Solomons Island, MD

Bill and I left Annapolis early this morning. We had about a six hour motor to Solomons. The water was very still and perfect and we witnessed a pretty sunrise.

Solomons is quiet but very beautiful. After we got to the marina, Bill washed down the boat and I cleaned up down below. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and relatively warm weather.
We learned today that the Caribbean 1500, which Bill, Joe, and Cindy participated in last year and which was supposed to leave from Hampton, VA tomorrow, has been delayed for a few days. We look forward to tracking s/v Splendido, s/v Karina, and other boats when they finally do leave. We wish everyone safe travels.

Next stop for us... Deltaville, VA.

Rock Hall, MD = a Fixed Generator!

(Last view of Back Creek)

We left Annapolis Monday morning. After a stop at the fuel dock for some diesel and a pump out, we were on our way. The trip to Rock Hall is short - it took us about three hours (even bucking a current). But it was C-O-L-D. Bill finally gave in and put on a pair of jeans and sneakers; until Monday he was in denial and continued to wear shorts and flip flops even when he was shivering.

(view of Annapolis from the Bay)

We were both thankful we got to Rock Hall when we did. Almost immediately after we arrived, the wind began to seriously pick up and the rain started to come down. We basically hung out down below the rest of the afternoon reading and doing various boat projects.

(Bay Bridge)

Unfortunately, the mechanics were not able to come by until Tuesday afternoon. The good news is, however, that the generator is now fixed. It turns out that a connector had corroded, which was prohibiting something important from getting to something else important that makes the generator work (obviously Bill understands the mechanics behind the generator a WHOLE lot better than I do....)

Throughout the day on Tuesday the wind picked up and it rained hard. At one point we saw 40 knots on the wind indicator. And we are in a slip way back in a creek. We could only imagine what the Bay was like. The boats here in the marina were rocking and rolling with each strong gust of wind. There is nothing like hearing the wind rip through the halyards creating an eerie whistling sound. Bill and I were thankful we had the super duper fender that Dave and Molly gave us to keep us off the dock.

We decided to stay in Rock Hall one more day so we can run the generator off and on throughout the day. So far so good. Everything is working fine. Tomorrow we will finally start our trip south!!!

(a big gust)

The Sassafrass

(view of the bridge on a beautiful, sunny afternoon)

On Thursday sv Mary Elizabeth left the dock for the first time in a long time. Bill and I realized how much we miss the water!!! We had a nice ride to Georgetown, MD where Dave and Molly are. Thursday night we had a great dinner at the Kitty Knight House. Friday we hung around for most of the day. Bill and Dave did some planning with the charts for our eventual trip south via the ICW. Mary Elizabeth's mast height is 63 and a half feet, so they were devising a route that will keep us away from bridges that we won't fit under. I read Glass Castle, which is a fabulous book that I borrowed from Molly.

(Mary Elizabeth arriving in Georgetown, taken by Dave and Molly)

Friday night we went to Five Keys after a yummy dinner of steak and chicken on the grill. Dave, Frank and Bill played Yahtzee. Dave is the newly reigning champ of the Sassafrass.

(Lauren "in action" picking up the mooring)

The Sassafrass River is stunning. The trees have yet to turn, but it is certainly colder - especially at night and in the early morning. What a beautiful place.

(Dave, Bill, and Tuck)

(Another stunning sunset)

So now we are underway en route to Rock Hall. Mary Elizabeth will be hauled on Monday and have work done while we are in Florida. Tomorrow we are going to the Redskins. We'll stay in Baltimore overnight (in a hotel at the airport). We'll be back in Annapolis on Oct. 8th.

(For lots more pictures, see below)

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Back in Back Creek

We left Baltimore around noon today. We had a nice ride from Baltimore to Back Creek in Annapolis. We are docked at Port of Annapolis, which happens to be the marina right next door to where we kept both Mary Elizabeths (the Hunter and the IP485) for several years. It was kind of strange for both of us to be back and not be in "our" slip next to Joe and Nancy. But here we are, and it is lovely. We are in kind of a strange slip - it is actually for a much larger boat so our lines are tied weird. It will work though. We are here until Monday.

We had a very nice dinner at Tsunami, our favorite sushi restaurant on the planet, with Joe and Nancy. It was of course a perfect evening. Bill had a tour of their new boat (I had already seen it) which is awesome.

Not really sure of our plans over the next month and a half. We are going to pick up our car in Alexandria tomorrow and decide from there. We aren't sure if we are going to cruise the Chesapeake or if we are going to stay in Annapolis for the rest of August and September. Whatever we do, we'll have a blast and that is all that counts. It is nice to be back in Annapolis with our friends. We miss Joe and Nancy!!! And this has been a great night of catching up (even though we ate too much!)

Baltimore, MD

We are in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor Marina. Bill and I have stayed here before when the Red Sox have been in town playing the Orioles. Downtown Baltimore is really nice. Our slip overlooks the harbor, which is full of water taxis, dinner cruises, duck tour boats, and even a "pirate" ship.

There is an aquarium, a science museum, and a long boardwalk that features ice cream and other treats, etc. Saturday we arrived and hung around preparing for Andrea's visit. She flew into Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day on the boat catching up. Sunday night Bill, Andrea and I went to Aldo's in little Italy in Baltimore. Bill and I had been there before with Joe and Nancy and we knew we had to go back. It was delicious.

Monday we got a late start. Andrea and I walked around and explored a little more (we saw the hotel - and the fans - where the Sox are staying, but didn't catch sight of any of the players....) before we walked to Camden Yards for the game. The Sox won, and our seats were awesome. We were on the third base line and it was a beautiful night. Same as before, Sox fans outnumbered Baltimore fans 10 to 1.

Georgetown, MD

The Chesapeake is as hot, still, and muggy as we remembered it being. The water is brackish and brown, but the scenery is stunning. There are amazing homes right on the water with lots of land.

We ended up at Georgetown, MD on the Sassafras River. We are on a mooring at the Georgetown Yacht Basin enjoying the beautiful day. It is quiet and lovely. Since we are without a tender (although hopefully not for long) we have plans to grill tonight. Tomorrow we have decided to go on a quest for some Maryland crabs - although we are unsure of what is around these parts. Bill hasn't been here since he was in college; for me it's my first time.

Our plans have changed slightly. We were supposed to go to Rock Hall after our trip to Baltimore with Andrea. We have decided (and Island Packet graciously agreed to accommodate us!) to put the work done on the boat off until September when we are in Florida visiting Bill's family. We'll leave boat (which is going to be out of the water so we can't stay on it during that time anyway) in Rock Hall while we are spending time in St Petersburg. So after Baltimore we will be exploring all of the places in the Chesapeake that we haven't yet seen (and visiting some of our old favorites too!) between now and the next few months. And around the middle of October -- after the Annapolis boat show, Katie's bridal shower, a few Redskins games, seeing friends, and other things we have planned -- we'll start to head south to the Carolinas. We have to stay north of Savannah, Georgia until November 15th. Plans for the winter season are still up in the air.