Portsmouth, NH

We spent two nights in Portsmouth at Prescott Park Town Docks. This is another great historic city with more wonderful boutique stores and restaurants. We met up with a looper couple, Dan and Jacque, from Horizon Chaser. They remembered us and our boat but Paul and I did not remember them! They were kind enough to loan us their car so we could go to the grocery store for supplies. Later that evening, we had dinner with Connecticut friends of Linda and Robert who have a cottage 20 miles outside the city. The restaurant area along the river reminded us of Savannah.

We passed the Isle of Shoals but unfortunately, the islands were closed due to COVID. Settled by Captain John Smith (of Pocahontas fame) in 1614, they became a notorious hideout for pirates. The Oceanic is a huge hotel on Star Island that is used for conferences in the summer. It was closed this year due to the pandemic.

Prescott Park

Oceanic Hotel

Leaving Portsmouth . It is a minefield of lobster traps!

Gloucester, MA

We spent one day on a mooring ball in Gloucester. This is a big commercial fishing town with working boats all around. Paul was impressed to see Hot Tuna, which is one of the featured boats on one of his favorite TV shows, Wicked Tuna. There were a few gift stores selling t shirts and other souvenir merchandise featuring Wicked Tuna.

It was still warm today but not as hot as yesterday. We toured in our dinghies and then tied up and walked the downtown.

Salem, Massachusetts

Today we arrived at Hawthorne Cove Marina In Salem, MA. Temps were in the 90’s all day and two of our AC units are not working again. This is another cute, historic town and we would have liked to walk around more but it was just too hot at 95 degrees. Salem was the location of the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692 and 1693. Contrary to public beliefs, none of the accused withes in Salem were burned. The convicted witches were sent to the gallows where they were hanged. The only burnings took place in Europe.

We did have a nice lunch at Tavern on the Green. It reminded me of the DAC. Paul had to leave us early because an AC repairman called and said he could come out immediately. He was at the boat for a few hours but he was not able to determine what the problem was. After he left, one unit started working again!

One of the local witches!

Paul left early to meet the AC repairman. Linda ran away because she did not want her picture taken after we walked in the heat.

Plymouth, MA

We met Paul’s skiing friend Stan and his friend, Patty for dinner. After dinner, Stan took us on a tour of the city of Plymouth. Plymouth is a very pretty, historic area. 2020 is their 400 year anniversary. The Plymouth Rock was very small and unimpressive. When Stan took us to see it, he said, “Be prepared to be underwhelmed.”

Point Independence Yacht Club, Onset, MA

This was a wonderful marina. The people here were very friendly. Boat neighbors invited us to a party at the club with oysters and fancy drinks. One of the members has an oyster farm and he was grilling pans of oysters for “a buck a shuck.” There was a good turnout and in normal times, we would have loved to go but we decided to pass due to COVID concerns. We went to town and had a great dinner of saffron seafood linguini with lobster, scallops, shrimp asparagus and sun dried tomatoes. Delicious!

Cape Cod, Falmouth, Ma

Falmouth is another beautiful town with nice, unique stores. We had lunch downtown, did a little shopping and then walked to the local farmers market about one mile outside of town. I wish we had more time here but there were no slips available and mooring balls were limited. We ended up on a mooring ball in Quissett Harbor. Since there was no way to get our bikes to shore, we took an Uber to town. The first driver said nothing about 4 people but on the return trip, the guy almost didn’t take us because he said they were supposed to limit to 3 passengers due to COVID.

On the cruise over, we saw many houseboats anchored out in the open water . We also saw a catamaran from Traverse City. Very interesting!

Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard

Today we moved to a morning ball at Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard. Because this area is so congested, we had to raft off with Linda and Robert so we could share the one available mooring ball. This was our first experience rafting off a mooring ball.

I was not that impressed with the area other than the Camp Meeting Association. The town was much too touristy and reminded me of Mackinac City. However, the Camp Meeting Association area was very interesting . It reminded me of Bayview in Petoskey but the cottages are smaller and a little more ornate. We chatted with a couple sitting on their porch. The women told us that her family has owned the cottage since it was built in 1872. The owners own their building but the association owns the property the home sits on. Only 10 percent are winterized since most are seasonal cottages. The association was started by a Methodist group but today they welcome many different religions to present at their building in the center of the development.

These beautiful yellow lilies had huge flowers!

Black Dog Wharf, Vineyard Haven

We decided to get a slip so we could fill our water tanks, fill prescriptions and take care of other details. This was a cute little town with good shopping and a few good restaurants. We had a great lunch at the Waterside Market. Bought some new Keens and was able to find the mini zester and BBQ skewers at the local kitchen store. The marina gave us tickets for free muffins at the Black Dog Bakery in the morning.

Nantucket

We spent three days in Nantucket on the mooring ball. The town is charming with more beautiful flowers but the cobblestone streets are not very comfortable for walking or bike riding. The first day we explored the town and the second day we decided to stay on board due to the high winds. We had a nice day of R and R and dinner on the back of the boat. We took the bikes out on the third day and rode out to the beach and back.

Cuttyhunk

Cuttyhunk was our first experience with a mooring ball. The island was lovely and quiet. It reminded Paul and I of Beaver Island. There are no restaurants other than a pizza place and two counters on the dock where you could buy tacos or a lobster roll and chowder. I met a woman outside the only gift store on the island . She grew up in Southfield and graduated from SHS in 1974. I also met two of the cutest dachshunds, a long hair and a wire hair but I forgot my phone when we took the dinghy to the island so I did not get any good photos!