Sunday, September 12, 1993 - New Bedford, MA

Boy, did it get cold last night! Fortunately, this morning was calm and the tide was high, so we were able to take the boat to the marina without any problem, even though we touched bottom in one place, but it was soft mud, so we went right through it. So here we are, in my home for the next two months. The boat's securely tied, there's 50-amp electricity, and Roy rigged up the hose so I'll have running water.
I walked over to K-Mart and Shaw's super market. Stopped at a drugstore on the way to try to get some post cards, but they didn't have any. Neither did K-Mart. Bought as many groceries as I could carry and started back to the boat. In the meantime, Roy had put his bicycle together and ridden out to meet me. He carried the heaviest groceries back in his backpack. Then he returned to the store and bought more stuff.
The weather today was sunny but cool and brisk. I love this kind of weather. Everything would be great if it weren't for the fact I have a cold and a sore throat. I hope Roy doesn't catch it.

Saturday, September 11, 1993 - New Bedford, MA

Pope's Island Marina first opened in 1993, from New Bedford website.
A bright, clear, beautiful, cold, windy day. We walked across the street and made the arrangements to rent a slip for a week. They only had one slip available, so we were lucky to get it. However, with the wind blowing the way it is, we might not be able to get into it today, so Jay Jay showed us a mooring we could tie to until the wind dies down.
Ate lunch, turned in the keys at Pope's Island Marina, and waited a while, hoping the wind would die down, but it kept gusting around 20 knots. Since we'd gone into the slip bow first, we had a lot of fun getting out. Roy tied long lines to the stern and the bow. He let out the stern a few feet at a time and pulled in the bow. Eventually, the Jofian was crosswise to the slip. Fortunately, there was no one next to us, and it was a wide, double slip. Then he used the stern throw line to pull the stern around with the bow out. The maneuver went flawlessly, and we were soon out of the slip.
We had to go through the bascule bridge, which opens at quarter past the hour. We had just missed the 2:15 opening by five minutes, so we had to hang around in the harbor until 3:15.
When we finally got through the bridge, Roy tested the wind near the marina and decided it would be folly to try to go in, so we took the boat around the point to the mooring buoy. There's another California ketch not far from us.
Roy lowered his Royak and went paddling in the cold wind, but I opted to stay on the boat and work on the log. Roy chatted with the woman on the California boat for a while and then went in to town and walked around. He found a store that sells generators and has a really good one on sale for $425. Our old one is falling apart, so he's considering buying the new one.

Friday, September 10, 1993 - New Bedford, MA

We had planned on sailing to Boston today, but the weather forecast was for dangerous thunderstorms and small-craft advisories, so we decided to stay put.
Roy had determined that the source of the leak was the salt-water pump, so he spent the morning replacing it. I walked over the bridge to Fairhaven, looking for an ATM and a grocery store. We had a terrific thunderstorm. I love walking in the wind and rain--it's so refreshing. I was wearing my poncho, so most of me stayed dry.
Fairhaven looks the way I remembered it: a quiet, old, residential community. There were no ATM's or grocery stores in Central Fairhaven, so I returned to the highway and soon found banks galore. There was a power outage just as I was about to use an ATM, but it didn't last long. As soon as I got some moolah, I went looking for a super market. Had to walk quite a ways, but finally found a very nice, clean, attractive market with reasonable prices. If I'd had our little wagon, I'd have bought out the store, but since I was carrying the stuff, I had to restrain myself. Got what we needed most plus a few extras. Barely managed to carry it all.
After the groceries were safely on the boat, I phoned some marinas in Boston. One wanted $1170 for the two months. Another wanted an even more outrageous $35 per foot per month! Only found one marina that was in the ballpark; they charge $390 a month plus electricity. Then the dockmaster here told me the marine-supply store across the street has a small marina, so I checked over there. Nearly fainted when the manager said they charge $30 a week! That's only $240 for the entire eight weeks Roy will be gone. There's an additional charge for electricity, but only for what we use. They have nice floating docks and a small restroom and shower. There's no laundry, but the dockmaster at Pope's Island Marina said I could use the laundry there as long as the marina's open. Sounds like we've got a deal.
Went back to the boat and told Roy about it. We both walked over to the marina and looked it over. Talked with Jay Jay, the dockmaster. He's a really nice guy, who retired from the Police Department after 26 years, so we feel secure over there. He even said he'd drive Roy to the airport!
Roy and I walked over the bridge to New Bedford and walked around the waterfront a while. When we returned to the boat, Roy put on his diving gear and plunged into the murky water to clean the paddlewheel for the log (odometer and speedometer), so now we'll know how fast and how far we're going. It didn't take him long. When he got out of the chilly water, he took a hot shower.
We were still going to go to Boston to look over the situation there, but when I laid out the course, I saw it was farther than I had realized and would take two days to get there and two to get back. Assuming we spent one day there, that would take up five days of the seven left before Roy leaves. We know we won't find anything in Boston to compare with the $30 a week here, so why bother? We might as well stay here and spend these seven days having fun. We've also decided not to try to go to Nantucket with the Jofian at this time. That's a two-day trip, too, and if the weather was bad, we might get stuck there. We might go over on the ferry, though.

Thursday, September 9, 1993 - New Bedford, MA

New Bedford Harbor has a large, substantial hurricane barrier, with a gate that's closed when a hurricane approaches, so it sounded like a good place to keep the boat while Roy's in California. We arrived fairly early in the afternoon and tied temporarily to the Fairhaven Shipyard Marina. They charge $1.50 a foot by the day, but the monthly charge is only $375, and it's a fairly nice place, with floating docks, restrooms, showers, and laundry, so it's a decided possibility, but we still want to check out Boston. We tried to buy a chart of Boston Harbor here at the marina, but they didn't have any. They suggested we try the Gear Locker on Pope's Island. They said there was a new state marina on Pope's Island where we could probably tie up. That sounded good, so I radioed the marina to find out their rates, but they wouldn't give them over the radio. The dockmaster said there was plenty of water and plenty of slips available. He told us how to get there and said he'd be waiting on the dock for us. Sure enough, he was, and we tied to a very nice new cement floating dock, with 50-amp electricity. The restrooms and showers are clean and shiny, and there are two new washers and dryers. The daily rate is only $1 a foot, so we tied up for the night. This would be an ideal place to leave the boat while Roy's gone, BUT (why must there always be a "but"?) they close for the winter October 31st. What a shame! If they just stayed open two more weeks, everything would be perfect.
We took the dirty clothes up to the laundry and washed them. They came out really nice.

Wednesday, September 8, 1993 - Providence, RI

Mom's apartment as a child in Providence.

Gertrude's house.

Lincoln School

Got up early and caught the bus to Providence. We were at the transit company office at 8:15, but it wasn't open, so we had to wait around until twenty to nine. Went in to apply for our ID cards, but we found out you have to have been a resident of Rhode Island for at least six months to be eligible, so that blew that.
Took a bus downtown and transferred to the bus that goes out Elmgrove Avenue. When we first moved to Providence in 1932, we lived in a nice apartment at 148 Elmgrove. The building's still there, but it's been painted an icky yellow and the screened-in porches have been made into enclosed rooms. The big backyard has been ruined; there's an ugly pink building there now, and what was left of the grass has been covered with asphalt for parking spaces. Across the street was Hall's Drugstore, where I bought candy and popsicles when I was a kid. The old Piggly Wiggly grocery store was gone and so was McDonald's Drugstore. The house my friend Gertrude lived in on the corner of Lloyd Avenue is still there, but it's been painted white instead of yellow and the sun-porch doesn't have as many windows as it used to. I phoned the library at Brown University to see if Gertrude still worked there. The woman I talked with remembered her but didn't know where she is now. I lost track of Gertrude several years ago.
We walked down Irving Avenue to Blackstone Boulevard and Butler Avenue, passing the apartment building where my friend Marilyn used to live. We walked around the grounds of Lincoln School, which I attended from first grade through twelfth. They have added several new buildings, which ruined the campus in my opinion. The big old beech tree we used to play under is still there, however. The tennis courts looked somewhat neglected. Roy took some pictures of me in front of the school, and then we walked to Wayland Square and up the hill to Governor Street.
In 1935, when I was nine, we moved to 64 Governor Street, a much cheaper place than the Elmgrove apartment. Fox Point was a slum area then, full of decaying houses, but the Historical Preservation Society had fixed up the old homes, most of which were built in the early 1800s, so the area looks fairly decent now. The house I used to live in has new siding, and the wooden fence has been replaced with a chain-link fence. Otherwise, it looks pretty much the same.
We walked down John Street to Hope. Tierney's drugstore has been replaced by a restaurant. The Vernons' old mansion has been repaired to a considerable extent. The public library where I borrowed so many books is now an Historical Society library.
We walked past many lovely old mansions and Brown University. The First Baptist Church was open, so we went in there. It really is the first Baptist church; it was founded by Roger Williams in 1638, just two years after he founded Providence Plantations. The church building was erected in 1775, and the Declaration of Independence was read to the population of Providence from the front steps of the church the following year. We were quite impressed by our visit.
When we got back to the boat, we ate lunch and took off. Didn't have time to go all the way to New Bedford, so we anchored in a sheltered cove between Dutch Island and Conanicut Island. We saw some interesting ruins on Dutch Island, so we paddled over there to explore. There is a large, roofless brick building with many arches and a long cement building with very thick walls, as well as an old warehouse and some tiny buildings that could have been guard shacks. We speculated that it had been either a high-security prison or a fort, with ammunition stored in the cement building, which was built into the side of a hill. We wanted to explore more, but it was getting dark and the sky was full of rain clouds, so we scurried back to the Jofian. Read in the Waterway Guide that the buildings on Dutch Island had been a fort. We'd like to find out more about it.

Tuesday, September 7, 1993 - Providence,RI

Dorr Mansion, one of the estates owned by the lady who raised mom.
Ginny picked me up at 11:30 and took me to the Dunes Club in Narragansett. The Dunes Club is an ultra exclusive beach club for the socially elite and the financially secure. I had heard of the Dunes Club when I lived in Rhode Island, I might even have driven by it a time or two, but never in my wildest imagination had I ever dreamed of setting foot inside its sacrosanct gates, so I was surprised and impressed when Ginny took me there. Apparently, she has been a member just about all her life. The guard at the gate recognized her without hesitation, and she has her own cabana. We didn't go into the club house itself, but the cabanas were surprisingly Spartan. The outside was weathered, unpainted wood, and they certainly weren't luxurious, but they had a nice view of the beach and the ocean.
Connie Allen and Eleanor Whitney met us at the club. (I'm using their maiden names, because those are the names I'm familiar with.) We enjoyed a good lunch and then went for a swim. At least, Ginny and Connie went for a swim; I waded in the surf, and Eleanor, who hadn't brought a suit, watched from the beach.
It was fun meeting some of my old classmates after all these years. I'd been wondering if I'd recognize any of them, and if they'd recognize me. I'm sure we'd never have recognized each other if we'd passed on the street, but since we knew whom to expect, there was some recognition. Ginny had a nice scrapbook she'd prepared, with pictures and notes from most of the class, so we enjoyed looking at that.
Got back to the boat a little after three. Roy and I walked to the bus stop and caught the four o'clock bus to Providence. The fare was $1.40 each. We found out seniors can ride free between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and after 6, but they have to have an ID card issued by the bus company; no other form of identification is accepted, so tomorrow morning we'll go to the bus company office and get a card.
Providence looked surprisingly familiar after all these years. The name of Exchange Place has been changed to Kennedy Plaza, and it's now a bus transfer instead of a car parking place, but other than that, it's still the same big open space in downtown Providence. The old railroad station is still there but no longer functioning as a train station. The main post office has moved to a new location, but the old building is still there, and so is City Hall, which is still being used as city hall. The Industrial Trust Building, which always dominated the skyline, is right where I left it, although modern buildings have been built nearby. The "new" courthouse, built when I was a child, is still being used as a courthouse, and of course the historic buildings and homes are still where they were. The world-famous Rhode Island School of Design has spread all over the map, and so has Brown University.
Roy and I took the bus to the new main post office to see if there was any General Delivery mail for me, but there wasn't. Then we walked down Benefit Street to the Dorr Mansion, which had been Aunty Margarethe's house. I was hoping it would sometimes be open to public tours, but it's not. The Maurans live there now. Ginny Arnold told me yesterday she knows them and has been to the Dorr Mansion. In fact, Mrs. Mauran was at the Dunes Club when we were, but I didn't know it until later. If I'd known, I'd have asked Ginny to introduce us, and perhaps would have been able to wangle an invitation to visit the house. Roy would like to see it, too. When we return to Providence next year, I'll phone Mrs. Mauran and see if I can talk her into letting us see the house. I'm curious to know if the inside still looks the way it did when I was a child.
We strolled farther along Benefit Street and saw the old Athenaeum, which unfortunately had closed about an hour before we got there. Edgar Allen Poe used to write there. The fountain in front still runs pure spring water continuously. We both took a drink. Then we walked past the Stephen Hancock house (also closed) and down the hill to Kennedy Plaza, where we caught the last bus back to East Greenwich.

Monday, September 6, 1993 - East Greenwich, RI

Labor Day. We always seem to arrive places on weekends or holidays, when everything's closed. But at least I was able to contact my classmate Virginia Arnold and my childhood friend Marilyn Blake on the phone. Virginia's going to contact some of the others from our class and arrange a get-together for lunch tomorrow. She wants me to call her back around five.
Marilyn was very glad to hear from me. I told her what our plans are and that I'd have plenty of time to visit her when Roy's in California. She wants to meet Roy, too, so I told her I'd be sure she got to meet him when he returns.
Roy and I planned on taking the bus into Providence today to see the places I used to live and my old school and the Dorr Mansion where Aunty Margarethe lived. We walked up to Main Street, looking for a bus stop. Didn't see one, but some people told us it stopped in front of the hotel, but they didn't know if it ran today. We waited in front of the hotel, and I tried to phone for information but kept getting busy signals. Finally, we decided to walk to the super market. Someone had told me the bus stops there. When we were almost to the market, a couple of women showed us where the bus stop was, but they didn't think it ran on holidays. We sat at the stop for an hour, but no bus came, so I tried phoning again. This time I got through and found out the bus from East Greenwich doesn't run today.
We ate lunch at a busy ice cream parlor/luncheonette. Then we bought a few groceries and returned to the boat. I took a shower and washed my hair. Then Roy took a shower, and I worked on the log.
At five, I phoned Virginia. She lives in Greene, which isn't far from here, and she knows where this marina is. She'll pick me up tomorrow at 11:30, and we'll go some place for lunch. Connie Allen will be with us, too, and Ginny will try to get someone else. She said to bring my swimsuit, so it sounds as if I'll be busy most of the afternoon. Roy's going to ride his bike while I'm gone. He's looking forward to that. His knee has stopped hurting and seems to be fine, thank goodness.
There's a leak somewhere on the boat that's been getting worse. It only leaks when we're moving, not when we're tied to a dock. Roy adjusted the packing gland, and that seemed to help some but not enough. He'll keep looking until he finds the source.