Saturday, May 26, 2007

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

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

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

Sunday, May 20, 2007

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