|
|
|
|
July 28, 2003 Location: Sag Harbor, NY
Meals
My watch last night was uneventful. A couple of large freighters passed within a few miles but not so close as to be worrisome. Woody had another run in with a fishing boat. I awoke at 0900 as we pulled around the south east corner of Shelter Island. I recognized it from the time I did the Whitebread Race with Bob Cockerill and some of his friends. The Whitebread is a race around Shelter Isle; it's name is a play on the Whitbread Around the World Race (now known as The Volvo Ocean Race). This is a nice little harbor. The Sag Harbor Yacht Club seems to have a wireless internet connection, that's what I'm using to post this. Customs was a relatively easy process - a few phone calls and we were done. Immigration on the other hand....wants us to drive all the way into JFK. We won't be able to do that today so we'll rent a car and head in tomorrow morning. What a pain. We wandered into Sag Harbor. A quaint town, and about as cheap a Bermuda.... Woody had talked to the owner to let him know what was happening with the customs, immigration, and boat cleaning activities. In the conversation Don (the owner) generously offered up funds to buy dinner. So we had a nice meal on shore. Plenty of wine and food was shared. What a wonderful evening.
July 29, 2003 Location: Sag Harbor, NY
Meals
I headed back to the dock and hailed the others on the walkie-talkie. They lollygagged a bit but eventually made it in. Then we set off off to clear immigration. About 100 miles of pleasant driving and we were at JFK. We called the INS folks and they came out to the concourse to meet us. Escorted back into the Customs and Immigration area, we were asked to sit in a room with others waiting to clear. Most of the folks were Korean as a KAL plane had just arrived. The desk officer was chatting with one fellow telling him that since he had a felony assault conviction he would have to see an immigration judge to gain entry. This guy was small and old, I can't imagine the victim or circumstances of an assault he could win. A few minutes later our passports were returned and we were escorted out of the secure area. Sherilyn had never seen NYC and Tracy had only spent a few days there so they wanted to go into town. We pointed them in the direction of the bus and they set off. Woody, Michelle, and I headed back east. We spent a leisurely afternoon looking at the Hamptons and the incredible houses. A quick stop in Sag Harbor to provision for dinner and we retired to the boat. Michelle started and Woody finished a wonderful penne a la carbonnara for dinner. I supplied a nice bottle of Champagne. All and all it was just another wonderful evening -- amazing how frequent they are. Frequent but not ordinary that is! Earlier in the stay here I asked for instruction on the dinghy, and got it. It's a lot of fun to bounce around in. When T & S called to say they were almost back in town (on the Hampton Jitney), Woody threw me the key and let me head off on my own. It's nice to be trusted.... July 30, 2003 Location: Pelham, NY
Meals A bittersweet day. Don the owner has talked to Michelle and today I need to get off Catbird. His wife and kid will be coming out tonight, he'll be out this weekend. The boat is big but he'd like some quiet and private time. So, I'll be leaving to allow the family their space. I fully understand and think it's a reasonable request; but I still hate to leave. Sigh. I really like Woody and Michelle; they're great sailors and even better people. TJ caught an early Jitney to NYC. He'll be taking the Amtrak. He'll bop around there for a while and then fly home to BC. I returned the Chevy and picked up laundry. The others spent the morning tidying up the boat while I packed. I decided to stow a couple of bags with M &W until the weekend. A good decision -- the bag I'm carrying is too damn heavy. I need to find a better, wheeled, bag. I caught the 1315 Jitney and was in NYC by 1545. A brief walk, lugging my unmanageable bag, put me at Grand Central. There I caught a train to Pelham. I got to Josh and Carol's house about 1700; Carol was running errands so I sat outside in an Adirondack and finished the latest Randy Wayne White novel, Everglades. It was a great way to unwind and deal with the disappointment of leaving the boat. And a super novel. The guy is topflight. Josh and Carol were their usual wonderful hosts. They threw on a set of steaks on the grill and we enjoyed a great evening. The tapestry of life was pretty full again. Max and Emma each had friends over (this time Emma's boy friend managed to restrain himself and not wear her dresses) and things were hopping. But it's always good to spend time there, I know of no other couple for whom I have such fondness; I can talk in depth on almost any issue with either of them. "Dear friends" is far too dramatic an understatement, I don't really know what words to use.
A traveling day. Up at 0800 to grab the best shower in recent memory. Plenty of hot water, ample water pressure, and no need to turn the water off and on to conserve it. Wow it felt great! Things got even better when I stepped on a scale for the first time in ages: 197 pounds. Last time I weighed myself I was 207, before I started working out in January I was over 215, last fall I was over 220. A big happy smile ensued. Carol drove me to LGA where I boarded a flight for ORF. A quick and easy flight in a small Saab puddle jumper. I love the little planes especially when they bounce around. But the weather was terrific and the flight was smooth. Coming in over the Chesapeake Bay we say a small jump jet carrier steaming out of Norfolk. I gathered the car without problem and kicked around town a bit. The guy who defended me in court was occupied for a few minutes so I passed time shopping. I picked up a few new toys: a waterproof flashlight, a small red lensed flashlight, and some mask anti-fog. After killing a bit of time, my attorney took my call. Great news! The judge reduced the ticket to 74 mph (a 5 mph reduction) and lessened the charge to simple speeding. The fine is about $95 plus court costs. A major victory. Next it was time to head northward. I hoped on the CBBT.
I swore I would not add any more pictures (you've seen enough from Seagull
Pier)....but how often do you see a submarine sailing into port! I wrote the above from the Lewes, DE ferry terminal waiting for the next boat. I'll keep heading north until I grow tired and then I'll look for a bed for the night. Well, I went north. But north of Cape May is.....Atlantic City. I was passing AC on the GSP around 2200. I figured I'd stop for a bit and have some fun. The Borgata was incredibly crowded last time and we passed on it. I figured late on a Thursday it might be ok so I wandered in. It's lush and lavish by AC standards. I'd say it's a bit of LV brought east. I wandered to the craps tables -- the cheapest minimum was $25.00! Way too rich for my blood. There was a guy with a private table throwing pumpkins around like they were ones. A "pumpkin" is the AC terminology for a $5,000 chip because they're orange and larger than a standard chip. I'm sure this man had the equivalent of my entire net worth in play when I watched for a few minutes. I managed to find the poker room. It's far nicer than any other in AC. In 3 hours of $2-$4 Hold 'Em I was down $70. Not good but not too bad -- slightly sloppy play without ever getting great cards. I dropped by Harrah's on the way out. An hour of craps netted a gain of $130 putting me at +$60 for the night. It was late (0230ish), I was up, I was tired; it was time to go. I have always just hightailed it out US-30 to the GSP to leave AC (I almost always finish up at Harrah's). This time I decided to head north up US-9 and see some new sights. Big mistake. There are no real hotels on US-9. Everything was a small motor inn, and they're all shut down for the night by 0300. I ended up driving until 0430 before I found a (very expensive) room at Toms River Holiday Inn. Bedtime was shortly before 0500. A very long day. |
|
This web site's pages have been viewed
Send mail to Jim@VagabondJim.com with questions or comments about this web site. Last modification: 04 September 2004 13:26:44 -0700 |
We've
dropped the hook in Sag Harbor on a fine calm morning.
I
was up pretty early to get the car. The Enterprise folks promised an 0900
pickup. So I gathered my stuff, threw laundry into a bag and was at the
dock by 0845. A quick run up to the launderette and by the time I was done
the pickup was ready. We headed out to East Hampton Airport, filled out
the papers and got the keys to a Chevy Trailblazer. This was the first
time I've driven a domestic SUV (I've taken a very brief turn at the wheel of
Josh and Carol's Acura MDX) and I hated it. The steering and ride can only
be described as "squishy". The brakes are inconsistent. I'll stick
to the 4 door sports sedans for the foreseeable future.