Thunderstorms, laundry and lunch

Thunderstorms, laundry and lunch   ...   Thursday 27^th June 2013

Just when I sit down to start the blog, another thunderstorm rolls in.  Yesterdays’ storm was a little earlier—before sunset.  The lightning was amazing.  Mike and I stood in the cockpit to experience the storm.  The one flash that was simultaneous with crackling noise made me retreat into the cabin.  So far this one is just warming up.  That’s okay with me as I am sitting right next to the mast.  I find myself wondering if a T-storm a day is going to be the new pattern.

This morning we inflated the dinghy and puttered to the dock to go do the laundry.  We knew where to go, having done laundry here back in October.  Pasted to the door of the laundromat was a sign say “Will be right back”.  Something about the place led us to suspect that no-one had “been back” for quite some time.  Mike trotted across the street to inquire. Rumor has it that the laundry closed down in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  We traipsed back to the dock with our dirty clothes and returned to Cotinga.  Hand washing some items seemed the only solution.  We draped the wet clothes over the life-lines and gave the boat a real live-aboard look.  It seemed amusing that we went all the way to the Bahamas and always found somewhere to wash our clothes.  Once we got back to New Jersey, we had to resort to hand washing.

We met up with my friend Janet and her husband Brian for lunch.  We tried to go to the most highly rated place in Atlantic Highlands--a fish restaurant.  Despite driving back and forth past the claimed location, we couldn’t find it.  I think it might have been a case of “Laundromat syndrome”.

The Thai restaurant was still in operation and served up a fine lunch.  It was great to chat with Janet and Brian, hearing about their Hurricane Sandy adventures.  After lunch, we brought them out to the boat for a tour.  I think they found the boat “deceptively spacious”.  That being an old UK real estate phrase roughly translating to “pretty darn tiny” 

Gloria

Boat returning to Atlantic Highlands harbor during a thunderstorm

A view across the harbor after the storm had passed

Close to sunset - Atlantic Highlands