Days 6-9:  June 5-8, 2018

The morning of June 5^th, I somewhat expected the marina to be buzzing with discussions of the previous night’s events, but no such occurrence.  I did hear hushed tones among the marina staff and asked outright what happened after I described my previous night’s experience.  Apparently, one of the live-aboards had a guest who had a heart condition staying with him.  After the guest left to use the restroom but didn't return, the live aboard contacted the marina manager who searched the marina and found the body in the water.  No official word on the actual cause of death but I speculate that the guest had a heart event, fell in the water and was either dead when he fell in or died in the water.  So, foul play was ruled out.  I felt a bit safer.

We treated ourselves to breakfast at the little shop on the corner near the marina, mailed some letters at the mailbox in front of the nearby district courthouse, and enjoyed City Park with its fountain and fish sculptures.  The day was overcast with intermittent showers, a perfect day for inside projects and just chilling.  That afternoon we took a walk to the Constitution and around the Navy Pier neighborhood as well as a dock walk around the marina.  The crafts within the marina range from near derelict boats in need of extensive refurbishing to large luxury yachts with cleaning crews busily polishing and shining all surfaces.  This is a marina of contrasts, a microcosm of the macrocosm, right here!  That evening while having our wine on the flybridge, we watched as a storm moved over the Boston area.

Bob pets the fish sculpture!

Old Ironsides in her glory!

A storm moves over Charlestown. 
Note the Bunker Hill Monument in the right background

The next day, at the request of the dockmaster, we moved Velomer from D dock to T dock as the regular occupant of our D dock slip was returning to the marina.  T dock provided us a better view of the harbor but was closer to the Charlestown Bridge.  As a result, the noise level was a bit higher particularly at night.  I’ll take the view, thank you!  We met Carol Jackson for lunch as she was in Boston for the day and we had a wonderful time catching up.  After lunch, we checked the marina office and found that the new Keurig had arrived!

Velomer on T dock near the Charlestown Bridge (background)

Carol Jackson joined us in Boston.

Our new Keurig coffee maker!

That evening Bob’s cousin, Annie, and her husband, also Bob, came for a visit aboard Velomer.  Annie’s dad, Howard, recently passed away.  Howard, who was well into his 90s, was Bob’s mother’s first cousin whom we met decades ago in Tucson, Arizona and thoroughly enjoyed his mellowness and gentle ways.  We inquired about services for Howard and Annie replied that it was Howard’s wish not to have an obituary, funeral, or even a memorial service.  She did say that the internment was to be at Green Farm in East Greenwich, RI, the family homestead with a cemetery.  As we may very well be in that area aboard Velomer in the next week or so, we inquired about the date and time with thoughts of possibly attending.  At that point, Annie’s husband piped in, “Sorry, you are being disinvited.  Close family only.  I’m lucky I get to attend.” We’ve never heard of an invitation-only internment! Despite being disinvited, Annie and Bob’s visit was delightful.

In 1972, Annie’s husband kept a boat, which he described as” little more than a shed on a raft,” at the marina.  He abandoned it and apparently the marina used his boat as the location for vending machines after that.  We took a dockwalk to see if his boat was still around.  If it was, it was unrecognizable.  After many goodbyes and promises to keep in touch, Annie and Bob drove off.

The next morning, Thursday, we made coffee with the new Keurig.  I still felt a little bit guilty but thoroughly enjoyed my freshly brewed coffee on the flybridge.  The weather was slightly better than yesterday but still chilly with overcast skies.  Our morning and afternoon were filled with boat maintenance/projects.  

Bob continued to clean and polish/wax the exterior fiberglass.  I cooked one of our favorite dishes – chicken, tomatoes and okra – along with daily cleaning.  Our only “have to complete today” task was a visit to Ace Hardware to pick up our order of a Meyer’s hand cleaner refill bottle.  Of course, you can’t go to the hardware store and buy just one item so we also got shop towels and Minwax satin polyurethane to touch up the interior floor in the saloon.  As we were in the same shopping center as Whole Foods, a visit there was also indicated.  While at the center, Bob started up a conversation with a local and found out that there will be a parade on Sunday celebrating the Battle of Bunker Hill.  This will be a great way to spend part of Sunday.

CHHS 50th reunion -- a private event with Joyce Stevens!

Friday involved continued projects such as repairing/replacing some of the canvas snaps and tie-downs, more exterior fiberglass cleaning and polishing/waxing (a never ending activity) and general cleaning, organizing to keep things orderly on the boat (also a never ending activity).  The highlight of the day was having lunch with my high school buddy, Joyce Stephens, a classmate I highly regard – she doesn’t beat around the bush and tells it like it is.  She has been a North End resident for more than 30 years and knows the area so well.  She is a great resource for finding whatever you need from foodstuffs, to good restaurants, to where to find clean and safe public bathrooms, to specialty hardware.  Our 50^th high school reunion is coming up this fall and we decided to have our own private HS reunion and took a class picture!

While in Boston we also had a visit by my sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Bob Roemer.  Great to catch up with family!