Today I finally got back on AfterMath!  While John has been on and off her quite a few times, that ladder, the cover, and the snow, all while on the hard, dissuaded me from making the climb.  Today I could take it no longer!  The climb up was far easier than I expected and I was able to get into our new home for the first time since October.  No sooner did I set foot onboard than I entered my “boating mode” where nothing bothers me and I can relax and enjoy life.  First I took a look around the living room.  Just as I remembered it.  Then I went to the galley and checked out every drawer, cabinet, and the appliances.  Note:  Microwave/Convection Oven needs a little Bartender’s Friend to spiffy up the inside.  Next I went into the pilot house and made myself more than comfortable at the table, dreaming of being underway.  Now down to the bedrooms and bathrooms.  I opened the drawers and closets and nooks and crannies.  Then I stripped every bed of the custom made sheets and the blankets.  I’ll take those to the laundramat and have them clean and ready to put back on the boat before we get underway.  Next, back to the living room for some serious daydreaming about colors and decorating.  I have a new heavy duty sewing machine and it will be put into use soon!  The day made the adventure seem so much more real and I am ready to get started!

The past week and a half have flown by.  We did get some relaxing time in at the little cabin in Ledyard.  The snow has now melted and the lake has thawed, but John has kept busy tending the fireplace which is the living room’s only source of heat.  We had to leave the cabin this weekend as it was already rented by the time we came along, so we are staying in a nice little bed and breakfast nearby.  We will move back into the cabin on Monday, but we expect to be on the boat by Thursday.  In the meantime, we have kept pretty busy

. Easter was a day of nostalgia as we took a drive to places we had previously only visited by water.  In our sailing days, we spent summer vacations cruising Long Island Sound.  Watch Hill in Rhode Island was a favorite for our family.  The kids loved the merry-go-round there.  They would grab the brass ring over and over and the rides continued for a long time.  Closed now for the winter, the merry-go-round brought back memories of our time spent with the Samsons while we were on Solitude, our 30 foot Hunter sail boat.

Monday night we met up with Becky and Judd Everhart in Bridgeport for dinner.  Becky and Judd are more family than friends and have been part of our lives for close to 40 years.  (Becky’s picture will appear on this blog soon, I promise!!)

Happily, AfterMath no longer has “Outback” written on her transom.  We had it removed this week and we are waiting with anticipation to see her new name installed soon.

Spring is showing signs of arriving in Connecticut now.  For those of you in the south, this is not something that is a huge deal, but to those in New England, the signs of crocuses and just ready to open dafodills are signs of hope and the promise of warm weather to come.  While I have truly become a Florida resident, seeing these flowers reminded me of how exciting spring was when I lived in the North East.

If you wonder what Mystic is like, to those of us who have ever lived in Connecticut, it is the captains, the fisherman, the past,  and the sea.  Everyone in Connecticut knows about and has visited Mystic Seaport.  It is a museum about those who have lived on the ocean and who have made their living there.  But Mystic still lives.  The pictures above are from the marrina where AfterMath has spent her winter.  Lobster buoys and mussels are the norm here.  Tangled lines are winter’s sign of the new season to come.  It’s a beautiful place in the world.  It brings me back to the first time I went to the British Virgin Islands. There we met Foxy on Jost Van Dyke.  Now, Jost Van Dyke is an island untouched by time.  Goats wander about, the only way to get there is by boat and hermit crabs crawl along the dirt paths as if they are made for the crab’s benefit.  Foxy owns a bar on the island and is a legend himself.  He sings songs and fishes and the rum is far cheaper than the Coke it accompanies.  But when Foxy heard we were from Connecticut (at the time) he said he wished that Jost Van Dyke could preserve its heritage as well as Mystic Seaport does.  Apparently he had been there once and was very impressed!

Today, while John was scraping and sanding, I took off for a while to do some photography.  Here are a few views of Mystic Seaport.  And below, is one more special one for my family.  If you go to Mystic by boat, you have free access to the museum while you are docked there.  Here is the exact place we docked so many years ago. Other views of the area are interesting for those who have never been here.  The houses, scenery, and white steepled churches are beautiful but the weather is not always as wonderful! I guess I grew up not realizing that Connecticut has an overabundance of cloudy, rainy days.  Today was a gorgeous day, but yesterday was not.  it was cloudy, cold, misty and foggy.  Enjoy the pictures of the area below.

.

We expect to be in Mystic for another month or so while getting the boat ready for the trip.  I will enjoy spending time here and living life on the water.  More updates soon!