Monday, June 22 - Old Lyme 

It took us many days to get around to touring the actually downtown of Old Lyme, so today that was our destination.  When we moved to the mooring, we left our bikes on the marina grounds so we would not have to load them in the dinghy from the boat.  so off we sceedaddled to find downtown.

I hope my pictures do it justice because i  just love this place.  it’s like a fairy tale type place.  Young boys selling lemonade by the side of the road type of place.  With the mom coming out from a great big white house to see if they needed anything…..type place.  We had two large pink lemonades and two home made chocolate chip cookies before we stopped at the ice cream shop to have sandwiches.

i did not know this but the more window panes the older the structure - this one is a rare 20 over 20!

This town houses the Old Lyme College of Fine Arts.  And fine arts was felt every where….everything was so  picturesque. We found an impressive sculpture park and i could not stop taking pictures of the grounds.

Then we stopped by the infamous Bell and Thistle Restaurant and Lounge.  so lovely and more art everywhere!!! First, the inside rooms and art!!  Isn't it fun?

Now, the outside view and fun art!  SO lovely and such a good feeling place.

yes, these are mussel shells in the trees with two huge conchs in the background.  These are all out back of the homestead/restaurant 

Harry says these are 'steamer clams'

Upon our return to the boat we rested a bit and made cocktails and headed up river for a dinghy ride to Hamburg Cove.  This is such a beautiful area. 

Sunday, June 21st - Old Lyme

Rain, rain go away..….it poured this morning.  after the rain we spent time waiting for the state run pump out boat to arrive.  Then took a cab into Old Saybrook town.  One small main street, very non-descriptive, except for the fact that Katharine Hepburn lived here and so did Ann Petry who was an American author who became the first black woman writer with book sales topping a million copies for her novel The Street.  Of course i downloaded it and am reading it right now!!  While it took place in Harlem in the 1940s, you cannot imagine how it is resonating loud and clear in the continuing black and white battle that obviously still exist in this country today.  We visited the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Center but it was closed between shows.  Live theater, live music, and of course Hepburn classic films.

old, old cemetery

I was looking for a lunch place but Harry insisted we eat at this nice place in the Saybrook Marina.  Well….10 miles later (I’m not exaggerating!) we arrive.  And sorta forget it is Father’s day (i did call my dad!!) and every person in town is here at the very fancy brunch, so we saddle up to the bar and share a burger.  

After that hike and upon returning to the boat, a bit later Harry wants to know if we want to walk into Old Lyme to eat.....amazing energy….i fixed spaghetti (and he ate it).

Saturday, June 20th - Old Lyme

This day our day trip was Essex.  We can see the Essex harbor from the boat so it was only a 10 dinghy ride.  Another charming city full of history and lovely homes. 

Lots of gardening ideas and thought Anna Jean would appreciate this particular arrangement.  I love the quirky cactus with the begonias.  And while i realize this is not the best shot - can anyone identify this tree?  could not get close enough to photograph a leaf.  

Harry was familiar with the area and insisted we have lunch at the Old Griswold Inn.  He was a patron many years ago, perhaps around 1776 when it was established!  The bar was what Amsterdam would call a brown bar but for a bit different reasons.  The Griswold bar ceilings and walls were dark brown from years and years and years of smoke from the huge fireplace, pipe stove, cigars, cigarettes, you name it..if it smoked it was probably done here.  The service and the bloodys were wonderful!

We were headed back to the dinghy when it started to rain.  so we nestled in upon our return to the boat and stayed put and cooked hamburgers on the grill, broccoli and salad. 

Thursday, June 18th & Friday, June 19th - Old Lyme  

This was the first day of our ‘vacation’!  For 2 weeks were were not going to have to rush to get up, get at it and hit the waters.  Ahhhh…so this morning i lounged in bed.   But what is that racket above my head?  It’s Harry moving the deck chairs preparing to wash the boat!!!! it is not even 9:00am.

Today we were moving the boat from the dock slip to a mooring.  Our first attempt at mooring was what i would call a success.  I caught the mooring buoy on the second try.  Joann, i think you would be proud.  For those that are not familiar - a mooring is an anchored buoy that is put there by a marina.  The admiral on the boat goes to the bow and either grabs the buoy by hand or uses a boat hook and attaches the line (line is attached to the buoy and anchored below) to the cleat on the bow.  And instantly you go from a hotel type existence to a camping type existence.  No electric, no shore water, no walks along the docks, no ‘i think i’ll run to the bathroom’, everything has to be well thought out and planned (see, much like camping).  You can’t get anywhere without getting in the dinghy.  But the rewards, like camping, are immense.  You simply float around, direction determined by the wind…and it’s very quiet and serene.  While we have boats around us, they are not occupied and so we are out here alone in a beautiful cove up river from the marina.

And Harry, every morning, still follows his routine of going to the marina, rain or shine….. 

It has been cool all day, took a cab ride to Walmart in Old Saybrook and packed provisions into our dinghy and brought them back to the boat.  and then just relaxed.

Had dinner in one of my favorite places so far. Old Lyme Inn.  The pictures will tell the story….they were so kind to us.  I felt like they allowed us to eat right in the lobby where we could see/hear the music best.  The trio was playing funky jazz.  And Anna and Jas, yes, I asked them to play Brubeck’s Take Five.  :)  The artwork was fantastic and food was superb.  We shared the duck.  Very, very nice evening.  and there was a fire pit!!  many of you know one of my most favorite things in the world to do is build a fire.  and since it was a cool night it was perfect.  It really was a hike getting to and fro but worth it.