Gidday, Ducks. Seen any Quahogs lately?

Greenport, Long Island Sound

Bird on the Wire

We’re still not quite sure where that little storm came from – it certainly wasn’t on our weather radar, but hey, what’s a day or two indoors when it’s gusting 35kts?  We settled down and read books, worked on a frustrating internet connection (I guess at least we had one!) and cooked roast lamb.  Yes, we’ve been able to find a few scraps of decent Australian lamb here and there…not a popular choice with the Yanks who much prefer pork. (As an aside, the Indians & Malays didn’t much like the flavour of sheep either, finding it much too strong. Mutton meant goat and the more bones to nibble on the better!)

The Pond

Before drifting off on dreams of steaming roti chani, I had had better get back to boat stuff….  As the weather cleared, the Motleys braved a trip to town.  We started with a character second-hand book shop and its owner, an obvious relic of the swingin’ 70’s.  His store was stuffed to the brim as was the hardware store next door.  There were quite a few people doing town too, poking into rather nice galleries and intriguing gift shops.  I missed taking a photo of hundreds of rubber duckies (bath type not dinghies) but we did meet Roy in a quirky nautical boating-cum-decorating shop.  Roy turned out to be Sir Roy, of Scottish heritage, who ran a small submarine construction company downtown.  We later found out he knew Rod Stewart and Sean Connery - as you might… But we couldn’t wait for Sean to visit town to be introduced (damn!).

1920's Carousel

The village also boasts a small museum (closed), camera obscura (closed), a blacksmith (closed), a jail & police museum (closed), a 1920’s carousel (open) and a newly established Starbucks.  That was definitely open so we reconnoitred our internet back-up position….  We hankered for fish & chips but not before tasting at Claudio’s Pier, a “raw bar” selection of local long-neck clams (quahogs are large clams) and oysters.  (We really are spoilt in Brooklyn. Nothing beats JJ’s servings of Sydney Rocks, some fresh mullet & real potato chips with lashings of tomato sauce. Mmmmmm!)  

Character Lighthouse

Greenport started its life as early as 1640, growing quickly to become a vital (& sheltered) destination for cargo ships as they plied the waters between settlements of New England and trade centres of the Caribbean and South America.  (Captain Kidd is said to have cruised these waters looking for “prey” too.)  Later, from 1795, whaling became its sustaining industry, with 24 whaling ships making more than 103 voyages to the Atlantic and Pacific.  During the war years, this tiny village became a major small ships building centre, launching over 550 ships, including mine sweepers, tugs and landing craft.  Greenport also has seen menhaden processing, oyster & clam harvesting and rum running (1920-30’s).  Little evidence of all this industry remains except for a small area of rotting piers and not-so-photogenic waterfront.  Its quaint village and quirky shops though are a perfect holiday destination – so that’s exactly what we did.  Now, where did they say that boutique brewery was?

Greenport's old working port