Finally!

We did decide to go ashore in Essex, CT., after all. In fact, we spent most of the day, between two nights at anchor, exploring this historical town on the banks of the Connecticut River, 6 miles upstream from Long Island Sound. What we found pleased us. Yes, it is generally gentrified, and yes, there are small, high-end stores as well as shops selling the requisite fudge, ice cream, and place name T-shirts. These shirts, as well as baseball caps, sport only two letters - SX. It took a moment to realize that the "e" was not missing and that the letters do indeed sound out the town's name. With a Talbots, a convenience store housed in a renovated gas station, and a tourist gift shop all within a block of each other, all the bases are covered, and in quite good taste.

The renowned Griswold Inn is located midway up the main street from the harbor; as a sign of the changing times, it now offers a tapas menu. There are a few other good and reasonable restaurants around, as well as a large and busy boatyard and marina. We took advantage of the cold and breezy weather to get in a quick walk and a warm lunch before we visited the Connecticut River Museum.

This museum is small, but it's a gem. Its exhibits cover the rich maritime history of the town, especially in the late 1700's, early 1800's. In fact, the British in 1814 rowed up river to put fire to 29 privateers that had recently been built and granted the right by our government to harass the British fleet during the War of 1812. How did the British know that Essex was ready to put to sea so many boats to pester their fleet? Well, one enterprising Essex man placed an ad in a New York newspaper in an effort to loan or sell his boat for the cause - akin to erecting a bulls-eye over Essex on a map. At least lives and most personal property were spared.

After leaving Essex we journeyed out into the Sound and landed at Fishers Island which is close to the Connecticut shore but belongs to New York. It's another cute island, and we set out to have a decent walk on a cool but bright day. As luck would have it, we took a side path near the airport and stumbled on - backwards - a public exercise circuit with stations for stretches, chin-ups, sit-ups, etc. As a lark we tried them out - boy, do we have our work cut out for us when we return. Since September we've been conscientiously consistent in keeping some sort of exercise program going, mainly walking, with biking and swimming at times, but it was very disappointing to note how our upper-body strength has dwindled. However, it's a trade-off with having a great time.

As we did in September, we anchored for 2 nights at Block Island. On this occasion, though, we rented bikes; we had considered renting last Fall but it was far too blustery to enjoy. On the day before yesterday the weather couldn't have been more perfect - cool and bright, with crisp air, what I would consider the quintessential autumn day in New England, just 3, 4 months early. The island is spectacular with gentle hills, rugged cliffs, and plenty of fresh water ponds with lily pads. It is alive with wildlife; we saw many different species of birds as well as bunnies and deer. Above all we'll remember the multitude of wild rose shrubs in full blossom, seemingly everywhere. It was a perfect time of year to visit as we didn't feel crowded out by cars and other bikers; we don't want to think how overrun it will be once the high season starts.


As a side note, on both Fishers and Block we met up with various young people from Eastern Europe. Two young ladies from the Ukraine were working in the little general store on Fishers; another two young men, one also from the Ukraine and the other from Bosnia, prepared our rental bikes for us on Block. All mentioned that they were working on these islands to improve their English, and most expressed how beautiful these islands are. We wish them the best of luck.