Lifestyles of the Rich…

On this postcard day, the sky was so blue, it hurt my eyes.  The wind was calm.  The temperature in the 70’s.  A perfect day to get out on the water.

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View of the Thimble Islands from Stony Creek on the mainland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the tiniest beach in Connecticut

Maybe the tiniest beach in Connecticut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only 15 minutes from my apartment is the Thimble Island Cruise in Long Island Sound.  A string of 25 tiny, glacier-formed islands named for a berry like a black raspberry, these picturesque islands have been settled since the 1600s.  Now, 100 families summer here.  A handful get power and water from the shore.  The rest make do.  You know, holding tanks for rain water and such.

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But you gotta be rich.  You could get this little rock and hut for $1.9 mil.  Imagine what the 27 bedroom summer home with the formal gardens and swimming pool goes for.

All these rocks you see are granite, and originally, some of the islands were quarries.  No longer.  The land, what there is of it, is just too valuable.  You could feel bad for the owners of the 1885 Wheeler House. They have to dig up their native palm trees every fall and take them to another island to winter over.

The most populated island has 35 homes, and at one time also had a church and post office, like a real town.  It is called, wait for it, Money Island.  I’m not kidding.

 

 

Maybe this is because the most famous person from the area was Captain Kidd.  The pirate.  Here is the hidden harbor of his island, where supposedly treasure like gold and

Captain Kidd's hidden harbor.  It really is hidden.

Captain Kidd’s hidden harbor. It really is hidden.

silver stolen from ships in the Sound was buried.  Apparently most of his loot was found about 30 miles away, when he was captured in 1699.  The Scottish sailor was taken back to England, where he was tried and executed in 1701.

 

 

 

My favorite house is this one, built to withstand the weather, including 100 mph winds.  The wind goes above, around, below, and has left it the house alone for the past 30 years.  Not bad.

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But really, this little houseboat is the ticket.  Forget living on top of a rock, like the seals that 2013-08-11 11.59.08apparently swarm in March.  Forget hovering like a cormorant or white heron, whom we watched dry off on granite baked in the sun and carved by the sea.  Just live in a little houseboat, heaven on day like this, and pack it in for the winter.

 

 

 

A study in blue, dotted by kayakers and one sailboat

A study in blue, dotted by kayakers and one sailboat