Dickerson Pond Yacht Club: Inaugural Sail

Most of my loyal readers are unaware that the Pondit is currently the commodore of the Dickerson Pond Yacht Club. This exclusive Westchester County yachting club is open solely to boats and ships that disdain the use of hydrocarbon fuels. Our credo is an old Lenape Indian saying: "Since the Great Spirit has given us the wind, we shall pass it." That might not be the best translation, but just to be safe the DPYC never meets indoors.

Yesterday afternoon marked the first sail by yacht club members. The Pondit, DPYC Commodore, and Joel, DPYC Vice Commodore [aside – Joel is responsible for all vice at the DPYC], launched their sailing vessels at the club mooring on Dickerson Pond. There was a brisk wind blowing in from the south and with the assistance of cabin boy Jack and inspired by the lady Pamela both the SS FAHEG and SS Pamela were christened in the clear waters of our pond. As these two fine sailing vessels left tacking gently against the southerly breeze, champagne was quickly uncorked and all by the lad Jack, started their imbibing.

Now perhaps I have failed to mention that both the SS FAHEG and SS Pamela are model sailing vessels and are controlled using radio signals by their captains and crews who remain at the mooring site. Another possible oversight is that neither the commodore nor commodore of vice has ever sailed previous to this afternoon. We have carefully studied Sailing for Dummies, K.I.S.S a Guide to Sailing and A Night to Remember. These fine references have told us what to wear when sailing, how to load and unload our sail boats from our boat trailers, how to carefully board our sailing vessels, what emergency gear to have on board during our sail, how to raise and lower our sails and most importantly not to sail near icebergs. I do believe there were a few paragraphs on how to handle the tiller and trim our sails in the first two references. We did not read some of those sections, and as you can see from the pictures, careful attention to clothing recommendations was not heeded.

We did, however, sail with few incidents. SS FAHEG did not have her jib sail properly rigged and limped in for repair once and the jib sail was dragging in the water at the end of her maiden voyage. SS Pamela spend the first fifteen minutes of the sail within twenty feet of the dock making several, no making many, small circles. It turned out that the vessel did not have its tiller fastened tightly to its rudder. Both vessels only collided once, but no one on board [There is no one on board!] or at the mooring site was injured. We estimated that SS FAHEG was sailing at least two hundred feet from the mooring site with satisfactory radio reception.

The entertainment committee did not bring nearly enough champagne and both captains and crew, except for cabin boy Jack, were forced to switch to beer to keep from dehydrating in the scorching sunlight. While gathering our equipment and empties after the sail, the SS FAHEG was blown off her mooring perch, a three foot high stone wall, and suffered significant damage. The boat is in the dry dock at this time but the shipyard foreman assures me all will be well by tomorrow.

The Dickerson Pond Yacht Club is opened to new members at the fancy of the membership committee. Fees are negotiable and separate discussions with the commodore or commodore of vice could lead to a more favorable membership fee. Please remember we accept no power vessels and we rely on natural gases for our propulsion. Sail On!

Below are some photographs taken by Pamela at our sailing event:

SS FAHEG at the Dickerson Pond Yacht Club mooring site prior to her christening. Commodore of Vice, Joel, is holding the SS Pamela.

Champagne in hand and controls mostly ignored our ships sail on the afternoon breeze.

Commodore Pondit moving the SS FAHEG a port on a quarter lee. Notice the straight back and attentive eyes.

The Commodore of Vice is still drinking champagne and has handed over the tiller of the SS Pamela to cabin boy Jack who no longer has the boat sailing in small circles near the dock.

Both vessels sailing peacefully about 150 feet off shore.

SS FAHEG being brought to shore for rerigging her jib sail.

SS FAHEG in dry dock after the stone wall incident. Thank the Lord for Crazy Glue!

pirT gnimoyW…Retrospective

The Pondit has had a week to reflect upon his road trip to Wyoming and back. As good as the journey was, there are aspects of the trek I would like to have done differently. The first item to come to mind is that 5,416 miles is too far for one person to drive solo, if there is an expectation of more enjoyment than logging miles and viewing America from the seat of your car. A companion for the trip would have increased enjoyment and relieved stress. The quality of meal times would have been much improved and since golfing was a prime activity on the trip, having a golfing partner makes most golf outing much more fun. The only downside of a travel companion is that by going solo, I called all the shots; I made all the decisions; and I could pass gas in the car without concern. These concerns mean that a suitable traveling companion (like Steinbeck's Charley) needed to be found and enticed to join me.

On my trip, each leg of the journey started between 6-6:30 AM with arrival at the next destination coming between 5-7 PM. After arrival, I usually needed a shower, dinner and time to blog including downloading and then uploading the day's photographs. I had to get to sleep by 11:00 PM to keep up this schedule and not tire out while driving. Perhaps staying two nights at several of the stops would have improved the quality of my visits. I could have spent two days in the Niagara Falls area – perhaps visiting Toronto. The Mackinaw City area had potential for a longer visit and some nice golfing venues along the shores of Lake Michigan. I did spend two days in Jackson Hole, but that could have been three days. The Virginia/West Virginia area had several more interesting side trip possibilities, such as visits to one of the caverns or one or two Civil War historical sites.

I also realize that there was no need to golf eleven of the thirteen days! I should have brought my fishing gear since there were numerous opportunities to drop a line in some interesting waters – from the immense Lake Superior to Minnesota Lakes (still looking for Lake Wobegon) and streams in Montana and Wyoming. A good book on tape should have been tried. Listening to my iPod playlists and The Village on Sirius/XM radio did get stale toward the end of the trip.

My trusty palm sized Canon PowerShot SD1000 camera worked well but there were times I needed more oomph. A camera with better telephoto capabilities was needed, but then again would have been harder to handle and taking shots from within the moving car might not have been advisable, as if it was a good idea even using the smaller camera.

My Garmin also should have been sent to an advanced training school to prevent some of its periods of giving driving directions I would not give my worst enemy. I did get some unasked for advice when using my Garmin in stressful situations and that was to expand the view to assure that my goal was actually in range! I had a good road atlas with me in the car and it was a godsend. It would be better for the passenger to read the map rather than the driver.

I am considering a late September/early October road trip to Prince Edward Island. This will be a seven to ten day journey. I will start accepting and reviewing travel companion applications next week. The perfect candidate will have a digital camera with a good telephoto lens, like folk music, play golf and fish, like seafood and has a poor sense of smell. This trip can be as short as 840 miles one way.

Like General McArthur, I Have Returned

The Pondit got homesick today. While I was driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and just before entering the Skyline Drive, I decided to skip the Skyline Drive, skip my stay in Carlisle, PA and continue all the way back to Cortlandt Manor. I got home just before seven o'clock and am now doing two weeks of laundry while I prepare this last post of my trip.

NY, MI, ONT, WS, MN, ND, MT, WY. NB. IA, IL, IN, OH, WV, VA, MD, PA and NJ; all the states and provinces I traveled through on this 5,416 mile odyssey. Cheyenne, Lincoln, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Columbus, Charleston, and Harrisburg; all state capitals I drove through on the trip. The Links at Hiawatha Landing (NY), Forest Dunes (MI), Chequamegon Bay (WI), Rugby (ND), Eaglerock (MT), Teton Pines (WY), Jacoby Park (WY), El Paso (IL), Harrison Park (IL), Valley View (WV) and Vista Links (VA); the golf courses I was able to play.

Last night before driving to the Maury River, I drove up to a local golf course in Buena Vista. The course looked beautiful. When I got up this morning I drove up hoping to be able to play. There were several "regular" foursomes with tee times, but the starter let me out just before the first official tee off. I played well and the course was great. I teed off at 7:15 AM and left the course at 10:45 AM. I drove about sixty miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. During the drive I passed seventy-eight motor cycles traveling in the southerly direction. The views were breath taking, although it was a bit hazy in the Shenandoah Valley. Most of the parkway was between 2,100 and 2,700 feet elevation. Except for cyclist, it was not heavily traveled.

Travelling on the Fourth of July did have some benefits. The car traffic was light and there were almost no trucks. There are not too many days when America's truck drivers get a break. It is one they need. I can now better appreciate how hard it is to drive the interstates hour after hour. I did it for several days, but these truck drivers do it forever.

Well the laundry is going well and I got to watch the Macys fireworks. Now I get to sleep in my own bed. Ahh.
Here are some of today's pictures:

The clubhouse in Buena Vista.View from the porch of the club house.

An uphill par three that is well bunkered. I had a three putt bogie..

A picturesque par four. Love the old barn in the background.

A little better view of the hole.

Beginning of my Blue Ridge Parkway ride.

One of the many scenic vista points.

The Shenandoah Valley.

This view looks east not west.

Looking out from 20 Minute Cliff.

Another scenic overlook.

Goodbye Columbus

I had an uneventful trip across Indiana got to Dublin outside of Columbus around 4:30 PM. I spent time with my cousin Bill, his wife Valerie, their son Nick and new daughter, Emily. My aunt Pat and Uncle Bill was also visiting. We had a nice visit, good dinner then drove into Columbus to see the Columbus Clippers play the Toledo Mud Hens at the new Huntington Park stadium. It was a nice evening and a wonderful ball park. Attendance was 10,100 and watching baseball played in a more intimate setting is worth a visit. We started watching the game from a rooftop restaurant. While heading to our seats, Uncle Bill took the elevator, while the rest of us took the stairs. At this moment, the Clippers scored on a grand slam home run. Uncle Bill missed the action. We left the game in the seventh inning with Columbus comfortably ahead eighteen to nothing! I must say I had the distinct feeling that all 10,100 fans at this game were just biding their time until Ohio State football started. Most tee shirts and sweatshirts were promoting Ohio State and not the Clippers. We all received free Clippers caps when arriving at the game.

I left Columbus at 6:45 AM heading to Buena Vista, Virginia. Golf plans went awry once again as my chosen course in Beaver, West Virginia was hosting an outing. I found a course in White Sulfur Springs, but it was not up to the Greenbrier standards. Happy Valley was a comfortable nine hole layout. I was able to play the entire round with one ball – very rare for the Pondit. I shot an eighty-three but the greens were flat and missing the fairway was not a big penalty. Driving through the mountains of West Virginia was a real up and down experience.

I had a nice post dinner wine and cigar along the banks of the Maury River a couple of miles from my motel.

Here are some of today's pictures:

Just entering the stadium.

Even minor league parks have large electronic scoreboards.

From the roof top restaurant above left field.

Cousin Nick. What a catch.

Clipper mascots.

The Pondit with his Wyoming baseball cap.

Thank you Toom Purcell for being a Clipper sponsor. Notice the Sodexo signage.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Pat with their new Clipper caps.

The scoreboard when we left. A real eighteen to nothing nail biter.

The bridge over the Ohio River on the West Virginia border.

Golfing venue in White Sulfur Springs.

If you hit your ball here you were really out-of-bounds!

The course was in the mountains.

Club House was very modest with a metal roof. Twenty-six dollars for eighteen holes and a cart.

My after dinner venue on the Maury River.

Should have brought my fishing gear.

Wine, cigar, Milanos and a view.

I thought I had a good plan for the evening.

Don’t Worry, It Will Play in Peoria

The Pondit left Iowa and drove to Illinois today. It was a cloudy, cool day and the trip was very uneventful. I did cross the Mississippi and I passed through Peoria. Route I-80 was littered with trucks and at one point with Iowa State Troopers. There was more road repair work going on than I deemed necessary. I was detoured away from the I-80 bridge that crossed the Mississippi to one by Rock Island. After crossing the river, I drove along it for a short while. I stopped for a yogurt break in the renowned city of Peoria, Illinois. I walked to the river front only to be accosted by a horde of strange looking flying insects that were about one and one-half inches long. They seemed to be hovering around nearby trees. I found a bench away from the trees and enjoyed my breakfast.

The rest of the morning was spent searching for a golf course to play. The city of Bloomington, IL has four public courses. I wanted to play at one that was designed by Arnold Palmer. When I approached the club, there were cars everywhere and young people out on the course carrying their bags as they played. What was happening was an international junior golfer tournament that was being played on all four local golf courses! I called another local course just out of town but when I got there, it was an executive course (Since I am now retired, I do not qualify to play at an executive course!). I called two other courses in town, but they were private clubs. My Garmin found a course about fourteen miles north of the city in a town of El Paso, IL (http://www.city-data.com/city/El-Paso-Illinois.html). The course is not actually in El Paso but closer to Kappa, IL population 203! The El Paso Golf Course was actually a find.

But, once again truth is stranger than fiction. I was paired with a threesome. I made a conscious decision to make certain I was able to pay attention during our introductions so that I could recall each player's name. Often those names just fade away in minutes after I am introduced. I went up to senior member of the threesome and introduced myself as Charlie Holt. He said names would be easy to remember for the group. His name was Charlie, his adult son was Chuck and grandson was also Chuck. This reminded me of the Bob Newhart show with the brothers Daryl, Daryl and Daryl. The local "Chucks" were members and played very good golf. We played from the blue tees which were 6,111 yards for a par 71 layout. I blew up on a few holes and shot a respectable 92. The senior Chuck had eight one putt greens and not all of the putts were short ones! The "lesser" Chucks lived in a home that overlooked the 14th green. The original nine holes were built in the 1920s and designed by a group of local men. In 1988 a second nine was designed by an architect and are located on the other side of the "highway". The locals did as good a job as the architect!

I did some gift shopping and had a brief dinner stop. Tomorrow I am off to Dublin Ohio to visit relatives.

Here are all of today's pictures:

This is the bridge I took to cross the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois.

This is the Mississippi from the bridge.

My second of three "I" states I will be visiting this week.

Peoria has a skyline?

This is the heart of Peoria as seen from the other side of the Illinois River.

The bridge I took to cross the Illinois River.

The El Paso Golf Club.

Third hole par three on which i did get a three.

Waiting to play the third hole I turned around to take a photograph. Past the shrubs is corn as far as the eye can see.

The course was neither without trees nor without hills.