Invasion of the kayaks

This weekend, we took some time to get things ready for our cruise to Block Island next week. The Saturday weather, which was predicted to be warm and sunny, was gray and cool with a sprinkling of rain. No matter, we made a few modifications to our troublesome starboard engine and finally proclaimed it ready to the cruise. We also checked the engine fluids (everything looked fine) and even played around with the shower sump pump and found that it actually still worked. We checked all the storage spaces to make sure we had enough stuff on board to survive a week on Block.

We can assure you that we definitely have enough stuff to make it through a month on Block Island!

Will the dock flowers make it through our absence? They will if someone waters them.

On Sunday, we spent a lazy morning reading the New York Times and enjoying a great breakfast, courtesy of Frances, the world's best omelet maker. We did our usual tour of the marina and sadly, found many open transient slips. We did find one major transient visitor, a boat called "XOXO." It's a Mangusto 105 (think we have that spelling right) that, while fairly unattractive,  is a welcome addition, we're sure, for the marina management.

Early in the afternoon we heard a banging on the hull and went outside to find our old friends, Stu and Lauren, in their kayaks along side. They were looking for some directions as to where to paddle in the "three rivers" area and we provided it.

Once they had paddled themselves out, they came back to our boat and came aboard for a chat.

Stu and Bill go back a long way in boating. We won't bore you with the war stories, but there were many.

No sooner had Stu and Lauren left, when dock mates John and Jodi Lynn showed up in Kayaks. They were exploring the area but wanted to pick up their dachshund "Dino" to join them. It is amazing how this little dog (we'd guess he has four-inch legs) can chase ducks off the dock and is really anxious to join his parents in an afternoon cruise.



Boat dogs and boat cats. Good stuff.