by Judy Handley | Oct 24, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 351, Year 7: Woods Hole Aquarium Fun
Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Weather: Rain Overnight, Overcast and Cool Today
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
The weather was not great today, but it could be worse, so I won’t complain
too much. It is supposed to turn around overnight and become sunny and
warmer for the next few days. For that we are thankful. But in looking at
the weather for next week when we were hoping to sail south, things aren’t
looking so good. High winds and seas are projected, so we will just have to
sit tight until things settle a bit. At this point, Saturday, Nov 3rd looks
like the earliest date we could depart, but other reports are showing big
seas through Nov 7th. We’ll keep watching the predictions and make
decisions next week when the time comes. In the meantime, we will continue
to prepare for departure and hope we don’t get delayed too long.
Mark and I headed out with Ziggy this morning to see the harbor seal show at
the little aquarium here in Woods Hole. It is sponsored by NOAA Fisheries
and is a real treasure for adults and little ones as well. Heather had
meetings this morning, so we also took Oliver. Ziggy really enjoyed the
seal show and the fish inside the aquarium, but he LOVED the touch tank.
Today was a work day for Justin which meant that he hung out at Coffee
Obsession to use their internet while talking on his phone. But Jo and Coco
came to the aquarium in time to play with Ziggy at the touch tank and then
Justin met us on the beach as we were walking back to Windbird. Heather
joined us on the boat for lunch and then Heather and Oliver, Jo and Coco,
and Ziggy and I drove to East Falmouth in time to pick Sam up from school.
We had hoped to spend the late afternoon at a children’s museum, but
unfortunately, it closed at 3 o’clock. Maybe we’ll make it there on another
day.
Tomorrow morning Jonah and Oliver will come to the boat to be with us while
Heather works. I’m not sure what will be on the agenda, but I would love to
get Ziggy out in the dinghy to do a little fishing. He is obsessed with
fishing and would love to do this, but so far he has refused to put on a
life jacket. We’ve told him that we can’t take him out into Great Harbor to
fish unless the life jacket goes on, so we’ll just have to see if he sticks
with his no life jacket decision.
by Judy Handley | Oct 23, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 350, Year 7: Day Trip to the New England Aquarium
Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny Day, Rain Late in the Evening
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It was another fun-filled day. Ziggy started his morning with a quick dip
sans clothing in Eel Pond. The water was a little deeper than he
anticipated and the temperature was cool, but he loved it. We met Heather,
Jed, and boys at the New England Aquarium in Boston just after noon and then
started our explore. We were disappointed to find that the three-story
round tank which the aquarium is built is under renovation and won’t be back
in action again until next summer, but we still had lots to see and enjoy.
One of our favorites today was the ray and shark touch tank. And watching
the jellies is always fascinating. We saw only the Little Blue penguins as
the Africans and Rock Hoppers are being housed elsewhere until the
renovation is complete. But we did see a sea lion show and got to watch the
giant sea turtles being fed. Three hours is about as long as little ones
can hold up, so mid-afternoon Heather and gang headed back to Falmouth while
Justin jumped on the T subway to go to a meeting and Mark, Jo, Ziggy, Coco,
and I got on the T inner-harbor ferry to Charleston to see the USS
Constitution. Ziggy wanted to see a really big ship and the USS
Constitution fit the bill. We had another disappointment in that we were
too late to get on the ship, but we had a really special moment on our walk
through the ship yard. We looked straight up over our heads and there was
an ‘upside-down’ rainbow smiling down on us. Once we returned to the
Aquarium, we drove to pick up Justin and then went out for a sushi dinner
before driving back to the Cape. It was another beautiful day with
grandchildren.
by Judy Handley | Oct 22, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 349, Year 7: Beautiful Day
Date: Monday, October 22, 2012
Weather: Another Beautiful Fall Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It was a beautiful fall day and we had a ‘beautiful’ time with our children
and grandchildren. Ziggy and Justin were up early and Ziggy had a great
opportunity to watch a diver go into the water to clean the bottom of a boat
nearby. Ziggy, our landlocked grandchild, is absolutely fascinated with
anything having to do with the ocean. So tomorrow we are planning the take
the whole crew to the New England Aquarium in Boston. Jonah doesn’t go to
school on Tuesdays and Sam has an early release day. So it is the perfect
day for an exciting aquarium visit with all five grandchildren. The
aquarium here in Woods Hole was not open today and that was a big
disappointment to Ziggy. But he recovered with a walk to Stony Beach where
he could run in the sand and walk on the rocks. We then walked to the
gardens at the Bell Tower that we call The Secret Garden and then it was on
to the Captain Kidd for lunch. We had a pizza party for dinner at Heather
and Jed’s and then it was back to the boat to watch the debate. We will
sleep in tomorrow morning and then head for Boston around 10:30 am.
by Judy Handley | Oct 21, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 348, Year 7: Grandparent Heaven
Date: Sunday, October 21, 2012
Weather: Lovely, Sunny Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It was a lovely day in every respect. The weather was nice and after a slow
morning get-up, we headed to Heather and Jed’s for a late morning brunch.
Sam and Jed had to duck out to a birthday party of one of Sam’s fellow
classmates, but the rest of us enjoyed a great brunch and time playing
together. Ziggy and Jonah got time together, and then later in the
afternoon when Sam returned, he played ‘big’ brother to Ziggy. Mark and I
switched off holding the wee ones. In the late afternoon all of us but
Heather went on a walk to the cranberry bogs. Ziggy desperately wanted to
find ducks to feed. We found lots of ducks, but they flew away when we got
near. We chased down the swans that are now all white like their mothers
and fathers and watched the juveniles flapping their huge wings in play. It
was a wonderful day-a grandparent’s heaven.
by Judy Handley | Oct 20, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 347, Year 7: Welcome Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2012
Weather: Overcast with Rain Early, Clearing in the Afternoon
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Hurray!!! Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco had an easy flight here (actually
arrived 20 minutes early) and we are all now aboard Windbird and ready for
bed. What a wonderful feeling to have the New Mexico side of the family
here with us. Ziggy is his exuberant, beautiful self, and Coco is such a
delightful little baby. We’ve waited a long time to meet her and are so
glad to get this chance to spend time with her. When Mark and I arrived in
the baggage claim area for Justin and Jo’s flight, we heard a little squeal
in the distance. I knew immediately it was Ziggy, so we followed the
squeals to find him. He and Justin were waiting for Jo and Coco to come out
of the restroom and Ziggy was just enjoying being Ziggy. We had dinner in
Harvard Square and then drove back to the Cape. Mark and I had gone to
storage in Concord before going to the airport to pick up Justin and Jo. So
the van was jam-packed with boxes. Maybe it was a blessing that the luggage
didn’t make it on the plane. It was arriving later in the evening and will
be delivered to Heather’s house sometime during the night. We will all go
there in the morning for a late morning brunch. Can’t wait to see all the
little cousins playing together.
Our other excitement of the day was repairing a leaky hose in the engine
room. Yesterday morning early Mark noticed smoke coming out of the engine
room. Not good. There was a leak in a water exhaust hose going from the
engine to the hot water tank and it was spraying directly on an electrical
connection. Thus the smoke. Mark had new hose installed before we left for
Boston and hopefully we will have hot water for showers in the morning. I
am just so thankful that he noticed the smoke before it turned into a fire.
Thank you, Mark.
by Judy Handley | Oct 19, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 346, Year 7: Busy Day
Date: Friday, October 19, 2012
Weather: Overcast with Periods of Rain in the Evening
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
This ended up to be a very busy day. I took Mark to work at West Marine this morning and then went to Heather and Jed’s to babysit Oliver while Jed went on a field trip with Jonah and Heather did her science lesson in Sam’s kindergarten class. When she returned, I transplanted some herbs that I bought recently into pots that I will keep on the boat. I also did some laundry for myself and some for Heather and Jed. One all of this was done, I headed out to do some food and spirit shopping. By the time I got back to Woods Hole, it was 2 o’clock and then by the time I got all of the things from the car out to the boat, it was almost 3 o’clock. By the time I got things put way, it was 4 pm. My how time flies when you are having fun!
We had a lovely dinner that Heather, Jed, Marti, and Donald had prepared, and after dinner all the ‘males’ escaped to the den to watch a Cars video. I was a great event for Sam and Jonah to sit with both grandfathers while eating popcorn and watching the video. Even Oliver sat on the floor and watched. Heather joked about the fact that there was altogether too much testosterone in one room as it Sam, Jonah, Oliver, Jed, Granddad, and Papa watching the video. But they had a great time. Mark and I enjoyed getting some time to visit with Jed’s parents and we made plans to meet in the Chesapeake should weather delay us there. Jed’s parents live in DC during the winter and Marti offered to come pick us up wherever Windbird should land and bring us to DC for a couple of days. One of my best friends from my teaching days in Concord is having a wedding reception in DC on November 10th, so depending on the weather, we just might be able to make it to that event. But with our history of rough sailing in the Atlantic, if the weather is right, we will head south as fast as we can even though we would love to visit with friends. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
Around noon tomorrow, we will head north. We will drive to Concord, New Hampshire, to pick up some things from storage, and then back to Boston to do some food shopping, and then to pick Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco up at the airport at 7 pm. We’ll have dinner in Boston and then head back to the Cape. JJZ&C will stay with us on Windbird at night and visit with HJJS&O during the day. The little guys, the ‘cousins’, will first get together for Sunday brunch. Then the fun will begin.
