August 4. Today’s been a day of firsts. First a little about Connecticut. I always pictured Connecticut as being in the same boat as Rhode Island and Massachusetts. You know the Kennedy’s, Martha’s Vineyard, Yachts, Kennebunkport, uptight conservative political snobbery. In reality the motorcyclists here wear no helmets and you can buy fireworks on the side of the road. They’re kind of like the hillbillies of the north…….who knew.

Christy got out the sewing machine and replaced the bug screen in our companion way hatch. I’m definitely beginning to domesticate her. First she’s up at any hour, no matter how ridiculously early it is and now she’s sewing bug screens. Who knows what tomorrow holds…….

We went up to Bill’s Seafood again for dinner. The place is way diveier than the Captains Inn but the food is great. Christy asks the waitress what she recommends and she instantly replies “a place with air conditioning”. It sits just past a “singing bridge” with a seven foot clearance. This means that the only boat traffic to watch is the occasional bow rider or tiny center console going past.



There are about a dozen “premium” tables with this glorious water side view with at least 50 second and third row tables available. As we were eating we were watching some guy and his date as they stood and waited for one of these evidently very desirerable front row tables to open up. It was kind of sad actually to think that one of the highlights of their evening was going to be their seat assignment at this fine eatery.

The mood did pick up for me when Christy leaned close to me at the table and said “promise me that you’ll never use ketchup in a restaurant again”. I look over at the next table and there’s this kid about 5 or 6 years old. He’s got the flip top ketchup in his mouth and he’s squeezing the bottle so he can suck the ketchup straight out of the container. Then he see’s that crusty, dry, old ketchup that’s stuck up inside the lid. Well evidently it some kind of delicacy wherever this kid is from. For as he’s putting the bottle down he see’s the inside of the lid has more tasty delights and he goes to work on the inside of the lid with his tongue. I should have gotten his autograph because with tongue work like that the kid definitely has a future in porn. Christy was all grossed out and I’m laughing like an idiot and all the while the kid’s parents don’t have a clue. Children are so precious.

So now I’m thinking I’ve seen everything and I’m still laughing as we get into the dinghy and head back to the boat. As we round a bend a small center console comes into view coming the other way. Now I’ve seen everything. The driver of the boat is wearing one of those full halo devices complete with the 2 screws into his forehead and 2 more into the back of his head. He’s standing there practically immobilized with this framework supporting his head and limiting his ability to move. Think Frankenboater. He and his girl both wave as we go by so Christy and I gave the reciprocal wave……….I was just going to nod but I didn’t want to show off. Holy crap, I can’t believe I just saw this guy in his little power boat with a broken neck. His doctor would have a stroke. I feel like a bobblehead after 10 minutes in a boat like that, I can’t imagine what he was thinking. I hope that was a small step in a miraculous recovery because that was bizarre to see.

As far as our boat goes…….we’re back in the water. The new shaft and shaft log are in and the stuffing box was cleaned up and repacked. As it stands now everything should be ready on Monday afternoon for reassembly. I hope we’ll be back underway by Thursday, we’ll see. We are using the time to do some boat chores and at the same time we are taking advantage of the pool here at the marina because its been hot as hell here.