Clingstone House, Newport, RI

Happy New Year's Eve!!

You may remember reading about a house we saw on our way into Newport- it was built up on the rocks... I didn't say much about it then, but I did show you a picture I took (in a post titled "Mission: Accomplished?"). But no need for you to search, here it is again:



A friend sent me an article about the house, and now I'd like to share it with you!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/garden/07clingstone.html?_r=1

(Although it is fairly obvious, I feel obligated to tell you that the following pictures were not taken by me.)











Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!

Central Park's Tavern On The Green Restaurant Bites The Dust!

The restaurant is gearing up to serve its last meal on December 31st, then everything within the restaurant will be auctioned off to pay the $8 million debt! Read on, it's an interesting article...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122044283

Read about our amazing Tavern On The Green experience:

http://waterbloggedashley.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-wonder-they-never-found-each-other.html

The End.

of this trip.
Today was a great day! We left Jekyll Island, had pretty ok weather (a little rain, but that never hurt anybody), and we got to see a submarine!

The ride down from Jekyll was really pretty! Nice to be back in Florida...

When we got back to the dock, we rinsed down the boat, packed up our stuff and unloaded...
all the while, I was thinking ahead to another trip at another time... oh, the places we'll go! :D

THANKS FOR READING!

Carlson out.

"sooooo-eeeeeee"

Today was an adventure.

We left Savannah this mornin... and got tossed around in the ocean for a couple hours- I spent the day laying down in the pilothouse- attempting to avoid nausea.

We're in Jekyll Island for the night- it's really pretty here.

After we rinsed off the boat (I've never seen so much salt on one boat!) and got rid of the ICW moustache, Grace and Leo met us and we all went out to dinner at a restaurant called Latitude 31. So good. Get this: we had a really sweet waitress named Melissa who told us she was very sorry, but she seemed to have lost her voice while she was calling her pigs this morning. They escaped from their pens and were terrorizing her neighbors' yards. hahaha. awesome.
One of the other servers knew Leo and after dinner, she brought us dessert! Fried Banana Cheesecake. holy cannoli.

On our way back to the boat, we walked past the bar and there was a guy playing live music- He started playing "Southern Cross" just as we were passing by! Best song ever! what a perfect end to another awesome day!! :D

Hope you've enjoyed reading about our adventures... we're just about at the end!

Catch you on the flipside!

a straw fedora.

Tuesday, September 8:

Last night, we got to see Fireworks! for Labor Day! That was very cool… and we didn’t even have to leave the boat.

This morning, we left at our usual time, headed for Beaufort (that’s Byoo-fort. South Carolina). We got to see more dolphins! (I decided I’m not taking any more pictures of dolphins. Let’s face it: I’m not all that great at it.)

Once we got to Beaufort, I rinsed off the boat, then headed into town while Barry and Alice went to visit Barry’s parents. Beaufort is a cute little town… mostly I window-shopped, but I did find a new cross for my cross wall!

We had dinner on the boat: hamburgers, mmmmm!

Tomorrow, we’re headed to Savannah! Weeee!


9/9/09- How cool is that?

We saw DOLPHINS! I know what you’re thinking- we’ve seen them before. We have, but holy cow, there were TONS of them today! They were welcoming us into the Savannah River, we think.

Tonight (and tomorrow night- yay!), we’re staying at Thunderbolt Marine. A short drive from Savannah.

After we got here, got some stuff done, and got cleaned up, Barry got us a rental car so we could go into town. But first we had to go to WalMart. Always an adventure. Today especially! On our way in, we saw… wait for it… PAULA DEEN!!!!!… wanna know what my opening line was?
“um…hi?” to which she responded with “Hey Ya’ll!” haha! Best day ever!!! I couldn’t quit laughing. I have no idea why she was there, but she was wearing a WalMart employee nametag that said “Paula Deen” (her bodyguards- 6 of them, if you were wondering- were also wearing Walmart employee name tags. So weird.)

From there, we drove into Savannah (past The Lady and Sons restaurant!!!) to Vinnie VanGoGo’s for awesome pizza…

Today was great- a little bit of rain, but overall, great weather… not too hot!

Tomorrow is a layover day… yay! Oh, and they’re gonna bring us KRISPYKREME
DONUTS in the morning! We’re never leaving.


9/10/09

Today is a layover day in Savannah. Awesome.
After donuts (with peanut butter for some… ew.), we waxed some of the boat… there is a whole lot of fiberglass.

Then, Barry and I took the car into town. I love Savannah. We went down to Factor’s Walk. I got a cool hat. And a praline. From there, we drove out to Tybee Island to explore. It’s a pretty neat-o little town. We walked out on a boardwalk to see what the ocean looked like- not bad… tomorrow should be cake.

Then we went back into town- I walked down Broughton St, found some cool stores, sat for a little while in one of the squares (don’t know which one… it was on Congress and Bull… very pretty.) because the weather was so great.

Tomorrow, we’re headed to Golden Isles. We stayed there on the way up… it was our very 1st port… stop me before I get all nostalgic and weepy.
But seriously, I guess I need to come to grips with the fact that this trip is almost over. I’ll have to rejoin society on dry land. :D

Catch you tomorrow… Thanks for readin! I appreciate it!

Happy Labor Day!

Monday, September 7th, 2009. Layover day in Charleston.

This morning (after sleeping in!!!), we went into downtown and found fun little shops- I found a Gap (yay!)- and then ate lunch at a place called Jim and Nick's? that could be wrong... but it was a very good bbq place. I had a turkey sandwich with mondo bacon on it- yum! then we walked/shopped a little more... the weather was PERfect. not hot, fairly windy... here's a picture of a pretty church down the street from where the courtesy van picked us up:

since we got back to the boat, I've been up on the bridge listening to music, reading a book, lovin life...


alrighty, that's all... hope your Labor Day was awesome!
hugs!

catch-up!

From Wrightsville Beach, we went to Myrtle Beach (past Cape Fear!)
We stayed at a great marina in Myrtle Beach- Grand Dunes! with a pool!
For dinner, we ate at Ruth's Chris! oh man. I had shrimp. and went to bed as soon as we got back from dinner. Life is good.

We left Myrtle Beach headed for Georgetown. We were there on our way up- it's cool to come into a marina where you can see exactly what everything looks like before you get there. I knew when I was tying lines exactly where we were gonna be docked- life is good.
on the way, we saw the Oak Island lighthouse. It probably wins the prize for ugliest lighthouse on the east coast:
Later, I got a picture of a purple house for you: it probably would have been a better picture from the starboard side of the boat, but I was eating lunch. it was the best I could do, short notice and all.

Here's our sunset from last night: beee-utiful!

We left Georgetown this morning, and now we're in Charleston! we like this place!
We're here til Tuesday mornin! a layover day! weee!

It seems I need to update you on all the sunken/beached/abandoned toys we've seen in the past couple days:




...turns out, boaters in SC aren't all that great at taking care of their toys...

Homeward Bound.

Howdy gang!

Today is the 3rd of September. We are in Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Hold on. You're not caught up on yesterday yet. After I rinsed down the boat, I went to the Piggly Wiggly! Apparently, in Beaufort, they'll just give a car to anyone with a cell phone number- "Just in case you're not back in time, we wanna make sure you're ok." seriously. that's what they said.

Then we had swordfish for dinner on the boat. way good.

ok, back to Wrightsville Beach. on the way here, we saw some pretty cool stuff.
get this: when we got to Camp LeJuene, we had to wait for them to clear us past, then we had to "proceed at our best speed." They were doing artillery exersizes. way flippin cool! all kinds of explosion noises. here's a picture of the Safety Patrol.

Then I took an accidental nap. Those are the best.

I woke up in time to see the pinkest house you ever did see:

On the way up, you may remember the yard art we got to see- well, today we got to see it again! and these pictures are even better that the 1st ones... if I do say so myself...
1st up, swan:

hippo:

giraffe:


Queen of the Sea (that's what we came up with- what else could she be?):how awesome is she?!

They have a courtesy car here as well. The plan is to go to dinner and perhaps a grocery store that may have the stuff I couldn't find at the Piggly wiggly yesterday.
I think that's all. Thanks for readin!
hugs!

Counting down from 10...

Wednesday, September 2nd:

Happy Birthday, Alex!

We're in Beaufort, NC. To catch you up, yesterday we were in Ocracoke still. layover day. They're the best. Alice and I walked down the main road where all the little shops are, couldn't get a very good view of the Ocracoke lighthouse, but Barry was able to get a picture:

Later, I walked to the Ocracoke Coffee Co.- a very cool coffee shop with free wireless. (and yet I'm still behind on these things... I don't know how this happens!)


We left early this morning and got knocked around for a good while until we got to the Neuse River. You remember the Neuse River- it was where we saw that awesome green and pink house... well, lo and behold, it was still there! ...but the matching boat was gone.If you missed out on the pictures including the boat, take a look at a previous post entitled "anchorless"- you're in for a treat.

We're in Beaufort. I said that already, just tryin to catch you up. We got in earlier than expected- had the boat rinsed off by 2. The weather is awesome, pleasant even.

Lookin forward to seein yard art tomorrow... if you missed out on the pictures from the trip up, they're on the post "thrustless".

Happy Wednesday!
:D

Pictures today!

Monday, August 31:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BARRY AND ALICE!

This morning, we left Roanoke Island, and once we got out into the channel, we heard a familiar sound- dolphins playin in our wake! I got some mediocre pictures!



Later, we got to see the Bodie Island lighthouse… lit up!

It wasn’t a very long day- we got to Ocracoke and were tied off by 1! And came through a pretty solid thunderstorm. way cool lightning.

This is a real island- no way to get here except by boat. The ferries come in right next to where we’re docked. This is a pretty cool place to spend 2 days. Tomorrow, I’m goin swimming! The pool is right at the end of our dock!

That’s all for today. Later dudes.

Tut Tut!

August 30:

We're in Roanoke Island, NC! Can you believe we're this far south already? me neither!

I forgot to tell you something kinda cool that we saw yesterday- a really pretty yacht named Star Ship- the significance of this yacht? we saw them while we were in NYC! they were docked in Manhattan, right in front of PJ Clark's! then we saw them yesterday in Portsmouth- we thought it was kinda neat-o.

so anyway, we left the Atlantic Yacht Basin this morning- check out this picture of the ICW- so pretty!

It was a really great day, great weather, not too long... Then when we got out into the sound, we looked behind us and saw 16 jet skis following us! 16! it was crazy! I took a picture:

We just got back from grocery shopping and made it back to the boat before it started pouring! seriously, we're talkin sideways rain.

tomorrow, we're headed to Ocracoke, then Tuesday is a layover day! weeee!

I think that's all I have to tell you...

Peace out, homies.

Only 13 days left...

Saturday, August 29:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BECKY HOLT!

This morning, we got out of Norfolk later than usual- around 8ish. It was a very good day on the water, seeing as we were in the ICW (yay!!!)… and we got to see some pretty cool stuff too!

This is Old Point Comfort:

Then, we went past all the Navy ships in Norfolk- there are a TON! We counted 5 carriers and 26 unidentified ships.

We went thru maybe 8 bridges today- some of which had to open for us, which is always fun, and then we went thru the Great Bridge Locks again! …feels like only yesterday… (it was July 26)
Here are some pictures:


The marina where we’re staying tonight was just on the other side of the Great Bridge Bridge.
We had to re-fuel- here’s me helpin out!


Tomorrow, we’re headed to Roanoke Island!
13 days, folks! Times flies when you’re havin a blast!

p.s. There's a DQ across the street! oh, happy day! :D

BONZAI!!!

Fri, August 28:

We left Chincoteague, MD earlier than usual- had to make the bridge opening at 6AM. We had a long-ish day on the water with semi-intimidating swells. I stayed up on the bridge all day, so as not to be nauseated… seems to be the best method of prevention, short of actually wearing the anti-sick patch.

Once we turned into the canal where Vinings Landing is, we were greeted by 2 very nice men in a Navy security boat. They came right up, turned their boat so it was parallel with ours, as if to say, "Ain't no way you're comin past here." And they just hung out there, off our port side until we made the right hand turn into the marina...
Come to find out, the Naval Station they were guarding was that of Navy Special Ops- SEALs, top secret type stuff... pretty cool. I didn't take a picture of them, didn't think they'd appreciate it.

After we got docked, we washed the boat- with the help of the Margaritaville station on Sirius! Then, I got to enjoy the pool!

We are staying in Norfolk tonight, leaving around 8 tomorrow morning (yippee!).

The end.

p.s. we’re watching Doc Hollywood. I’ve never seen it before. So far, I’m intrigued.

"One hand on the boat!"

Monday, August 24th:
We left Jersey City (Liberty Landing) headed for Atlantic City to meet Barry's brother Steve...
Not much else happened Monday, or it did and I forgot because I'm embarrassingly behind on my posts... oh well, will update you if I think of anything significant!

Tuesday:
We left Atlantic City around 7ish… later than usual because it was a short trip to Cape May.
We took a cab into town and walked around for a while, went in some cool stores, and found a RITA’S!!! (fyi: StrawberryKiwi ice + vanilla custard= BEST EVER!!!)
For dinner, we walked just across the street to Lucky Bones! …where we ate on the way up… it was very good! After dinner, we tried to treat Steve to the all around cultural experience that is The Princess Bride, but he fell asleep… oh well, we enjoyed it!

Wednesday:
This morning, I woke up late (8:30ish) and walked into town to find internet… I found it… but it’s $4/15 minutes!! As if! So, instead, I got 15 free minutes at the library and got very little done.
I found a new cross for my cross wall!!! It's very pretty!
Then, I walked back to the boat, hung out for a while, before we went to a restaurant called Copper Fish across the street from the marina- holy cannoli! best Grouper ever ever!

Thursday:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ASHLEY!!!!

This morning's sunrise:

BEST sunken boat picture YET!!!

We woke up normal time, and had a long day on the water... there were rather big swells... not much happened... we are docked in Chincoteague, MD. A VERY small town! The police chief and the coast guard chief? came by to check on us... see where we were coin from... see if we needed anything... nice gentlemen...
Every citizen of this nice little town has been by to take pictures of us- we are the talk of the town! Tomorrow, we are leavin early to make the 6AM bridge opening! yippee!

Now you're all caught up! :D

On the last day of the world, I want to be on a Boat!!!

Today is August 24th- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!!!

Let's start with where I left off... Thursday, August 20th:
We left Mystic headed for Port Jefferson, NY. All day long, all we could see was fog. We could only see the water surrounding the boat.
For over 5 hours. That was our scenery. This far north, it doesn’t get warm enough quickly enough for the fog to dissipate like it does at home. What a pain in the butt. But! It was a “teachable moment”- navigating in the fog is a whole different ballgame, or really, the same ballgame, just requires more focus. When you’re in the fog, you as a power-driven vessel blast your horn at least every 2 minutes. Which we did. Then, with the help of radar, you have to locate and steer clear of any other vessel blowing their horn. Which we also did. Then there’s the whole searching for buoys in the fog, which I found somewhat humorous. (I’m not very good at it.)
We got into Port Jefferson around 1ish- had lunch, washed down the boat, then I went in search of tomatoes and diet coke (to be enjoyed separately). I found neither. However, I did find a Starbucks and a Gap! It wasn’t a wasted afternoon… after everybody got cleaned up, we went down the street to a place called Village Way for dinner.

Friday, August 21st:
to Liberty Landing in Jersey City (where we stayed a couple weeks ago, across from Manhattan?)
We stayed there until this morning.
On the way in, we got some really great pictures, just from the opposite direction as the ones we took a few weeks ago...
Check this out:
There really just isn't a whole lot of room in NYC. This road goes under the hospital, and it's like that bridge from before- cars on top and on the bottom!...so weird...

And here's a picture of the gondola by the Queensborough Bridge- so cool!

And here's the Brooklyn bridge- I love this one!


Saturday, August 22nd:
We went to Times Square!!! Check it out!





It's me! In Times Square!!!

The Naked Cowboy!!!

From there, we walked to 5th Avenue and Rockefeller Center- so cool

This is what Hurricane Bill looked like on the radar:you can even see the boat! see?

On Sunday, we went to the Central Park Zoo!

ok, am I missing something?

Holy Cannoli!!!That's a Rhinoceros Snake! Really!

Tentacled Snake:

Red Panda:Didn't look much like a panda...

This clock chimed a very elaborate version of "Three Blind Mice" when it struck 2:30 PM.

This is a polar bear named Ian.

This is how big Ian's foot is.

Now, here is a quote worth posting!

Check it out! I'm in Central Park!!!

Ta ta for now! :D