Pictures of last few days.

The local swans that hang out at Consolidated Yacht

Stepping Stones Lighthouse

My piling

Last weeks storm rolling in

City Island, NY

Little space...lots of anchored boats at Block Island

Leaving Block Island

Air conditioner from outside

Air Conditioner from inside

Hello every one. This last week has been a bit of settling in, a bit of learning at the new job, and visiting with friends and bragging about "Chanty." Today I got the air conditioning going...it has been killer hot and uncomfortable. If any one wonders what an air conditioning unit on a boat looks like...check out the pictures. Since I will be sleeping day hours after today I want to be as comfortable as possible to be well rested for work. I have been finding places for everything and putting away off shore stuff and getting out living stuff. I still have a locker full of things that I have to go through and figure out what to do with. Not much room for stuff besides the basics. I think I will be putting a bunch of it on Catalina to have.

Catalina is sold! Still working out paper work and details.

The job at Cornell Presbyterian is going to be good. Very high end care and staff very knowledgeable. They do rounds twice a day and stay up to date on every detail. This is way up from Bronx-leb. I am no longer one of few white people but now blend in nicely with other white people of same age bracket. I will miss the diversity but welcome the newness and freshness of people knowing their field very well.

Some have asked what really is a Neuro Science ICU. This unit brings in people with head injuries, or head/brain tumors who usually have some sort of surgery and need super close monitoring. A lot of them have part of their skulls removed to let the brain swell without causing too much pressure in there and causing damage. Some of them have that piece of bone placed in their abdomen until it is ready to be placed back on the head. Interesting, huh. I look forward to all the things I will be learning and have been impressed with staff to are willing to teach. It reminds me a lot of St. Mary's.

The first few pictures were still on the camera until now. There were just so many boats back at Block Island...hardly a place to throw the anchor...

Back to the working world.

I am back on City Island and feel good. I had a good last 6weeks on my trip back down to NY. I learned a lot about sailing and about Chanty, learned a lot of myself, and really enjoyed it all despite that problems that come along with it all. I am seeing things that I am doing now that 2years ago I wouldn't believe that I would be doing. I have become comfortable handling a boat myself and having this much of a good time. I am in NY working...somewhere I thought i would never go being a farm girl and all.

Its good to come back the friends I had made here previously. A year ago this time I came in on the Catalina from Michigan and Lucile, another sailor, was on her boat watching me come in. I was asking the usual questions of where is the dock master and who do I tell that I am here. She laughed and said, "not here at Consolidated, come and have some pancakes." This time around I was happy to she was on her boat and we had dinner along with her husband Fred. I didn't know chili dogs could be so good after eating canned food and pasta for so long. I am now caught up on the latest since I was gone. Today was a day of getting the outboard motor off the Catalina to get fixed and then towing her out to a mooring and bringing Chanty in to the dock to live on. I took a dip in the NY yucky water that makes me squirm a little but it is so hot...i feel better

Tomorrow I start work, I look forward to starting out new again. I feel renewed and refreshed ready to "fight infection and save lives," like my old co-worker Michelle at St. Mary's used to say. This new chapter is welcomed by me. I will probably not be having nearly as many pictures as I have been having these last few weeks and the posts probably a little less often.

Thank you all who have followed along with the blog and have found it interesting!

Block Island, RI

Today is one of those days where its rainy, super windy and wet. Perfect for touring...less people. I really liked Block Island, RI. Probably because I actually had to go into town and do some printing again at the local library. It was a mile walk across the island to the other side where another harbor was. Did a little geocaching while I was there and ran across these animals. I had to laugh at these animals...they just didn't move and they just sit there blinking. You could probably throw a stone at that llama and it would just keep chewing and blinking. And these llamas look like they are hip high in mud or something but they just tuck their legs under like that.

At the trail that I took to the cache had this really cool way of making stepping stones. The idea was all those cool little things that you collect along the beach or were ever. You give them to these people there and they make either a clay or cement stepping stone with all the stones and shells etc on the top. It gave a lot of creativity to the trail. They were making one as I walked by...I was wishing badly I could have donated my little collection from a few posts earlier.

Martha's Vinyard

Yesterday after going through the Cape Cod Canal I stopped in Martha's Vineyard to get fuel, groceries and water in the town of Menemsha. It is a great little fishing town. I guess there used to be a lot of sword fishing here. Twenty five years ago they would bring in 200 a week in 2006 only 2 were brought in.

The anchorage area is outside of the harbor in open sea. That was a little weird. I woke early since the wind was picking up and the boat swinging sharply from side to side. I motored in early to the fuel dock. It was 6:30 am and already busy with fisherman...didn't "open" until 7:00. I was not the first one there. I managed to find a wharf to put the boat while I did a quick tour of the small town and got some fruit and other fresh stuff. Great place...even got a shower at the beach showers. I was off and on my way by 8:30...not bad. On to Block Island.

Cape Cod, MA

lobster buoys every where

Lady bug that showed up out of nowhere

Birds making home in marker

Bridge raised in Cape Cod Canal

The little tyke getting towed

Ended up taking the Cape Cod Canal and going to Martha's Vineyard. The Cape Cod bay was very calm...and hot. Water was like glass as you can see in the buoy pictures. The canal wasn't anything spectacular ended up going against the tide so it was a little slow...but it beat going all the way around Cape Cod itself.

What is Geocaching?

Some of you may be wondering what Geocaching is. I will explain. I started Geocaching when I was working at St. Mary's in Grand Rapids. One of my patients was a geocacher and her husband (since the patient was intubated) told me everything there is to know to start geocaching. I thought it sounded interesting. After she left the hospital...I had an invitation from them to out "geocaching." So we went on-line to see where there were some geocaches and then went to find them. They brought me to a couple that they did before just so that I could go to one that they knew for sure was there.

OK, so what is it? Geocaching requires a GPS unit. You sign up on-line, its free for entry level, which is what I am. (If you want to be more advanced in the membership you start to pay member ship fees.) You put in the area you want to go like zip or state and it brings up all the geocaches in that area. Each geocache has a little description about the cache and something about the area...which is usually a cool place and the point is to get you there. There is a 1 to 5 rating scale of difficulty, terrain, size and some sort of clue to help you find it. So after you have decided which ones to do you take your GPS and get get it. When you find it depending on the size, you find stuff, usually just junk. There is always a log book to sign. Then you can leave things or take things. Some times there are "bugs" that have numbers that identify them and you bring them from cache to cache. Some have goals like, "bring me to Cape Cod" or something like that. Then over time the owner can track where it has gone and see if it ever gets to its goal. Anyway, when you get home then you go on-line and "log your visit." Over time you get better and better at it and its gets a little addicting. You can go to the geocaching site but of course they don't give you any coordinates unless you sign up. But at least you can see what its about and get more details. If any one wants to go...I be glad to show you how.

Ren and Mike, how what that for a geocaching seller!!!

I forgot to mention, when you go geocaching it brings you to places you might never have gone. So if you like to explore...you would like it.

Swimming...bbuuurrrr

My findings for the day

Cape Elizabeth

Crescent Beach State Park happened to be where i landed yesterday. There were a few caches there so I went exploring. It was getting hot so i went swimming for the first time on this trip...refreshing. One of those take your breath away experiences.

Fort Gorges, Maine

This morning before heading out to to do lab work I went to find some caches. Fort Gorges happened to be in rowing distance. Pretty cool place. Still open to the public but you have to find your own way there. So off I went to row .77 miles at 0700 in my shit dingy with no oar locks. It was worth it...I got to have the whole island to myself and look around.

These sculptures were in the area that I rowed to shore. As I was looking for caches the wind was picking up and had an eye on Chanty just in case the anchor didn't hold. I figured I would be OK since the anchor held for 2 tide cycles already. I was wrong, she was dragging and was getting very close to another moored sailboat. It was a rough row out as there was breaking waves. By the time I had got out there Chanty was in between the mooring ball and the other boat. It was just way to close. Pulled up anchor which was super difficult...really sore from that. Ended up getting caught on some rope down there so the anchor was fouled up and couldn't keep hold on ground.

To Portland,ME

So time to start heading back to NYC. I have to do a drug test and already had my PPD test but just need to have it read. Portland was the next place that would probably have a walk-in clinic for this. I did a nice overnight passage, no wind, no waves, great sunset, full moon and great visibility.

You like my head thing? A souvenir from Bar Harbor Thrift store. I don't think I would make a good pirate. It would have been perfect if I had a little parrot for that space on my shoulder right there on the right side.