Travelling and Shopping in Salem

Saturday, July 20 2019

Today was a long day of travel.  I was up at 3:00 and on board an Uber at 4:00 am for the first flight (leaving at 6:30 am) from San Jose to San Diego.   During the short layover I was able to buy a sandwich for the next flight, to Boston, which was a good thing as there are few food choices on board.

I arrived in Boston to find a temperature of 100 degrees, though it felt worse due to the humidity.  Didn't really affect me since I was going from air conditioned building, to air conditioned bus, and then on to the rental car.  However, we did have to stand outdoors in a long line for the Enterprise car rental.  Enterprise is a favorite among Loopers, since they offer a 10% discount.   Supposedly this discount is only in states where the Loop passes through (of which Massachusetts is not one), but they have included that state in the discount program.

It was a bit of bedlam in the car assignment area.  I was assigned to one car, only to find that the car had already been assigned to someone else.   They then "upgraded" me to a Nissan Armada.  I like the nautical name, but the thing is a bit of a behemoth, with seating for eight. 

The Behemoth - Actually, quite a nice car to drive
Sunday, July 21 was a day of avid shopping!  I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy pillows for myself and guests, and Dicks Sporting Goods to buy a sleeping bag for guests as well as a rain jacket, since the weather is expected to turn abruptly from the current 100+ heat wave to rain and cooler weather.

Guests will need to have a pair of binoculars




I went to West Marine to buy a handheld marine radio Thanks to generous friends at Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, who got me a gift card for West Marine!

Comments

Post a Comment

Please feel free to leave your comments.

Popular posts from this blog

Sunny Tug Returns to Shore, Upgrades and Repairs, and Shipping to Chicago

Image
Friday, August 2, 2019 This is an update on the crazy last couple of days since we returned Sunny Tug to Winter Island Yacht Yard on Tuesday, July 30. I had a list of 18 items that needed to be looked at based on our shakedown cruise.  The two  biggies were the electrical system problems and the AIS (Automatic Identification System) not working. Here is a good write up on the West Marine website of how AIS works . The original plan was that Sunny Tug would be picked up Thursday, August 1 to start the transport to Chicago.   She actually left on Saturday morning, but Roland Hanes, the trucker, thinks he can still get to Chicago on Monday. Roland unloading a new Ranger Tug in preparation for loading Sunny Tug It was a long, and at times crazy, couple of days.   It was good getting to help out with some of the work at the yard, so I could learn a bit more about my boat but it was also tiring.  Thankfully, the heat that we first had when I arrived in Salem had eased a bit, th
Read more

A nice run down the Tennessee to a secure anchorage.

Image
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 Days 54 on the Loop – Pebble Isle Marina - Tennessee River to Double Island Anchorage (46.54 Miles). Pebble Island Marina was nice.    It was nice having shore power (electricity) to turn on the heat in the morning, since it was quite chilly.   I am supposed to have a diesel powered heater on board, but that has never worked and I have not been able to find anywhere to fix it. Vicki returning to the boat at Pebble Isle Marina On the dock at Pebble Island Marina In the morning many Loopers went to the office to pick up cinnamon rolls that the marina provides to guests.  :)  We skipped on that, but other said they liked them. Before leaving the marina I spent some time on the phone making calls to ask for quotes for having Sunny Tug trucked from Iuka MS (Aqua Yacht Harbor) to Orange Beach, AL (Saunders Yacht Services).  Lady Finger Promontory on the Tennessee River The ride up the Tennessee River was very pleasant, with
Read more

Paducah to Green Turtle Bay Marina (Grand Rivers, KY)

Image
Sunday, September 22, 2019 Day 37 on the Loop – Paducah to Grand Rivers, KY (Green Turtle Bay Marina) (38.6 miles) It was nice to get a more relaxed start to the day since we only had about 45 miles to go today, and one lock to go through.   Our berth last night was on the shore side of the floating dock at Paducah, which was nice since it protected us from the wakes of passing tows. We had thought about joining other Loopers going to brunch in Paducah, but decided that with a lock to go through (which always is a roll of the dice for time) we would start earlier. After a short time on the Ohio River we transitioned to the Cumberland.   Whereas the Ohio had been very wide, the Cumberland was much smaller, and a bit more scenic.  It was also interspersed some large gravel pits and the occasional tow. Gravel plant along the Cumberland River In one instance the tow called us on the radio to discuss a passing situation, but in most cases it was us calling them to ask which
Read more