The End of a Long "Day"

I just spent the last 24 hours with these boys (+ one more). They did a scavenger hunt while we loaded bikes. We enjoyed a wonderful night time bike ride down at Bluff Point, with no flats or injuries. I stuffed them full of pasta, cake, pie and cookies. They played "man hunt" until 11pm, while I cleaned. After a movie we were asleep by 1am. In the morning, I emptied my refrigerator into their bellies and they played "man hunt" again, while I cleaned and packed. We enjoyed 5 hours rock climbing up on the Lantern Hill cliff. In this picture, we are finally on our way home after a 24 hour adventure. O.K. it's 5:20 and I am ready for bed! We really had a blast and will do it again next year!

Warm Doughnuts and Hot Cider

Ah, hits the spot after a nice fall ride. We enjoyed the annual Pequot Cyclists' Clyde's Cider Mill ride. There warm doughnuts are the best!

Excellent Surf Session

I enjoyed a fabulous afternoon surfing a point break in Rhode Island. The waves were just perfect, pealing both ways predictably each set. I wish I could surf waves this consistent all of the time. You just can't beat a point break, combined with a ground swell and a light offshore breeze.

Seacoast Century

This weekend, we enjoyed our annual participation in the Seacoast Century with Grandpa. Gianni was sick, but we rode anyway. After camping Friday night, we set out early on our ride. Given Gianni's poor health, we just did the northern route for 50 miles up into Maine. We kept a slow pace so he didn't work too hard. He kept up well. We enjoyed  a cool night camping and then did the 20 mile southern route down into Massachusetts on Sunday.

Time to Smoke Bluefish

We had an epic morning of fishing. Suffice it to say, that we caught 14 blue fish in an hour. With a full cooler, we headed home to try out the new smoker.

Surfing Hurricane Earl

A big swell came in this weekend. Friday afternoon we went to Matunuk. The waves were massive and the current was strong. There was no way I was getting out through the way overhead sets. It was a blast to watch the young ones on short boards ripping it up. Gianni actually went out and tried to surf the inner break. The hurricane rolled through over night and we headed back in the morning. We went to Narraganset and enjoyed some fine surfing. On the way home we stopped back at Matunuk to see these boys ripping it up on windsurfers. It was as good as Maui!

Our August Sail to Cape Cod

Gianni and I sailed for 3 weeks on our J/80. We went up to Pocasset, MA to pick up Ben. The sail up was good and bad. We had a very rough night on the boat, getting hammered off Point Judith in 4 foot seas and adverse tides. It was one of the toughest nights I have ever had on a boat. We rested and enjoyed a nice afternoon in Pocasset, picking up Ben in the Zodiac. The next morning we had a perfect passage through the canal, but the crossing of Cape Cod Bay was slow as usual, so we had to motor to Provincetown for about half the crossing. We enjoyed the week with the McWassers before sailing to Cuttyhunk. We crossed to Block, beating a nor'easter. This crossing was one of the wilder ones of my life. We were surfing 9 to 11 knots. A J/44 did the crossing with us and we held our own for the entire 35 miles. The storm stranded us on Block for 3 days. Even the ferry was shut down for two days. We were lucky to pick up a mooring. The wind was intense, with one night of 30-40 knot winds. Each day we went to shore one time to get food, ice and walk a bit. Unfortunately, we would get soaked to the bone, just a few feet from the boat. The final day we took the launch, which was wonderful. We went to town for a big hot breakfast. Finally, the small craft advisory diminished and the tide looked good for the Watch Hill passage, so we set sail at 1pm. We enjoyed a speedy trip home, hitting Watch Hill on a perfect tide. We pulled into Noank at dusk and enjoyed a much needed restful night. Overall, it was definitely the most challenging trip we have done together, however, it was also the most rewarding. We really worked hard and well together. We can't wait for next year! Check out all of our pictures from the adventure.