We’ve had an idyllic week here in the Nutmeg State, our former state of residence (twice!). We haven’t moved since our last update as we’re still getting work done on our generator and Yanmar engine and the progress has been S.L.O.W. But, hey, you know what??? Triple T, Baby!

We’ve approached this week really well. I can’t remember who had the brilliant idea to rent a car (it was me) but the decision was key. We’ve been able to step off the boat early and in the day and take advantage of all there is to offer here in South Eastern, Connecticut. After waiting until 2 for our 10 a.m. appointment with our service techs on Monday, only for them to ask for the information that had been sent both 2 months prior and last week, we were free to begin our exploring. Being short on time we thought it would be easiest and best to go show the boys where the Legend of B. Hill was burnished, Connecticut College, home of the mighty Camels!

The next day I was awakened by the sounds of bow thrusters and the hollering of the captain and mate (and owner) as the shockingly large sailboat next to us departed at high tide (4:37 a.m.) in order to not plow another row in the ocean bottom. Depth here at Safe Harbor Pilots Point has been something other than the promised 12’ minimum. As we tossed our lines to the dock attendants at our first slip we promptly came to a stop about 10 feet short of the dock and were informed by a lovely boat owner that “that slip has 3’ of depth at low tide.” So we were reassigned to a 120’ slip for some reason. As if I needed more reminders of my inadequacy! Allow me to illustrate one of my areas of inadequacy for you:

With that impediment thankfully on his way to Newport I was eager to take the family to Mystic Seaport Museum. I first visited back in the mid 90’s during my time in New London and last visited with Melissa and her family when we lived in Greenwich. It was so much fun to be back and this wonderful place has only grown and gotten better. The boys absolutely LOVED it! Loved! It was so much fun to listen to Oliver chirp, shout and run from exhibit to exhibit. So many ships! Rope making! Sail making! Build your own boat! A working shipyard! It’s a wonderful place. The kids were only able to focus for 3 hours or so but we could have easily killed a day with older children. It was a really really great day and I’m so thankful I’m able to spend time with the boys at their current ages. The wonder and excitement is contagious and a true joy to be around.

Wednesday was another eagerly anticipated day as we were visiting our 3rd warship of the trip. We drove over to Groton to visit the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine. This was another really well done museum though not nearly as hands on or kid friendly as the USS Slater. No matter, it was another great morning and the kids were absolutely thrilled. I kept secretly hoping that we’d see a real sub sail past to/from the massive base in Groton but we weren’t that lucky. Regardless, it was another great day with the boys where they learned a ton and could experience a real sub rather than just reading about them. Thank you US Navy!

So last night I was texting with my friend and host of our highly anticipated visit to Martha’s Vineyard so I could update her of our schedule. Here’s the update: things still aren’t fixed with our generator but progress is being made. She casually mentioned “TS Henri” and how I wouldn’t want to be traveling this weekend anyway. I had no clue. Nor did Melissa. Our consumption of “news” and current events has plummeted since we’ve started this trip. I had briefly looked at the “weekend forecast” and noticed a lot for rain but hadn’t even bothered to look at a wind forecast. Whoops. When one is tied at the dock you get soft. While we’re on anchor or a mooring ball, we’re checking for updates every 3 to 6 hours.

Sooooo…now we’re doing storm prep. So far we’ve developed a number of plans. We’re thankful to have John and Liz an hour north and plan to drive the family (minus me) up there to spend Saturday or Sunday night if this gets really bad. If it’s really, really bad then I’ll join them too. Otherwise I’ll stay with the boat to monitor its health. We went to Defender for the 3rd day in a row this morning to complete our compliment of storm lines. We plan to drop all the sails, remove the bimini and dodger, and sort our lines and fenders better than ever before. We’ve found ourselves incredibly lucky to be in the only harbor of safe refuge on Long Island Sound. I had been cajoling the service department here to hurry the eff up so we could continue on with our cruise (Newport! The Vineyard!) but when we were told that “we’ll be all done by Friday afternoon” we were like “whoa! So fast?!?!” So we’re in a good spot. Now we’re trying to figure out which is the best slip for us, etc. All without knowing exactly where the storm is going to go, how strong, what wind directions we’ll have, etc.

We’ve also been thankful for our coaches, Behan and Jamie Gifford. Just hours after learning about this storm they arranged a special Zoom session for all of their clients here in New England. What an awesome thing. So reassuring. Having never done this before it’s lovely to have their expertise on hand, offering advice and answering questions. They have taken the time to learn our exact locations and are monitoring the storm and offering advice specific to each of us. Pretty great stuff.

But I must end with the best news of the trip so far. Perhaps the best news of 2021. It is, hands down, the most awesome thing to happen to us on this trip and will go incredibly far to keeping Melissa happy and our budget under control.

I can’t end without noting that the Hills also went out for our first round of putt putt golf tonight. It was wonderful though we failed to take any pictures. We left the boat at 4:15. Living dangerously! We promised that we’d only play 9 holes because we knew the Witching Hour was fast approaching. We needn’t have worried. We plowed through all 18 holes in less than 25 minutes and Elliott cried, ney, sobbed, for at least 10 of those minutes. #lifetimememories