August 30, 2011

The Honda motor on our dinghy hasn’t worked for a very long time, and Randy and Barb knew a mechanic just up the Potomac in Washington, DC who could fix it, so off we went to Washington Marina.  Spent 4 days there and we were able to wander about in the City—and ride a tour bus!  Nice.

I’m convinced that all members of Congress should be made to walk through the memorials and read aloud all the inscriptions—at least once a month.  Probably wouldn’t alter their behavior much, but I’d like to hope that they’d be forced to consider why they’ve been sent to Washington.   For instance:

“In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must

and shall choose the path of social justice—the path of  faith,

 the path of hope, and the path of love for our fellow man”.

 Or:

           

“We have faith that future generations will know that, here,

 in the middle of the 20^th Century there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, to produce, and to fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery and  war.”

Sigh.

With the dinghy running smoothly and re-parked atop YA, our plan was to cruise the Chesapeake, so off we went on a two day run down the Potomac to the Bay, and then up into the Patuxent River—destination, Solomons Island.  By the time of our arrival, Hurricane Irene was becoming a big story, so we chose a marina around a bend in Back Creek, where we felt there would be maximum protection.  First day there, our task was to go back to Aquila Harbor to retrieve the Jeep.  Enterprise is our friend.

On our second day at Solomons, I looked out the window to see the dock jumping up, down and sideways.    When I went outside, I was asked “Did you feel it?”  Lo, the 5.8 earthquake had just jolted the Eastern Seaboard.  The boat didn’t notice, but things on land did move and shake!

Having survived the earthquake, we spent a day removing anything that we thought Irene might want to take away with her and storing it all in the 'basement'.  When we began to look, it was truly amazing how many things there were, large and small, that qualified.

With that job done, we drove home to Newburgh in time for a StonyBrook Board meeting, and on Thursday, the grand opening/ribbon cutting by the Dutchess Co. Chamber of Commerce of Group 82.  Son Alan and his pal Eric have, for two years, operated their marketing business from their homes.  Now they are ‘bona fide’ and have a beautiful office with a Group 82 sign on Washington Street in Poughkeepsie!  We wish them all the best for their business (and personal, of course) future!

After the ribbon was cut and the festivities died down, the family crossed the street to have dinner and celebrate Fred’s 80^th birthday.  ‘Twas a nice time, and I must say that my favorite comment about Fred’s octogenarian status came from Katie Rae in Chester, NY.  When her mom, daughter Ada, reminded Katie that ‘Grandpa Fred is 80 today’, Katie paused for a second, said “NO WAY!” and carried on with whatever 8 year old task was at hand. We feel the same way.  No way!

Friday we drove back to Solomons, and continued with Hurricane prep.  By noon on Saturday, with everything we could think of taken care of, we moved into the Holiday Inn connected to the Marina.  No one knew what Irene would do, and the TV folks, with their need to have continuous coverage 24/7, painted a very dire picture.  Our adage was ‘prepare for the worst---hope for the best’.  So we hopefully took with us to the motel all the food in the refrigerator (wasn’t much, by design), the important boat papers, a couple of days change of clothes, the book Kris made about the building of YA---you know, all the really important stuff!

Our 5th floor motel room overlooked the marina, and we could see that the water didn’t rise above the docks, and that the dock lights remained on—a sign of safety! By morning the winds were gone, and the anticipated surge didn’t reach us, although many other areas experienced the power of the water.  We discovered that a tree was blown over along the shore (no damage) and 3 pilings were ripped loose by a really strong gust of wind.  One of the pilings was connected securely to our starboard bow, but more loosely to the port bow of our neighbor—and his starboard piling  snapped also. And the one next to that.  Thankfully, the gusts of wind didn’t hold, and the sustained winds were not strong enough long enough to do serious damage.  NBC TV came to survey the situation, and about an hour after they moved on, Barb and Randy phoned to say that they'd seen YOUNG AMERICA on TV.  Nice.  

On Monday night, boat owners gathered dockside for a “Survivors” potluck dinner.  Words to Goodnight Irene had been re-written to fit the occasion and we all sang along!

We continue to be grateful for our good fortune.  We know that many, many folks did not fare so well with Irene and we send them thoughts and prayers for speedy cleanup and return to the normalcy we are fortunate to be experiencing!

Today Fred made some modifications in the basement to simplify storage, and  we’re looking seriously at what, exactly, to return to that space on the boat.  Seems we might have a fair amount of ‘stuff’ that, if we didn’t need it doing the Loop or during 2 natural disasters, maybe it can go into the Jeep (which sat politely in the huge open parking lot while the winds howled about) and return to New York.  Or EBay. Or Craig’s List.   Hmmmmmm.

Now then, about cruising the Chesapeake…will keep you posted!