I read it somewhere that some cruisers are sailors that become travelers, and some cruisers are travelers that become sailors. I would have to put myself in the latter category from way back. This is a trailer my dad built from an old bread truck. He fitted it out for camping with a family of eight - plus friends who often came along. A (special early mother's day) salute to my mom for traveling with six kids, including a newborn (my sister's crib once floated in our flooded tent), a physically challenged son in a wheelchair, and moody teenagers and their friends, and all the rest. I have so much respect for all those parents cruising with kids.

The lights on the TD Garden and Zakim Bridge (next to our new home at Constitution Marina) were turned to yellow and blue tonight in honor of the victms of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Unlike Grenada, the entire market place is packed up at the end of the weekend and the streets are once again open for traffic. Last Saturday, we had the first temperatures in the teens. More vendors had full-size tents - and the lucky ones had heat. There is a sign on a nearby city building that says the market may be moved indoors - but no date is given. From the newspapers, it seems most vendors would prefer to stay outside - with cheaper booth rents. However, the nearby luxury hotels would like it all moved inside (especially the left-over, rotting produce) - and out of view of their more discriminating public.

Lots of variety!

One of the joys of island cruising is shopping at all the wonderful open-air markets. I love to walk to the markets, talk to the local vendors and discover new produce. During our recent cruise of the Caribbean, we were lucky to spend two months docked at Port Louis Marina in Grenada. Each Friday [...]

I think I have mentioned this before, but one of the loveliest of perks here at Constitution Marina is the heated swimming pool. I wasn't sure why the marina would offer such a luxury in the winter - we are after all paying a rather discount rate compared to the summer. Well, I finally learned why. It seems that the pool is built into the deck of the boathouse/main office, close to water level. So, as the tide rises (and we get pretty big tides here), the pool could actually be pushed up out of the deck and during extreme tides float away (or more likely sink). To keep the pool "down" where it should be, they need to keep it filled with water - umm I guess any cleaning must take place quickly at low tide. And happily for us boaters since it has to be filled with water - it also needs to be heated in the winter so the pipes and machinery don't freeze. So if you are going to heat the pool anyway - why not heat it a lot. So on Friday evenings the heat is turned way, way up. The steam rises and the boaters arrive around 6 p.m. and stay until about 8 or 9 p.m. This past Friday we had about 20 people in the pool (well I think that number since its hard to see clearly as the steam fills the room) enjoying one of the best ways to end a long, cold week. In some ways, it reminds me of the heated municipal pools and the famed Blue Lagoon in Iceland, which I hope we will get to visit on Windrifter someday. PS Yes, the run from the pool to the next door shower room is a bit nippy, but worth it.