Sailing!

 Dr. M. at the bridge sailing to Nantucket Island

We had a wonderful tour of the New England states including Rhode Island, Cape Cod Massachusetts and Nantucket Island.  One of the highlights of the trip was our whale watching excursion which took us out near the coast of Maine on the open seas.

One of things we did to prepare for this trip is see to it that we had proper footwear.  The decks of even the most luxurious yachts can be extremely slippery so you will need to pack shoes that work on both land and sea.  That's why we wore our Sperry Topsiders!

The Figawi sandals, pictured here are amazingly comfortable both shipboard and for walking.  Many of the vessels we were on had ladder stairs to climb to the top deck which were often wet.  These sandals actively gripped the surface and prevented what could have been a very nasty fall, (woman overboard!), or slip.  On land, they were cool and did not absorb water so our feet stayed quite dry.

Photo: Magda at Nantucket Marina wearing her Sperry Topsider Figawi 2 strap sandals. Cue: "Sittin' on the dock of the Bay!"

We did a lot of boarding of watercraft during our tour where the angled gangplanks were often wet and slippery.  The Sperry Topsiders were perfect on the docks as well as on board.

Much of this tour also involved a lot of walking.  We did quite a bit of shopping after disembarking.  For example we walked all over Nantucket Island, stopping in at the Whaling Museum, the Artist Guild for their famous Lightship Baskets and then down to the beach for a swim.  The Sperry Topsiders came to the rescue again!  My althetic shoes, the Sperry Topsider SB1070's pictured to the right have the same water displacing soles as the Figawi sandals, which grip wet surfaces like crazy.  While whale watching aboard the Dolphin, we were rocking quite hard due to a swell out in the Atlantic.  No problem.  The Sperrys gave us all the sure footed grip we needed. 

The smart way to pack for a land and sea excursion like this is to take footwear that does double duty.  Lightweight, low water absorption and very stable on wet surfaces such as can be found on ship decks and gangways.  These were also the perfect athletic shoe for shopping and taking a tour of nearly all 70 rooms in The Breakers, the Vanderbilt's summer mansion in Newport, R.I.  We also walked through Mystic Seaport, the National Seashore Park and the JFK Memorial in Hyannis Port.  No sore feet at the end of this tour!

Photo: Front entrance of The Breakers, perched on the cliffs of Newport, R.I. Fashion designer, Gloria Vanderbilt, summered in this "cottage" and is the mother of news journalist, Anderson Cooper of CNN.
 

Visit Sperry Topsider Online at:  http://www.sperrytopsider.com

When undertaking a tour of this scope, you'll need to pay special attention to your nutrition.  If you are like me and not much accustomed to high fat, low fiber resturant foods and strange water, your digestive system can suffer.  This is why I take along Proactive 1B by Rainbow Light.  This is a complete probiotic formula that helps maintain healthy digestive flora, supporting regularity and optimum immunity. This the perfect companion for any trip where you don't know what you'll be eating!

Photo:  Boating activity in Providencetown Harbor.  The gangplank to your right is what is used to board these ships. "Slippery When Wet!"

It was here in Providencetown that the Pilgrims really landed first and where we boarded the Dolphin VIII for our sunset whale watching cruise.  On the way out of the harbor, we passed our old friend, the Kalmar Nyckel, Delaware's Tall Ship, headed back to port.  We went about an hour and a half out into the deep Atlantic and pretty much off the coast of Maine by the time we began to see Humpback whales spouting off in the distance.  Through the summer months until about the end of September, pods or familes of whales, mostly mothers and calves feed and play in these nutrient rich waters.  We saw at least 20 pods during our excursion with one young calf completely lifting his head up out of the water so that we could actually see his baleen filtering jaws.  Incredible!  Later an adult and calf both did a breech and a complete 360 before belly flopping back into the ocean.  Since we were caught in a bit of a swell from a passing storm, it was a little rough...choppy even.  We skipped the sleep inducing Dramamine and opted for some natural crystalized ginger root.  No problems on deck for us although we did see a few green-faced shipmates running below!  Oh well.

My advice is not to be afraid of having an adventure.  I've come to trust God to make it happen for me.  We can step out in faith, (but maybe not on water), just as Peter did!  You don't want to reach old age with a long list of regretful, 'I should of's'.  With a little planning, the right gear and proper nutrition, you can live your dreams instead of just sleeping through them.  We'd like to thank Sperry Topsider, Rainbow Light, Dorfman Pacific, Athleta and the Sierra Club for their wonderful support for this excursion.  The right gear and supplies makes all the difference. Come with us this fall as we will show you how to prepare for cool weather bicyling for commuting and cross training pleasure!  Also, remember to come out for the Ride for Rett charity bicycle ride on Sunday, October 5th 2008.  Rett's Syndrome is a disabling, neurological disorder which primarily effects female infants.  Sign up for this great tour for a great cause online at: http://www.signmeup.com/61644

Photo: Heading back to Providencetown Port after our sunset whale watching cruise aboard the Dolphin VIII.  The tall spire near the center is Pilgrim's Monument, the highest point on Cape Cod.

God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful & increase in number & fill the water and the seas..."  Genesis 1:22