While at home allowing my eyes to return to normalcy, we had another fun grandkid experience. Caleb add Ceci were finishing up a week of theater camp with a show, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Outlet Store.” It was a really cute 30 minute adaptation of the classic Willy Wonka tale. I have no idea how they put together this show, dialogue, dance, and singing in just four days!
Caleb played Charlie and Ceci was a reporter who interviewed all of the winners of the “golden chickle”.
Then it was time to try another overnight on the boat, with fingers crossed and bated breath.
That Sunday was National Ice Cream Day. A top ranked holiday in our family. 😉 We joined Patrice and George for a cookout before departing anywhere.
Enjoying our barbecue together. I grabbed this can of beer at Trader Joes and thought this was a perfect day and man for it. National Ice Cream Day means you have to have ice cream, right? We convinced George and Patrice (did not take much work) to head to DQ with us for Blizzards.
I was quite relieved to wake up Monday morning without swollen red eyes, etc. YES! YES! Have we found the answer??? The Systane drops??? Why not try for 2 days in a row?
The stately Ledge Light in the New London harbor. One of the many barges that come and go carrying components for the wind turbine construction.
It was a spectacular day, a rare one this summer, for a ride up the Mystic River.
It is critical to watch for navigation markers traveling in our area with rocks here and there. This is a somewhat unusual marker at the mouth of the Mystic River. It was near low tide so the rock would probably be submerged at higher tides.
Two of the three houses on Mouse Island. One of the homes was on the market for $900, 000 in 2023. The listing agent said “The home functions like a boat on land. It has a full, functioning bathroom. There are solar-powered batteries and rainwater cisterns for the sink. The owners also bring their own water to the island, as needed.”
Morgan Point Lighthouse is just past Mouse Island on our port side. Morgan Point is named for Deacon James Morgan, who in 1712 who became owner of the southern tip of this peninsula on the west side of the mouth of the Mystic River. Morgan’s descendants were mariners and shipbuilders. His great-great-grandson, Roswell Avery Morgan, sold the property to the federal government in 1831 to build a lighthouse. A twenty-five-foot granite tower and a separate stone keeper’s house with six rooms were finished that same year. The station ended active service in 1921 and is now a private residence.
Costellos, Abbotts and Haring’s (once Fords) are the eateries right on the water. My mind drifted to the thought of lobster rolls and my mouth watered. Still on this year’s bucket list.
Marinas and moorings filled with boats.
There are some beautiful homes along the banks of this river.
On our return south on the river, I noticed this structure on the east side. We had never noticed it before. The Avalonia Land Conservancy founded in 1968, is a land trust dedicated to conservation through the acquisition of open space. It is a non-profit, non-political, tax-exempt organization that has conserved more than 7,500 acres in Southeastern Connecticut. Curiously, it seems that this building that caught our attention is not owned by the Avalonia Land Conservancy. Someone lives there??
We headed to one of our favorite little anchorages, Ram Island. To reach the anchorage from the north we had to follow the markers among moorings and teeny rocky islands.
We followed the four pairs of red and green markers on the pilings.
Coming around to the little harbor.
An aerial view of Ram island on Marine Traffic. The pink arrow is Kindred Spirit.
Kindred Spirit at anchor. I know I am not objective, but isn’t she just the prettiest boat ever?
Mondays are quieter than the weekends but there will still a few small boats that anchored off the beach. We were surprised to see that people were sitting on the beach. In the past, there were two dogs that race back and forth and bark at you. The last time we were here, they even chased after us in our kayaks. And they did not seem friendly.
What a day for kayaking! As we came around the southern end of Ram Island, Al spied something wedged among the rocks. Always the scavenger, he maneuvered over to check it out.
From upper left, clockwise – A soccer ball – Al channeled his inner Tom Hanks from “Castaway”. The soccer ball would not budge with just his paddle. Not to be deterred, Al gets out and plucks it from the rocks. Our very own “Wilson.” If you have never seen the film “Castaway”, you have no idea what I am talking about.
Our other finds – a few pieces of sea glass along the beaching the other side of the island.
I packed very lightly for this short time. So lightly I brought no food for the second dinner. “Mystery Box Challenge”!! What is in the freezer and cupboards that can be turned into an edible dinner? Pasta with chicken sausage and peas covered in a sauce created from riced cauliflower, cream cheese and parmesan cheese and pesto. It was edible!
The Argia is a schooner that sails out of Mystic four times each day. Passing by Ram island was on its itinerary.
The sun set on a simply perfect day.
We left early the next morning because the weather was obviously changing and not for the better. Time to head home.
Two days and two nights onboard and no allergic reaction! So it isn’t the boat, thank goodness! We both believe it was those Systane eye drops, although my eye doctor isn’t sure. She has seen reactions to those drops, but never as severe as mine. I suppose I could use the drops again and see if it happens again………nah!
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