PREPARE YE...for the trip down the ICW

Castle Hill Lighthouse guides us in and out of 

Narragansett Bay on our many travels, 

As August comes to an end I think back over the past two summers and all the preparations we've made for our Dream Retirement Trip. I reflect back over the places we've been and know that while we will miss being home at our condo in Fall River we have many adventures to look forward to over the next 8 months. 

Our preparations started with a new engine! 

Yes, that fatal day, Labor Day Weekend, 2015. Obsession DID NOT like that FOR SALE sign on her bow. 

New canvas and enclosure was next, a small 12 volt freezer, then a new Windlass and 200 feet of new anchor chain. 

I love this Navionics App so I can navigate

our route. It gives the tide and currents as well as

wind direction and speed, depths, navigational buoys

our speed and projected ETA. 

Gotta Love technology!

We have acquired a drawer full of chart books and cruising guides, downloaded a few navigation apps on our phones and iPad, as well as Netflix and HBO.

New cockpit cushions and lifelines have been ordered and will be delivered next week along with a few spare filters and pumps. We will probably acquire a few more things at the Newport Boat Show too. 

Why we need new lifelines and cockpit cushions.

I think we need a new flag too. 

We've sold a car, rented out our condo in Fall River, created a new mailing address and arranged to live close to a 100% paperless life. We generate our own power using the sun, wind or the engine. Having only one car limits my trips to TJ Max and the Christmas Tree Shop. I do miss some of the conveniences of the condo in Fall River though, like a KING size bed, a freezer stocked with roasting chickens and ICE, and decorating for the seasons. 

My decorating is pretty limited-gel clings on the hatch doors. I've already bought some for September and Halloween at the Christmas Tree Shop. I don't suppose they'll have Christmas ones out before we leave. 

Living on the boat we call Newport and Cuttyhunk our "homes" and Block Island and the Vineyard our vacation spots. 

Newport at her finest-a beautiful sunset looking towards the Newport Shipyard. 

We will miss the busy, busy Newport Harbor, our transportation providers-Oldport Launch Drivers and the people we've met riding the launch. 

We will miss walking the streets of Newport, popping into a shop now and then. We will miss our favorite restaurants, The Mooring, Forty-One North, Benjamin's, Handy's, The Marina Pub,The Black Pearl Patio and Fluke, just to name a few.

Newport even hosts warships from foreign countries-this one is from Japan!

 We will miss the fishing boats leaving early in the morning, the fog horn from the Newport Bridge late at night, the beautiful sunsets, the many and varied visiting yachts and boats from The Oliver Hazard Perry, the Moths, the Optis, the 12 Meters, the J Class Boats, the Volvo Ocean Racing Boats, huge charter yachts, the cruise ships, and more.

Newport Harbor preparing for the Boat Show

 All were our neighbors in this protected harbor for the past two summers. They say there's no harbor in the world like Newport. I can believe it. 

The J Class boats racing under Newport Bridge. 

The Oliver Hazard Perry-RI's own Tall Ship. 

If we find a place like Cuttyhunk on our trip south I'll be sure to let you know. If there's a place that makes you feel relaxed, calm, serene and grateful for peace and quiet while at the same time accommodating some basic needs like fresh fish and oysters, it's Cuttyhunk. 

I don't have to tell you what this is-but I will report that it was fresh and delicious! 

A view of Cuttyhunk we don't often see-the fishing dock through the fog. 

We've been going there for years and while it changes with the times, in many ways it remains the same. I'll be on the lookout for such a place. I'm not holding my breath. 

A storm passes by Cuttyhunk and a neighbor boat takes a picture of me taking pictures of the storm. We only got a few minutes of rain. I always say, "The sun always shine s in Cuttyhunk. "

The Vineyard, the ultimate vacation spot. I used to marvel that we could enjoy vacationing there for a $25/night mooring fee and enjoy the same vacation as those paying $100/night or more for a room in a B&B or rental. 

Aquinnah-Gay Head. A spectacular view of Vineyard Sound. 

The elegant and expensive restaurants in Edgartown of 30 years ago have been (IMHO) replaced by rustic, quaint and expensive restaurants in Oak Bluffs. The Democratic Ex-Presidents still visit, our present Republican President does not. 

The Red Cat-our new, favorite restaurant. Move over Black Dog!

The ferries run less often, but are bigger and faster and hold more people but the holiday and vacation atmosphere is what makes this place so special. A summer is not a summer without a week (or two) "on the Vineyard". 

Illumination Night in Oak Bluffs Campground. Every person stood and every single hat was removed and I'm almost positive every person sang or at least hummed the Star Spangled Banner. 

"Sail away on the Block Island Ferry" is how the advertisement jingle starts. Well, we don't sail on the ferry, but we get to enjoy all the things they suggest in the ad, and more! 

It may not be the Block Island we usually think of, but we walk 

by this spot every time we visit. 

 Sailing to Block Island can be exhilarating or exasperating.  But once you get there you "take a trip back to care free times" and "leave all your troubles behind." The sunsets, the beaches and Mudslides never disappoint.

 Block Island will be our last  summer of 2017 visit and at the same time our first stop of our Dream Retirement Cruise. 

We are watching Hurricane Irma. We watch the weather like hawks. On the TV, Weather Apps on our phones, and weather updates On the internet. 

I hope this is WRONG!!!

The weather literally runs our lives. It determines what we do, when we do it, and how we do it. While we continue to be traumatized and fixated on the devastation Harvey caused in Texas, we were reminded that today was the anniversary of Hurricane Carol that seriously affected Newport in 1954. 

This is the kind of forecast we like to see. 

So, it's on to new places, new friends, new adventures. New ports, new harbors, new experiences. Everyone we talk to who has traveled the ICW say we will love it. Those who haven't done it say they would love to do it.. Obsession is almost ready, we are almost ready.  

Our departure date is still September 20, 2017.  Exactly 3 weeks away!  I will update the blog just before we leave or just after we leave.