New York

Since our fog experience and record heat we left New Jersey for Long Island Sound.  The trip through the East River was amazing.  From the Statue of Liberty to the Freedom Tower you can get a whole different feel to New York.

 
We have been able to sail some and motor more because the wind doesn't always seem to blow the direction we want it to.

We were dealing with record heat in NJ and now unseasonably cold weather in NY.  Today promises to warm up.

While we were stuck on the boat with cold, rainy and windy weather we finished our home school curriculum.  We decided it would be a great day to celebrate and have a graduation.

We made our own caps with tassels and certificates and had cake.

Congratulation to Samantha Alena Abate for graduating from Kindergarten.

Congratulation to Nicholas William Abate for graduating from Pre-School.

Postpone Departure?

After several days of record heat and poor air quality we are now taken over by fog.
We have decided to stay put until it clears. The last thing we want to do is transit New York harbor in this weather.

I think it is getting worse. The second picture below was taken 20 minutes later.

Now the first picture was taken an hour later. I think it is finally starting to burn off.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

We are winding down from a fun filled time in NJ. I got to spend the weekend catching up with my good friend Mandy. Paul ran into an old neighbor and friend which led to a full high school reunion at a local bar.
This trip is a wonderful experience. I am looking forward to even more fun filled times.

Back in NJ

We just left Cape May, NJ and as of today are in Atlantic City, NJ.  I can here live music of Tim McGraw coming from the Golden Nugget.  Paul claims it hurts his delicate ears but I love country music so am enjoying that he can't change the station.  We had fresh seafood for dinner the other night and then had the most wonderful NJ pizza.  Life is good. 
We plan to take in as much pizza as we can while here in NJ and NY.  This is the land of the best pie on earth.

Still working up the coast with little wind to help us.  The trade off is relatively calm seas.  We head to Barnegat, NJ tomorrow.  This will be a great place to celebrate my 41st birthday.  I still can't believe how time flies.  

We will have fun!

Solomons, MD

Posted by Staci

We left Elizabeth City to work our way up through the Dismal Swamp.  Paul did most of the driving but I did take over for a bit.  After I hit a tree and lost our wind instrument from the top of the mast and attracting many bugs that sting I made it the rest of the way to the lock without incident.
We have a few hundred miles to go before we make it to Maine.
We stayed in Norfolk for the fireworks and the kids loved being able to watch them from our boat.

Now we are in Solomons, MD for a few days waiting for engine mounts to come in so we can safely make our way up the coast.

New wind instrument       $41.00
Air and Space Museum    $45.00
Seeing your kids smile      Priceless

Elizabeth City,NC

After leaving Cape Lookout we went to Oriental,NC for a couple of days. We then headed to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks which is a very cool little town with a nice secure harbor but lots of tourists. We decided to leave after two days and brave the 25 to 30 knot winds in the Pamlico Sound. We motorsailed with a double reefed main and no genoa on a close reach and it was a brutal trip. Lots of waves dousing the cockpit and rain for a good part of the crossing but as we got to the Pungo River it calmed down and we were able to sail the last two hours to Belhaven in relatively calm conditions.

We are now in Elizabeth City and we will transit the Dismal Swamp canal tomorrow and be done with the Intracoastal Waterway. Yesterday we saw a big black bear swim right across our path. Very Cool!

Sometimes all that playing makes you tired.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

New Junior Rangers for Cape Hatteras

Classic picture of Captain Daddy getting doused in the cockpit.