After leaving Shirley's house, we drove to stay with friends Tom and Gina for a night and visit. Following a fantastic lunch, Diane and Gina had a 3-hour spa day complete with massage, manicure and pedicure. Tom and I checked out his latest apartment rehab project and then played some close games of shuffleboard on their really nice wooden set.
Dinner was another wonderful home-cooked meal and then we watched a rather difficult to follow movie before a sound nght's sleep. Poor Clyde the cat keeps getting bounced around to different environments, and this one has three dogs. We managed to get him plenty of time out in the large yard and he seems much braver about exploring now - not necessarily a good thing.
Wed we will visit Diane's cousin and then her step-father.
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The day dawned to almost cold and definitely wet, but it cleared a bit as we drive the hours to Grey Towers in Milford, PA. It is a historic site operated by the Forestry Service and was the summer home of two-time PA Governor and head of the Forestry Service, Gifford Pinchot. The home and surrounding gardens are impeccably well kept and it was quite a treat to take the guided tour, despite the changeable weather.
After a great lunch a local (historic) hotel, we drove back to relax before the family arrived again for another supper together. Tue we move on to stay with friends Tom and Gina, and then Wed we will visit with Diane's relative, Sara.
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Our trip from NJ to PA only took 2.5 hours in very light traffic on a Sun morning in beautuful weather. We arrived to see Diane's nephew and her sister, Shirley. We went to a lttle league baseball game to watch the niece's youngest boy play and then came back to Shirley's for a great meal. Later, the niece's family all came over and we had a nice visit.
A semi-busy day is planned for Mon.
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The visitation Sat with the parents was nice, and we got over to see Duane's brother and his wife for a few hours. Then we got a nice treat to a local family restaurant and a night of TV with the folks.
Clyde was allowed numerous supervised excursions on the nice lawn without his harness (which really cramps his style, I am sure). He was skittish about the new environment, but quickly grew to enjoy it.
We leave tomorrow for PA.
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(from big "F"s) ;))
After a busy morning of cleaning and packing, we lugged a lot of stuff and the cat via water taxi to the City Dock where we awaited pickup by the Enterprise Rental car staff. We got going from the office at 1300 and drove to Duane's parents' home in south Jersey. Traffic was surprisingly heavy.
We'll keep the comments of the land-visit to a minimum, since this is a supposed to be a cruising blog. We had a nice visit Fri night and will be seeing Duane's brother and his wife Sat afternoon.
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Thu 31 May 2012
Mooring ball in Spa Creek, Annapolis, MD
[photo: view from our mooring - St. Mary's Church and School]
After a very peaceful night, where we both slept until 0700, we spent a leisurely early morning followed by a nice breakfast aboard using the last of the eggs. As we mentioned, we will be off the boat for 6-7 days and don't want to leave any more perishables aboard than we have to.
Duane started to address the windlass issue one last time and tore apart the V-berth for access. Before removing the motor, Diane was pressed into service for an experiment. With the windlass power on, we verified the motor did not energize with the pressing of the switch. I rapped sharply on the motor casing and when she pressed the switch again, it worked. As my friend, Rob, had told me, this symptom indicated bad brushes in the motor. So, with that successful test, I was very confident the root problem was discovered and therefore, fixable.
We dinghied over to the dock and Bill picked us up, dropping Diane off downtown and driving me around to do boat errands. First, we stopped at an alternator/starter shop and were told that he could probably look at it later today (great news). Next, we went to West Marine. Item one was to see if their rigger could re-work the aft dinghy hoist rigging so that I could use just one hand to snap on each clip. Having to use both hands on each shackle was dangerous with the dinghy bouncing around in chop. Their rigging shop was pretty busy, but I can wait until we are back in a week, if needed.
Next, we picked up 100 feet of flag halyard, two more cruising guides covering the rest of our journey, and some miscellaneous items. A quick stop at the hardware store for a few faucet aerators (they get clogged with grit and you can't clean them out), and we were done.
Back at the boat, I did what I could until Diane called for a pick-up at the dock. She had found a place to get a color and cut (cheaper than home by the way) and do a little shopping for gifts. Later, I hoisted her up in the bosun's chair to reave the new halyard through the block under the port spreader and we were good to go. While I was attaching the snap hooks, we got a phone call that the motor was repaired (sticking brushes) and we could pick it up before 1700. So, Bill is coming by at 1615 in order for me to get it on our way to their house for cocktails and then dinner at Cantler's Riverside Inn.
Not only did the windlass motor repair get done in the same day, but the dinghy hoist rig I left with the rigger at West Marine called as we were at the dinghy dock to say that piece would be done in 15 minutes. Two fairly quick stops and we were off to cocktails with Bill and Linda with some extra big smiles.
It was another wonderful series of conversations before dinner and then we headed out to Cantler's. It sure is a down-to-earth establishment and we could not resist having a dozen extra-large steamed crabs dumped on our table. We had also ordered soup and a mussel appetizer, but they don't get too worked up over the order in which they bring your food. At least we had the bucket of 6 cans of beer on the table first. Glass bottles or glassware are not used; you can't crack someone's skull open, or cut him, with a beer can and plastic cup.
We picked up a few good tips for cracking and removing the meat from Bill and Linda. Everything was very tasty and we all enjoyed it. It was Bill and Linda's first crab feast of the season, so it was a nice treat for all.
Tomorrow, we need to re-install the windlass motor, clean the dinghy and get it up on the davits; lock up the boat; get the cat (in his soft carrier) along with a few miscellaneous bags of clothes, dirty laundry, computer stuff, and personal items aboard a water taxi; get picked up by the Enterprise rental car driver; rent the car; and then drive 3.5 hours to NJ by 1700 to start the visit with Duane's small family.
With the smart phone Internet access, we should be able to post to the blog every day if there is something to say. If not, don't worry. Sun morning we leave for PA to visit with Diane's family and some local friends.
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