Bar Harbor, Maine

We made it!  The flight wasn’t as long as I expected (maybe I fell asleep), thanks to a last minute purchase of an inflatable pillow to sit on.  Our car is a Kia Soul, which Jerry likes and seems to get good gas mileage, even if it is classified as “mid-size” (tee hee).  And the pillow really helps there, too!  I hadn’t thought of that.

We found a place for breakfast as soon as we could get out of Boston, but by 10a neither one of us could keep our eyes open.  So at Portland (Maine), we found a picturesque parking lot, tilted our seats back and snoozed for an hour.

Seems what Mapquest says is 4.5 hours took us 8 of “hard driving” to get here.  It reminds me a lot of the Pacific NW except for the “Look out for Moose” signs.  And the water is absolutely flat.

We got here at 3, and first on the agenda was a  nap.  

 The cove at downtown Bar Harbor:  

At 6p Maine time we put my list of local restaurants with possible options for me to eat to good use and found the “Café This Way” back in a little side street in the bushes.  I thought the food was fabulous, maybe after an iffy breakfast and lunch. 

I had delicious zucchini “noodles” with mushrooms and tomatoes and other stuff over polenta.  It was incredible except for all the extra olive oil.  Jerry had a less than wonderful lobster roll, but he’ll have lots of chances to find the perfect one.  The table next door was talking about lobster the third day in a row.

Oh, our accommodations!  Just like the internet picture!  Incredible view.  But our room is around back.  Jerry asked for one in front, and the guy said “not at that price”.  Tee hee. 

There are at least 2 zillion people here in town.  But the good side is we found an open grocery store after 9 on Sunday.  I loaded up on apples, bananas, carrots and peanut butter.  I’m set! 

It was as the sun set that Jerry remembered to bring a jacket.  He’s in t-shirt and shorts, and I’m freezing in a shirt, sweater and long pants.  It’s a lot cooler down by the water than up on the hill.  Perhaps a shopping trip is in order.  There are L.L. Bean outlets everywhere!

So I’m the early bird, up blogging instead of taking a walk.  Seems my tennis shoes are still packed and the laces aren’t laced because I washed them in the last load, and don’t know where to go anyway, and Jerry would worry.  Ya, that’s it!

Looking forward to Acadia National Park today.

Engine 2 Convention April 28 - 30, 2014, Portland

Michele and I had just completed the Engine 2 28-Day Challenge.  Started by a fireman (hence the Engine 2 name), the fire station challenged themselves to lower cholesterol by eating only whole foods.  No meat, no refined foods (anything with flour, out of a box, or "junk), limited (or no) oil.  The Challenge provided a meal plan, shopping lists, and recipes.  What could be easier?


This came on top of my conference with Dr. Said, my new naturalpath, who found I was allergic to gluten, black beans, soy beans, navy beans, and clams.  So no more wheat, change all my beans to pinto or white or black-eyed peas, and avoid anything with soy in it, including soy sauce, tofu, tempeh, and Braggs Liquid Aminos.  Then for my MS (which I had just quit all my meds) he recommended for sure no gluten, no MSG, no neurotoxins, lots of protein at each meal and mostly raw food.  And of course a liver cleanse and supplements.  It seemed overwhelming at the time.  How to do this?

I was planning a trip up north anyway, and since Michele was already interested in Engine 2, it seemed a good opportunity to gather the girls (Shanna was enthusiastic but a little surprised at the program) for a long weekend and 16.5 hours of intense training on the science with doctors McDougall, Esselstyn, Greger and Lisle, including cooking demonstrations, and a real live survivor.  The primary focus is heart health, but it overflows to autoimmune health, cancer health, and diabetes health.

It was held at the Hilton in Portland, and they fed us silly on the program.  Each meal was buffet style, with 3 lines set up the same.  We grabbed faster than the cooks could keep it replenished!

I even got my own lasagna gluten and black bean free!  I did have to share with one other gluten-free gal.

Each morning at 6:30 they offered yoga from the top floor of the Hilton!  The view was fantastic. 

That's me in the red shirt, Michele in orange, and Shanna in red. 

Michele's "vegetarian friend" from work, Deb, also attended.  That's Michele's plate from the "Burger Bar" with Deb. 

Black Bean Extravaganza. 

Without the black beans.  Shanna's plate looks a little more timid than mine...

This is (gluten-free) Pasta Bar with Marinara, Steamed Greens with Walnut Sauce, and Apple-Cardamom Flapjack Crumble with Cashew Sauce.  Yum!

We did get 20 minute breaks twice a day.  We tried to get in as much walking as we could, even though it was pretty drizzly. 

It's funny that this is the only presenter I took a picture of.  This is Ann Esselstyn, Dr. Esselstyn's wife.  She's been cooking this way for over 30 years, and raised I forget how many kids on in.  She's a real believer, but also full of all kinds of tips and tricks.  She showed us how to strip kale. 


Rip Esselstyn, the Engine 2 guy, is her son.  Too bad I didn't nab a picture of him!  A real looker.  Ann has the bluest eyes I've ever seen. 

I've now followed this plan over 3 months, and I have to say I feel many times better than I did before.  The days of laying on the couch are over.  I bounce out of bed and walk first thing in the morning.  Somewhere I lost over 10 pounds (?), eating everything that isn't tied down, with no cravings or feelings of deprivation.  If my uncle brings a homemade rhubarb pie, I eat it!  My only MS symptom that seems to persist is my intolerance of heat.  Woohoo!

First Sail of 2014!

OK, so I digress.  This is us out on Hermosa Beach Pier on Saturday to celebrate Christy's birthday.   There were 9 of us to help her celebrate. Happy Birthday, Christy!

Then on Sunday, we did it!  We got the boat out!

Seems we had some issues for 2014 that had to be solved:

First, we had to get the Christmas lights down, can't sail with Christmas lights all over the boat.

Second, the bilge pump was either running non-stop, or not at all.  That took some engineering.

Third, somehow between the bilge pump running forever or always having the external charge on, the "new" battery burned off all its water and had to be replaced.  Not an easy job, requiring  a "battery guy" and a "gorilla".

But after Jerry was sure the boat would start if he turned the engine off, we were off!

It was a beautiful day!

2:20 p.m. (right after church) We're headed out the channel.  It took us awhile because after breakfast at Chucks we had to stop at Rite Aid for a "to do" notebook, gather our boat gear (water, hats, suntan lotion, jacket, granola, nut packs).  Then at the end of the block I remembered my camera and had to go back.  And Tony, a bayside neighbor was out and we had to talk dinghy and outboard with him.  And oops, the boat doesn't have any 2014 registration, so I had to go back to the house for that.  And the oil needed to be checked.

Oh, and did I mention when I was setting up the boat, the binoculars were wet?  Therefore I checked that entire shelf, and yep, the rags were wet, my wool scarf was wet, about 6 of 20 or so books were wet.  Remember that storm we had last week?  Something leaks on the port side of the boat.  So I pulled all that stuff out to the cockpit to dry out.  But finally we were off.

Warm day (I heard it got up to 85).  Warm enough to trade my T-shirt for a long sleeve sun protecting shirt.  No wind to speak of.

2:58 pm - turned off engine and put up jib (headsail).  Moving 5.9 mph.  Or was that the wind was 5.9?  My notes aren't very good...

So now I try to use the navigating skills I learned at our Coast Guard class.  To "dead recon" (which is really "ded" for deduced) pick three spots, note their angle from the compass, and note the time.  Then plot them on a chart and draw 3 lines, and you should end up with a triangle that you're somewhere in the middle of.   Piece of cake!

So, at 3:00 I picked the Seal Beach dock at 30 degrees, the low spot on Catalina at 240 degrees, and the Eva oil platform at 110 degrees.  I even got the ruler with the compass on it.  So I put the number of degrees on the straight line from the chart.  Ooops, the Seal Beach dock doesn't seem to be on the chart.  Oh, well.  Wait a minute, neither is the dip on Catalina.  OK, so I guessed.  Eva is on the map.  Then I go to the GPS to see if I'm right.  The GPS doesn't show ANY of the spots.  Only shore and water.  It shows we're "pretty close to shore".

OK, OK, maybe I need to find latitude and longitude.  We learned about that.  So, try again.  It's 3:49, there are 2 oil platforms at 70 degrees (Jerry says 80), and the dip at Catalina at 90 degrees (we agree), and the end of San Pedro at 240 degrees, and something called N at 200 degrees (says Jerry) and 210 says me.  Is that the north end of Catalina?

So if those two oil rigs are these on the chart, was what I saw before Eva or Esther oil platform?  It's not like they have a name on them when you go by.

This time I was determined to figure out the latitude and longitude, but I noticed that when I put the compass angle number on the spot I was looking at, I could twist the other end of the ruler all around.  Hmmm.  Time to get the book out.  Oh, you're supposed to put the little dot on a line of latitude.  OK, that makes sense. 

3:54 pm  Come about (turn around).  The compass at the wheel says our heading is 310 degrees.  The GPS says 330.  Wonder which one is right?

Ah, this time our speed is 4 mph and the wind is 4 mph.  We're going as fast as the wind with only the jib up!  It's always rougher going back in.  Something about cutting against the swell instead of going with it...

 Oh, oh!  Look, Dolphins!

We went through a bed of kelp.  Is this the "Newport Kelp Bed" marked on the chart?

Seems there must be fish in the kelp...





Now it's time to check how wet the books really are, and turn them page by page to get them unstuck and dry.  Good catch!  And time to stack them up and get them ready to put away.  Wouldn't help if we get drenched by a wave and they get wet again.

4:03 p.m.  Heading 322 according to the GPS.  Speed 5.7 mph.  Wind 8.5 mph!  Water 41 feet deep.  Hey, guess what!  I forgot to put the docking line out!  Usually we have a line laid out we can pull ourselves in with.  Guess Jerry is going to have to dock the boat with no assistance!  It's too far to jump off the boat onto the dock, and with the stairs right there, I'd kill myself for sure. 

Our boat neighbor, Bob and John, took their boat out (the Valerie) too.  They left just before we did, and docked right after us.  John steers, and Bob just steps off onto the dock.  But they don't have steps, and their dock has a pier to look at for security.

4:50 p.m. Safe landing, with just a tiny bump to the poor nose of the boat.  Need to get a bumper for there!  Jerry says there was a 15 mph cross wind to dock, but it only "felt" like 15 mhp.  And the tide was running.

Fun day on the water.  Got home, grabbed Bird for a quick walk, noticed the sunset, went home and got the camera, pulled some dinner together, and it was 7:00!

Maybe I can practice navigating next time...

The Christmas Boat

What a difference a day makes!

We walked down to the boat, but today the wind was blowing about 25 mph, small craft warnings were up, and I wasn't at all sure this was a great idea.

But the wind actually helped blow the lights out around the spreader, and my ingenious box/light winder worked great.

Here the engineer is trying to figure out "now what".

A few last minute adjustments...

And what do you think?

I  think they are pretty spiffy!

It's not really sailing, but it's at the boat!  Today we found ourselves at Big Lots! and there they were.  Outdoor lights for $1.  How can you pass that up?  And I saw another boat with a garland that looked really nice during the day, so there went some more dollars.  All in all, the lights were discounted to 80 cents, so we got less than $7 into this project.  Cheapest boat project yet!  Oh, I forgot the $10 light sensor and the $5 string.  $22.

But then, the big question!  How do you string lights up on a boat?  This is as far as the engineer and the "just do it" one got tonight.  Maybe I'll Google instructions...

The Sail that Never Was

Wednesday we had our first sailing lesson thanks to a Groupon coupon.  Friday we went to the Newport Beach Boat Show.

We wanted to practice all the stuff we learned.  

11:40  It was a gorgeous hot day.  No wind.  I forgot my hat tether.

 

We got the sail cover off, and were preparing to wind up the halyard.  But it was not to be.  The halyard only went about half way and stuck.  Wouldn't go up.  Wouldn't go down.

So!  Time to call the mast climber.  Maybe the top pulley needs some grease?  It probably hasn't been serviced in 30 years. 

OK, no worries.  At least we can practice what we learned about flaking (folding) the sail

1:15  Mainsail flaked and sail cover back on!  (It's a lot of work!)

1:45  OK, Jerry says the cover is on.  Right!

As long as we needed a mast climber, might as well put the wind vane back on top.

And how about an antennae?

Anchor lights?  A spreader light? How about a new rope halyard (instead of wire)?

All in all, it was a very productive day.

James' Sail

Since James is a sailor,  we were excited to take him sailing.  Even with a broken arm, at least he could enjoy the ride. 

We weren't too worried about the big thunderstorm we had the night before. 

We had breakfast at The Peninsula Cafe before we left, and it was drizzling.  Just a little moisture. 

 It was hot and muggy, there weren't many boats out.

Winds were light, maybe 3 mph.  

We got underway about 12:40.

About 1:35 we saw lots of dolphins.  When they got close to the boat, some were sea lions. 

We packed a lunch of tuna sandwiches, chips, and cantaloupe.

2:30 Just about the time we started to eat, we needed to tack.  

With the change in direction we were hitting BIG swells.  

Whee!  Up and down, up and down, up and down, splash.  What fun!

 
4:00 We had to take in the jib. 

It doesn't look all that rough...

We were headed for the Spruce Goose, motoring, winds about 10 mph, high seas and getting splashed.

We were out there with the BIG boats!

Well, then James, who was laying in the drain hole, got soaked.  He wasn't supposed to get his cast wet, so don't tell his mother.  

4:30 We were back sailing in the harbor,

with James steering.

A 38 foot Ericson!

Ah, the torture of having to visit your grandparents in Long Beach, CA


5:45  Docked, and all's well!