September 14-16

Finally, it’s time to get the mast up. The crew at Riverview Marina is excellent, and we have the mast stepped by lunch time. After moving the boat to a slip, where we will leave it for the next couple of days, we begin the task of turning Gormã into a sailboat.

Things were going well when Mike, the marina owner and electrical guru, dropped by. Under his guidance we set to tracing wires and putting the voltmeter on this and that and, after two hours, concluded beyond any doubt that there was no power!

That, however, was as far as we get before Paul and Delight, Corinne’s cousin and his wife, picked us up. We will spend the weekend with them at their cabin in Monterey in the Berkshires.

Our timing could not have been better for spending a weekend off the boat. We woke up to a rainy, cool Saturday morning. After breakfast, we decided to visit the Norman Rockwell Gallery at Stockford. It was a fascinating display, the highlight of which was seeing Rockwell’s actual studio.

The picture shown is from a series of pictures developed to support Roosevelt's four freedoms - this one depicting freedom of speech. Rockwell struggled for a long time to get this just right. What is most interesting is this picture was one of the few hanging in his studio.

In the afternoon we went for a short hike on the ‘cobble’ and then out for a wonderful dinner.

Sunday was again rather cool and cloudy, perfect hiking weather. Delight selected a wonderful hike called the Ice Glen, with a sometimes vigorous climb to the top of a large hill featuring a panoramic view of the Berkshires.