Day Two - Point Judith, RI

Monday, September 12 was sunny but very foggy.  As we cleared the dock, we found ourselves engulfed in the most thick, pea soup fog I have ever experienced.  How weird to find ourselves surrounded by nothing but dense, quiet fog.  We fired up the radar, running lights and turned on the horn.  Little did we know, but we would get to use that horn on three separate occasions.

This is the kind of weather that every gadget we bought, every upgrade we selected, became worth their weight in gold.   Our very accurate radar identified targets uncomfortably close to us.  In fact, we never saw any of these targets until they were about 100 feet away from us, materializing suddenly out of the fog.  Mike blasted the horn in 2 burst intervals on 3 occasions, scaring me half to death.  It was more scary not to be able to see anything.

After about an hour or so, the fog began to lift, making the next 4 hours of this trip more pleasant.  I could pick out interesting things on the shore and could see the marina ahead of us.  Today was such a 180 degree change from yesterday.  I was able to eat lunch, enjoy the scenery (what I could see of it) and actually learn a few things.  In between all this learning and looking, we managed to have a very nice lunch on the flybridge (where we all wisely decided to hang out).

We tied up around 2:30 on a choice T-head dock at the Point Judith Marina.  Folks here were very friendly, including Little Mo (short for Monet), a gorgeous little white poodle who greeted us when we checked into the marina.  Mike recognized a KKY 42 at one of the slips, so off we went to say hello.  We met John and Liz, a liveaboard couple who were enjoying the boating life.  After exchanging pleasantries, we invited them over for cocktails - and of course a tour of Serenity!

Luckily we were assigned to this dock because the current was unusually strong (2-3 knots) and would have created huge problems for Serenity.  Now we had the whole afternoon to see the sights, have cocktails and just sit back and enjoy our lot in life.  We took a walk around the marina and returned to find Serenity looking just beautiful in the late afternoon sun.  I couldn't resist a few shots....

She's pretty from the front....

....as well as from the rear.

While seagulls, a swan and other wildlife swooped, flew and crawled around us, we enjoyed an on board dinner cooked on the bbq grill by the one and only captain.  Since it was quite windy, we retired to the salon which was sunny and cozy by this time of day.  Dinner was lovely as was the wine and after dinner treats.  Tonight we were treated to the most beautiful sunset.

Mother nature still had more in store for us as the moon rose....

Though the sea may occasionally be harsh, those times are soon forgotten when sights like this are enjoyed from your beautiful boat in a tranquil marina on a beautiful September evening.  One day after the tenth anniversary of the loss of our country's innocence, nature is there for us, healing those wounds.
To end a perfect evening, we watched the Patriots play the Dolphins on our 42" HD LED TV - way better than anything we have at home.  In fact, anything done aboard is way better than anything done on land.

Are you thinking about now that I love the boating life?

Tomorrow we head for our assigned slip in Newport.  But not before we have blueberry pancakes at a little place Mike knows............