Good-by Onset - Hello Block Island

We've left Onset, MA after just over a week's stay. For us it was an important time in a quaint New England seaport town. We traveled up to New Hampshire to visit Samantha and family to see how they were doing with our newest grandson. While there, we managed to take an afternoon to go apple picking, a family tradition for many years while our girls were growing up.

After a few nights there, we returned to Onset, picking up Sandra's sister Paula for a night's stay on the boat before Scott, Sandra's brother, and family joined us for a final “good-by” to her mother and father. (Sandra's father passed away last September. As Sandra's mother did for her mother and brother, we distributed their ashes into the ocean waters with lots of flower petals and words of good-by. This was an important conclusion to a difficult summer. We know that her mother and father have moved on to better times, and we are thankful for that.

That concluded, it was time to pull up the anchor and move on also. Onset will be an extra special place to stop now as we travel north and south. We left Onset with the tide a bit late, considering the distance to Block Island. We had help from the tide, though, so we moved well and managed to complete the 60 mile trip just as the sun was setting. We were surprised that the anchorage had quite a few boats already, but there was still room for us.

Block Island is a real beautiful island that attracts lots of tourists. They must come by ferry or in the own boat. As we approached the island, we saw a ferry leave and another arrive. Then not more than 30 minutes later, a high speed ferry passed us on the way to the harbor as well. And this is supposed to be after the end of the busy season. We'll go ashore today to see if it's still as busy as the ferries suggest it might be. As we've walked around here in the past, we've wondered, as we did at North Haven earlier this summer, what life must be like living here all year. There is certainly a degree of peace that comes when the tourists leave for the year, but there is also the isolation. All the major support structure is a ferry boat ride away. While you can get some groceries and other supplies on island, the island life is not for those who like to spend time shopping. The winter population drops considerably, and all other friends are at least a boat ride away. In January, that could be an uncomfortable ride at best. Does this mean two cars – one on the island and the other on the mainland? We don't know, but it would be interesting to meet up with an islander and learn more about this life.

We move on to the eastern end of Long Island tomorrow and then continue westward through the Long Island Sound to NYC. New adventures ahead to share in the coming days.

Captain Bob
Carpe Diem