NYC, New Jersey, NYC, New Jersey, NYC

How lucky are we to have such nice friends to let us hitch a ride with them from Deltaville, VA to Courtland, NY.   Yep, Arlene and Jon went more than two hours out of their way to give us a ride to NY. It was nice to catch up with them and their plans for their travels on Kasidah (36ft Ericson sailboat) and their work (Jae Bee Elelectric and Marine) to make that happen.  It keeps us grounded and wondering how we will maintain this life style. 

After spending a couple of days in Utica enjoying our family there (especially our son Aaron ) and getting our old van on the road for traveling, we headed to NYC to spend time with our daughter, Sara. Of course the van was loaded completely with a lot of the things she left behind when she first moved. The first week we spent helping with cleaning and little maintaince jobs in her new apartment.  It is such a great place and so much fun to be in the big city. On our time off from our chores she took us to several really nice parks and even a dinner cruise on the Hudson River off Manhattan. 

 Sara does work...so we divided our time with our friends Kelley and Lynda in Linden, NJ. (Just an hour away). We stayed a couple days and went back for the weekends with Sara, then back to Kelley and Lynda's. I almost named this blog, We Work For Shelter because at the girls' home we helped them with their chores and spending time at their camp cleaning and yard work. The difference from Sara's was their super delux hot tub that Jon and I used every day with a nice cold beer or Corona-Rita. Ahhhh!  Not to bad if a gig if you can get it. 

We left this morning from Sara's apartment with the promise of seeing each other at the end if August for Kelley and Lynda's wedding. 22 years in the making,  I might have to devote a blog to it. Sara is the photographer and we will see loved ones we haven't seen in a few years. Can't wait. Now we're off to a totally different world in the Adirondack Mountains to see my very bestest-est friend and her mountain man husband.  We'll keep you posted. 

Great friends, Jon and Arlene Libby at our boat in Deltaville, VA. 

On our way to NY, temp in VA

Jon helps his friend Tommy a little bit at his x-job after he works on our van. 

Our sweet niece, Grace. 

Our son, Aaron. 

Birthday party for Jon's brother Bob

Small view of Catskills on way to NYC

Mister Softee in NYC.  This was in Brooklyn when went to a flee market 

World's Fairgound in Flushing, NY

   World's Fair Marina

Interesting structure. Worlds Fair pavilion 

Sara, Jon and I. We got caught in the rain. 

Sunset in the City as we are on our dinner cruise. 

Jon and Sara (our daughter)

Jon and Marguerite - Manhattan in background 

Moored in Manhattan 

Let's go to New Jersey

Lynda and Kelley setting up our Corona-Rita's   Yum

Kelley at their camp

Jon taking a break 

Let's go back to NYC

Park near Sara's apartment on the East River

Another nice park on East River

Sara and her best friend, Scott. Ferry ride to Governors Island 

  Freedom tower...the tallest building..replacing World Trade Center

   Jon on ferry with Statue of Liberty in background 

         Walking Governors Island

 Jon really does miss Mister Softee!!

Friends, Arthur and The Fourth

We pulled into a slip (dock) at the Marina for several reasons...first most.. Arthur is coming. We watched the weather anxiously to see Arthur's predicted path. The Dockmaster, Ed said since we'd had a named hurricane and we'd be leaving in a week or so perhaps we needed to speak to the boatyard about getting our boat the the emergency pull list. Apparently, ever so often a hurricane will head into the Chesapeake and they pull all the boats out of the water.  OK!! So we did, and stripped the head sail and staysail off for good measure. Deflated the dingy and stored it.  Thank goodness Arthur swung out into the Atlantic missing the Chesapeake as expected. We had about 30 knot winds and a good heavy rain. By 10 am the following day we had beautiful blue skies and 15 knot winds. We called Ladd on the boat Blue who us anchored off Martha's Vinyard to see if he was ready and he said he had put out extra chain and was ready. Denise had headed for land and he was left to man the storm on his own. (Or stubborn enough to stay on his own). We talk to him at 11pm on July 3rd and he had just put on another pot of coffee, winds we coming in about 30 knots and the major part of the hurricane was expected by 2 am. We received a text at 7am on the fourth that said that the winds hit 50 knots in the night, but it was over and he was going to bed. Another storm weathered.  

We have been so lucky to have met some very interesting cruisers in Deltaville.  This place seems, for most, a good place to regroup. To refit your boat or pull out and leave it while you go away to visit.   First we met Bebe (Belinda) and Randy at the anchorage here. They were on vacation and happen to be traveling with the sister of our boat, a Pearson 365. Their boat was in beautiful condition and they were planning to live aboard within the next few years. We spent the next few days comparing each other's boats and the little extras we each have added. We both came back with a list of must haves. Ours included companion way screen, new facets, and easy custom curtains. Unfortunately theirs was more expensive, new anchor, a better battery charger and solar panels. 

Another wonderful couple was Diane and Tony from England. They have both been sailing for 45 years all over including Portugal, Spain, areas in the Mediterranean including Isreal and Egypt. Tony gets a crew for larger crossings like the twice he has crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England to United States.  Diane prefers to fly.  They were so much fun to get to know and share family stories, traditions and recipes. They both were fun and funny. We really enjoyed their company for the last week and will definitely try to catch up with them in the Bahamas this winter as they sail, Ditonic II. She's a Bavaria 48 ft sailboat.  

Bebe and Randy

The baptist had a fishfry and this is a big event in Deltaville   I know it was for us 

Yummy 

Getting our bikes to ride back to marina 

    Diane and Randy

   Diane , Randy, Jon, Marguerite, Wendy and Graham. We had so much fun hanging around at dinner time. Wendy and Graham have a 42 foot Oyster called Oystermist. 

  Clarksbury church, they have made me feel so at home. Thanks Janus, Gayle and Polly for the rides and amazing love. 

Saw this amazing youth singers-ministers,  York River District Youth Choir I posted one of their songs in my Facebook.  Check them out, about 50 singers. They moved me to tears. 

 Mamosa Tree at the church. So beautiful. We used to see these trees in Mobile when we lived there. 

A little crab that came to clean the bottom of Quicksilver.