We just arrived at the lovely Sofitel in Philadelphia, where we'll be spending the evening. I just checked the stats display on the GPS (I reset the counters before we left) and thought I'd share:
Total Miles Driven: 2,382.63
Total moving time: 46:42
Also, we both finished the new Harry Potter book (thanks to the drive from Northern Maine to Ithaca, NY for the time to finish them up.)
Ok, I'm back at the keys — and glad for all of Amber's entries. I figured I'd do a wrap-up of our days aboard the Mercantile, as her last post was pretty much our first impressions.
First, the crew was fantastic. They really know how to make you feel at home and comfortable. There's a little bit of work to do aboard — the sails don't put themselves up, and there's no dishwasher — so we could pitch in as much or as little as we wanted. They were happy to answer any questions we had, no doubt having answered most of them 500 times before, and were just fun and funny as well. I can imagine the strain of spending an entire summer living and working with your customers, rolling out of bed to face them every single morning, and them being the last people you see on the way to bed — and they handled it transparently.
The weather started out looking like it was going to be a negative, and ended up being really great. Our first two days were pretty much becalmed, foggy, and rainy, but by day 3, the sun was out, and the wind FINALLY started to blow. On the calmer days we had a little yawl boat to push us around, so we could actually go somewhere — but I could imagine the frustration of being REALLY on a ship like that, with someplace to be, and nothing but the fog and rain to look at. The contrast actually ended up being nice — the super windy/sunny days were actually a little tiring, and by the end of it I was shocked to find myself hoping for a touch of fog!
So, the trip. I would HIGHLY recommend it to a lot of people, but with some caveats.
The pros:
The food is incredible. The day started with the wood stove firing up around 5:30AM, and hot coffee and hand-made baked goods out at about 6. They were out until 8, when the “real” breakfast was unleashed — it varied from healthier days (oatmeal etc) to a full-on breakfast with pancakes and sausage, etc. Lunch was served around noon up on deck — again, everything handmade, a good variety, and really, really, incredible tasting uniformly. Dinner, more of the same.
The scenery is incredible. You poke up and around the Maine coast, a lot of relatively untouched (or just touched by the rich or isolated) islands, incredible forests coming right to the water, Ospreys and porpoises, incredible sunsets and (if you make it out of bed) sunrises, huge dynamic clouds, lovely fog-shrouding some of the time…. it's great.
It's really, really relaxing. It's the kind of relaxing that I don't think I've even gotten at a resort on the beach — I had nothing to do BUT relax. Take an extra nap, get through some books that have been on my to-read list for a while, do some swimming, get some sun, take some pictures — you get the idea.
The crews are great. See above. Maybe we had a fluke and got lucky, but all the other boats we saw had similar vibes going on.
Cons:
Pretty much no privacy. Our cabin was tiny (maybe 8'x8') and it didn't have walls, per se, except that they blocked light. Basically, they were curtains made of wood. When the people in the next cabin are whispering, you hear it. Not just that they are whispering, but what they are whispering. It was a romantic getaway in every sense but the physical, if you know what I mean (and I think you do.)
It's pretty rustic. You have to be ok with pumping the toilet by hand, and squinting to read in the cabin by the eensy little light.
In our minds, the pros way outweighed the cons — as rustic as it was, it beats camping, and at least things were clean. And on a 16 day vacation, we could handle 4 days of reduced privacy.
I'd totally go again. I would probably ad to my list of things to bring for next time:
One of those soft folding chairs you can take camping. Not a lot of seating on board, and it would have been nice to lean back on something. Some extra reading material. A book light for evenings in the cabin. Other than that — bliss.
This entry also by my wonderful spouse Amber. –Ed
Driving to Camden Maine was cold and rainy. Since we were about to board a sail boat for four days, this matter weighed on us quite heavily. GPS to save the day, we typed in REI with no luck whatsoever. Josh got clever and tried L.L.Bean, who would have thought that it would lead us to the preppiest outlet centers in the world — Freeport, Maine. We're talking L.L. Bean, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, North Face, Bath and Body works, Yankee Candle and not to forget, The Gap. I hadn't seen a such a large collection of white suburban middle class men bored out of their minds in a long time. Dragging their polo clad children behind them, we rushed by the find some rain worthy wear. All we really needed was two rain proof jackets, and even though we were in the outlets, it was becoming increasingly obvious that we weren't going to get out of this hell without paying up to $300. It was a sad day for me, I knew what that $300 could have bought at say….Target! But it was going to make for a more enjoyable boat trip so I grit my teeth and now I'm a happy owner of a bright red, insulated and oh so snuggly Cloudveil jacket. Straight from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Not that the fact that is came from Jackson Hole makes me love it anymore or any less. However, it should be handy if we ever get back into that backpacking stuff Josh talks about every once in a while.
When entering the town of Camden I couldn't help imagining scenes from countless Steven King books. The misty atmosphere,the lingering fish hooks and this unshakable,erie feeling and everyone knows you and all the busniess that you're up to. The eyes of the local fisherman seemed to follow our bright yellow pontiac with suspicion. This was all in my head, as Camden is a town the screams lazy comfort, with every step you take down it's tight winding streets. Easy living on the coast, where everyone's best friend is a local lobster. Just like our tour guide from Luray, we were anxiously awaiting the arival of J.K. Rowling's next Harry Potter adventure. As we walked towards or dinner destination for the evening, before boarding the ship, we found a local book store and pre-ordered a copy of her final classic. 4 days at sea will be quite relaxing, but oh the joy that awaits these sea legs when we return. – Amber
I was nervous, I couldn't explain why. I saw this line forming right outside of our ship “The Mercantile” and I was getting shy, like my first day of school. All this way to get to our destination and I didn't really want to play nice in the sand box with all the other kids. What if I really disliked them? What if they were hillbilly folk that just didn't understand me?i It was too late!! We were committed, paid in full and ready to board. So I did it, after all, i'm an outgoing person right? Tied up my boot straps and said hello to my crew mates. Turns out, I had nothing to be worried about.
The boat is classic, feels like something my ancestors would have ridden over in to the free land. Small galley where food is prepared on a constant basis on an incredible cast-iron wood stove, and a fun but competent crew that made us feel welcome from the first steps aboard. There's almost no power on board — some batteries that light up basically flashlight bulbs in our rooms. No power for the plumbing, we get to pump our water and pump to flush the toilet. There's no motor on the boat — if we need to go somewhere, we have to get pushed by a “yawl boat”. Then there is our room…or shall we say cozy hole. It's pretty much the smallest space I have every slept in. I'm not complaining in the slightest, I've heard too much of that for one lifetime. You'd think us Americans were spoiled or something…. ironic pause. Hello folks!! If you choose to spend four days on a 100 year old sailboat….don't expect rooms that you would see on Royal Caribbean. Needless to say, it's an adventure, and so far we are loving every minute of it. – Amber
