Yesterday started as most Saturdays; dump run, bank (for allowances, paychecks are direct deposited), breakfast at the local diner, and laundry. After that, it was anything but a normal Saturday.
WS and I jumped on the bike, met with WS's brother and his wife and headed of to Portsmouth to see the Tall Ships. We had good riding weather; in the mid 70's and and cloudy. Okay, so it was very cloudy and I was constantly looking at the sky to see when we would be hit by rain. At least it wasn't in the 90's - hot enough to not be pleasant on the bike as the sun is baking down on you (yes, we have had a couple of stretches in the 90's already this season - which is rather hot when the rest of the time it has been in the 60's to mid-70's).
We were almost to the parking lot when we ran into a bit of rain - just enough to remind us Mother Nature could turn nasty anytime. But, the clouds cleared out and we had mild weather while we were waiting in line to tour the ships. Once we got on board, it was clear that we had a bonus; not only was this the first time in nearly 100 years that 3 tall ships were at Portsmouth at once, but there was a 4th ship from the Netherlands, the Urania. Here is a list of all the ships participating in the Tall Ships Challenge(R) to Nova Scotia.
Three ships were tied next to each other, which made getting from one to the other easy by just hopping the railings. The Pride of Baltimore II was tied up separately and was the last ship we visited. This ship is a replica of an 1812-era clipper and she was a beauty! The serious time and skill that went into the woodwork of the lifeboats, masts and railings resulted in pure beauty. Checking out the old time anchor system of gears/locks was interesting (I think I am the only one that got to see a slight adjustment on the line so I know that it wasn't just for show. As we were almost ready to leave, the clouds came scuttling back in.
After the tour it was 5:30, wow, where does the time go? We headed for the bikes and decided to check out the Albacore, since that was the parking lot the bikes were in. Alas, the museum was closing, so we didn't get to tour the sub, but we did take a gander at her hull and some dedication plaques. Naturally, it started raining during that time. We took shelter under some pines for a couple of minutes until the worst of it passed, then finished looking around and headed back to the bikes.
Everyone donned what gear they needed or had brought (BIL has a full dresser, so doesn't need much, WS and I donned full gear and SIL had her jacket and helmet). We rode towards home in the rain, but soon it slowed to sporadic drops. Even those hurt at 50-60 MPH, but you gotta go anyway. By the time we got to Concord, we were dry but hungry. So we stopped and had some superb steaks, then headed home. We rolled into the driveway about 10 PM.
It was a really nice day. For once, a bike ride did not end in me being sunburned, and I only had to put on sunscreen once (and I was in a tank top until we suited up when we left Portsmouth). Good riding, great ships to tour (even a bonus ship), good company, good food, and no sunburn. Can't ask for anything better than that!
Since we didn't stop when you got off the bypass I didn't get a chance to thank you for inviting us and the great dinner. I didn't realize you got to see them make the adjustment to the anchor, I was trying to figure out how they operated it.
Posted by: Bil | July 08, 2007 at 11:04 PM
YOu are more than welcome. I took pictures of the mechanism and will try to explain it when the film comes back.
Posted by: Bogie | July 09, 2007 at 03:56 AM
Sounds like you had a wonderful day! And well-deserved after all the work you've been through. Good for you..hope you have many more great days like that!
Posted by: Matty | July 09, 2007 at 11:59 PM
that sounds wonderful,glad you had such a good time.
Posted by: bod | July 10, 2007 at 02:24 PM
What a great day! We've had the pleasure of visiting some of the tall ships several times when they've come to the Southwest coast of Lake Michigan. We saw them first in Racine, and then here in Chicago. There's a picture of Dear Husband lounging against the aft rail of the Serenity on my blog. She's one of the smallest of the tall ships that come into Lake Michigan. Fascinating, aren't they? Baltimore has a right to be proud of Pride II, she's a lovely vessel.
Posted by: buffy | July 12, 2007 at 12:11 AM
I never realized that the tall ships went up thru the lakes - glad you get to see some of them too!
Posted by: Bogie | July 12, 2007 at 04:13 AM