It's July 22 already?

Wow - I noticed that it's been 10 days since I last blogged.  So, where have we been?
W - July 13 - Newport
Th - July 14 -  to Block Island
F - July 15 - BI
Sa - July 16 - BI
Su - July 17 - BI
M - July 18 - BI
Tu - July 19 - BI
W - July 20 - to Newport
Th - July 21 - Newport
F - July 22 - Newport

Obviously - not very far, but we have had some interesting days and nights.

We spent Wednesday July 13 being real tourists in Newport.  We wandered in and around the shops, I took a bus to Walmart and Stop and Shop while David puttered around on the boat to get things ready for our trip to Block Island where we would meet up with our friends from G-Dock at Borden Light.  You have to understand - they are all power boaters, and we have slowly become an accepted part of the group.  After all, we all do have something in common - a love for the water.

That night there was a spectacular thunderstorm in Newport - it was short lived - but torrential downpour (thanks for rain - it helps clean the topsides of the boat), black clouds and of course - a rainbow!

Thursday morning we left the mooring at 9:05am with a stiff breeze from the NE and the tide going out at least a knot or so.  We literally flew out Narragansett Bay.  With a reefed main we were soon cruising at 8 knots.  The seas were about 2-3 feet and seemed to grow as we passed Point Judith.  The skies were a clear, bright blue, and we were happy as clams.

The auto pilot had a tough time keeping us on course, so David and I took turns steering.  But the trip was (I think) the shortest on record for us.  We were anchored just off Breezy Point in New Harbor by 12:30pm!!  Such a beautiful day.  Lunch and relaxing in our favorite anchoring spot, dinner aboard, and a tour in the dink later in the evening.  We saw some of our friends from G-Dock, but most arrived on Friday.

Friday was a gorgeous, calm day.  Perfect for our power boat friends.  Some of them left at 6:00am and were on their moorings or dockside by 9:00am.  We visited for a bit, before they headed off to Dinghy Beach.  We spent the afternoon on the boat - We aren't the most avid beach goers.  But later that evening at The Oar we heard how great the waves were, and how much fun everyone had at the beach we decided to join them there on Saturday.

We decided to spend the $40.00 for a mooring for Saturday night to be  closer to everyone and the action (party at Payne's) Saturday night.  Woody (Hard Cover) was put in charge of watching for a mooring for us from his flying bridge.  We got the call about 9am, upped anchor, but someone else beat him to it.  So we decided to raft with Jamie and Keri (Our Time) and watch from their flying bridge.  We had at least 2 false alarms, but finally something opened up and we were then officially part of the group.  We all headed off to dinghy beach later in the morning, enjoyed the waves, the sun, the people (but not the sand).  Most definitely, though, this is a beautiful beach - looking out over Rhode Island Sound, it has to be one of the most picturesque beaches on the east coast.

Party time at Payne's - it has changed a lot since the days of the Memorial Day and Columbus Day races from NYC.  G-Dock was the best represented from the Marina.  We are a great party group.  No one parties better on a DOCK than G-Dockers! We know how to do it right!  And the party continued back on Hard Cover playing a game called Fact or Crap.  I haven't laughed so much in such a long time.

Sunday I offered to take "the girls" ashore to shop in town while "the boys" ventured over to Coast Guard Beach to watch the boats coming into and leaving New Harbor.  The girls added to the economy of Block Island - with a lunch at Ballard's.  The boys - well, they didn't add to the economy, but they came back a few more shades darker with a healthy appetite for beer and a late lunch/early dinner at The Oar.

We stayed on the mooring another day since the harbor master didn't come to collect - even when David waved him over a couple of times.  But he caught up with us later on Monday when we decided to stay another day because the winds picked up to about 25 knots, and there was a threat of thunderstorms.

David and went to Old Harbor Monday, had a lunch at Finn's, and made some inquiries and tentative plans for Mom and Dad's visit to the Island on Tuesday.

Tuesday - Mom and Dad's big vacation on Block Island.  

Their ferry ride was a beautiful one - it was a gorgeous, sunny day, perfect for a ferry ride "to the Block."  We took a taxi tour while Tink went to the library to work.  Learned a few new things about the Island (that Manissees is an Indian Tribe - not just the name of a restaurant)

and ended up at The Oar for lunch.  Tink met us there.  It's a gorgeous view of New Harbor from the upper deck.

Wednesday - we headed back to Newport.  It was so foggy in the morning that we just took our time, and didn't head out until late morning.  There was no wind, confused seas, HHH and as I put on Facebook, probably the most miserable sail/motor we've had all summer.  Finally in Newport, on our mooring and a late lunch before we borrowed Morgan's car to make a trip to Fall River to collect mail, prescriptions and do a little provisioning.  We brought back our own car, so we could do more errands on Thursday, and have our own transportation to the concert at the Breakers on Friday night.  Thanks to our good friend Mariah for lending us a parking pass.  Obligatory things to do in Newport before we head back to Fall River for a few days - spend a day and night in Brenton Cove, breakfast at Handy's, lunch at the Black Pearl, trip to the library, dinghy tour around the harbor.  So far all we've accomplished is breakfast at Handy's.

Looking forward to the concert tonite - Igudesman and Joo "A Little Nightmare Music".  Even bought a sundress to wear since it's so hot!  Tomorrow "The Cove" and Sunday back to Fall River for a few days to get the radar working again, and clean the boat, do laundry etc. before we head off on our August adventure - Maine.