2023-07-30 From sleepy New England Stonington to Busy crowded Newport

We got to Fishers Island early Sunday morning, as the museum Kris wanted to see was only open from 11 to 12.   We arrived in plenty of time, after motoring over from Enders Island.

"Small" home on the point near Enders Island

The Henry L. Ferguson Museum was small, but since we were the only people waiting for it to open, we got the grand tour, with 1/2 talk on the history of the island, the people that have owned it, and other information from the docent, who also lives on the island, and whose family was part of the group of the last owners.  Kris new about the marina because of their Osprey WebCam she found last year.  

Nice sculpture outside museum

Museum has small trail walk with froggy and turtle filled pond

Inside museum

After the museum, we headed back to the boat, where it was surprisingly rolly with boat traffic.   

It calmed down at night and in the morning so early next morning Dean jumped in and started to clean the bottom of the boat which had a surprising amount of waterline scum.

After the cleaning we decided to move, and  headed over to Stonington, CT. which was only a few miles away.

Stonington has a small anchorage area, but nice dinghy dock, and is kind of a sleepy little town with a few tourists, but mostly locals.

The wind was calm so Kris decided to work under the boat on a sealing project.

Knee bracing was critical to hold the kayak in position while working

After the work, we walked up to get ice cream, and enjoyed seeing all the different homes and architecture.

Old lighthouse and now museum - we didn't go in ($10 each - rather have ice cream)

Nicely kept up old home

Quite the different style of home from the previous photo

We thought maybe old church - but it is a private residence.

Someone important lived here once

Not all the homes in the best shape - quite the lean on this one

Beautiful gate

We decided to leave the next day for Newport, as the winds were going to build to over 20, and we did not want to sail in that.  We made the right choice and had a beautiful sail up to Newport, RI.  

Scenery along the way to Newport.  Nice lighthouse and "small homes"

I don't know how we do it, but always manage to end up in Newport during the Folk Festival, which is held at Fort Adams, and draws large crowds, and lots of boats.  Watching boats is fun, but makes the anchorage difficult.

Fun watching boat traffic

Harbor gets crowded

We found a nice spot next to another Manta - Osprey.  Met Will, who is a new owner and had a nice chat with him.    It was time for a walk to get some groceries.  Kris wanted to walk by the Umbrella Sky display.  More impressive in the write up than in person.

Pretty to look at

Will had recommend a stop on our way to the grocery store at Aardvark Antiques, so we took his advice and did a quick stop.  It is an amazing store with more sculptures and yard art than you can count.

Looks perfect for your average suburban home

Quite an eclectic mix

Swordfish, frogs, flying dogs, and more

Inside is just as amazing

Quite the place, with quite the mix of items.

After our Aardvark Antique store detour, we did our shopping at the Walmart and Stop and Shop groceries, and back to boat.

Some strong north winds were predicted, and Kris was nervous as we would have a rock breakwater behind us when the wind shifted, so we moved to a new spot, which looked great.  We watched a couple of boats drag while the winds built, and then around 9:00 they shifted to the north, and we found ourselves too close to a boat that was now behind us.   Since they were they first - we had to move, and of course it started to dump rain.  So we upped anchor and tried to find a new spot in a very tight anchorage while the rain was pouring and it was dark.   Could not find anything we were happy with, so after our third attempt - we gave up and headed to a new anchorage about a mile north.   Spent a very lumpy night, but no danger of hitting another boat.   Oh Well - that's boat life.

We will stay in Newport a couple more days, and then spend some time exploring more of Narraganset Bay.