2019 Life Logs, Day 243: Sailing, Sailing . . . Motoring
Date: Saturday, August 31, 2019
Weather: Another Beautiful Day BUT No Wind; High 84, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
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It was a beautiful day for a sail, but unfortunately there was no wind. That does not, however, preclude having a delightful time out on the water. I met Jane Woodin at her house, as did her good friends Ellen and Bob, and we drove together to the West Falmouth Boat Club where Bruce and Sam Patterson had L’Escargot waiting for us at the dock. Bruce and Jane bought the sailboat this spring from a long time Woods Hole friend, Ellen Bailey. And this morning Ellen and her husband were also at the dock to see us off. We had hoped to make it to Kingman Marina for lunch at the Chart Room, but the winds and current just didn’t cooperate. We tacked back and forth in the little wind we did have and joked that we might make in time for dinner. Finally, we gave it up, turned on the engine, and headed back to West Falmouth Harbor. We then chose a different location for lunch at Sopranos on Falmouth Heights Beach. So not a lot of sailing, but a lot of fun.
I then managed to spend the rest of my day and evening on the phone. I had a long conversation with Lynne Kirwin. Neither of us loves talking on the phone, but when you live far apart, the phone is what you’ve got. And thankfully so. While I was talking to Lynne, I saw that another friend, Susie Klein, was calling me. So, after Lynne and I solved all of the world’s problems, I listened to the voice mail message from Susie. She and her husband Jim were anchored in Tarpaulin Cove south of Woods Hole and were thinking of me, so she called. I last saw Susie and Jim when I made a presentation to their sailing association in Wayland (west of Boston) last November. At that time, they were preparing for a sabbatical in France. They returned in early August, just in time to launch their sailboat, Reveille, for some late summer sailing. After that phone conversation, it was time to fix dinner and shortly after dinner, Justin called and asked if I would like to Skype with the kids. They are just getting settled in after returning from their month in England in time to turn around and head to New Mexico next week. They have been invited to be in a couple of fall music festivals and they will take advantage of their time there to catch up with good friends and check on their converted Greyhound bus that is still in storage in Albuquerque. Both Ziggy and Coco were born in New Mexico, but neither has very clear memories of their time there. Justin and Jo, on the other hand, have very good friends there and are very anxious to visit with them. It was great to see the kids on Skype and hear about their current interests. Ziggy has plans to build a robot that can navigate by latitude and longitude directions and Coco is perfecting her acrobatic skills using Jo’s yoga swing and flying through the house on the roller skates I got her for her birthday. They light up when in motion and glow in the dark and she loves performing in them. I also got the full report of their visit with their cousins in England. I am still amazed with and thankful for the technology that allows me to see and talk with my grandchildren on my cell phone. We take it for granted, but it really is amazing.
