Monday, July 14, 2008 Last Thursday, July 10, while I attended a meeting with the Building Committee, architects and contractor of the new UUCRT building (the church that burned 09/12/2006) Fred motored YA down the Hudson from Kingston to Newburgh. After a brief tie up at the Front Street Marina to load the carful of ‘stuff’ that we NEED on the boat, we left the car in Molly’s office parking lot on Front Street and we’re off! We spent the night anchored near Cold Spring (about a 15 mile run) in a beautiful cove. The town of Phillipsburg has created a small park and beach on the Hudson’s shores and we were delighted to see families relaxing there. We also enjoyed their bonfire from afar! And thanks to Pete Seeger’s efforts to get the Hudson cleaned up, I, like the families ashore, was perfectly comfortable to swim in the River! It is good to once again have swimming as my exercise plan! Traffic was minimal in the Hudson, even below the George Washington Bridge, so we had a very nice ride to NYC. By 5:30 pm we were once again tied up at Liberty Landing, and after dinner, took a long walk around the park. The statue was alight in the harbor, and the park was quietly delicious. Next morning we moved closer to the statue (photo op) and it is a tribute to Fred’s piloting that we got out of the harbor unscathed. Ferries, tugs and barges, water taxis, excursion boats, recreational boaters—motor and sail and even a couple of kayaks came from all sides in a steady stream. The overhead trams at Roosevelt Island added to the fun, but didn’t create navigational issues! Soon the Throg’s Neck Bridge was behind us. We’d left the East River and Manhattan and headed into Long Island Sound. How many sailboats are there? LOTS! The Sound was literally covered—many racing (at Larchmont) but most just enjoying a beautiful summer weekend. We moseyed along toward our stopping place, the Palmer Point Marina in Cos Cob, CT. Again, we took an after dinner walk. This time to the local Baskin Robbins store for ice cream! Really early the next morning we lowered the dinghy and took a sunrise cruise around the Mianus River and it’s environs. The fishermen were out, and the occasional scull with a hardy rower, and we spent some time exploring the Bridgeport Cove as well. Nice. Our cruise for the day was a very short jump to Stamford where we explored both the West and (briefly) East forks of the inlet, and then we tucked in behind the breakwater and anchored among the many Sunday cruisers. By late afternoon we were nearly alone in the anchorage and I swam a bit before dinner. It was a beautiful moonlit evening and we enjoyed the breezes coming in the hatches and ports. At 6 am it was driving rain coming in those hatches and ports, and we scurried to batten down. When the rain softened, I moved the avocado plant and geranium out to the deck so they could have a drink. The salt air burns their leaves, so they must live indoors, but they must not mind, as we see constant red blossoms and new growth. The aero garden has about finished it’s first round. The lettuce, chives and thyme are done; parsley is waning, and even the basil seems to be ready to retire. This is the first basil plant I’ve ever had the grew faster than I ate the leaves, and we’ll have a yummy pesto very soon. Apparently having only one cherry tomato plant is a problem for the garden (maybe not enough cross-pollination--it is designed to have 3 plants at a time, but I replaced the others with lettuce and herbs). Two green tomatoes are slowly ripening and new flowers open daily, so we haven’t given up on it yet! Stay tuned. On that cheery note, I’ll sign off. Jenny and Kris have opened the BLOG door for me, so I’ll see you there! Look forward to your comments and participation as you join us on our journey! Linda and Fred Aboard YOUNG AMERICA Long Island Sound