Out and About .....June 3,4, and 5 2016

We set aside June 3,4 &5 to be at the Albany Yacht Club. Being in the capital city of the State of New York would be a 1st for us. Although we lived in Pittsfield, MA from 1973-1978...an hour’s drive of Albany... we hadn’t ever ventured to this fair city. The marina offered diesel fuel at a reasonable price and accepted both the TowBoat US discount and the AGLCA discount. We needed 150 gallons... a half tankful... and our 30 gallon black water tank pumped out. Done and Done! Capt. Russ Clark, a long-time friend and waterway expert from Richmond, MA, promised he and Sandy would come visit us at the Albany Yacht Club. Shortly after we docked, they arrived. They had just completed an 8,300 mile road trip across the U.S.A. A great evening of travel tales was enjoyed by all!

Enterprise Car Rentals was within 3 minutes drive of the Yacht Club. With wheels we could drive to Longmeadow, MA and visit Aunt Van, newly turned 97 and her friend Fred, newly turned 91. So the next morning we were off and away. Unbeknownst to me, Wally had decided that it was time to poke around the far reaches of his memories involving flying airplanes into little-known airstrips. With the WAZE girl’s voice confidently giving us the turns, we found the tiny South Albany Airport where Wally and I had enjoyed many a Saturday Fly-in breakfast. The restaurant has been replaced with a lovely clubhouse, and Hangar Flying was well underway. Wally got to tell the tales of days gone by that most of the pilots congregated there didn’t know. We enjoyed the “reunion”.

Our next stop was the Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Famous for it’s airshows featuring WWI antique/vintage planes, this was an airfield that Wally had wished to visit “in the day”, but never did. We were one week ahead of the show season, but we got to watch several Radio-Controlled Model Airplane Clubs showing their stuff.

Following the back roads, we headed for the Springfield area and a great afternoon and overnight visit with Dad’s sister, Venessa and Fred. I hope we can all be so spry and alert in our 90’s!

Back in Albany/Renssellaer area late the next morning, we gathered up the provisions that would keep us well-fed for the weeks to come. Tomorrow, after returning the rental car, we will lower the mast and boom. That will give us a 14’4” height clearance for the low bridges ahead. It’s time to begin making our way west through 160 miles of the Erie Canal and then north 24 miles to Lake Ontario via the Oswego Canal. All of our “locking-though skills” gained in the Lake Okeechobee Lock System are about to be put to the test! Created by Darcy Campbell

Rondout Creek/ Kingston,NY June 1-2,2016

100 miles up the Hudson River from New York Harbor are the river towns of Kingston and Connelly, NY. Separated by Rondout Creek, they are fiercely proud of their maritime history. While we were waiting for the 11am opening of the Hudson River Maritime Museum, we were encouraged to check out the traditional sailing vessel being refurbished next door in the shipyard. The 100+ foot sloop “Clearwater” was the project underway. Since January she has had all the oak planks below her waterline replaced. The young man who eagerly guided us through the project noticed the WoodenBoat symbol on my cap and connected us to Maine. He was from Bangor! Small world. (The sloop “Clearwater” is a Sea Education vessel, much like the schooner “Harvey Gamage” that some of my 8th graders and I crewed for 10 days from Islesboro, ME to Nantucket, MA and back. We all have vivid memories of that experience!) Once she has all her layers of bottom paint, “Clearwater” will be ready to go back in the water. But there is a small hitch... the closest Travelift capable of returning a ship of this size and weight to the water is 55 miles away in Albany. It is no accident that “Clearwater” has been refit sitting on a barge... with a tug standing by. We on “Summertime” are about to make that exact trip. Albany is our next port of call.

By now the museum had opened, so we headed back across the shipyard. We were totally unprepared for the variety of river-related subjects displayed inside: Native American dug-out canoes, the story of the Dutch explorer Henry Hudson and his ship “Half Moon”, tugs and tows, ice-breakers, brick kilns, lighthouses, ferries, paddle boats, and a most unexpected subject... ice boats. Next to actual ice boats on display, a video showed the majestic stern-steered ice yachts of days-gone-by scooting along the glistening surface of the frozen river. But the video took on a new dimension when a 90 year-old women appeared to tell her story. Growing up in a family of boys who joined their father for ice boating excursions on a regular basis, she had wistfully wished that she could be included, too. Alas, for girls and women, that was not to be. Asked by an ice boat owner if she would still be interested in having an ice boat ride, her acceptance of the offer was immediate. With a big grin, she dashed to get all the warm clothes she could find. Laying prone in the ice boat basket, she and the driver were off and away! What a thrill that must have been after waiting all those years.

Written and Created By Darcy Campbell

Look what a year can do......6/2/2016

Just wanted you all to know that Darcy is doing great. She has had a few set backs and is still on prednisone.She monitors her blood regularity so as to take the smallest dose that provides the most relief. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers... May 28, 2015 We would like to thank all those whose prayers have lifted us up through this uncertain time in our lives. We had our appointment with the rheumatologist in Bangor on Tuesday. He took the time to spend with us so that he could really understand our situation. Being a seasoned traveler, he was interested in us as people, not only as paying patients. After listening to Darcy’s story, he cut right to the chase. “You are a white woman over the age of 65, your condition began quickly with severe stiffness and aching in the shoulders, neck, hips and knees. You have experienced unintended weight loss, 10 lbs, over the past few months and you often feel more tired than you did before. These symptoms tell me that you most probably have polymyalgia rheumatica. We will draw blood right now. If the results of the blood tests have high markers, that will tell me that I have made the correct diagnosis. You will begin taking a corticosteroid right away. You should see a vast improvement within a day or two. We will taper off the dosage as we monitor the improvement, so you will be taking the least amount for the most gain.” We celebrated this morning with the taking of the first tablet. We will keep you posted. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we know the Lord has his hands upon us..

This memory from Facebook was posted May 28, 2016... just a few days ago. Today Wally and I will bike 21/2 miles to a local lab. The results of the blood tests will be faxed to my neurologists in Bangor, ME. Based on those markers, he will adjust the dosage of corticosteroids that relieves the pain from my polymyalgia rheumatica. This is a monthly detail that we willingly carry out; I can enjoy this active daily boating lifestyle by following this plan. God’s blessings abound!

May 29,30,31,2016-----New York City to Half Moon Bay

Lady Liberty looked as jubilant as we, on “Summertime”, felt. Our more-than-capable photographers were Barbara and David Doyle on PDQ Catamaran “Miss My Money”. They dashed by us at 15 mph just before the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, photographed two other boats at Liberty Island, then graciously waited for us to arrive at our full-speed-ahead 7 mph. Our hope to have a buddy boat record this iconic moment was fulfilled! New York Harbor was eerily quiet that Sunday morning of Memorial Day Weekend. There were a few slow-moving tug/tows... with almost no wave action. What a gift! As we continued up the Hudson River, we reveled at the misty morning beauty of soaring skyscrapers on both the New Jersey and New York sides. Freedom Tower atop One World Trade Center made our hearts soar. Such a stunning reminder of recovery after a horrific attack on the United States. A dozen or so colorful sailing yachts were preparing for an 11am start of a single-handed Trans-Atlantic race...NYC, U.S.A. to Vendee Veille, France. Exciting stuff! Passing under the George Washington Bridge caused us far less angst than when we passed over it a month ago by car...$13.00/auto and lane upon lane of crazy traffic. Along the New Jersy shore of the river rise The Palisades... fortress-like walls of stone that reach 300-500 feet high. We found the Tappanzee Bridge up in Tarrytown in the midst of being replaced by a higher version. Huge cranes affixed to barges loomed over the river and other barges hovered around with their various construction materials. We traveled 50 miles up to Crotin-on-Hudson. There we settled into Half Moon Bay Marina. After catching our breath for that first afternoon, we caught the 7:15am Metro North Train the next morning and returned to NYC. Grand Central Station is a city all in itself. With help from some willing daily commuters, we found our way from Track 40 to #4 Subway bound to Bowling Green Station and Manhattan’s Battery Park. Tickets for The Statue of Liberty National Monument & Ellis Island were for sale at the water’s edge. We boarded the ferry carrying at least 300 visitors at 9 am. For the next four hours we lived and breathed “the immigrant experience”. Making it more real, the multitudes of visitors surrounding us represented a world of culture and language. We were definitely in the minority based on age and ethnicity. We departed each island having experienced a very sobering... yet uplifting... moment in time.

Created by Darcy Campbell