Hurry Up and Wait!

Thursday, 23 May – Sunday, 26 May – Hoffman’s Marina West, Brielle, NJ

Thursday – A small craft advisory and thunderstorms were projected for the next few days, so we settled in to wait out the inclement weather. Joan (Teaghlach) organized an outing. Larry, the marina’s owner, gave us a ride over the bridge to Point Pleasant. Walking toward the beach, we saw several homes still under repair from hurricane Sandy. One was up on blocks. The owner said it was less expensive to raise it than to pay 40 years of flood insurance, and he did not ever want his furniture to be soaked in seawater again. From the boardwalk, we could see the

dense fog over the water. Vendors were busy preparing their shops for the coming Memorial Day weekend. One can’t go to the boardwalk at the beach without eating fries and an ice cream cone and checking out the stuffed toys you can win at the arcades. We found a new lawn chair gnome to replace
the old one that broke. We met a high school teacher, Kristine,

who was also the Chair Councilwoman of Point Pleasant and who was honorary mayor this week while the mayor was out of town. She gave us juggle balls (actually hand exercise balls) that her students were distributing to seniors.
Governor Christie is coming to town next week, so she was busy preparing for his entourage. We found a great Italian market – Joe Leone’s – somewhat like Mazzara’s in St Pete. Bought lobster ravioli and vodka sauce for dinner. The owner, Joe, told us the story of how he opened a bakery when he was 21, then expanded from there – truly an American success story. Joe gave us a ride back to the marina.

Friday was a cold and rainy day, just right for doing laundry, paying bills, fixing stuff, and planning next week’s travel. The full moon exaggerated the tides, and with the fixed dock, we could not get out of the boat at low tide.

A duck found a home on our swim platform. Looked injured, but it swam away eventually.  We watched the Yankees beat the Rays at the Sand Bar lounge.

Saturday was cloudy and breezy, 54 degrees, although the sun peeked out a bit in the late morning. Walking over to the Quick Mart and liquor stores, we stopped half way for some hot tea at a brunch café that delivers to the

marina (even in gale winds). We reached the conclusion that the most useful items we brought with us on this trip were a ceramic heater and winter clothes. Waiting for the weather to improve. Monday looks promising.

 

On Sunday it was cool and breezy, 57 degrees, but beautiful blue sky! It actually hit 70 degrees today. Planned the trip and prepped the boat for departure tomorrow, when the small craft advisory will be dropped. The Rays finally beat the Yankees – yeah! We met Deb

and Rick Chabot (What’s Next??) and Gary and Christelle Donovan (Time and Tide), both Canadian couples finishing the loop. We enjoyed dinner at the Sand Bar, comparing our different plans for travel in the next few days.  We
were treated to a beautiful sunset over the harbor.