The weather was as predicted during the night – very high winds funnel through the marina and it pours with rain just like in the tropics. Bob knocks on our boat at around 2 am and tells us our bow is swinging out and Mike has to put another line on to hold it tight.
By the morning the rain has cleared leaving a much fresher day with a nip in the air but a wonderful blue sky.
We have been told by Rita that the best blueberry pancakes in the world are available at the top of the road at Darrell’s Family Diner, so we all trundle off their before they stop serving.
Rita is probably right. I ask the waitress how big they are, expecting Scotch pancake-size (about 4 inches across). Her hands show me a diameter more than twice that and I change my order from 3 to 2. It’s a good job I do. They arrive with half a ton of Maine blueberries and an enormous dollop of butter on top. They are so sweet and full of flavour that I hardly put any maple syrup on.
Photo: Heavenly blueberry pancakes
Waddling back to the boat I decide that today is a day for me to clean the boat (and work some of the pancakes off), do some sewing, dye my hair and cut it and do some blogging. I end up doing none of these but instead go out with Rita in her beautiful Mazda MX5 with its convertible hard top.
I had expressed interest in it yesterday as Mike has promised me a new car when we get home. Every time I look at mine now something goes wrong – a bit like a boat really! Anyway, Rita said I could take it for a spin. I refuse at first (I am quite happy to drive a hire car here because no one gets upset if you prang it but I am terrified of harming someone’s pride and joy), but Rita is adamant, and once she has me sitting in it she throws me the keys and gets in. So while the other three are healthily riding bicycles around the island, I am zipping (zipping slowly anyway) around town in her Velocity Red car. Apart from hitting the door a couple of times when I reach for the gear stick (on the wrong side) I manage to do nothing worse that shoot through a muddy puddle.
Photo: Oh how I want one of these!
By the time Mike comes back, with legs of jelly from the unaccustomed exercise I am looking up prices on the internet for the car and have only managed to put one load of washing on.
Not only has Mike been exercising, but he has visited the bridge to see if the tide boards are visible but was unable to see them. He and Bob had then continued on to the factory where Gunboat are being built. These catamarans are made entirely out of carbon fibre, cost over a million dollars and go like the clappers. Not for me. I just want a Mazda MX5!
Stripers offer half price steamed snow crab and shrimp at happy hour so we decide to have an early dinner there. I have half and half and although it’s very nice, it’s not very filling so I end up having a bowl of soup as well. So does Maggie and so does Bob except he goes one further and adds a fish sandwich to his food order. He should have known that it would contain half a ton of flounder!
Photo: I had to use wide angle to get the crab legs in!
In the early evening I continue to traipse from the boat to the laundry and when it is done, I do my hair. Because we are using the showers at the marina (lots of lovely hot water) I have to cover my head with cling film then a towel to scuttle across there when I have finished, praying that I won’t bump into anyone. Maggie and Bob in the meantime have taken themselves off to the clubhouse lounge where they watch the presidential debate on the TV. Having had my fill of someone’s political opinions across the bar over dinner, I keep well away, just popping up to say goodnight to them.
Tomorrow we face the bridge. Thank goodness the wind has dropped.
Position: 35 deg 54 min N, 75 deg 39 min W
Distance so far: 2923 miles
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