VA with a rental car (NOT a Mustang!). The next day we had the boat pulled and put onto the trailer- and started for home at 12:40pm. By 12:40 am we were HOME!!!! A real bed, faucets that work, a ceiling that I can't reach, room to dance in the kitchen, toilets that flush, free laundry, several rooms in which to be, showering with no shoes on, and views to die for!!! Everything is so green and lush - there's nothing like the hills of NW CT in May. Thank you to all who read and commented on the blog. We will continue to blog occasionally, but right now we are unpacking & adjusting to life in paradise! (ps - the boat is back at the dealership in S Windsor being repaired- all under warantee!) Love to all- Linda

Out here, on my own....

This Army landing vessel came right to our marina in little Deltaville! It reminded me of the landing at Normandy on D-Day! They only stayed one night, they were from a base nearby, but I don't know why they came here!

So I'm driving along in my rented Ford Focus, and I see 2 giant, black, shiny corkscrews marking the driveway to a vineyard. Well, you HAVE to check out any place that has 2 giant corkscrews!!! The little red metal-roofed building on the right is their gift shop.

Taken while driving (!!) down one of the MANY private roads to the water's edge. There is no public access that I can find anywhere. Everything is private. Even though the houses must be worth a lot because of the location- they are not the mini-mansions that people seem to put up elsewhere along the water. It's a refreshing change- though I think these towns should consider some open/public space! I did peak at the Bay yesterday, and of course, the waves are 1-2 feet now!

Replica of a lighthouse that was on Stingray Point- just down the road from our marina. Stingray Point was so-named for Captain John Smith (of Pocahontas fame), who was stung by a "devil-fish" in 1608. He thought he was going to die (so did I when I got stung), but a Powhatan Indian "cured" him with some kind of oil. Captain Smith decided to eat his enemy (the stingray) and found it to be quite tasty!! (The origin of "scallops"??!) There is nothing in Deltaville except farms and boating and marinas and private roads. I do appreciate the small-town feeling, and everything is in full bloom.

Greetings from Linda & Cory in Deltaville, VA! It's a beautiful day to sit outside of the library-birds singing and flowers smelling delightville! Ken is driving towards us from Ft Myers Beach even as we speak! He hopes to be here tonight with the truck & the trailer. I have made arrangements to have the boat lifted onto the trailer tomorrow, and then the 3 of us will be on our way to CT! We will probably stay in a motel one night, because we have Richmond, DC, Baltimore, and NYC to go thru!!! Yucky, icky drive! But it will be worth it. We will probably go directly to the 4 Winns dealer in South Windsor to drop this sucker off for REPAIRS!!!!!!!I have been contributing to the economy of Deltaville by shopping in little gift shops, and walking the dog. I really have to get back to the boat to start packing!!!! Hope to see you soon! Love to all- Linda

We come on the Sloop John B...I wanna go home!

This is early in our trek across the Chesapeake Bay- the waves haven't really built up yet to the 4-5 feet that they were at the end of the ride! Note the angle of the sailboat in the background- "nice" wind!!!!

Leaving Norfolk harbor- just an example of some of the military boats we saw. I didn't dare take too many photos!

Proof that we made it to "Mile Marker Zero"!

Our tranquil marina in Deltaville, VA- where the alarm is screeching & Ken is inside the open engine hatch. It's a beautiful protected cove where Linda sits now- waiting for her knight in shining armor to come on his white stallion---er, I mean Chevy Silverado to whisk her away back to her castle!!!( See the saga below to make sense of this caption!)

Yes, that's a Royal Carribbean cruise ship at the Norfolk harbor- and the battleship in the middle of the photo. BUSY harbor to maneuver in on a Sat am- or anytime!

Linda here- We finally left Norfolk Sat am- with forecast of waves on Chesapeake Bay 2 feet and 2-3 feet by afternoon. It was slow going, but we wanted to get just a little North, and to see how bad the Bay was. It was 3-4 foot waves, very steep & close together- wind from the West at 20mph- not the best time to be there. As we progressed the waves got higher- we could only go about 6mph. After about 5 hours- Ken said "Let's pull in for the night and take tomorrow off from all these rough seas". We made the turn to go toward land- about 5 miles to the marina- when an engine alarm started. A high-pitched LOUD alarm. We tried several things to stop it- then the CO detector in the cabin started to screech. Meanwhile we are rockin' & rollin' in 5 foot waves with an occasional 6 footer. We vented the cabin & got the CO alarm to stop. At this point I put on Cory's life vest- so you know I'm thinking we're gonna be swimming by the time this day is done! I transferred my wallet (with ID) from my purse to my zip-pocket pants- and changed from socks & sneakers to my Crocs. Fire and/or explosion were my 2 biggest fears. Anyway- Ken read in the owner's manual that it's OK to run the engine with this thing blaring if it's under 2500 rpm. So we slowly motored in to the marina- picture yourself on a quiet Sat pm at your boat in its slip at the marina- here comes a darn transient with an alarm piercing the tranquil setting! Ken was on the phone with Volvo for over 2 HOURS- inside the engine compartment, on his belly under the dashboard, - a true contortionist- at last- the Volvo guy directed him to disconnect some wire that stopped the alarm! Then he explained that the DC power has a short & could start a fire- so not to leave the boat with the DC power on. One of the batteries is now disconnected (thru instruction over the phone of the Volvo guy)- we have shore power, and are docked in Deltaville VA- a quiet little farming town that is on the Piankatank River off the Chesapeake Bay. Soooooo.....long story........ Ken has just left by hired driver to go to the airport to fly to Ft Myers, FL to pick up the truck & trailer. He should arrive back here to pick up Cory & I and the boat Wed or Thursday. Then we trailer the boat back to CT. We have completed the ICW (Mile "0" is in Norfolk) and then about 1/3 of the Chesapeake Bay. Ken looked at me last pm and said, "I'm DONE". We both have discovered that living on a boat is not what we want to do! As Ken says, "This is an ADVENTURE, not a LIFESTYLE!" If we waited here to be repaired ( yet again!)- who knows how long that would take- then we'd have to wait for one foot seas on the Chesapeake. Then when we got to Cape May, we'd have to wait to get the oil changed (100 hours on the engine now)and then wait for perfect weather to travel "outside" to get to Long Island Sound! We're talking June or July, when we both wanted to come home 2 weeks ago!!!!! When Ken has access to the computer again, I'm sure he'll tell you his version of the saga- but I wanted to update you and pass along some photos! I'm really going to be HOME!!!!Love to all- Linda

Sitting in Norfolk, day 5...

Cory does a good job of demonstrating why we are stuck in port - it's too windy!

The water taxi that brought us from Norfolk to Portsmouth - across the river. It costs $1.00 per person each way. Cory was free.

A typical side street in Portsmouth - I like this city but Linda prefers Charleston.

This boat arrived at 9:00am with hovering helicopters, the pilot boat, and several tug boats. It is the Spanish gov't tall ship and the third largest in the world - 113 meters. Our slip is about 100 feet away (33 meters).

This swimming pool is at the marina that we are going to move to on Saturday. I think it is really neat that the pool is filled with Mountain Dew!

This boat blew its engine while at our marina dock. It was towed from the marina to make room for the tall ship. The boat is 92 feet long. It's comforting to me to know that TowBoat US is close by. This ship dumped a rather large amount of diesel fuel into the water in the marina. We were unable to flush the head for 24 hours because we didn't want to suck that stuff into the holding tank.

This proves we are really here.


We remain stuck in Norfolk, VA until, latest plan, Sunday morning. The waves on the Chesapeake are reported to be 4-6 ft. because of a storm front just off the coast. 5 miles up the river where we are, everything is pretty calm. We are moving tomorrow across the river to gas up and pumpout. Today, like yesterday, was sightseeing and minor chores. We hope to get moving soon. Just a little bit of trivia that we learned today - no visiting military ship is ever met at the pier upon arrival until it has completely docked and is secure in its berth. We were told that is because so many things can go wrong during docking that the host country does not want to embarass the Captain. I, on the other hand, need a greeting committee to catch the ropes and pull me to the dock. Tomorrow the tall ship is open to the public and we will be taking a look inside. Ken

I am reading a great book, "Memory Keeper's Daughter", that I picked up in a book swap at a marina along the way. Today is overcast, but we had the excitement of seeing the tall ship dock. There was a small band playing on board- playing what I guess to be the Spanish equivalent of John Philip Sousa. Everyone is "piped"onto the boat (the "two-whee" whistle you think of with old military boats). We have seen limos with "important" people get onto the boat, with "common" people like us boaters walking close by. It's a huge boat. None of the photos show the full length because we can't fit it all in the photo!! Love to all- Linda

Exploring Norfolk, VA

Look at the lovely mer"maid" I found at the Maritime Museum! I think this photo just about sums it all up!!!!

We stumbled upon this veterans memorial in the park. Bronze "pages" look like they've been scattered in the wind- each one had a letter from a veteran that had been sent from the front lines. It was very well done.

OK- no jokes about "carp-to-carp walleting"!!!!

Ken likes to use his Lasik-ed vision (when he opens his eyes) at the helm!!!

I like Neptune- there's something about a man with a tail & scales!

I also like Einstein! (Maybe we've been on the boat too long when we start playing with cardboard statues!)

Ken & Linda on the aft deck of the "Wisonsin" battleship. You can tell how windy it is by the flag!!!



Happy Birthday to my brother, Paul! We are stuck in Norfolk, VA due to high winds. But it has been sunny, we’re in a nice marina, and there’s lots to do in a city! Yesterday we walked in the park and went to “Nauticus”- the National Maritime Museum. It included a tour of the battleship “Wisconsin”, a movie about earthquakes, exhibits on navigation, and a small shark exhibit. Friday a tall ship from Spain is arriving at our marina! It’s the 3rd largest tall ship in the world. I hope THEY”RE enjoying the wind!

We arrived safely in Norfolk, VA and now it looks like we are going to stay here until Saturday morning when the winds and the seas are supposed to die down. Right now there are small craft advisories in effect for the Chesapeake Bay until Thursday. Then the winds are supposed to lower from 20-25 to 10-15mph. We then have to wait another day for the seas to lower from 3 feet to 1-2 feet. The marina we are at is right in the heart of the “re-vitalized” harbor area - very nice. There are over 30 restaurants within walking distance but no grocery store, no gas, and no pumpout. We are going to leave this marina Friday afternoon and go across the Elizabeth River to a different marina so we can get gas and pumpout before leaving Saturday morning for our trip up the Chesapeake. We have spent the morning rearranging and storing things below and Linda put more ’Rain-X’ on the windshield and cleaned the plastic windows in preparation of running into “scattered showers” on Saturday. We also ate at ’Hooters’ the day before yesterday. Linda was hiding her face hoping that she wouldn’t see anyone she knew. We ate there because they had an outdoor patio that would accommodate Cory. Cory likes Hooters a lot! Today more exploring. Ken

Welcome to Virginia...

We left Coinjock Marina this morning at 8:50am, for us, a very early start. When we got up at 7:30am all the boats on the 1100 ft. dock, with the exception of 3, had already left for the day. Our first task was to cross the Currituck Sound, which turned out to be particularly nervewracking. It was the shallowest large piece of water that we have been in to date. In the channel was a comfortable 7-12 feet depth, but 10 ft. out of the channel and you would be aground. A boat from the marina that left before we got up was calling BoatUS Tow and reporting that he was aground. We passed within 40 ft. of "Fiji" who was hard aground. We then entered the Albemarle/Chesapeake Canal and then the sourthern branch of the Elizabeth River, which leads into Norfolk, VA. This 40 miles is home to numerous bridges and 1 lock. Consequently, if you time one bridge right, the next one you will have to sit at until it opens. We timed most of the bridges right but badly mistimed the lock and arrived 45 minutes early. Nothing to do but drift in place until the lock opens. After the lock we entered into the most congested industrial megamess that we have ever seen. Tugboats, naval boats, barges, etc. everywhere and still, the bridges. We wound our way through 5 miles of this and tied up at Waterside Marina at mile marker '0' on the ICW. We now have to change chart books. We are out of the ICW and I have to say, I miss it already. It was shallow and narrow but at least it was beautiful and you got to know the other boaters traveling with you. We are now on the very large, inpersonable, deep (15-25 ft), prone to roughness, Chesapeake Bay. We may be staying in Norfolk for a couple of days as a front comes through. The winds are expected to increase to 20 mph and the seas to increase to 3 ft. tomorrow and Wednesday. We could travel in that but it wouldn't be comfortable. We're still trying to decide what to do. Ken

Linda here- Currituck Sound was shallow, as Ken said, but very pretty. I'm so glad I don't live near this heavily-industrialized area that we had to go thru- but I'm sure all the people we saw working do something that affects all of our lives in some way! It seemed like BIG transporting of STUFF-but we really couldn't see what the stuff was!

I loaded the following pictures so that chronologically they are backward. For the pictures and comments to make sense you should go to the last picture and then scroll upward to the first.Ken



This is outside "Nauticus" Maritime Museum down the street from us- there are carp in the pool beneath this mermaid.

This is the battleship "Wisconsin" just down the street from us. It draws 37 feet!!

Ken poses with the"Lonesome Sailor" monument to all past present and future navy personnel. We have no idea what Cory is a monument to!

These mermaids are all over the downtown area- like the decorated cows in West Hartford center, or the bears in Berlin, Germany. It's a pretty neat area with a huge park for Cory to run!

These are 'escort carriers,' the smallest of the aircraft carriers. We just learned that at the Nauticus Maritime Museum. The Navy didn't seem to have a problem with us taking pictures but on the radio we repeatedly heard, "This is United States Navy Warship 75 - the boat at marker 42 state your intentions and destination!" It was very unnerving. We will be passing by that area on the next leg of our journey. If they call me, I'm going to have Linda tell them I'm not home!

How would you like that job? The bridge tender's office is in the building that goes up and down with the bridge. We could see the guy in there.

We ducked under this lift bridge but, if we were bigger, that little house would go way up in the air - just like the picture above this one. Notice the lovely scenery in the background.

This tug was a pain in our rear for a couple of miles. We passed and repassed each other several times. He obviously doesn't know who we are!

Welcome to Norfolk, VA. A real shock after a month of the ICW and beautiful sights.

After the lock the river continued for a short period in a manner very similar to this. On the ICW in this location the green marker is on the right. A small white marker ahead on the left indicates "danger- shoaling." The red marker on the right is for a private opening off the channel.

Entering the last lock of the ICW. The left side is rubber bumpered, the right side is cement. Once in and holding on, on the left side, we dropped a total of 8.4 inches! Then onward to Norfolk, VA!

This is the last bridge that we had to stop for. It is opened at the same time that the lock on the other side opens. It only opens on the hour and we were making such good time that we arrived at 11:12am. Needless to say, we idled and talked with the other boaters for the next 50 minutes.

We caught up to the sportfisherman at one of several low bridges that only opened on the 1/2 hour. His timing was pretty good in this area, so the waits were short.

After the bridge the canal opened up again. The depth is about 10-15 ft. and we were cruising faster than normal, at about 32mph, because we wanted to stick with the large sportfisherman ahead of us who seemed to know the way.

We were making great time until this 4' high bridge brought us all to a halt.

The Albemarle/Chesapeake Canal was a nice waterway. We saw several bald eagles but no pelicans. This is day 3 without seeing any dolphins :(

As we enter the Currituck Sound we see, and hear on the radio, the boat "Fiji", hard aground (that's him on the right). Why he wandered out of the channel is unknown but the penalty was immediate.