Oct 1 - 4 : Hamburg Cove

     We spent six nights all together in Hamburg Cove, waiting out the howling Northeast winds that dropped several inches of rain up in Maine.  It rained on and off much of the time here, but much of it was a cold drizzle, just enough to keep up indoors cuddled up to the heater.  We did what boaters normally do on rainy layover days: we mended things, found new homes for things, played games, read books silently and aloud (currently our read-aloud is “The Boy, Me, and the Cat” by Henry Plummer) and Dan changed a fuel filter and the oil.  I made an apple pie and roasted a chicken, but otherwise my culinary achievements aren’t worth noting.  

Dan teaches Tommie how to change the oil.

      We watched a lot of birds.  This cove has fish jumping all the time.  We never did find out what they were, but they were so plentiful the birds didn’t have to fight for them or scavenge the dead ones.  There were swans, white herons and blue herons, egrets, and immature bald eagles as well as the normal cormorants and seagulls.  

      Thursday night we dined and showered at the home of our friends Jon and Ann in Old Lyme, and they urged us to explore of the Connecticut River if we got the chance, specifically mentioning the Selden Creek.  Saturday we went in to Essex to fuel up, and the manager at the Brewer marina there kindly let us use their laundry facilities.  It still mighty windy in the big river, so we just went back to our snug cove.  We got out for a little exploring on Sunday, along with many power boaters, all of us celebrating the end of the storm and the direction change that took Hurricane Joaquin well out to sea instead of toward the East Coast.  

      We found Selden Creek, a beautiful little waterway that runs between a marsh and the rocky mainland.  We could hear several kinds of birds in the marsh, but had no sightings.  It was unpopulated and quiet (until the two jetskiers roared through) and there were several smaller creeks leading into the marsh that begged exploring in a smaller boat.  If we’d had a canoe or a kayak, we may have spent some time in there.  

Selden Creek

      After that we went a few miles up the big river to see what we could see.  Connecticut must have some good zoning laws, as there was a lot of unspoiled land along the river and it must be spectacular when the foliage is peaking.  We passed by Gillette Castle, a monstrous bit of architecture which was built by the stage actor William Gillette in 1919.  The jagged stones around the windows look like teeth.

Gillette Castle

      As the sun was beginning to descend, we headed back to Hamburg Cove to watch the colors.  Red sky at night!  We would be leaving in the morning.

Our last evening in Hamburg Cove