Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Into the city

We headed north from Maryland up I-95.....wait, aren't we suppose to be oriented SOUTH?  Sunshine, sandy beaches and warm salt water?  Yeah, that was the plan all along.....but we got a special invitation to a good friends 60th birthday party at the Chef's table in a chic top-rated New York City restaurant----Barbuto's-----and we couldn't say no.  
Barbuto's--Michael Morrissey's B-day dinner



We had debated whether to even add NYC to our east coast hit list.....but this secured it.....after all, it's about the journey and so down the rabbit hole we went.









Driving into New York City on a Friday morning, gave us the daunting feeling equivalent to diving off the 11,000 ft ridge at Taos Ski Valley into the double black diamond steeps of Stauffenberg Chute.....gulp.

But instead of driving Da-Von into the mess, we found an RV park across the Hudson River from Manhattan in Jersey City, NJ.  Mind you, we have stayed in only ONE official private RV park since the inception of this journey, and this made the second.

It was $60/night (the most we'd spent on any place to sleep)---no electric, no water hook-up, simply a spot in a parking lot next to a marina.....a subway ride plus a few sidewalk blocks to Rockefeller Center......and a long stone's throw to the Statue of Liberty as the picture shows on  the left...see Lady Liberty in the middle? But it was all about the location.....and definitely more affordable than a NYC hotel at $300/night (plus 14.75% tax + fees).









We took a ferry ride over to the big Apple and embarked on our sunny day tourist jaunt.
If there's one thing NYC has more of than taxis, it's tourists....yahoo, here we go!
We opted to play the full tourist gambit, and bought 2 tickets on the "Gawker's Bus"....the double decker sight seeing bus that runs around the city with unlimited hop-on hop-off stops.....it was perfect



....and now I'll subject you to our gawker's gallery of photos :)
Time's Square---the ball (over-rated)

The traffic


New World Trade Center

We weren't ready for the emotions and haunting chills that came with the Ground Zero monument ....words just can't describe it.   There are two of these large waterfall memorials draining into the exact space where each WTC building stood.  The waterfalls flow down the walls.... and to the center into an apparent bottomless abyss.  The ledge around each waterfall is carved with the names of those that died that day....not only at the WTC, but the other two flights as well.  Each person's name on this ledge is coordinated with where they physically were that 911 day.  So hard to believe that the world is still paying for the actions of a few bad extremists.
New and old buildings around WTC sight

Reflections in the monument museum


Good day....bad day.....NYC at it's best.

All in all, we have to say that our trepidation of NYC was replaced with confidence by an unseen and sublime vibrating energy.....upbeat and alive....with a safe feeling.....ok, safe is a relative word here, but there were dozens of beautiful young women and men strolling the NYC nightlife scene....making it feel so Sinatra....and romantic in a bustling sort of way.



Favorite view from a ferry
A New York marina state of mind

Thursday, October 23, 2014

A Captain and A Mermaid

Tales abound on the northern waters of the Chesapeake Bay....
where the Canadian Geese and Blue Heron play....
come and listen to our story as it is told.....
about a beautiful fair woman and a Captain so bold.







On the banks of the Elk River, they live on this bay,  ....where 29 grandchildren come over to play (ok, maybe only 6 or 7).


The woman though kind, gentle and true,
can rule the strong Captain with piercing eyes of sky-blue.



By day she fools us all and plays the human side,
 serving bloody mary's on the deck of a great boat ride....













....but, by night she morphs and grows a scaled fin, to join in frolic with her mermaid kin.










Now the handsome bold Captain, an ex-Navy SEAL, erected a castle of grand appeal.
It comes complete with a shallow long pier,
upon which many a drink was drunk with hardly no fear.

































He entertains neighbors, like Cha-lee (Phily for Charlie) and Denise,
not to forget us, the vagabond Reeves.
Cha-lee & Bob















                                                             





By day, the good Captain reigns over the Unions, 
then sprouts a SEAL-fin to surf with his Team-men.  Hoo-yah!





And last but not least to this big grand story,
is the mighty lil'  Dixie who rides in big glory.





Both she and Susan were relieved one day,
when Bob came home "tick-less" from a wild disc-golf foray.


"I found it!"






















Hear ye hear ye, on the 14th October,
Leslie rolled double nickels (55)--another year older.
The foursome had a feast with plenty of grog,
which resulted in a silly photo forever on this blog.












We're ere' so grateful for buckets of laughs, 
to catch up with old friends long from the past.

Together Captain Hooke and the mermaid reside.....
happily ever after between high and lo tide.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Ski bums at a boat show

Having been ski bums for the last 30 years, part of our new life adventure is to shift gears into the world of wind, palm trees and warm salt water.  So we dropped into the sailboat show in Annapolis, Maryland.





A block and half from the docks off a residential side street, we found a little tucked-in piece of free parking where we hunkered down for 3 nights....riding our bikes all over while scouting and absorbing anything "marine" affiliated.






For 45 years, this small quaint historic town of Annapolis has hosted the worlds largest floating sailboat show.  They construct an amazing web of floating docks within their tiny city dock area and meticulously wedge and squeeze over 50 sailboats and catamarans on the water.....everything from an 18ft--$13,000 day sailer to a 90ft---$5.5 million mega sailboat.


Laced around the perimeter were hundreds of vendor booths set up with everything from the latest technology on navigational equipment to custom designed yacht dinner plates.  Needless to say, it was inspiring and overwhelming....we learned a lot....and finished out the day schmoozing with knowledgable salty-type sailors (or often total BS-er's) at the dock side bar.  Everyone has their opinion of what wannabe's (that's us) should have and do to fulfill their dreams.....yeah, yeah...ahoy, bartender! How about another painkiller-extra rum please....


A typical conversation might go like this.....
"Where ya from?"  To which we reply......
"NEW Mexico" (emphasis on the New)
Blank look on their face as they quietly say,
"Land-locked.....hmmm"

So I explain to them that my passion began when I was 12 years old when my parents bought a 25ft sailboat that we sailed on area lakes.  I knew back then that I wanted a grand adventure to be a live-aboard cruiser on the ocean while traveling around.  Between Tim and I, we have the confidence to manifest this big bucket-list dream....but only as long as it's warm salt water.....yeah, we're heading to the islands, but need that boat first.

So we cruised the docks in Annapolis----stomped around on brand new $300K+ state-of-the-art Jenneau's, Bennateau's, Catalina's, Tartan's, Gozzard's and more.....way above our budget and/or not quite the perfect fit anyway (but oh so much fun)







Then.....we found her......over in the Brokerage Cove section where used boats sit like homeless dogs in a shelter, begging for a new life.....we found the let-me-write-a-check-now-boat.... a 1998 Island Packet 40ft in mint condition, ready to sail.
 IP's are well known for their quality and hence resale value....so they're not a cheap product on any level.  I started researching boats years ago....yes, landlocked in my Taos hacienda....and these boats have always been forefront in my first choice.....damn, I got nice expensive taste.  
                             She fits us perfectly and feels nice----but how can we afford her?  
                                    Again, not quite in our budget....so we'll have to downsize, 
                                                  but it keeps the dream alive.



So we resolve to hold her as a role model.
Mostly, she has helped us to narrow down our search and set an example of what we're looking for.  We'll keep looking further on down the coast....I got a list of various others and we got something to compare it to now....it's all very exciting.

But first.....we head north back up to the Chesapeake Bay.....to mooch off some "old" friends.....stay tuned for the adventures with Captain Hooke.  

Monday, October 13, 2014

Touring DC with the cuz'


For those of you that don't know, my pre-married name was Wyly---unusual spelling and proud of those Scottish roots that first immigrated back in 1725.   Outside of Washington DC in historic Leesburg, Virginia, we caught up with my first cousin Richard and his Wyly girls (wife Ellen and daughters Sarah 17 and Jenna 16)

Wyly's in Virginia
 In the 60's, our fathers and grandparents owned a ski shop in Roswell making us 3rd generation NM skiers.  We would ski at Sierra Blanca Ski Area (now called Ski Apache) near Ruidosa, NM.   Richard, my two brothers and I used to be those little speedy knee-hi devil skiers---you know, the ones we now curse because we've become the typical older "Slow-the-*@!#-down!" Sunday-driver-skier.
We had a game we'd play called cops and robbers.....ski poles were great for poking the robber in the tush.  So no surprise that Richards kids (just like our kids) are ski enthusiasts---- his girls are avid medaled downhill/slalom racers.  They shared their beautiful house with us for 4 nights---by the way, this was the first time in over 3 months we stayed in the same place for more than 3 nights...in or out of the van.

Richard took on the perfect tour guide roll----there's a lot to be said for an insiders viewpoint---especially in the historically rich but confusing area of our nations capital.  By bicycle we covered miles-n-miles of monuments, museums.....

and significantly important white buildings.
See the little white box on the left in the trees? That's Michelle's O's beehive she had installed at the White House next to a new veggie garden back in 2009. As a beekeeper for 6 years, this was really cool to see it still there!

We saw the big Abe guy-----                                          and the newest MLK monument too.  I can't believe I got photos without a single tourist in it....it was a beautiful day and quite busy.
One of the highlights for us was an actual Presidential sighting.  We happened upon a roadblock near the White House.....and sure enough, second in a line of 6 black caravan SUV's was this car....
and a person waving from the window on the other side.  We had seen black silhouettes of security agents earlier on several rooftops east of the capitol building and we knew the President had been at a DAV memorial dedication.
Boy Scout statue.......with a naked man???

George Memorial standing tall under the perfect sky

A beaded bracelet in the American Indian Smithsonian Musem
made by our Santa Fe friend Marcos Amerman







Renoir---my fav
Degas...exhausted
Richard and Cezanne
Oxymoron?


One of the biggest impressions for me, was seeing all ages of Americans actively using the grass lawns around the 3 mile long mall for a sports field---flag football, soccer, kickball etc....it was alive and healthy.
A giant boatload of gratitude to my cousin Richard Wyly for an unforgettable 4 days 
in our nations capital!!!!