New England – Week: 08 (Newport, RI & Landing at Plymouth Rock)

July 20th to 26th, 2026

Day 48 – Monday, July 20th, 2026 – To: Newport, RI
Newport Yachting Center

We left Mystic Seaport for our run to Newport, Rhode Island. We had great weather. It was bright and sunny, with winds only 5-10 mph. At 8:45, I was ready to go. We had prepped all of our lines, and I had started the generator. The railroad bridge was open, and we were just about to unplug our power when we heard the bridge siren go off and the bridge started to close. Crap!

We waited about 15 minutes, and the train finally went over. We radioed the bridge keeper to see if he could open it or if another train was coming, and he said that if we were ready to go, he could open for us. We didn’t waste any time. We’d already unplugged the shore power cord, so we just cranked up the engines. Brian, the dockmaster, came down the dock and helped us to drop our last two lines, and we were off! We got past the bridge and radioed our thank you. Another boat called and said they could be there in 5 minutes and asked if they could get through. The bridge tender responded, “Make it 3 minutes, and I’ll hold the bridge.” The railroad bridge carries the main Amtrak, Acela High Speed, and New Haven commuter rail into New York. So on a Monday morning, it was quite busy with everyone heading into the city.

Once we had wound our way through the marinas and mooring fields of Mystic, we were back out into Long Island Sound. Our trip to Newport was 40 miles, and the marina said not to arrive before 1:00 because they were waiting for another boat to leave. We took it slow, only going about 10 mph for most of the way. As we left Mystic, we entered Block Island Sound. Block Island blocks the direct ocean swells, so we had a pretty smooth ride. Once we got past Block Island, the swells picked up. There weren’t any true waves, as the wind wasn’t blowing hard, but the ocean had 3- to 4-foot swells from the incoming tide every 8 to 10 seconds. This created a gentle rolling, up and down, up and down. Along our route to Newport, there was quite a bit of other pleasure boat traffic, a couple of high-speed ferries, and a large tanker.

As we approached Newport, we started to see the famous mansions on the surrounding cliff tops. Newport Harbor is completely ringed by marinas, and the center is a huge mooring field. There must be 5,000 boats in this area, everything from small dinghies to 300 ft mega yachts! Our marina is right on one of the downtown wharfs. Andrew, our boat salesperson and friend, lives on his boat in the mooring field in the summer. He’s lived here for several years and knows all of the marina staff, so he arranged for us to get a prime place just across from his mooring. Our spot is at the end of a “mega-dock” normally reserved for large yachts. We are sandwiched between an 85-footer and a 133-footer, so our view is blocked, but it’s very well protected.

As we pulled in and the dock hands were tying us up, Andrew buzzed up in his dinghy. It was great to see him again! We had a quick catch-up with Andrew, then got the boat settled in and rinsed off. Andrew took us for a walk around the waterfront, giving us the lay of the land, showing us good places to eat and telling us about some of the area’s history. He’s a great tour guide!

At 5:30, he came back over in his dinghy, and we walked into town to Zelda’s, one of his favorite restaurants for dinner. As we were leaving the dock, they were fueling up the big 133-foot yacht next to us. They had been fueling (with a big hose) for a while. When we walked past the pump, it read 1,895 gallons, and it was still going strong! 1,895 x 4.98 = $9,347.10 and still climbing! I guess if you can afford the yacht, you can afford the fuel. I checked the pump when we got back from dinner. A smaller boat must have filled up after because it only had 122 gallons on it.

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Day 49 – Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 – In: Newport, RI

Tuesday, we took a walk around town. We explored the three main wharfs: Bowen’s Wharf, Bannister’s Wharf, and Long Wharf. We then walked up and down Thames Street about a mile each way, stopping into the various shops and checking out the IYRS (International Yacht Restoration School), where they teach students Boatbuilding and Restoration, Composites Technology, Digital Modeling and Fabrication, and Marine Systems. They have specialty courses in electrical systems, air conditioning, electronics, hydraulics, and diesel mechanics. It’s one of the premier yacht maintenance schools. We hoped to see a wooden yacht being restored; however, since it was summer, they were running their summer school for teens, so the projects were all small.

Once we got back to where we started, we stopped at the Brick Alley Pub for lunch. After lunch, we headed back to the boat. The forecast was for rain starting at 3:00. It was a bit late, 3:30, but when it arrived, we got heavy bands of rain until around 5:30, when it finally stopped for a bit. We decided to go to a nearby restaurant, “The Black Pearl,” that had been recommended to us for dinner, so we grabbed our rain gear and umbrellas and walked down the street. Dinner was very good. Brenda had Salmon, and I had roasted Cod. By the time we were ready to leave, the rain was quite heavy, and the wind was blowing at 17 mph. We zipped up our raincoats, put up our hoods, and opened up our umbrellas, then made a dash for the boat. We got lucky. We’d only gone to the end of the wharf, and the rain suddenly let up to just a light drizzle. Still, we had to zig and zag around six- and eight-inch deep puddles to keep our shoes from getting soaked.

We got back to the boat around 7:30, and a few minutes later the rain started pouring down again, with a few flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder. I’m glad we have a four-story yacht next to us! By the time I went to bed, we had gotten over an inch of rain. We’ll check it again in the morning to see how much we got.

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Day 50 – Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026 – In: Newport, RI

The rain ended overnight. We ended up with 2 inches of rain in about 12 hours! I guess I won’t have to wash the boat today! The wind kept up, however. We had planned to take the bikes off of the boat and go for a ride around Newport. Unfortunately, we were docked on the wrong side. The bikes and dinghy have to go off the starboard side. When we are docked on the starboard side, we can take off the bikes, but not the dinghy. When we are docked on the port side (as we are here in Newport), we can drop the dinghy, but not the bikes, as they would end up in the water. With the bikes, there is an opportunity to get them off of the stern of the boat, but with the wind we didn’t want to try it.

So, we decided to walk instead (we can use the exercise with all the eating out we do!). We walked across Newport to the East side. The town of Newport is a big hill; the west side is Newport Harbor, where we are docked; then you walk up a hill and down the other side to the east side, and Easton Bay, where the famous “Cliff Walk” is. This is a 3.5-mile trail that goes across the top of the cliffs in front of the big mansions of the (former) rich and famous! We walked the mile from the marina to the entrance to the Cliff Walk. It was good that we decided not to bring the bikes, since bikes are not allowed on the Cliff Walk. It was a great walk! Stunning views of Long Island Sound and the occasional mansion. Most of the mansions along the walk are blocked by thick, tall hedges. I guess they want their privacy. The walk crosses in front of Salve Regina University. We had never heard of this University; however, it seems that it’s famous among the rich folks whose kids want to surf or get a master’s in yo-yo technology. They offer flexible majors where you can design your own program. Not to downplay the academics, they do offer some serious majors like Pre-Med, Pre-Law, Business, Psychology, and other disciplines. The campus is beautiful! With buildings on the cliff tops overlooking the ocean. It’s considered one of the best schools for surfers in the country after Hawaii!

We walked about a mile of the cliff walk, including a detour around a section that has collapsed into the ocean. Then headed back west across town toward the harbor. Yesterday, we wanted to visit the Thames Glass Blowing Studio, but we didn’t make it. As many of you know, Brenda is a glass-a-holic with an extensive collection of handblown perfume bottles. When we visit an area, we look for glass-blowing studios to see what specialties they have. Yesterday, we were about a 1/4 mile away, but had already turned around, so we decided to visit today.

The walk from the Cliff Walk back to Thames Street was a little over a mile. It took us through the university campus and the historic preservation district, with several large mansions from the late 1800’s. There were fascinating views and many large, well-kept historic buildings and homes. Once you cross Bellevue Ave, which runs north and south and is the top of the hill that divides east and west, the neighborhoods quickly change from the high-rent to the lower-rent district. That means homes go from multi-acre lots owned by the preservation commission and worth in the 100s of millions of dollars, to single-family homes in need of some upkeep on 25×50 lots, priced only in the upper $800,000 to $1-2 million (bargains!).

We arrived at Thames Glass Works, which is a working glass-blowing studio and gallery. Even though the temps were pretty good, in the low 70s with a good breeze, we were pretty warm when we got there. We took a few minutes to cool down before looking through the studio. There were some nice glass pieces, hand-blown fish, glass seashells, Christmas ornaments, and glass waves. All very well done. The studio produces production pieces and holds glass-blowing classes.

Brenda found some very interesting hand-blown perfume bottles for her collection. She selected a green one and asked if the studio would engrave the artist’s name on it. The salesperson said that it was already engraved with the artist’s and owner’s name, Matthew Buechner. Brenda got all excited! One of her favorites in her collection is a set called “Seasons”. There are 4 limited-edition bottles in the series and a 5th special edition. She has the whole set. She asked if the owner was the same artist who made the series, and the salesperson said yes! They have not been made in about 20 years, but the same person made them. Brenda was amazed that we happened upon the studio where her favorite collectibles were made.

We purchased the signed bottle, then walked outside to watch a person in the glass-blowing studio who was making a vase. We watched the artist for a while while they formed the vase, and then he saw us watching and started explaining what he was doing. We’ve been to many glass studios and taken a few classes, so we know the basics, but it is always interesting. On a whim, we asked him if he was Matthew Buechner, the owner. He said yes! Brenda told him that she had all five bottles in his Seasons perfume series. His face lit up! He was happy to hear it. He told us it was a special series for him and that, in running his studio, he didn’t have time for artistic creations like the series anymore. We chatted with him for about half an hour, and he showed us a few of the special works that he is creating. Talk about a random happenstance! It made both his and Brenda’s day!

After we left the glass studio, we walked back down Thames Street toward the boat, stopping at O’Brien’s Pub for some refreshment and a snack along the way. We had walked past the pub three times, and it looked interesting. However, the outward appearance did not quite match reality. It’s more of an outdoor biker bar than an Irish pub. Still, they had some good beer, and the hummus platter we had was tasty.

When we got back to the boat, our 133-foot neighbor, which had been blocking our view of the harbor and blocking the waves, had left. The good news is that we have a great view of the harbor and our friend Andrew’s Outback Yacht; the bad news is that we’ll have to use our earplugs to deaden the slapping noise from the waves from the marina tonight.

We talked to the marina staff and asked if they could fuel up and pump out our black water in our slip. We are right beside the fuel dock, and as they were not busy, they said sure. We thought we’d need about 150 gallons to top off our tank, but it only took 71. We still haven’t figured out the fuel gauge. It seems pretty random in its readings. After fueling up and pumping out, I worked on the blog, and Brenda did some cleaning on the boat.

In the evening, we got together with Andrew and had dinner at the Wharf Fishhouse.

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Day 51 – Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 – In: Newport, RI

First thing in the morning, another large yacht pulled into the slip beside us. We watched as they backed into the slip to within 3 feet of the dock! Great boat handling! This one is a 120-foot yacht owned by the Ford family. (Yes, that Ford family).

Our friend Andrew invited us to go for a dinghy tour of Newport Harbor. He picked us up around 10:30, and we rode around. Andrew has been coming to Newport for more than 10 years and has lived on a mooring during the summer, just across from the marina where we are staying, since he got the first Outback 7 years ago. He is a wealth of knowledge about the goings-on in Newport and the history of many of the 1000s of boats in the harbor. In his 50 years as a yacht salesman, he’s sold many of the boats we passed at one time or another.

The ride around the harbor was great! So many different types and styles of boats. Racing sailboats, including Ted Turner’s America’s Cup winner. Super Yachts, some as long as 300 ft, including Roger Penske’s $120 million Super Yacht. We cruised around for about an hour, then Andrew dropped us off back at our dock. He was helping a friend of his who owns 5 Bed & Breakfast locations in town. The Newport Folk Festival is this weekend, and he had a full house, so Andrew went to help him check guests in and wrangle cars. He’s such a great guy, always helping out!

After our ride, we took one more wander downtown, stopping at one of the watering holes Andrew warned us to stay away from said was a good place for an inexpensive beer. Prices in Newport are very high. It’s hard to get a meal for under $50-$60 per person.

After our drink and snack, we walked back down the main street and popped back into the few shops we found interesting. Brenda had seen some seashell flowers she liked, and we had to search along the various wharfs to find the shop again. We had made arrangements to meet Andrew for dinner at 6:00, so we went back to the boat and watched the dance of boats as some left the marina and others pulled in. We are at the end of a narrow channel with boats on both sides. We hope that most will leave before us, as we have to back up about 300 feet between the boats to get out. While we were watching the boats, Brenda made a batch of cookie dough and baked a bunch of her chocolate chip cookies for Andrew.

We met Andrew for dinner at 6:00. With the folk festival starting tomorrow, all of the restaurants were more packed than usual, so we had to try three before we found one with a reasonable wait. We ended up back at Brick Alley. The food was very good, and we chatted for over an hour over dinner.

Andrew walked us back to the boat, and we said our good-byes. We plan to stop back in Newport on our way back south!

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Day 52 – Friday, July 24th, 2026 – To: Sandwich, MA
Sandwich Marina

The weather this morning was MUCH better! The winds were gentle, and it was bright and sunny. We timed our departure so that we would get to the start of the Cape Cod Canal around 12:30 just as the tide turned. The canal can have current that runs up to 7 mph at peak flow, and it switches direction every 6 hours. So boaters are encouraged to time their transit to take advantage of the current.

We planned an 8:00 departure. The boat behind us left right at 8:00, which made it easier for us to get out (without hitting anything). We had started the engines and were getting ready to untie when we saw that the large sailboat on the opposite dock started to drop their lines. Excellent! We waited for them to pull out, which gave us even more room, then slowly backed out of the long slip and into the fairway, before turning and heading out.

Andrew was waiting for us in his dinghy. He asked us to pull over near one of the sailboats so he could take some pictures of the boat. We spun in place to let him get all sides. He loves his Outbacks! When our photo shoot was over, we headed out of Newport Harbor, past Fort Adams, where day 1 of the Newport Folk Festival was just getting started. We could see the lines of people waiting to get in and hear the music coming across the water.

As we rounded the corner at Fort Adams and headed out into Narragansett Bay, we started feeling the ocean swell from the incoming tide. Even with no wind, the swells were pretty good, 3-4 feet every 8 to 10 seconds. The boat handled them fine as we were going right into them.

We cruised past the Kennedy Estate and The Castle Hill Inn with its fleet of Adirondack chairs on the sloping front lawn. Once we cleared Brenton Point, we turned East. Now we were getting the rollers on the beam (side) of the boat. The boat bobbed up and down nicely. We didn’t want to get to the canal before 12:30, as that was when the tide turned in our favor, so we just cruised along at 10 to 12 mph. There is a myth that every 7th wave is larger. Actually, waves are in groups of 3 to 10. The larger wave is where two waves overlap in the cycles. Today, these larger swells were about 5 feet, so every now and then we got a good elevator ride up and down. Because they were large, gentle swells with a long period between them (10 seconds between waves is considered calm), it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

We pretty much hugged the coast on the north side of the bay. 20 miles later, we crossed into Massachusetts, our 12th state, and entered Buzzards Bay. Buzzards Bay is protected from the ocean by a series of islands extending out from Woods Hole on Cape Cod. This reduced the waves, and we were in pretty much flat calm water for the next 20 miles to the Cape Cod Canal.

Just after noon, we passed the Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse and started our approach to the Cape Cod Canal. The Cape Cod Canal is a 7-mile man-made waterway connecting Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay, allowing vessels to avoid the hazardous waters around the outer Cape. Although the idea dates back to George Washington in the 1600s, construction did not begin until 1909 as a private toll canal. The canal opened to traffic in 1914 and was completed in 1916.

The canal proved too narrow and shallow to meet the growing demands of commercial shipping. There were two lift bridges and a railroad bridge crossing. There were several major accidents due to the treacherous currents and tight, narrow turns. The U.S. government purchased the canal in 1928, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers widened and deepened it before reopening the improved canal in 1940.

The current is still a consideration, exceeding 7 mph at peak flow, so timing passage is important. Also, there is a strict 10 mph speed limit in the canal. If you were going against the current, you would only make about 3 mph in a slower boat, so the trip through the canal would take just over 3 hours! It would be faster to walk!

As we neared the west entrance to the canal, we heard that the railroad bridge was closing to allow a train to pass. There was some discussion on the radio between Canal Control and a tall ship, which they let through before they closed it. We had slowed down to 10 mph, and by the time we got to the bridge, it had reopened.

At the western entrance is the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Their training ship, Patriot State, was in port. It had passed us when we were in Long Island Sound. We met the tall ship, which was pretty, and appeared to be crewed by a rag-tag bunch that looked more like pirates!

We went under the Cape Cod Railroad bridge and started cruising up the canal. The tide had turned, so we were able to leave our engines close to idle and still maintain the 10 mph speed limit. Great for fuel economy!!

We passed a few sailboats taking advantage of the current for their passage. One was the Lady Maryland, a 104-foot two-masted schooner. It is operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation and serves primarily as a floating classroom. As we passed, it was crewed by a group of grade-school-age kids (and their instructors) who waved as we went by.

Next came the Bourne Bridge, one of the two road bridges across the canal. The Bourne and Sagamore bridges are arch bridges built in the 1930’s when the canal was widened to replace the lift bridges. They have a vertical clearance of 135 feet, so ships can pass without waiting. It’s a good thing that traffic doesn’t need to stop for boats to pass through, because both bridges were packed with Friday traffic heading out onto Cape Cod.

We rounded the corner at the Sagamore Bridge, and our port for the night, Sandwich Marina, was in sight. The Sandwich Marina sits just inside the eastern breakwater of the canal and was built for the boats used during the widening of the canal. Now it is run by the town of Sandwich and is a port of refuge for Cape Cod Bay.

We pulled into the marina and were directed to our bow-in slip. Easy! We had a team of three young ladies who were waiting to grab our lines. Once we were settled in, we walked over to the Coast Guard station and the Canal Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is in the old Coast Guard boathouse. One of the Army Corps of Engineers rangers who runs the canal gave us a very detailed history of it. We then walked around the museum looking at the historic photos of the old canal and the upgrade work when the Army Corps took over.

After the visitor center, we walked to the parking area entrance to find a geocache. It was hidden on a large red steel buoy. It took us a few minutes and a peek at the hint to find the pencil-eraser-sized black container. This was our 550th cache!

We then walked to the other end of the parking lot to the marina entrance and took some photos looking out toward the eastern exit and Cape Cod Bay, where we would be heading in the morning, and back west the way we had come. While I was taking pictures, Brenda was logging our prior Geocache find and noticed another was right next to her. She found it quickly, and we got #551!

It was almost 4:30 by this time, so we walked to The Pilot House restaurant next door to the marina for dinner.

*** SELF EDIT *** As I’m writing this on Sunday morning, two days later, I’ve decided to cut out the four-paragraph rant on how the level of service in restaurants and retail is horrible. Servers who ignore customers to chat with their friends, look at their phones, and use foul language with families in earshot. There is really something wrong with business these days. *** END OF RANT ***

After dinner, we went back to the boat and sat on the back deck to watch the sunset. While we were sitting there, we heard a splash just behind the boat. A seal was swimming just behind us! This is the first seal that we’ve seen from the boat. As we travel up the coast of Maine, we hope to see many more.

The sunset was pretty, but slightly marred by the large power plant next to the marina. We managed to get a photo without the plant ruining it.

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Day 53 – Saturday, July 26th, 2026 – To: Plymouth, MA
Safe Harbor Plymouth

The jump from Sandwich to Plymouth was only 24 miles. We took our time getting started because the marina check-in time was after 12:00, and we didn’t want to get there too early. We pulled out of Sandwich and back into the Canal for our last 1/2 mile, then entered Cape Cod Bay. The winds were light, and the bay is protected by the Cape, so there were almost no waves. We took our time, running at around 10 mph; this was partly to not get to Plymouth too early, and partly to keep an eye out for the 1000s of lobster pots that dot the bay. Some areas were like a minefield; we had to weave in and out to get around them. The good news is that we are out of crab pot territory, where the buoys are small and they seem to want to hide them, and into lobster territory, which has larger buoys and, at least so far, are very brightly colored, so much easier to see.

We made our way up the coast of Massachusetts to Plymouth. This is the famous Plymouth Pilgrims of 1620. Think Thanksgiving, Miles Standish, and the Mayflower! When we got to Gurnet Point Lighthouse, which is the entrance to Plymouth Harbor, we turned and followed the channel into Plymouth. Plymouth Harbor is sheltered by two spits of land that provide protection from the wind and waves of Cape Cod Bay from all directions. We could see why the Pilgrims chose this spot for their landing!

We were just coming up to the Plymouth Harbor breakwater when the phone rang. It was our marina checking when we would be arriving. We told them we were about 1.5 miles out. They gave us directions for entering the marina and asked that we call them before we made the final turn out of the channel.

There was lots of traffic; this is high season in New England. We’ve been having difficulty getting reservations all the way up the coast. Marinas require advance reservations, and even two weeks out they are full, so we get on waiting lists. They also require at least a week’s notice to cancel for a refund, and only make exceptions for “named storms”, so if the wind is up and blowing a gale but it’s not a big storm, you lose out if you don’t make it. We are having to make plans a few weeks ahead and hope for good weather.

When we got to the final turn into the marina, we called them. They radioed back that they were waiting for a Tow Boat to come and remove a sailboat from our slip before we could come in. It seems a sailboat just docked with no reservation. When they asked them what they were doing, they said that they wanted water and fuel. The dockmaster explained that the fuel dock was on the other side of the marina. Then they said they couldn’t restart their engines and said they would have to stay overnight. So, the marina called TowBoat and had them towed off the dock. They have big signs warning that they will do this. There are some boaters, frequently sailboats, that we call pirates. They will slip into a marina after the marina closes, hook up to power and water for the night, then slip back out before the marina opens in the morning. We’ve been at some marinas where this is such a problem that they walk the docks overnight and chain boats to the cleats until they get paid for docking in the morning.

We ended up hovering in place for about 40 minutes until TowBoat US showed up, argued with the sailboaters, then hooked them up and towed them away. I feel a bit sorry that they had engine problems, but they should have called or radioed first, not just grabbed an open space on a dock. We were thankful for our Dockmate DPS system. I just pushed a button, and the system kept the boat stationary even in the wind and current! It was a good investment!

Once the sailboat was clear, we got a call from the marina to come on it, and we were tied up in just a few minutes. We spent an hour rinsing down the boat and chatting with some other boaters on the dock about the Loop. Our bright blue hull attracted lots of attention, and we had a steady stream of people stopping by to take a look. Our slip has an amazing view! We look right at Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II from the back deck. A great location!

Once we were finished and cleaned up, we walked over to see Plymouth Rock. We landed at Plymouth Rock, exactly 405 years, 7 months, and 5 days after them! We then walked over to the Mayflower II, the replica of the original Mayflower on display that you can tour. The line was quite long, so we bought tickets for Sunday.

We then walked into town, stopping to take photos of the painted seals on display all over town. We’ve seen butterflies, moose, eagles, flamingos, and bears, but these are the first seals. We found a brewery in town, Second Wind Brewing, and popped in for a snack. Breaded, deep-fried olives. Very tasty with a bit of marinara sauce. The beer was very good too. Unfortunately, the bartender was dropping the F-bomb every other word. (See mini rant above.) So we decided not to stay there for dinner. There are lots of restaurants along the main street, so we walked down to a place called The Edge-Thick, Square, Pizza. We popped in to take a look, and they looked amazing, like Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, but square, and not as watery. The edge is a thick crust of melted cheese. Very tasty! Oh, and the staff was wonderful!

We packed up our leftovers; it was a LOT of pizza, and walked back to the boat for the night. As it turned to dusk, we got a great sunset view of the Mayflower and the lights in the harbor.

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Day 54 – Sunday, July 26th, 2026 – In: Plymouth, MA

On Sunday morning, we went to the Water Street Cafe for breakfast, then past Plymouth Rock, which was much more photogenic in the morning sun, on our way to our tour of the Mayflower II. On the way, we took a selfie with the ship to send in for a Virtual Geocache. There was no wait this morning, and there were only a few other people on the ship, which let us get some good photos. We walked around the ship chatting with the tour guides.

We learned that the Mayflower II is almost an exact replica of the original, built between 1955 and 1957 from the original plans using mostly period materials and techniques. It was then sailed, solo, across the Atlantic. The boat was a gift of the British people to the US. In 2015, it was brought to Mystic, Connecticut, for an extensive 5-year restoration. Since its return in 2020, it has only left twice: once for a historic full-sail in 2005, and this year to Boston for Sail Boston, part of America’s 250th celebration. And it’s a true sailboat; no engine has been installed. (Though it gets a lot of help from tug boats when it moves)

After our tour of the Mayflower II, we walked through Brewster Gardens to the Grist Mill. The Grist Mill is another reproduction of a working grist mill that opened in 1636. It sits on the same site as the original. It was built in 1975 to be part of the Plymouth Museum, displaying the life of the Pilgrims. While not as historically accurate as the Mayflower II, it was still interesting. It is a working mill, grinding approximately 250 lbs of corn each week on Saturday. They then sift the ground corn into corn flour, corn meal, and grits or sampe. The millstones used are 200 years old and come from France.

After our tour of the mill, it was close to 1:00, so we walked back to the boat. We haven’t done a supply run in a while and are dangerously low on toilet paper. We took an Uber to the local Walmart and got a bunch of supplies. Then went back to the boat. While Brenda put the groceries away, I walked up to the local beer store for a resupply, as the local Walmart is not licensed to sell beer.

For dinner, we went to the BBQ restaurant at the marina. The food was pretty good. After our appetizer at the bar, we moved to a table because the wind had come up and it was cold! We are going to have to break out the long pants pretty soon!

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Weekly Recap

This week we cruised 112 miles and ticked off two more states, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. We caught up with our friend and our Outback’s Founder, Andrew Cilla, in Newport, RI. Brenda met one of her favorite glass perfume bottle designers, Matthew Buechner. We cruised through the Cape Cod Canal, then, like the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

Next week we visit Boston, then head up the coast toward New Hampshire, our old home state! We are looking forward to catching up with old friends and family while we are there!