Bristol and Fall River

9/14/2026

Update:

We are back in Bristol after spending the weekend in Fall River, on a mooring in Battleship Cove. In Battleship Cove I could almost reach out from our stern and touch a WWII submarine, the USS Lionfish. There were also two large ships very close by, a destroyer, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr and a battleship, the USS Massachusetts. Our boat looked really small in this mooring field. The Fall River Carousel was close by on shore right next to the mooring area. It’s restored from a local amusement park that Al remembers going to many times growing up in Fall River. The carousel was lit at night and very pretty. Families streamed in and out of the Carousel building all weekend. The price to ride the carousel is only $3.00 plus they have snacks and ice cream. The waterfront had a 3-mile walking path I made use of during some good weather on Saturday.

I do not have any exciting news to report. It is nice to post boring blogs after all the excitement earlier in our trip.  In the past few weeks, we have been getting together with friends and relatives and enjoying what has turned out to be our favorite place, Bristol Harbor. While still in the Newport anchorage we ran into a friend from home, Rick Meyer. He also moved his boat to Bristol for a few days, so we had Rick and his friends over for rum drinks one night. Al’s daughter and grandson Marcus visited us on Labor Day weekend.  Marcus was very interested in the boat, and we hope to take him sailing. Tuesday after Labor Day was a clear day so we took our buddies Joy and Mike out on the boat. We sailed down Narragansett Bay, under the Pell Newport Bridge, motored around Newport Harbor and then back to Bristol where we anchored again. Joy and Mike are like family to us, we have known them for years and are thrilled to have seen them several times this summer. Al’s sister-in-law Angie Lima and her family have been very welcoming to us. We have had multiple meals with them and always enjoy their company.

On this trip, we keep gravitating back to Bristol Harbor. It’s very easy to anchor there right outside the mooring fields. We attended two outdoor concerts, and Bristol is wonderful for taking long walks. There is a small downtown surrounded by residential streets of houses built in the 1800s. One day I walked for an hour and a half while talking to my cousin Frances on the phone. Labor Day in Bristol was especially nice. The weather was clear and cool; we stayed onboard Jade all day. There were boats of all types out in the harbor including some lovely classic sailboats. We could see people swimming off a little beach nearby. I felt like I was in an Impressionist painting things were so beautiful.

One thing we love about Bristol is that it is quiet. We don’t hear traffic noise or sirens. In Florida we live in a busy area so the change to a small town of approximately 22,000 people is a pleasure. Bristol Maritime Center is also near the anchorage and set up to help boaters. They have laundry facilities and very clean restrooms if we need to use the shower. Our boat does not have a water maker so saving water is always a concern. We have learned to bathe in a small amount of water but there is no getting around using water to wash dishes. Our methods seem to be working out, and we usually just fill up the water tanks when we get diesel fuel.  

We are now preparing for my niece Sarah’s visit. She will join us for a week, so we are planning meals and getting the boat in shape for a visitor.

That will be all for today. Thank you very much for reading and following this blog.

Love and peace,

Frances Lima

 

Amtrak to Philadelphia and back in New England

9/1/2026

Update:

We are currently anchored in Newport Harbor. The weather has been great the last few days and we are doing some sightseeing. Last week in Philadelphia we learned that my eye is healing and looks good. The vision in my left eye remains pretty bad. I can see everything but it’s blurry. A cataract operation will probably correct this; I’ll have that done at home in the Fall and as always hope for the best.

We took the Amtrak train to Philly and really liked it. We did not want to rent a car and drive through Connecticut, New York and New Jersey plus you pay a fortune to park at a hotel. For better or worse on the train there is no security, they don’t look at your bags or even your ID. The simplicity was refreshing. The seats were comfortable; we brought our own food and ate, slept and read the whole way, which took 5 hours.

In Philadelphia we learned we have been staying in the Midtown Village area. It reminds me of downtown St Petersburg and seemed especially nice on this visit. Maybe it was the cooler weather or maybe everyone left Philadelphia during the 250^th Fourth of July celebration when we were there last. Close to our hotel, at the 13^th Street and Sansom Street intersection there are restaurants everywhere, all charming and all with outdoor seating. Every place was full of people having a good time. There were also lots of cute little boutiques which I managed to avoid, with effort! We ate at Darling Jacks Tavern and enjoyed it.

The next morning, we caught the 6 am train back to Providence. The train was just as nice on the way back. We got off early at West Kingston, Rhode Island, to be closer to Wickford. The Kingston Station was like going back in time. We exited on to an outside platform and walked to the charming station house built in 1875. It was well preserved and on the National Register of Historic Places. I half expected a stagecoach to pull up instead of the Uber to take us back to the boat.

Moorings and the Florida excuse

It is much more interesting to report on problems than on regular life. Luckily, our problems lately are minor. We left Wickford Harbor on Friday, stopped for diesel, gas and water and made the 2 and ½ hour trip across Narragansett Bay without incident. Well, a small incident occurred in Wickford. To explain, I need to provide information about moorings.

To go to Philadelphia, we rented a mooring from the nice low-key Wickford Yacht Club. We found out about it on the internet, and this was our second stay there. The yacht club has a clubhouse, and docks for dinghies but no bar or restaurant. A guy named Chuck, who seems to be the main worker at the club, is the contact for the moorings. He buzzed out in his dinghy to greet us the first time we were there. He is very pleasant to deal with, has the nicest smile and I swear is always at the club.

Moorings are very common in New England instead of marinas. People keep their boats on moorings all summer and take the boat out of the water in the winter. Moorings are anchored to the bottom and have a large ball or barrel floating on the surface. They are identified with numbers or letters. A heavy rope called a pennant is attached to the ball or barrel; this is what a boater uses to attach to the mooring. Most moorings up here have a barrel shaped top so the pennant can be placed there, out of the water, when not in use. If left in the water, the pennant becomes encrusted with sea life. They can be very gross and dangerously sharp with barnacles or even oysters. I always put on gloves to pick up a mooring.  

When leaving the mooring in Wickford I dropped the pennant in the water instead of putting it on top of the mooring. I was just thinking about getting our lines off the pennant and not putting the pennant away properly. Oh, I was mad at myself. In boating there is a lot of etiquette and consideration for others is very important, plus we wanted to rent from Wickford Yacht Club again. We could not just leave that pennant in the water.

When I was growing up, it was popular to make fun of Polish people, remember that? There were tons of Polish jokes years ago. Now we have the Florida Man and it’s popular to make fun of Floridians. Since I am a native, I decided to use the Florida excuse. I sent Chuck an e mail apologizing for leaving the pennant in the water, saying it must be my Florida heritage at fault and invited him to have a beer or rum drink on our boat the next time we visit. At least we let him know so he could take the short trip out to the mooring in his dinghy and fix it. It worked. I received a nice reply from Chuck. Now we feel comfortable going back there and are looking forward to having Chuck on the boat for drinks.

That will be it for today. It’s great to report on such minor issues! Thanks very much for reading the blog.

Love and Peace,

Frances Lima