After almost 6 years of traveling, we sailed into Woods Hole on Cape Cod. We continued living aboard for the next five years and I wrote about that, adding ‘and Beyond’ to the title of the blog. Then shortly before Mark’s death in 2016, we sold our beloved Windbird and my travel logs became land logs. At this point, I had written a daily account for each and every day for 11 years. I fully intended to end the blog at that point, but when I wrote that news in a log, I got many responses saying that I really needed to keep posting. At the same time, I realized that I couldn’t stop writing. Summarizing each day had become a permanent part of my life and I will probably continue writing until I can no longer. These postings reflect the ordinary, and sometimes the extraordinary, days in my life and I would like to invite you to join me on my journey.
2018 Life Logs, Day 69—Arrival in Mayaguez, PR
2018 Life Logs, Day 69—Arrival in Mayaguez, PR
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2018
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 88, Low 72 degrees F
Latitude: 18.20651
Longitude: -67.16016
Location: AT Anchor Off Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
What a great ride across the Mona Passage. It was a little rough at times, mostly motor sailing, some sailing, and some just motoring. The most peaceful part was my last hour and half of watch motoring from Rincon to Mayaguez. Clear night, a crescent moon for light, and peaceful seas. I woke Sam up when we were half a mile from the anchoring destination, and we anchored with no hitches. When we awoke this morning, the sun was shining brightly and we headed to shore with Piper. We are anchored where I thought we would be, but it looks different than it did when Mark and I were here in 2015 and took photos of a possible anchorage in Mayaguez. There was a big red round building to the north of the anchorage and it is no longer here. As we assumed, it was taken down by Hurricane Maria. But just next to the pilings on which that building stood, we met Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco this morning. I was so excited to see them on the dock. But by the time they arrived the winds had kicked up a bit and there was no way Coco was going to get into a dinghy and come out to visit on Windbird. But Ziggy wanted to, so Justin and Ziggy came with us in the dinghy and Coco, Jo, and Jo’s adorable new puppy, Maya Moon, headed to a skate park on the water where we could come visit with them later. Ziggy loved being on Windbird again. We visited for a short time and then headed back to shore to visit with Jo and Coco.
Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco rode on their skate boards, sometimes with Maya Moon. Justin and family had plans to head further south to have a late lunch with a friend, but Ziggy convinced them he needed to stay on Windbird for the afternoon. So, he returned to the boat with us and we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon of reading and playing games. At 5 pm, we headed back to shore with Ziggy to play in the park and after sunset, Justin and Jo picked him up. In the meantime, we sat on the beach together to watch the sun go down.
So beautiful. Justin and crew plan to return tomorrow morning at 7:30 am for a sail from here to Boqueron, about 10 miles south.
Our first day in Puerto Rico was fabulous. Hot, sunny, and lovely time with family. Many thanks to Sam and Dawn for making all of this possible. I would love to post photos, but can only use enough data to post the log and one very special photo from today. At some point, I will get to a source of internet that will allow me to post photos.
2018 Life Logs, Day 68—Sailing the Mona Passage
2018 Life Logs, Day 68—Sailing the Mona Passage
Date: Friday, March 9, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Warm; High 82, Low 72 degrees F
Latitude: 19.16856
Longitude: -69.28098
Location: Headed to the West Coast of Puerto Rico
The passage is a bit rough as we are sailing into stronger head winds than predicted, but not too bad and certainly not dangerous. Dawn is little seasick, but other than that, all is well. At 5 pm, Dawn and Sam were napping while I was on watch and I saw a whale blow off to port and then I saw whale’s tail. It was quite a distance away and as I was watching, a humpback jumped straight up out of the water and arched as it dove back in. I woke up Sam and Dawn and they got to see two more breaches. Just beautiful. We will reached the point in Rincon about midnight and head south to Mayaguez. Should be there and anchored before 3 am if the current conditions continue.
2018 Life Logs, Day 67—Leaving Puerto Bahia in the DR
2018 Life Logs, Day 67—Leaving Puerto Bahia in the DR
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2018
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High 82, Low 72 degrees F
Location: Leaving Puerto Bahia, DR for Mayaguez, PR
The plan was to leave here today for a slow 36-hour sail to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The weather report this morning was okay, but when Sam went to tell the Commandante that we were leaving today, he said no one was allowed to check out because of the excessive northerly swell. He said he would be talking to his superior at 9 o’clock and he would have the final say. At 9:45 the Commandante came to the boat. He and Sam talked and we were given the go ahead to leave. Whew! Because the next opportunity would not be until next Thursday. If nothing changes in the next four hours, we will be leaving the Dominican Republic for Puerto Rico tonight. The north swell and any sea breeze should be calmed considerably by 8 pm, so we will leave the marina at 4 pm after checking out with the Commandant. Then we will anchor off a nearby island waiting for the calmer nighttime conditions. Leaving that late in the day will require sailing overnight tonight, all day tomorrow, and slowing down overnight tomorrow night to time our arrival in Mayaguez at first light. So, unless there is another hitch this afternoon, we will be on our way. The marina here is really first class, so if we are stuck here, at least we will be comfortable.
The hotel is quite fancy and we use all the facilities.
There is a small pool outside one of the bars in the hotel and another larger pool out by the Samana Bay.
There is a small convenience store and at least three bars and three restaurants associated with the hotel. And there is a large, friendly staff attending to almost no one. There are condominiums all around with armed guards, but no one in them. And locals are not allowed to drive in here to go the restaurants. So a very few cruisers have the whole place to themselves. Very nice, but strange indeed.
As I said in yesterday’s log, you won’t hear from me again until Saturday when we reach Puerto Rico. Here’s hoping for a smooth Mona Passage crossing.
2018 Life Logs, Day 66—Touring Old Town Santo Domingo
2018 Life Logs, Day 66—Touring Old Town Santo Domingo
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High 87, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Windbird in Puerto Bahia, Samana, Dominican Republic
What a beautiful day! Sam, Dawn, Piper Dog, and I spent the morning and early afternoon touring Santo Domingo’s Zona Colonial.
This is the part of Santo Domingo that was founded in 1496 by Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher Columbus, making it the oldest continuously populated European settlement in the Americas. The beautifully restored buildings are all within walking distance. From the oldest military fortress in the Americas, Fortaleza Ozama,
to the first cathedral built in the Americas,
and all of the buildings in between, we thoroughly enjoyed our self-guided walking tour. After a late lunch and a bit of food shopping in an Old Town supermarket, we headed to Windbird on the north coast of the Dominican Republic which is a 102-mile trip up and over the mountains. It was almost 5:30 pm when we reached the marina and hauled groceries and suitcases to Windbird.
She looks great due to Sam and Dawn’s loving care. And the marina here is gorgeous with all the amenities one could ask for, but the weather report is telling us that we need to move on to Puerto Rico starting tomorrow evening. At this point, we plan to leave here at 8 pm and arrive in Mayaguez early Saturday morning. There is a big swell out there coming from the north, but it should settle a bit starting tomorrow night before building again early next week. So, the decision was made to go now. I will post a log tomorrow before we leave here taking you on a photo tour of the marina, but then you won’t hear from me again until Saturday. But no worries. No news is good news!
2018 Life Logs, Day 65—Smooth Trip to The Dominican Republic
2018 Life Logs, Day 65—Smooth Trip to The Dominican Republic
Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Weather: Warm!
Location: At Home in Hotel Zapata, Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
Note: This log was written on Tuesday night but not sent until Wednesday evening as I had no internet while staying in Santo Domingo.
It was a long day, but each leg of the trip went smoothly. The flight from Boston to New York City took about an hour and the flying time from New York City to Santo Domingo was just over three hours. But it is all of the waiting in between flights, catching a bus to Boston and waiting for the initial flight, and checking into a foreign country that took so much time. I got up at 4:30 am and arrived here exactly 12 hours later. And I even got to watch Oscar winning movie, The Shape of Water, on the way. But when I arrived in Santo Domingo, I hit my first hitch of the trip. I got in line to check in through Immigration and that necessitated buying something called a travel card for $10. It was then that I discovered that the $500 that I thought was in my backpack just wasn’t there. I have no idea what I did with it in the rush of packing, but having to get out of line and get money took double time for checking in. Sam and Dawn were delayed in arriving, so it all worked out. They delivered me to Hotel Zapata in Boca Chica
and an hour later we were out walking on the beach.
We had dinner in an open air beach front restaurant and caught up on what has been happening in each other’s lives. Tomorrow we will spend the day touring Santo Domingo and then drive the two and a half hours to Windbird in Samana. On Thursday morning Sam will listen to the weather and make the decision on a departure date from here to Puerto Rico. If this morning’s report holds, we could leave here Thursday afternoon and arrive in Puerto Rico late on Friday. The nor’easter we had late last week has sent huge waves all the way down here, but they are far apart making the passage a possibility. We’ll weigh that against next week’s possibly window and make a decision.
2018 Life Logs, Day 64—Last Minute Scramble
2018 Life Logs, Day 64—Last Minute Scramble
Date: Monday, March 5, 2018
Weather: Mixed Sun, Clouds, Rain, Wind; High 41, Low 32 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
This was a bit of a crazy birthday. I went to the gym and then came home to get everything on my computer backed up on the new hard drive I bought. I had wanted to do more file organization, but I ran out of time and just backed up what I’ve got. In focusing on that I lost track of time and was late for a birthday lunch with Olivia. When I got there, I was delighted to see that Olivia had also invited another friend, Midge Frieswyk. We had a very nice lunch at a Thai restaurant on Main Street. Thank you, Olivia and Midge. And while there, Peter and Karen Baranowski walked by. We waved them down and they came in to say hello. We are all part of a Newcomers Dining In group and it was great to see everyone on my birthday. I then headed home to get ready for my trip, but I was taking my time as I thought I had all day tomorrow. I went out to do some shopping for the trip and then on to Sam and Jonah’s Scout ceremony.
It was a very special night for Sam as he is crossing over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Next door neighbor, Brian Keefe, is the Pack Leader, and he made sure the Arrow of Light crossing over ceremony for Sam was a special one.
Brought tears to my eyes and Sam took it all so seriously.
But while on the way to the ceremony, I got a text from Delta suggesting that I change my flight due to the storm headed this way. Evidently it is going to hit earlier than I thought, so once the ceremony was over, I hurried home and spent the rest of the evening dealing with flight changes. I won’t go into detail, but the bottom line is that I am flying out of Boston tomorrow morning at 9 am. I threw things in the suitcase, packed another suitcase of things I am taking to Justin and Jo, and hope I have what I need. I have money, my snorkel gear, and a couple of bathing suits, so I know I’ll be alright!
I have no idea how often I will be able to communicate via email and text while I am gone, so if you don’t hear much from me in the next two weeks, just know I am having a great time. I should arrive in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, by 5 pm tomorrow. I made a reservation in a hotel on the water and I will hopefully connect with Sam and Dawn of Windbird on Wednesday as planned. And thank you to so many of you who sent birthday wishes my way today. There is no time to respond, but I really did love hearing from you.
2018 Life Logs, Day 63—Birthdays
2018 Life Logs, Day 63—Birthdays
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2018
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 41, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
If my mother were still alive, she would be celebrating her 110th birthday today. My brother-in-law Joe in Nashville celebrated 83 years of life today. Happy birthday, Joe! Tomorrow I celebrate 71 years, on Tuesday my dear friend Alan Kanegsberg celebrates his birthday, and tonight the Oscars celebrate 90 years. One of the early Oscar presenters tonight was Eve Saint Marie, who at 94 years presented so eloquently. So, I deem this a time to celebrate growing older with grace, vitality, and a passion for what you love. Happy birthday to all of us.
Because of the weather, today’s Scout Blue and Gold Ceremony was postponed until 6:30 tomorrow evening. It is a special one for Sam as he moves up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Heather had planned a birthday dinner for me tomorrow night, so we switched things up and had my birthday dinner tonight. We had my favorite, artichokes,
and Heather made some great gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. The boys decorated them with Lego creations representing each of us.
My Lego figure had long blonde hair—looked more like 17 than 71. Loved it! Heather had to leave after dinner to drive to Boston as she has an early morning work assignment there. So I really appreciate her efforts with such a busy schedule. And to top it all off, my birthday wishes were granted. When asked what I wanted, I said I wanted raspberry plants. I have such fond memories of Heather and Justin going out to the raspberry bushes to ‘pick’ breakfast when they were young. So raspberry plants have been ordered that will be planted on the Goldstone ‘farm’ to continue the tradition. I also got rhubarb plants. Heather knows my love of strawberry-rhubarb pie—the only dessert other than chocolate that I love.
We are still living with the aftermath of the storm. Trees still down, but most roads open; still lots of people without electricity; still no AT&T cell service so I am receiving only emails—cannot send or receive phone calls or texts. I doubt that this will get resolved by the time I leave on Wednesday, so if you want to contact me, please email.
2018 Life Logs, Day 62—W-i-n-d-y
2018 Life Logs, Day 62—W-i-n-d-y
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2018
Weather: Still Windy; High 42, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
Wow! I knew the wind gusts were strong, but my weather-watching brother-in-law in Florida read that gusts to 92 MPH were recorded in Woods Hole. And I got an email from a friend saying there were recorded gusts as high as 82 MPH in East Falmouth where Heather lives. Since it is always gustier on the harbor than in East Falmouth, I have a feeling that some of those gusts that literally shook the apartment late yesterday afternoon were stronger than I suspected. It continued to be windy all day today and into the evening, and I think the forecast is for windy weather until Tuesday. I still have power and Heather and Jed got power back mid-afternoon. But there are many people who are being told that their power will not be back for two to four days. I have no phone service with AT&T, but I don’t know if that is a local issue. When I went online to try and figure out the problem, I see that people all over the country are having outages. If anyone has a clue as to what is going on, please let me know. In the meantime, it appears that I can receive short texts, but I can’t send texts or make or receive phone calls. I’ll have to go to the AT&T store tomorrow and find out what’s going on.
My day went like this. I got up, exercised, and headed to the high school for the annual Science Fair. Both Sam and Jonah had entries that I wanted to see. But getting there was not as easy as usual. There were trees down everywhere causing detours. I persisted and made it and enjoyed seeing Sam’s underwater rover built to hold an underwater camera.
He did this project with a friend and I think they really enjoyed doing it. Jonah’s class did engineering projects at school. His was a building made of paper, straws, pipe cleaners, and fasteners sitting on plastic tubes allowing it to be pulled forward on the rollers and let go like a sling shot . . . and the structure had to stay intact.
Jonah’s passed the test. And some of the high school projects were fantastic. After the Science Fair, I spent my afternoon doing a bit of this and that. I completed making granola that I will take to Justin and family in Puerto Rico and I started the packing process. Then I headed to the Goldstones to spend the evening with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie and I am still there as I write this log. Heather and Jed went to a Falmouth Education Foundation gala tonight. FEF supports innovative projects in Falmouth Public Schools that enhance teaching and learning and the annual gala is one way they raise money. So it is a nice night out for Heather and Jed while supporting a good cause. And I enjoyed an evening with the boys. I had planned to take them out to dinner, but when I got here, they really just wanted to stay home. So Sam dove right in and helped me fix a taco dinner. He took care of doing the taco meat with absolutely no help from me. And while Sam and I were in the kitchen, Jonah took my camera and got pictures of Heather and Jed all dressed up for the gala.
When did they get so grown up?
2018 Life Logs, Day 61—Rrrroar
2018 Life Logs, Day 61—Rrrroar
Date: Friday, March 2, 2018
Weather: STORMY; High 47, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
The lion is here. The wind has been roaring all day and the rain has been pelting. I know we had 50 mph gusts early in the day as I watched my grill fly the 30 feet from one end of the deck to the other without hesitation. The last time that happened we had gusts of 50-70, so I’m thinking the grill only moves with 50 mile per hour winds. Thanks to all of you who sent texts or called to check on me. I am fine. At this point, we have not lost electricity or cable, and even though the windows rattled a few times, all is safe. Mary Ellen and Lee called around 5 pm and that seemed to be the height of the storm. While talking to them, I was hearing all sorts of strange sounds on the north side of the apartment. When we ended our conversation, I opened the door long enough to take a photo of the harbor to send to them. Here are a couple of views showing the rough waters.
What a contrast from yesterday when I saw the first flowers of this year in front of Heather’s house.
Yesterday the weather was a lamb, but today it was most certainly a lion.
2018 Life Logs, Day 60—Here Comes the Lion
2018 Life Logs, Day 60—Here Comes the Lion
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2018
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 57, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
A full moon rose tonight as we brace for March coming in like a lion. A massive nor’easter is headed this way. It will hit sometime between now and morning and continue into early Saturday. It’s going to be too warm for us to get snow here on the Cape, but we are supposed to get very high winds and lots of rain. Tomorrow sounds like a good day to hibernate, so I decided that I should head off-Cape today on the shopping expedition I had planned for tomorrow. I needed some food items from Costco and Whole Foods and also stopped at REI for a windbreaker for spring biking. On the way home, I stopped in Sandwich for a doctor appointment to check out the problem with my eyes and then swung by Hyannis to pick up my new glasses. Last week I returned the new pair that I believe started my eye issues and ordered a new pair with titanium frames and simple lenses with no anti-reflective coating. The doctor appointment confirmed that my symptoms do appear to be caused by an allergic reaction. The suggestions were Cortisone 10 to stop the eyelid itching, antihistamine eye drops, plus Benadryl at night to further calm down the allergy symptoms. I’m going to skip the Benadryl for a day or two and see how it goes. I’ll add it Sunday night if things aren’t better. But what a hassle and why was I allergic to eye glasses?