July 29, 2014 Baltimore

We had a good few days on the Magothy River and enjoyed seeing the sights and doing some shopping. This morning we left R Island behind and headed to Baltimore. We hope to catch up with them again in a few weeks. The trip to Baltimore was easy with light wind. Lots of big ships! We passed under the Francis Scott Key bridge, past Fort Mchenry and into the Inner Harbor to Anchorage Marina. We plan to spend a week here.

July 25, 2014 Mike and Adi's Birthday

This morning we left Havre de Grace and and traveled 49 miles to the Magothy River. We'll spend four nights here and then head to Baltimore. Our friends on R Island will leave their boat here for most of a month and go see their kids and grand kids. We had a horrible time getting into the slip at the Magothy Marina because of wind and a slip only 10 inches wider than our boat and when we finally got tied up and hooked up the power it didn't work and we had to move. Not a good birthday present! An hour and a half later we were finally settled with good power. Great Italian dinner out for my birthday and then a lot better evening.  Adi got new toys for presents and enjoyed celebrating her first birthday.

July 23 & 24, 2014

We spent these days riding around town on our bikes. We went to the maritime museum the last we have decided to visit as they all seem to be basically the same thing. Out to dinner for a disappointing meal the second night and then back to the maritime museum for a concert by a man and a wife group singing songs from the Chesapeake Bay and they were great.

July 22, 2014 Havre de Grace

We traveled 22 miles today over to the western shore to Harve de Grace on the Susquenhanna River and the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay. Havre de Grace was considered for our nations capital but lost out to Washington DC. Typical little town with lots of history as we have seen all over the bay. Home to Comadore John Rodgers who played a key role in the development of the United States Navy.

John Rodgers home in Harve de Grace, now a bar. 

July 20 & 21, 2014 Sassafras River

Left Rock Hall and headed north to the mouth of the Sassafras River. Traveled seven miles up river to the Georgetown Marina. The marina has seen better days. Beautiful homes in the area but no stores or shops of any type. We worked on the boat for two days and moved on.

INA is on the left. 

July 19, 2014 Rock Hall con't.

We all rode to town on our bikes to have a Pit Beef Sandwich at a fund raising event put on by the American Legion. Pit beef is a local thing here and was very good. BBQ cooked beef sliced thin with onions and mustard. We cooked hamburgers in the park for dinner.

July 18, 2014 Rock Hall con't.

This morning we got our bikes off the boat and joined Gerry and Judie for a bike ride around town. Interesting old business district with little shops and a great ice cream store. Got back to the boat in the afternoon to clean up and get ready for docktails with other boats we had traveled with and then we all went out to dinner. After dinner we enjoyed a car show on Main Street.

July 17, 2014 Rock Hall

At 7:15 this morning we left St. Michael's headed north up the eastern shore through Kent Narrows to Rock Hall, MD. It was only a 27 mile run and we had light wind and a pleasant trip. We got in about 11:00 and walked over to a local seafood restaurant with friends from two other boats for lunch. Back to the boat to wash off the salt and clean up. The trip wore Adi out so she climbed under a blanket and slept most of the afternoon. We had a BBQ and picnic in the park with Gerry and Judie for dinner. The evening was calm.

July 16, 2014 St. Michael's con't

Lois and I rode our bikes around town and explored the neighborhoods. We found a house for sale that would be great for us. Yes, I think we could live here. In the afternoon we walked to the St. Michael's Winery for a bit of tasting. Back to the boat after dinner to get ready to travel tomorrow.

July 15, 2014 Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Today we visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum here in St. Michael's. It is a fantastic museum depicting the history of boating on Chesapeake Bay. They have a large barn where they restore old boats and a lighthouse that was moved in the 60's to their site. A large AIR CONDITIONED building had very well done exhibits including a 26' foot Owens wooden boat that we boarded.

July 14, 2014 St. Michael's con't

Today we walked the streets of this beautiful little town. Lois and Judie hit all the shops. It is hot, very hot and about noon the dock master told us she wanted us and R Island to move to another dock to make room for other boats that may come in to be safe during an approaching storm. The move wasn't easy and we all got really over heated but we got it done. No other boats came in, but the storm sure did; strong winds and heavy rain. Lois and Adi took a nap after the move to cool off.

July 13, 2014 St. Michaels

After two weeks in Solomon's Island, and with a clean dinghy, we left at 6:30 AM headed back to the eastern shore and the little town of St. Michaels, MD. Adi, Lois and I were happy to be moving again. We had winds on our stern at 10-15 mph that made it a little rough going when we made a turn to St. Michael's which put wind and waves on our beam. St. Michael's is a charming place. We  arrived about 2:00 meeting our friends on R Island.  After getting settled and cleaned up, we all walked two blocks into town and had a great dinner followed by home made ice cream at a local ice cream shop.

July 10, 11 and 12. Not fun days!

On the morning of Thursday, July 10th we pulled our dinghy out of the water after ten days of enjoying it in the bay around Solomon's. Well, that's the last time it will stay in salt water that long. It had heavy marine growth and the beginning of barnacles on it. The hot mess smelled and didn't think about coming off when I took the hose to it. I tried several cleaners that didn't budge it. The marine store recommended a product that didn't make cleaning easy but after using it with a stiff brush, a scouring pad and a wet rag took it all off. I could only do a small patch at a time but after 2 1/2 days I finally got it looking like new. However, I didn't look so good.

July 7, 2014 Cousin Chris

We got a surprise call a couple of days ago from my cousin Chris that she had booked a spur of the moment trip to Washington DC to see a friend and would also visit us. She and friend Cindy, arrived in the afternoon and we all had an early dinner together. It was good to see her and she promised she and husband Greg would be back soon to see us.

July 6, 2014 Our 40th Anniversary.

Today we celebrated forty years of marriage. We had a fun day and cooked filet's on the BBQ for dinner and enjoyed an expensive bottle of wine. Finished the evening watching a beautiful sunset from the upper deck of our boat.

July 5, 2014 Wine Tasting

We got up this morning, had breakfast on the boat and then took off in our rental car to see the countryside. We went to the little port town of Leonardtown and walked around having coffee and a snack at a sidewalk coffee shop. We then drove south towards Lookout Point where we saw a sign that said winery. Down a back road and a dirt road we arrived at a barn that had a sign that said wine tasting. Bruno Cellars is one of Maryland's wineries. We had a great time tasting their wine and eating cheese and crackers. Leaving the winery we came across Lois Lane.

July 4, 2014 Dinner after the storm.

Winds from Arthur blew hard most of the day. By evening they had calmed down to 10-15 mph. We and friends from five other boats had a pot luck dinner. I cooked on one of the marina's BBQ's sausage and pork loin. Everyone brought a dish or two and of course an adult beverage and we had a great time. The city of Solomon's had planned a fireworks program but had to cancel it because of the wind.

July 4, 2014 Category 2 Hurricane Arthur

5:00 AM. Lois is sleeping and Adi and I are up watching the Weather Channel. Arthur is passing over the outer banks with winds just over 100 mpg. The little town of Kill Devil Hills that we visited just a few weeks ago to see the Wright Brothers first flight site is right now directly hit by Arthur. Arthur is starting to head out to sea and away from Chesapeake Bay but we are feeling winds from its outer bands. Wind at the Solomon's is about 20 mph right now. It is predicted to increase to 30-35 by 9:00 AM and will not start to lay down until about 2:00 PM today. INA is tied good to the dock and we should be fine. Adi cat seems to know things are not normal. She is staying very close to me.

11:30 AM Update. Arthur is now a Category 1 hurricane and rapidly moving away from us. Winds here on the boat seem to be falling and about 20 mpg. Maybe we will have a nice 4th of July after all.

July 2, 2014 Tropical storm Arthur

For now it looks like Arthur will miss us here on Chesapeake Bay. Computer models show it hitting the Carolina's and then heading out to sea at Cape Hatteras. The storm will impact the areas we've traveled the last few months. It's currently 90 degrees here in the Solomon's and we are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 PM.

July 1, 2014 Solomon's continued

We got up this morning and turned on the TV to the Weather Channel and the first thing we saw is a tropical storm strengthening over the Bahamas that may develop into a Category 1 hurricane. Okay, and then I see the path shows it coming right towards us. Great! So we are watching the weather and glad that we're tied up to a secure dock. After breakfast, we decided that the boat needed a good cleaning. So I scrubbed the outside including the dinghy and Lois cleaned the inside of the boat. And of course the Adi cat slept through it all. We had dinner on the boat and then took our dinghy out around the bay just before sunset.

June 30, 2014 Solomon's Island

We woke up to wind this morning, it wasn't supposed to be windy today, and after a quick look at the weather we decided to hurry up and get underway as the wind was going to pick up in the afternoon. We headed out of Smith Creek into the Potomac and out into the Bay. Once we were in the Chesapeake we headed north and wind and waves were on our stern. It made for a good ride that pushed us along. We arrived in Solomon's about 11:00. What a beautiful place. Got the dinghy down and toured the area. Met some loopers we had been with in Carrabelle. We'll be here for 10 days.