Nantucket, Day 15

The View Through a Ferry Window 

Back in Oswego!

David called around 5:00 yesterday evening saying he made the boat & would arrive around 8:30; a day earlier than expected. Rosie was glad to see him. He ended up with his first root canal.

I got an early start, leaving the house at 5:45AM. There is an advantage to a big truck. I was directed to the front of the boarding line & was the first vehicle on the boat, and the 2nd one off (a full size 18 wheeler blocked the exit). I took a couple of photos of the loading process, then boarded.

As usual, the light during the morning was wonderful. I took a bunch of photos of the harbor on the way out. By 9:00 when we reached Hyannis, the good light was gone.  Lots more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

The drive home was interesting. I ran into two heavy rainstorms, one so bad that I 90 slowed to 15 MPH, with many pulling off the road. Other than that, it was uneventful. I arrived home around 3:45, unloaded the truck, and went through the mail. No bill from the Massachusetts's Thruway for the trip to Nantucket. I guess it takes time to process the billing from license plate photos. The ice chest of clams made it in good shape - I'll make Clams Casino as an appetizer for tomorrow night's dinner.

I was tired enough from the trip that tonight's dinner was a quick trip to Rudy's (our local fish stand) for a plate of haddock & scallops.

That is about it. The next planned journal will be starting September 11th for the Niagara Wine Escape Rally in Niagara Falls, CA. Till then!

Nantucket, Day 14

The Windmill

A quiet morning with just me & Rosie. She keeps wandering around the house looking for David.

I made a trip to the Stop & Shop for some ice for the clams. While there I wandered through the store, and in the freezer section was a row of Amy's Mushroom Risotto. Now that really makes me mad! I have been looking for it every since I had some on a trip a year ago. It is excellent, but no one seems to carry it. Of course I can't keep it frozen over the 12 hour trip to Oswego, and dinner is already planned as left over wings & pizza. Oh well, maybe next time or maybe I'll find it somewhere else on my journeys.

I added a couple of photos of the Nantucket Recycling Center (or Dump), as well as a couple of the Farm and one of the windmill. The windmill used to have the sails on almost every day, grinding corn meal for sale. While I did see some sails during the two weeks I was here, I never saw it turning.

They do lots of composting at the recycle center since there is only so much room for trash on an island. The topsoil & compost is free for the taking.

The Take It or Leave It building was closed today, but the rest of the place was open for business. There is so much stuff left at the Take It or Leave It, particularly books & clothing, that they close it and spend a couple of days clearing it out, getting ready for the next week. When I was there on Monday, all the bookshelves were full, and there was a 2' deep pile on the table next to the shelves. There is a 20' X 20' table for clothes, and it was piled 3' high, with about 10 people sorting through the pile. I hope they do something with the clothing since most of it is pretty usable stuff. Of course, getting large amounts of anything off island ends up being expensive since it needs to ride on the ferry.  As usual, more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

I'm now packing since it is easier now than at 5:30AM!

Dinner was left over pizza & wings.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 13

A Couple of Trees

David woke up this morning with a bad tooth ache. The problem is his dentist, a friend of the family (therefore inexpensive) is in NY. So, he is off to NY for a trip to the dentist on his motorcycle. He'd rather take the van, but you don't need reservations for a motorcycle on the ferry, and this time of year the Nantucket to Hyannis ferries are pretty solidly booked.

I got the "Rosie" instructions (his lab) so I think I can handle things on this end.

I made a quick trip to the Madaket Mall to drop off some already read books (and, of course, pick up a few more), along with a small squeegee to wipe down the trailer shower. I also stopped to photograph a couple of trees at one of the Land Bank locations. The Land Bank consists of chunks of the island that are purchased with a fee added to all land sakes. The idea is to try to keep the entire island from becoming a housing development. The "Farm" is a large piece of land that the Land Bank manages that has walking & running paths that are very popular.

While Dave likes to eat around 7:00, since he isn't here, it will be an early dinner at my usual 5:00. Pizza & wings from the Muse.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 12

A slow, humid Sunday. No rain, but you can cut the air. After my walk I sat around reading, then headed to Shop & Stop for some shopping bags for Anne. Evidently, she likes the Nantucket bags; asked me to pick up a couple. I also got some broccoli for dinner.

After that it was back to reading. I'm currently reading the Earthrise series (books 1 - 6) by Daniel Arenson. A "Shoot em Up" space war series that is OK, but not up to Heinlein's stuff. In any case, I'll try to keep at it although the 6 books add up to 13 hours of read time.

Dinner was Flank Steak & Broccoli.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 11

Our Limit of Clams

An early morning; up at 5:30 to catch the tide for clamming. Somewhat foggy, but not so much that we couldn't find the clamming area. Also quite cool. The water actually felt just about as warm as the air. We s0pent a couple of hours working in waist deep water, each getting our limit.

Back at the house I spent the rest of the morning reading.

Dinner was hamburgers & Clams Casino.  Clams Casino are raw clams on the half shell covered with ground up Ritz crackers soaked in butter, covered with a chunk of bacon, & baked until the bacon is done.  A great way to do clams!

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 10

I dropped Don & Anne at the Fast Ferry dock around 9:00AM for the 9:30 ferry to Hyannis. Very foggy this morning, and quite cool. I even wore a sweatshirt. After getting back, I didn't do much at all. I finished Deaver's Kill Room, and Lee Goldburg's The Walk, and started Earthrise by Danial Arenson.

David spent the afternoon making toasted almonds. A recipe from my mother that skins raw almonds, and toasts them in butter. Delicious!

Dinner was left over sausage & sauce in sub rolls.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 9

JFK's Bunker

Another nice day on Nantucket. We did our Sconset run, a trip to the far end of the island to photograph some of the cottages in the village. I also took a photo of the merry go round horse at the Chanticleer Restaurant, a horse that my mother painted a number of times.

After that is was a stop at Tom Nevers & the old navel base that has been converted in to ball fields, etc. There is an underground bunker that was built for JFK when he was president. The idea was he would be helicoptered form Hyannis to Nantucket where there was expected to be less fallout form bombing Boston. There is a rumor that it is going to be turned into a museum. Many more photos at today's LakeshoreImages post.

The next stop was the downtown wharf to see the boats & stop for ice cream at the Stars, and Leah's Fudge. We passed up the fudge at $24.99 per pound. The last stop was at the Nantucket Fish & Meat Market for some very expensive swordfish for dinner.

Dinner was swordfish, rice & asparagus.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 8

Part of the Harbor

A bit cloudy, but no rain today. I went for my walk, but it was cut short - a 8" deep lake across the road on the only route I use to do my walk. I did a shorter walk along part of the Land Bank property along Millbrook Road.

After the walk, we headed to town to check out some of the favorite places, did a bit of shopping, and visited the Hospital Thrift Shop. Of course the trip included a stop at Stop & Shop. I took a few photos downtown that you can see at today's LakeshoreImages post.

Dinner way a barbecued chicken David cooked on a rotisserie in the grill, and corn on the cob.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 7

Clamming never happened - it rained all day. During one of the short breaks I installed the new magnetic switch on David's table saw. While it is done & it worked, I'm not proud of the work. The new switch has non standard holes & threads for the connectors. I did have one plastic one in the tool box that fit, but I had to do lots of modifications to get both the motor & power connections. As I said, it works, and that is the most important, at least for Dave.

We spent the rest of the day reading. Current book Jeffery Deaver's The Kill Room, a Lincoln Rhyme book. I've read a bunch of them, and this one is one I missed, so I'm reading in between books. Not as much fun when you know who survives, but I still enjoy the series.

Dinner was left over spaghetti & salad.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 6

After my morning walk to the farm, we hung around for a bit, then headed to Madaket Mall (the dump) & the Take it or Leave it building for books. I found a few. Anne found a new coffee pot to replace the one that produces disappearing water & coffee. After that it was off the Stop & Shop for stuff for making sauce to dinner.

Jack stopped by with the parts to fix the boat motor, and it is now working well. I started the spaghetti sauce around 1:30, and Anne & Don will watch it while Dave & I head out for clams. Low tide is going to be around 4:00, so it might be a late dinner.

Well, we put off clamming until tomorrow. Just couldn't work out the timing for making the spaghetti dinner with the tide time for the clams. Hope the weather will hold.

Dinner was spaghetti using spaghetti squash &  meatballs with oatmeal rather than bread crumbs  to keep the carbs down for David. We also tried Beyond Meat sausage. Like their hamburgers, it wasn't quite the same as pork based sausage, but very good. We had the hot version, and while it wasn't all that hot, it was OK.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 5

The plan was to go clamming after lunch today. We loaded up the boat, threaded our way through Nantucket Sunday traffic, and hit the boat launch. Lost of boats tied up (the ramp is for launching only) including a 1.5 million dollar yacht. We got the boat in the water, but the engine refused to run. We finally gave up & Dave went to get the truck to pull the boat. Parking for a truck & boat trailer was bad enough that it took 10 minutes just to get to & from the truck.

While waiting, holding the boat in place with a bow & stern line, the guy with the big boat pulled out, then backed in on my side. He pushed enough water that I could barely keep the boat from climbing up the ramp & out of the water. He finally realized that he wasn't being nice, and pulled out long enough for us to get the boat on the trailer.

So, a clam less afternoon. Dave's next door neighbor is a mechanic for one of the local boat yards, so he took a look at it & decided the gas lines need replacing. That will be tomorrow morning's project.

Dinner was left over brisket & salads.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 4

The Brisket

After my morning walk, I sat around cooling off, then had some magic coffee. I say magic, because when I made coffee, I filled the carafe to 10 cups, put 10 cups worth of coffee in the basket, fired it up & waited. Seems to take longer than my home coffee put, but the reason is it is somehow teleporting 3-4 cups of water somewhere, or miraculously storing the extra water. Only 6 cups of coffee end up in the carafe. While I suspect it is actually going up in steam, that isn't as much fun as the previous ideas! In any case, the first pot of coffee I made was very strong.

David started the brisket I brought from Oswego, and purchased at Walmart (who knew they had them) around 6:00AM. It has been in the smoker all day at 250°F. He has a large smoker that he uses for pig roasts, but he is using the smaller one for the brisket. His outdoor cooking area has a large fireplace for making coals for the smoker, a pizza oven, and a couple of smokers.

Around 1:30 we headed to Stop & Shop for supplies for dinner. First time I used Apple Pay. Sure is easier than digging my card out of the wallet buried in one of the cargo pockets in my shorts. It is now around 2:30 & we are doing absolutely nothing, although the brisket is happily smoking away.

Dinner was the brisket with a bunch of salads & deviled eggs.

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 3

Nantucket Harbor From the Fast Ferry Dock

We started off the day with a trip to the police station to get a clamming permit for me. I now have a lifetime permit for Nantucket - pays to be old!

The plan was to take the boat to one of David's favorite spots, but first we had to get the trailer lights working. Quite a project. The previous wirer decided to tie the ground & tail lights together, which made a dead short if the truck's lights were on. We tried using the old wiring after fixing it, but that meant using the trailer frame as a ground. It didn't work well, so we finally rewired the entire thing. By then it was too late to go clamming, so maybe tomorrow.

I forgot to tell the Guido's that coming to Nantucket on a Friday is a bad idea. The traffic held them up to the point where they got to wave at the 2:45 boat as it headed out without them. At least they didn't get their luggage on the cart. The plan now is to catch the 5:00 Fast Ferry & arrive around 6:00.

While we were text messaging back & forth (what did I do before I had unlimited texting?) I checked out the magnetic starter on the table saw. Unfortunately, it is dead, and even more unfortunately, obsolete. An exact replacement (used) is over $400.00. I don't know all that much about magnetic starters, but it looks like I can get a replacement from Amazon for around $70.00 so I'll give it a try. The worst that could happen is I'll let the magic smoke out of the starter. It should arrive before I leave, although Amazon Prime doesn't always manage to do two days on the Island.

Well, the Guido's caught the 5:00 Fast Ferry, but it wasn't so fast - it arrived at 6:12. I took a couple of harbor photos while waiting. Check today's LakeshoreImages page for more.

We ordered a bunch of pizzas for dinner. They are off David's diet, but he is allowed every once in awhile...

Until tomorrow -

Nantucket, Day 2

Not much happening today. I went for a 2 mile walk, then spent the rest of the day sitting around reading. Current book is Cuba Strait by Carsten Stroud.

Dinner will be Swordfish and rice.

Nantucket - Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Waiting For the Ferry in Hyannis

A relatively quiet, but long drive to Hyannis. I'm not used to doing 400 miles in a day, although I didn't have the trailer behind me so passing wasn't so bad. I did discover that Massachusetts doesn't have toll booths anymore. I 90 in MA is divided into sections, with a plate reader (and a EZpass reader) at each section. I hate toll roads, but it is the fastest way to get to Hyannis, and I did have a ferry to catch. They charge quite a bit more for billed mileage - I'll get the bill when I get home.

Not much sun on the drive, and a bit of light rain off & on.

I took a few photos at the Hyannis Steamship Authority building, then loaded into the ferry. While the ferry deck was full with cars & trucks (they can load a bunch of 18 wheelers in the Eagle), the snack bar section was almost empty. About a 2 1/2 hour ride.  A couple more photos at today's post at LakeshoreImages.

Nantucket traffic is as bad as usual - long waits at every at stop sign. The roads seem narrower, but that is just because the F 150 is wider, as are the towing mirrors.

Dave & I made a quick run to Stop & Shop for some supplies.

Dinner was sirloin tip, a salad, and an Amy's side dish.

Heading to Nantucket

It has been another 3 years since I've visited my brother Dave on Nantucket Island since I was on cross country trips the last 2 summers.

I've been trying to get this year's crop of blueberries harvested. They are very late this year - I had picked 8 6 cup bags by the 4th last year & while there are plenty on the bushes, most are still green this year. I did manage to put away 3 bags, and hope the birds will leave some for me when I get back to Oswego in 2 weeks.

The truck is packed (well, started) and I plan to leave around 7:00AM. That gives me an extra hour - you don't want to miss the ferry since it is heavily booked, and the cost this year is $537.00 round trip! I don't know if it is inflation or the bigger truck, but more than the last trip. It is a better deal for David coming from the Island. Round trip for natives is around $250.00. Only fair, since they have to go to the mainland for what ever you can't get on the island.

Guidos plan to arrive on Friday. I'm hauling a whole brisket for David to smoke for one of his "friends gathering". He also mentioned that the table saw is not starting, so be sure to bring my tools...

Until tomorrow -