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Onward’s Cruise Journal 2010
Cruise to New England

September 2010

1-4 Sep 2010; Wickford RI
Wednesday; 1 Sep

• Well, the good and the bad: the National Hurricane Center said that Earle may be weaker when it gets offshore here - but then their models now think it will come closer to or over the coast. This morning: clear skies, absolutely still, lots of heat and humidity - where's the cold when you need it? Earle, Earle Go Away! Time to get going on the storm preparation tasks.

• I spent the day preparing for Earle. I resealed the hinges on the deck hatches that had started to leak in driving rain storms; inflated fenders; wrapped spare halliard around the genoa to keep it tightly furled; immobilized the furler drum; put additional lines to keep the in-mast mainsail from unfurling; waterproofed all the canvas -- and watched the weather forecasts. It seems Earle is weakening and may pass further offshore - but then again not by much so, who knows?
• I rewarded myself for staying on task all day by cooking what has become one of my favorite comfort foods: angle hair past with olive oil and sausage. Delish.

• I woke up at 0145 and decided to take a shower. I then decided to go online to check my boat insurance policy that I prepaid the renewal of back in June. I almost had a heart attack when the site said it had no record of a policy in force. ???? I had to wait to after 0800 to call them to find out what gives. Needless to say, my ability to sleep thereafter was limited. Well, I called and they confirmed that my policy is in force and all is well. It seems the system for allowing me online access was set up for the wrong user name - now hopefully corrected.
• Well, I spent the day continuing to prepare for Earle. I put off the decision on removing the enclosure canvas and taking off the genoa and the solar panels until this morning. The computer models were consistent in keeping the projected track of Earle offshore and the wind fields in the Wickford area were consistently less than 40 kts. My nephew Michael was standing by to give me a hand. Bill Kimbell called and also offered help. At 1000, I decided to leave everything in place.
• The first feeder bands started to rotate over the area at about 1000 and there were brief periods of torrential rain. The bands were broken and not continuous so the heavy rains passed on. Other bands passed over but they had little rain in them - strange for a tropical storm. Watching the Nexrad radar, I could see a race in progress between Earl moving N and a cold front moving almost E from the Great Lakes.
• I forewent invitations from my sister and from the Kimbell's to join them for dinner because of the expected onset of tropical rains and winds. The good news is that there was little increase in wind and rain - the morning rain was the heaviest I saw. I cooked myself from chicken parmigiana for dinner and settled in. i fell asleep reading but woke up before midnight - due to the quiet! There was almost no winds or rain. I went to bed with my iPad and periodically woke up to check the radar and watched Earle break up and turn E out to sea. A very gentlemanly things for a hurricane to do. I had a peaceful night!

• I awoke to a beautiful morning with sunshine and clear skies. Paul had boats from a yacht club scheduled to arrive in the afternoon so I quickly undid all my storm preparations and made Onward ready to move on. The wind began to build and there were gusts to 30 kts. Onward's departure from the marina was textbook perfect (memo to self: look out next time - you used up a lot of luck here). I moved Onward N to Greenwich Bay where I anchored off of Godard Park as EGYC mooring were still full.
• Bill Kimbell invited me to attend a local concert where Kiren was to sing the National Anthem. I took the dinghy in to EGYC only to find High Priority on a mooring! I went over to say hello and found out they had pulled into EGYC unannounced just as I had been calling Matt for a mooring so they got the spare mooring!
• The concert turned out to be an annual event held on the Friday night of Labor Day weekend. Needless to say they postponed it one day due to Earle. The night was perfect: clear, dry, pleasant temperature. As Kiren was performing, we had great seats on the lawn near the sound engineer's station. Bill had got us tickets to the buffet tent - walking around with him was like walking with the mayor. Kiren sang wonderfully - what a voice! The RI Philharmonic Orchestra was fantastic as was the singing of John Pagano. A great evening.

• My sister fetched me from EGYC at 0700 to go to Mass. In what has become part of the ritual of my visits here we then went to Panera Bread where several of their friends met us for breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my nieces, Susan and Linda, and their husbands, Danny and Leo, decided to come also. I had a great morning catching up on their lives and having an overall grand time. I was again reminded about what a fortunate man I am to be able to wander about and have such great times with family.
• Kathy and I then continued our ritual - shopping together. After we went out to dinner, she took me home with her where I showed her how to prepare pepper biscotti dough before i was allowed to go back to Onward.

• I weighed anchor and moved Onward to an EGYC mooring for the rest of my visit to RI. Ingred and Ron invited me over to High Priority for breakfast, and I showed up all freshly showered and dressed in non-boat-bum clothes. Ron then announced that we couldn't have breakfast until his generator was fixed! It seems it just decided not to start. Sooo, I found myself doing the half-upsdide-down-semi-suspension-lean one needs to do to access the backside of the Fischer-Panda. After checking that the there was plenty of battery power and the fuses and relays were working but the starter still would not kick in, I attempted to jump across the terminals of the starter solenoid - but still no joy. This did not make sense until I found that this unit had a separate solenoid that connected the engine to the battery (-) terminal. This unit was not working but a judicious tap with a screwdriver got it to function, the generator to start, and breakfast to be prepared!
• Ingred prepared a great breakfast and we spent time catching up on things before I had to return to Onward to shower again and go ashore to meet my sister. My younger two nephews just graduated from URI and they and their older brother, who like mom is a teacher, all decided to move home with mom and dad for a bit! In spite of today being the day they had put aside to moving things about to reestablish their rooms, my sister graciously planned a cookout for me and invited my sister-in-law Mary Ann and the Kimbell's. Kathy is amazing that she could handle this with such aplomb. I felt like a dunce for forgetting all she had going on and not rescheduling the event. I partially redeemed myself by baking pepper biscotti and doing all the grilling. A fantastic time was had by all.

• I had taken my laundry over to Kathy's but in all the baking and grilling I had forgotten to do it. So this morning was laundry morning at the YC. After getting back aboard Onward and putting some of the still-a-bit-damp clothes in the sun to dry, Ingred and Ron came over. Ingred clued me in yesterday about the extent of her experience: she had owned a company in FL with more that 20 employees and specialized in boat maintenance / cleaning / detailing. The company was used by all the big yards in FL and I remember her telling me previously that some megayachts would be moved to one of the yards just to get the "Ingred" touch. So today, as part of her continuing education of me (If Ingred is at one end of the boat maintenance spectrum - I'm near the opposite end in skills). She brought over two products for cleaning the windows on the dodger and proceeded to show me how the work - fantastic.
• As a partial payback, I introduced Ingred to what I have dubbed by "Ingred Machine": the SonicScrubber with multiple attachments (brushes, scrub pads, etc.) that is now my favorite cleaning tool. As Ron pointed out though, it's not as good as the "Original".
• Ron and Ingred announced that they are planning to move to the "dark side" - they intend to sell High Priority and buy a trawler-style Hatteras. Ah well.

• My two close friends and fraternity brothers, Jim Moretti and Richard Garzilli arrived with their wives, Terry and Lucy for the cocktail hour aboard Onward. While I had been able to see Richard and Jim in July, I hadn't seen Lucy and Terry for some time. We have been friends since our teenage-years and our lives have had parallel passages. It was great catching up. Again, I continue to be amazed at how, with family and good friends, relationships seem seamless -- catching up where they left off years ago. After cocktails we went ashore for dinner at Pals.

• I spent the day trying to organize stuff. My niece Linda and her husband Leo came and fetch me and we went to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse where her two sons work. I got to see them and my grand-nephew Michael who also works there. The three of these guys are bigger than I am and I remember them as rug-rats just yesterday. I can't be that old!

• Another day of attempting to organize and clean up. One task was to make room for Joahna who arrives on Saturday.

• My sister came to pick me up and we went off together to fetch Joahna at the airport. After a visit to Kathy's home, we went out to dinner together at a restaurant we hadn't been to before: Sienna where we had a fabulous time.

• Joahna joined me in what has become a Sunday ritual with Kathy. She and Andy pick me up at EGYC, we go to 0730 mass at St. Gregory's and then to the local Panera for breakfast. My niece Linda again joined us. We then went off to BJ's and Walmart for last minute provisioning before Kathy dropped us off and we said our farewells until I sail up to harass her next July.

• Onward took on fuel and water and departed EGYC at 0915 under high overcast skies. The air was so clear though, I was confused by land appearing where it shouldn't have been off Pt. Judith -- only to realize that it was Block Island. I had never seen it so vividly from Narragansett Bay before. About 2/3 of the way to the island, the overcast dropped; it began to mist and got cold.
• Onward picked up a town mooring off The Oar restaurant at 1430. I had gotten chilled when the cold front came through so after securing Onward I climbed into bed to warm up, nap, and read a good book on my iPad. Joahna did the same. I got up around 2030 to cook some dinner for us and after we ate we both went back to sleep during a quite night.

Joahna - Block Island is a long way from Oahu.

Tuesday; 14 Sep; Block Island to Greenport, Long Island

• I got up feeling well rested and ready to go. Joahna and I took the dinghy in and then walked into town where she had breakfast. We walked about town on a beautiful, sunny, and warm day. We were almost alone as we walked about. We stopped and picked up some groceries (I gotta stop shopping, we have no place to put the food now -- must be my Italian genes) and then took the shore road back to New Harbor -- a route I had never traveled before. The Harbormaster pulled up to collect his $21 just as I was preparing to drop the mooring. We departed at 1115.
• The wind was right on our nose so we motored to Orient Point and then to Greenport. I called the harbormaster and he said he had a town mooring I could have for the night and would he meet me at the entrance. He was there along with his wife to guide me in and he took a line that he rigged to the mooring float and then handed to Joahna on the foredeck who cleated it off. Great service for $47/night. After showering we took the dinghy ashore where we were met by Peggy DAlessandro, a good friend of Leslie Wollin, who drove us to the downtown area where we walked around, had drinks on the waterfront, and then a great meal at a no-atmosphere-but-superb-food Italian restaurant.
• Peggy, having read about my culinary exploits, provided me with a surprise gift: a bag with a recipe for a fresh seafood stew with all the canned ingredients - all I need to do is get whatever fresh seafood is available and add to the pot with the ingredients provided - neat! Can't wait to try it.

• The day dawned beautiful and sunny with winds W @ 10-15 kts. I went ashore where Peggy met me and we walked into town for coffee at a sidewalk cafe.
• We visited a local art gallery where I got to have another very interesting talk with the artist / gallery owner. He likes to paint beach scenes that are composted of beach rocks of many colors, patterns and textures. They are meticulously detailed and so lifelike they look like they can be taken out of the painting. There may be 50+ stones in a painting and they are all different. However, he has created all the patterns, colors and shapes from out of thin air! He told a story of how, after selling a painting for several thousand dollars, the new owner asked if she could have one of the real rocks too. As she didn't seem to understand that he'd "invented" them all, he finally gave up, went out and found a stone from the beach that "fit in", painted the new stone into the painting, and gave the painting and stone to the customer. Since this time he now puts one "real" stone in each painting and gives the stone and the painting to the buyer!
• Onward departed Greenport at 1215 and as we approached Plum Gut it became apparent that conditions on the Sound were not going to be pleasant to go W. We spent the next 7+ hrs motoring directly into 15-25 kts on the nose. This built up the infamous Long Island Sound chop with the wind blowing against the current. Only my trip up the Delaware under similar conditions in 2007 was less comfortable. We took a lot of waves over the bow and somewhere one of them found my Keen sandal that had gotten loose under the side of the enclosure and washed it overboard. We made it into Port Jefferson just after sunset and anchored in the last of twilight. Shortly thereafter, the winds increased to 25 kts for the next few hours.

• The day dawned with calm winds, clear skies, and a beautiful dark red sunrise. Onward weighed anchor at 0615 and headed W in calm seas - Nice! We anchored at Manhasset Bay at 1200. I got a call from Mike Yorke who was out checking Certa Cito and preparing it for coming thunderstorms. We made plans to meet ashore for dinner. I then took a cue from Mike and increased the amount of anchor chain I had out -- a good move. Having done this, I thought it time for a nap. It was great! I woke up and decided to clean up the boat before showering.
• Then the storm hit. I've been sailing for more than 44 years and have weathered a lot of thunderstorms -- but this one topped them all for ferocity. When the winds were blowing steadily at > 40kts, I started the engine and put it in gear to take pressure off the anchor. Then the winds went up to 55+ kts and held there for a while. This was repeated as a couple more cells went by. When it passed, the anemometer said that the max winds had been 57.8 kts.
• The storm finally blew over and we decided to continue with our dinner plans. Joahna and I had a great time at dinner with Mike and Maureen. I had a couple of gin gimlets that really were a great coda to the storm.

Dinner with Maureen & Mike Yorke at Manhasset Bay Yacht Club

Friday; 17 Sep

• The NYT this morning had stories of the great damage done by this storm to the city where a woman was killed in her car by a falling tree. The now think it involved a tornado. Joahna and I went ashore and Mike met us and drove us to the hardware store where I managed to get my propane tank filled - actually exchanged. We then had breakfast together. Mike, hearing that Joahna wanted to get a flavor of this part of the country took me to a car rental agency where I arranged to pick up a rental car for Saturday. He then played tour guide and drove us around this part of Long Island. He did a fabulous job! I continue to be amazed at how beautiful this area is.

• I took the water taxi ashore with Joahna at 0900 and picked up an Avis rental car at the Sunoco station at the E end of the harbor. The water taxi was able to drop me off at a pier at a small marina across the street.
• We drove into NY and exited I95 at Mamaroneck where we drove Rt. 1 and costal roads so Joahna could see this area. We continued until we found ourselves driving into Greenwich. This as announced by a group of car dealerships: Bentley, Maserati, etc. - Joahna's kinda town. After driving the local equivalent of Rodeo Drive, we got back on I95 and drove to Southport CT where my cousin Mary Ann Bunting and her brother Tom met us. Tom had just flown in from CO for a visit. Two years ago when I had stopped Onward at Norwalk, I also found Tom here -- I guess we have good planning skills. Mary Ann then took us on a tour of the local area. I as well as Joahna was not really aware of the beautiful environment and urban village nature of these areas. After lunch on the waterfront, a visit to Mary Ann's lovely home, and some further touring, Joahna and I bade our cousins farewell and returned to Port Washington and the water taxi back to Onward

• After a leisurely morning aboard in which I checked out the problem I've been experiencing with the mainsheet traveler, we got cleaned up and met Mike and Maureen at the MBYC where we had a wonderful and relaxing brunch on the sunny terrace. We merrily chatted until mid afternoon when we bade them farewell - until I get them to visit Onward in the Bahamas - and went for a walk about town.
• I called Leslie Wollin who drove to pick us up at the train station and drove us back to here lovely home nearby where I got to meet her son Michael. In spite of needing to "recover" from a number of house guests last week and Yom Kippur holidays, she insisted on us staying for dinner. We had a great time talk with her and David before she deposited us back at the town pier where we took a water taxi back to Onward.

• The day dawned with scattered clouds and a 15-kt wind from the NE. Onward weighed anchor at 0800 to begin to make the transit through the E River. I remembered from last year that the W passage of Roosevelt I gets closed at this time of year when there's a "do" at the UN building. I listened for but heard no USCG notice about a closing. We entered Hell Gate at 0945 after slack current and had a building current with us as we approached Roosevelt I. There were no USCG boats in evidence as I started down the W passage. I had picked up a "friend" along the way: the 134' motor yacht Horizon and he was following me. After I entered the W passage a small NYPD boat - the only patrol boat in sight - came alongside and started waving to us to go back. They didn't use their VHF and I had to yell at them to ask was going on. They just yelled: east side.
• I put Onward about and headed back N against the building current. I then called the USCG on Ch 16 and finally got someone to tell me that they had closed the W passage. When I asked if the lift bridge (which is usually unattended) was in operation they said they didn't know and gave me a phone numbers to call. I decided to call the bridge on Ch13 asking for an opening and got a weak and broken response. I kept asking them to repeat as their transmission was unreadable when a different, stronger voice said they would open at 1000 - in 10 minutes. I then noticed that Horizon had continued toward the W passage and had entered it when the same NYPD police boat stopped it and made it turn around.
• I called Horizon on VHF 13 and asked him if he had heard about the 1000 bridge opening. He said he had and I could tell he was as exasperated as I was at the lack of prior warning of the closure. He said he would hand back and allow me to go first. I put a waypoint on the lift bridge so I could time my approach and then started down the E passage at idle-forward speed. We also called the phone number that the USCG had given us for the bridge - but it wasn't working. We then called the second number they had given us for NYC Bridge Control. They couldn't confirm the 1000 opening but said they would contact the bridge for me.
• The current was building but the chartplotter indicated Onward would arrive at the bridge a few minutes after 1000 leaving time for it to be raised. As I continued moving toward the bridge, I noticed two power vessels were headed N and one of them would pass under the bridge before it opened. I heard the sirens on the bridge signaling it was about to go up. Then things started to go South.
• The current increased so Onward was being swept toward the bridge too fast even though I had the engine in neutral. I did not want to put it in reverse because of the possibility of loosing steerage in the fast moving current before the first oncoming vessel was passed. I couldn't do what I would normally do, make a 180º turn and head away from the bridge, because I had to wait for the oncoming patrol boat to go by to be able to do it safely in the narrow passage. As the vessel passed, I went to full power astern but this didn't slow Onward down much and it began to be swept sideways toward a set of buoys marking a rocky shoal on the W side. I then quickly went to full power forward and did a 180º to port and moved away from the bridge behind the vessel that had just passed. However, I needed to cross back over to the W side of the channel before the next power vessel because there wasn't enough room for both of us on the E side. I made the turn and crossing well ahead of the oncoming vessel. Then all the experience of judging bridges along the ICW came into play and I was able to head under the bridge as soon as there was enough clearance. While all this was going on, I felt the lurking presence of Horizon behind me. When I did the 180º, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the captain had been able to maintain station at the head of the passage -- the mark of a truly competent professional and a great relief to me.
• This was perhaps the most stressful experience I've yet had aboard Onward -- it was certainly the most stressful bridge passage of the hundreds I've done. The fact that all this unusual activity and my rising stress level scared Joahna didn't help matters.
• After action review / lessons learned: 1. Always check with the USCG about the W passage at Roosevelt I by phone or VHF the day before making the passage (note: they began broadcasting notices to mariners about the closing later in the morning). 2. Stay out of the passage when waiting for the bridge when the current is with you - it really picks up speed in the passage.
• After passing the bridge, I got to watch one of the choppers from the Presidential Air Fleet deposit the Secretary of State at the UN. The rest of the passage down the river, across the harbor to Atlantic Highland went uneventfully. It was a beautiful sunny day and we got a great view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. i put into Atlantic Highlands and anchored behind the breakwater at 1330 - and then crashed due to the stressful experience.
• Another boat, Wind Dancer from Jamestown RI came into the anchorage right behind me. They later called to ask if Onward planned to head S in the morning as they planned to depart at 0330 to do so. After I looked at the route and reviewed the weather, I call back to say that I thought 0430 would give us plenty of time to make the transit to Atlantic City in daylight. We agreed to travel together, departing at 0430.
• At Joahna's suggestion to use our fresh vegetable before they went bad, I prepared a chicken stew. While this was simmering, I prepared Onward so it would be immediately ready for the 0430 departure. The stew turned out to be fantastic but Joahna didn't feel like eating - ah well, I really enjoyed it. I went to bed after dinner but, as is normal on the night before a long passage, I didn't sleep very soundly.

• Onward weighed anchor at 0430 under clear skies and a bright moon. Joahna joined me and sat in the companionway to watch the dark seas ahead for anything that didn't show up on the radar. Wind Dancer followed us out. The transit to Sandy Hook was easy other than having to jog around a large vessel that radar showed to be anchored directly on our course. When we reached Sandy Hook, the big swells from Igor were 4 - 6' but with a long period so they were no problem. Joahna returned to bed as daylight approached. As we proceeded S, the winds shifted from the N-NE to the S so we got to motorsail only for the first third of the trip. By the time we got to Atlantic City the winds had built to 15-20 kts from the SW -- on the nose, of course. It was good to get in and anchor.
• I anchored at my usual place just SW of the bridge. Wind Dancer decided to try the inlet directly E that I had been told about by one of my Corinthian friends. There are small poles with R & G markers atop them. At about 3.5' of tide Wind Dancer reported a minimum of 9.5' during transit of the narrow cut. However its narrowness was off-putting -- especially with 20 kts blowing. I may try this in the future after I probe it with dinghy and depth sounder.
• As usual, I did not get a sound night sleep Tuesday night so it was an early night.

• The winds are SW at > 20 kts so Onward and friends will remain here until Thursday morning when the winds will diminish and shift t the N and the the SW for Friday for the trip up the Delaware.
• Lee & Barbara from Wind Dancer and Walter & Lynn from Iola came over in by dinghy for a visit. We then went into Trump Marina Casino and had lunch at Hooters. Lunch companions, beer, and waitresses were great but the food was only just passable; note: add to been-there-don't-need-to-repeat list.
• After lunch our friends went back to their boats and Joahna and I went into the casino where I followed my son's instructions for betting at the roulette table. Unfortunately I didn't survive the first spin! That fulfilled my interest in casinos so we took a dinghy tour of the harbor. We then tied up to a pier near the Aquarium where we learned about the Jitney service. So we took a jitney into town and walked along the boardwalk. The huge new hotel/casino under construction at the SE corner of the inlet, the Revel, is now in stasis due to economics. Also, the fantastic light show on the sides of the Harrahs casino complex adjacent to the anchorage has only been operating at a small fraction of its former self where the shows were so interesting, I would watch them for hours.
• The walk brought back memories of a week spent here when I was 9 or 10 years old. My mom, sister and I spent a week in a hotel with my godmother from NY, Aunt Julie. I remember my godfather, Uncle Jim, laughing because all I wanted to eat was hamburgers. I also have dim but warm memories of my dad coming down from RI for a long weekend to fetch us home.
• Atlantic City is a weird place. In any other ocean side community I've visited, I've never seen as much waterside property that is derelict - go figure. On the way back to the dinghy, we got to see how the support staff lived - a bit depressing. Now that I've seen Atlantic City again after 20+ years, I have no need / interest in doing it again.
• Joahna and I stopped for a drink before returning to Onward. She looked fabulous sitting with me and wearing the scarf her aunt Kathy gave her in RI. We had a good chat before returning to a quiet night aboard in preparation for the next leg of our cruise.

Joahna, Atlantic City 22Sep10

Thursday; 23 Sep; Atlantic City to Cape Henlopen

• Onward and Wind Dancer departed Atlantic City at 0800 for Cape Henlopen DE. The seas subsided from Tuesday and there was just a touch of the long sea swells left. We headed past Cape May and across the mouth of the Delaware, around the S end of the two breakwaters that protect the Cape Henlopen Harbor of Refuge. We anchored just off the channel SE of the ferry terminal. I went over to Wind Dancer for a couple of beers while Joahna caught up on her email. Barb and Lee then came aboard Onward where I cooked some angel hair pasta with olive oil, sausage, garlic and pine nuts. Not much survived after dinner. It was a nice quite night. The two breakwaters and the "ice breakers" that protect them are quite impressive. Lee and I mused that they were built in an age when the US did such things. Hard to envision something like that being built today due to costs.

• Onward and Wind Dancer departed the anchorage in the Cape Henlopen harbor of refuge at 0500. The moon was bright but there was heavy dew which foretold the fog to come with the dawn. As the sun rose, fog set in and soon Wind Dancer was hidden in the mist. We met our goal of catching the beginning of the flood tide and it remained with us for the entire trip -- including through the C&D. We averaged well over 7 kts VMG. The fog lifted shortly before we reached the canal before noon. We made such good time, we pressed on beyond my normal anchorage at Fords Landing on the Bohemia River. We journeyed up the Sassafras River and anchored about a mile N of Ordinary Pt.. Successful transit and anchoring called for a nap. I partially steamed some broccoli and then sautéed it with garlic and spices in olive oil. Joahna and I then went over to Wind Dancer where we had a great dinner of grilled marinated flank steak. Barb gave me her marinade recipe so now I can be prepared to make the same dish the next time Ron Draper is aboard.

• Onward made a late departure at 0810 and stopped to say farewell to Lee and Barb on Wind Dancer. The winds were light and on the nose as we made our leisurely way to Baltimore skirting around the dredge and barges working on the channel. Onward put into the Anchorage Marina slip C5 at 1430. I spent a relaxing afternoon playing with my iPad. After having completed the northern circuit of my yearly loop along the East Coast, I was a bit subdued - coming down from the experience.
• Joahna went out with friends from high school days - her night beginning as I went to sleep. Was I ever that way? I don't think so.

• Joahna took me for a walk to the NW corner of Patterson Park to look at an efficiency apartment that was just about to come on the market. It is on the first floor of the building and it overlooks the park. We met the owner/landlord/developer who lives in the building. It was obvious that he applied his skills as an architect in the way he turned what was once the large living room of the townhouse into a cute efficiency apartment. Joahna liked it and began to seriously consider moving to Baltimore so she can focus on completing her studies in preparation for her PhD comprehensive exams in the Spring.

• Today was the day of the "Great Daughter Switch" aboard Onward. We got Joahna packed up and into the car I leased for 2 weeks. Then she did a great job of cleaning up the guest quarters in preparation for Laura's arrival with her family.
• Joahna took me to have lunch with one of her sorority sisters whose family owns Miss Shirley's, a southern-style restaurant in Roland Park. This place was amazing -- I have never seen such a creative menu. We were treated to a number of the house specialties -- Delish! A must-go-back-to-place!
• I then drove Johana out to N Harford County to he friend Nichole's small farm. There I met her two amazing dogs: one would sneak up on me and put a stone on the toe of my left sandal; then he would crouch down nearby to watch; then his smaller buddy would rush in and steal the stone from my toe. This continued as long as I was outside in their presence!
• I returned to Baltimore and finished preparing Onward for new guests. At 2300, Elena arrived bringing mom & dad. She was bright and smiling in spite of the long flight from LA.

Elena Arrives!

Thursday; 30 Sep