by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 268, Year 10: Happy Early Birthday to Mark
Date: Sunday, July 5, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy Day, Winds SW 20-25
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Today we celebrated Mark’s birthday two days early, so we had the annual pirate birthday sail. Three years ago, Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco were here for Mark’s birthday and in honor of Ziggy’s obsession with pirates, we had a total pirate birthday sail. It was so much fun that we have continued the tradition. Today’s sail was a bit boisterous with 20-25 knot winds, but it was a fun day. Heather baked a cream cheese pirate birthday cake for her dad, and it was delicious. We played on the beach, kayaked, had lunch followed by pirate cheesecake, and went sailing. It was a bit lumpy with the strong winds, but all in all, it was a fantastic day. It was great to have Kevin and Claire to help with the celebration. Happy early birthday to Mark!
by Judy Handley | Jul 4, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 267, Year 10: Happy 4th of July
Date: Saturday, July 4, 2015
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Clearing a Bit in the Evening; High 70 degrees F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Here’s hoping everyone had a happy 4th of July. My day got off to a great start when I opened my email and found a happy summer e-card in my inbox. It was from Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg. An automated drawing hand drew a sailboat and colored it in and then drew a dinghy. The background looked just like Quissett Harbor. Thank you, Alan and Helaine, for making my day.
The other thing that made my day was when friends Kevin and Claire arrived for a visit. We went downtown to the Library book sale and then Kevin cooked a fantastic dinner with a choice of steak or grilled grouper tacos. He also made a great guacamole dip for an appetizer. He and Claire brought pastries from an Italian restaurant in New Haven for dessert and after we stuffed ourselves, we went to the beach to watch the Falmouth fireworks. It was a fantastic day with friends.
by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 266, Year 10: Fun Friday Explorations and Dinner at the Woodin’s
Date: Friday, July 3, 2015
Weather: Beautiful Day; Temp in the Upper 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
The town of Sandwich is about fifteen miles north of Falmouth. The Heritage Museums & Gardens are in Sandwich and today Mark, Jed, and I visited with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. We had a super fun Friday. Heritage was established in 1969 by J. K. Lilly of Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fame. Family collections are on display here and various exhibitions are scattered in the 100 acres. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to visit. We visited Hidden Hollow, a favorite of all children, where a very tall cedar house in the treetops is known as the tree house. There we played with puppets, played wooden xylophones, and played in the sand. We rode on the antique hand-carved carousel, walked the labyrinth, enjoyed finding the Secret Shelters scattered throughout the grounds, visited the antique car museum, and on and on. It really is the kind of place you have to see to fully comprehend its beauty. Jed and I were particularly drawn to the very tall rhododendron trees. We had both always thought of rhododendron as a bush, but the owner of the property before J. K. Lilly, Charles Owen Dexter, came up with these hybrid rhododendron giants. After the day at Heritage, Mark and I came back to Windbird and got ready for an evening of fun at Bruce and Jane Woodin’s. As always, thank you Bruce and Jane. Tomorrow our friends Kevin and Claire arrive. We stay busy, busy here.
by Judy Handley | Jul 2, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 265, Year 10: Kayaking Fun in Quissett Harbor
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2015
Weather: Partly Cloudy; Temp in Upper 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
For some strange reason, last night’s log did not get posted. Either I thought I posted it and didn’t or there was some technical glitch. Probably the former, but I’ll make sure I post tonight’s log. I apologize for the problem.
Mark went to shore with me this morning just after 8:30 am and we drove to Heather and Jed’s. When we arrived we found out that Heather was biking to work today. Good for her! Grammie Goldstone was leaving just as we arrived and Jed was scurrying around the house getting it in shape for an inspection by an assessor at 11 am this morning. They are having the house assessed so they can refinance their home loan to a lower interest rate. I got a laundry started, put sunscreen on the boys, and then we left to take Mark to work at West Marine. After dropping him off, the boys and I headed to Windbird where we spent the rest of the morning having fun in the kayak in Quissett Harbor. Sam and Jonah had a great time and then Ollie said he wanted to get in the kayak. He has been in it before, but is usually sitting in someone’s lap. Not today. He got in the front seat of the kayak and immediately started paddling. Sam was in the back seat to steer and Ollie was so proud of himself for being able to handle the oar. The time passed way too quickly and we had to stop the fun and get back to Windbird for lunch. We have to get Sam to the Children’s School of Science by 1:45 each day. We ate lunch, but it took much longer than anticipated, and we had to scurry to get back to shore and get Sam to class on time. We’ll get better at the timing issue as the summer progresses. The rest of the afternoon was low key and delightful. While Ollie napped, Jonah and I did a marathon read aloud. And when Ollie got up, he wanted to read as well. I was almost hoarse from reading so much by the time Heather and Jed got home with Sam. Mark doesn’t have to work tomorrow, so we are taking the boys to the Heritage Gardens and Museum. Admission is free tomorrow as part of the Massachusetts Free Friday Museum offering, so we will go and enjoy the many outdoor activities they have there for children. I’d better get to bed now so I will have the energy to deal with the Goldpebbles tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jul 1, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 264, Year 10: More Wind, More Rain—Lots of It
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Weather: Stormy Morning, Sunny Afternoon; Temp Low 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
July came in with a bang, literally. This morning there was lots of thunder accompanying buckets of rain. And we had another tornado watch this morning. Tornadoes in western Massachusetts are not all that rare, but tornados here on the Cape used to be but are becoming an increasing phenomenon. Early this morning the sun was shining, but by the time I got up at 8 am, it was overcast and threatening rain. By 8:30 it became apparent that serious weather was headed our way, so I rushed to get in the dinghy and get to shore before the rain started. Good idea, but it didn’t work. By the time I reached the dinghy dock, the heavens opened up and literally just dumped. By the time I got to the car, it was raining harder than I ever remember. And it continued like this until I got into town. The streets were full of water as the drains just couldn’t handle the volume. And then I got a call from Mark telling me that Heather had called to let me know there was a severe weather tornado warning. The weather service was telling people to get inside immediately, but I kept driving in hopes I would reach Heather’s before things got worse. When I got there, they were all in the basement waiting out the storm. Using our cell phones to check the radar, we finally saw that the storm had passed and that we could come out of hiding. There was still a lot of thunder, but eventually things settled down and the boys could go outside to play in the puddles. We enjoyed a relaxed morning doing lots of puddle stomping.
Marti, Jed’s mom, was watching the radar to track the storm as it went north. She finally decided to stay another night and not chance traveling in such serve weather. She took Sam to his class at the Science School in the afternoon and took Jonah along as well. They visited the aquarium in Woods Hole and after Sam’s class they all went to the Exhibit Center. Ollie and I stayed home. He took a nap and I rearranged the books on their shelves. Everyone enjoyed having two grandmas to look after them again today, but Marti has to leave tomorrow. I will surely miss her help with the boys.
by Judy Handley | Jun 30, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 263, Year 10: Two Grandmas, Three Little Boys
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day; Temp in the 70 degrees F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Grammie Goldstone and Oma Handley took the three Goldpebbles to Woodneck today. Woodneck is a special beach as you can choose either the marsh side or the ocean side. We always choose the marsh side and today Sam, Jonah, and Ollie really wanted to show off their marsh exploration grounds to Grammie Goldstone. Tide was high, but running out when we arrived, and it was perfect for exploring. The boys learned last night that Molly and Joey from next door were going to be there today and they explored together. Grammie and I tried to keep up with them, but it is not easy! Near the end of our time at Woodneck, Sam and Jonah disappeared. I saw Joey and asked him if he knew where they went. He said they went floating down Lazy River and pointed me in the right direction. Mollie, Sam, and Jonah were indeed floating in the shallow, slow moving stream that eventually goes out to sea. They were having a ball, but I had to intervene to remind them of our line of sight rule. “If you can’t see me, then I can’t see you. And we have to be able to see each other at all times.” This was a good time for our exit, so we left Woodneck and took Sam to Woods Hole for his School of Science class. Right on cue, Ollie fell asleep on the way home and then Grammie took Jonah to the downtown Library for a Superhero Summer Reading Kickoff celebration. Mark worked at West Marine until 7 pm, so it was a late evening getting home. But it was a beautiful, quiet evening, giving us a chance to regroup for another busy day tomorrow.
