Welcome Home, Kindred Spirit!

It took another 7 days for Kindred Spirit to complete the 8-month journey (242 days) that began on September 13, 2015. I wasn’t around for those final days, but I will try to put the story together from Al’s photographs (on his iPad which was more difficult than I expected. If this is viewed on an iPad or phone some of the photos are sideways or upside-down; but are fine on a computer. Go figure! ).

I departed on Wednesday, May 4^th in a rental car for the 5-hour drive from Atlantic City to Connecticut. Although I was sad to leave Al, Marcia, and Dan in that very dreary and cold weather, I was secretly a little bit glad (with a dose of a little guilt) to get home to long hot showers, my own washer and dryer, and a warm house.

The two boats and crew, Kindred Spirit and Cutting Class, were not able to leave Atlantic City until Saturday, May 7^th. That was a total of 5 days sitting and waiting there for better weather. The weather finally improved, although  not ideal, so off they went, literally offshore, up the Jersey coast.

The plan has always been to tuck in at Atlantic Highlands, inside of Sandy Hook, NJ. That’s what we have done for three previous trips through between New York City and Atlantic City. While Cutting Class continued as planned, Al decided to try something different and passed Sandy Hook, anchoring just above Coney Island in a little nook, a designated anchorage on Active Captain. In front of a Toys R Us

With Kindred Spirit and Cutting Class underway for the entire day, I attended my daughter-in-law’s baby shower for our new granddaughter, due in June. Something to ponder — We have gone cruising twice, 2013-2014 and 2015-2016. Both times, I returned early for a daughter-in-law’s baby shower. Coincidence??

While I enjoyed festive moments, Al was still on his way home. We continued to stay in touch through phone calls, emails, text messages, photos and FaceTime. But they just aren’t the same was being together. 🙁

Al had a great view of the Verranzo Bridge, at sunset and at dark. His view in the other direction was a Toys ‘R’ Us (no picture!)

My solo captain was up early the next day to brave the NYC traffic and Hells Gate, with the current. But first, there is traffic from the cruise ships to watch out for.

Safely in Port Washington by early afternoon, Al was ready to take a “resting day.” “Rest” for Al usually means finding some boat-related project, large or small. He sent me photos of his project on Mothers Day –

Al enjoyed his resting day in Port Washington and was joined by Cutting Class. The weather was a bit rough again, but they braved the waves to go to shore……. and became literally soaked on their return to the boats. Wish I had photos of that!

Two more days left. Tuesday, Al traveled from Port Washington to Branford. He anchored in the harbor and picked up our friends Gil and Judy on Wednesday morning. They joined him for the final leg of the journey.

And now, both of my “kindred spirits” are back home again. We have completed another adventure of a lifetime, for us, and are happily home again to enjoy the pleasures of land life. There are a few more blogs to include that I will get around to eventually, blogs such as the statistics of the trip and the costs of cruising, what worked and what didn’t work on the boat, and, perhaps, a few remaining thoughts on cruising and the Bahamas.