6/19/25 Another day in Solomons Island

Erik began the day in usual form, then received an early call at 7:30am from the boatyard (Washburns) and discussed the problem and possible solutions to our leaky through-hull.  The guy from the boatyard, Eric as well, agreed with Renee that trying to repair/replace it with the boat in the water is not a good option!  Unfortunately, the yards two travel lifts were too busy today to allow for our boat to be lifted out and sit in the slings for an hour or so to make what could be a pretty quick and simple repair.  So, after determining the size of the through-hull and associated valve, Eric with Washburns said he would investigate getting the necessary parts and that we would talk later in the day to formulate the repair plan and timing.   While walking Riva Erik ran into and had a good conversation with Tom, a fellow AGLCA member and gold looper.  He is a retired Naval Airman and this is their home port where they have both a sailboat as well as their 39’ American Tug which they completed their loop on in 2021.  Being a native and having cruised the Chesapeake waters much of his life he was a wealth of knowledge sharing many nuggets on best places for boat service (fortunately he says Washburns is a really good one 😊), restaurants, nearby attractions, upcoming ports, etc.  He shared that at our next destination, St Mary’s, every Friday evening St Mary’s College does an outdoor symphony that can be heard and seen well from a specific anchorage.   We had been planning to head that way Friday morning, but, that may have to be re planned depending on the timing of the repair of the boat.   

Culprit leaking valve on through-hull
Always something on the old gal

We spent some time doing a couple of loads of laundry and some small boat chores and then had a late, big breakfast before heading out for some more exploration of Solomons.   On the agenda for today we had decided that we would take Riva with us on the bikes to the Annamarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center that we had passed on our bike ride yesterday.   It had been a few days since she had been able to get a bike ride so she was more than happy to be coming along and sat in her basket for the ride like the diva she is.  

Some of the interesting sculptures in the garden

In addition to sculptures they had 35 or so little fairy gardens inconspicuously placed just off the trails that wound through the woods

The children were excited to explore and find them all

Many of the bronze sculptures were on loan from the Smithsonian 

Nice fountain statue at entry to the gardens

It was after noon by the time we finished up at the garden and the sun was now high and hot so we rode back toward the marina to get Riva into the AC on the boat.   On the way we swung through the adjacent Washburns to check in with Eric on parts timing and also to share Riva with the boatyard office manager, Linda.   Tom had shared with Erik this morning that she was a dog lover and angry with him for not bringing his puppy over to visit recently.   There Riva got some loving from Linda as well as treats and a visit with the yard dog, Jackson 🐕.   It was determined that the parts would not be in until sometime tomorrow and that the plan would be to get the boat out and blocked up sometime between 9-11 in the morning to have it ready for the repair when the parts arrived.   Leaving the boatyard there was a large cruiser rolling by in one of the lifts and we conversed with its owner for a bit.   It was a 60’ Selene yacht.  He was having some bottom paint work done and a couple other small things to have it ready for a marine survey and to put up for sale.   He shared that he had spent multiple years, fitting the boat just as he and his wife wanted it to be there forever boat, but, recently he was poking around on the Selene Website and electronically built his perfect boat.    Within a few short hours the owner of Selene had called him and within a short few days he ended up dealing and in contract for a brand new 66’ yacht.   He stated that one of his investment funds simply sat around and caused him stress as he watched it go up and down, so he figured he may as well utilize the fund for something that brings him and his family joy……3.5 million in joy to be exact 😂 😮.   

Back at the boat, we sat around in the air conditioning to relax and cool off for a bit.  We had some concerns about the timing of the boat coming out of the water tomorrow and the fact that while the boat was out, we would not have anywhere cool for Riva to be.   We pulled up our AGLCA app and found that there is a ‘harbor host’ that lives in the condominiums adjacent to the marina and boatyard.  Looking closer at her profile, we noted that she had a dog in the picture with her. We called and left a message with her inquiring whether she knew of any nearby, doggy daycare or other options for Riva for a part of the day tomorrow.   Within about an hour Kim called us back and stated that she would be happy to help out.  She also told us that she was currently up at the pool that is the same pool, which is shared by the marina and her condominiums.   We put on our suits and rode up to the pool where we spent a couple of hours floating around and chatting with her.  She is currently in the planning stages of her great loop journey and hoping to start it in approximately 2030.   She is currently looking for a boat to get her used to cruising on motor vessels. She grew up on the bay and has significant experience sailing, but not a lot of experience on motor vessels.   Later in the afternoon/early evening, and after some thunderstorms rolled through to cool off the day, Kim was out walking her dog and stopped by the marina to introduce her dog to Riva to ensure they would get along (Which they did marvelously) And Renee gave her a tour of Happy Destiny.  Plans were made to connect tomorrow morning when the boat gets taken out of the water when we will likely go to her condominium where it was determined that a friendly Scrabble game would be be had while the work on the boat is getting accomplished.   The later part of the evening was spent relaxing aboard, watching a Netflix movie and partaking in our usual caloric intake of ice cream 😝 Before heading off to bed.   

One of several canine companions Riva had the chance to meet and interact with today
This is our new friend Kim’s dog Dusty who she rescued about 2 years ago

6/18/25 Oxford to Solomon

Renee awoke to Erik down in the floor/bilge under the bow investigating why the front bilge pump kept kicking on periodically.  He discovered one of the through-hull shut off valves was leaking.  He tried to slow/stop the leak but no luck.  It appears to be likely from corroded threads where the ball valve connects to a fitting that then connects to the Purisan toilet discharge hose (which we aren’t utilizing anyhow since we use a dry flush toilet).   It was not leaking bad enough to be imminent concern so we decided to go ahead and head to Solomons Island today and deal with this issue later; will need to be fairly soon though.   We took a dinghy ride and walk to the park then shoved off shortly after at about 8am, hoping to beat the heat although it was already 76 degrees.  It was a very smooth cruising day across to the western shore of the Chesapeake making for a relaxing ride.  The cruise was uneventful but we did see many manta rays; you could see them showing their fins and flipping around at the top of the water.  The landscape and shoreline changed significantly as we drew closer to Solomons.  What was previously sandy and marshy low rising shores on the east side of the bay now became the tall ‘Calvert Cliffs’.  

Sites from the bay
Cove Point Lighthouse
One of many sail boats
Ospreys on channel marker
Large natural gas tanker ship

Some of the Calvert Cliffs from a couple mile off shore in the bay
At the marine museum later in the day we learned that these cliffs have some of the largest diversity of fossils of sea and land animals in the world dating back some 20 million years! 
Wow….almost as old as our parents 😝 

Our 38 mile track today across to the west side of the bay and slightly up the Patuxent River and in to ‘Back Creek’

We arrived in Solomons right about 11am.  After a short walk to checkout the marina and get checked in we unloaded the bikes to check out town.   As hot as it was we decided to leave Riva back at the nicely air conditioned boat where she would be comfortable.  The marina we chose, Calvert Marina, was on the east side of a bay/creek just off of the Patuxent River and the main town of Solomons is on the opposite (west) side of the bay.  The side that we are on was the US militaries first Naval amphibious warfare training base during WWII.  It was utilized to train over 67,000 troops between 1942 and 1945.  It was a 1.5 mile ride around the bay off of the river to the main town area.   The first stop was at the Calvert Marine Museum which was another nicely done attraction different than the other maritime museums we had visited thus far in that it had less focus on the maritime history and boating and more of a focus on the marine life.   It had multiple aquariums and animal exhibits including a pool where you could pet the rays and skates.   We learned that rays have long, whip-like tails with a venomous spine, while skates have shorter, thicker tails with thorny projections but no stinger.  Further investigation (gotta love the internet) tells us that what we were seeing many of on our trip across the bay were likely cownose rays.   We also got a tour as part of the museum admission to the Drum Point Lighthouse that was a historic one in the area that got saved and moved to the museum site.  

Fun afternoon at the marine museum
Renee and Erik had their FIRST EVER discounted, senior admission….yep, we’re officially old as we both turned 55 this past March/April respectively

Stock internet pic of a cownose ray

Our much less exciting but legit pic of one of the many rays we encountered 

You have to believe seahorses are masters of relaxation and meditation

Wonder what we can learn from them?

We moved on from the museum peddling down the shoreline to a couple of shops and stopping in for an ice cream cone (hey….it was REALLY hot, quit being so judgy judgy!).   On our way back toward the boat we stopped into West Marine to pick up a bar of marine grade wet weld to be able to attempt to seal our leaky seacock.   By the time we rode back to the marina it was after 4pm and the sun was blistering hot so we changed into our suits and headed over to the very nice pool for a cool dip.   The pool had just been opened last week and the water was crisp and incredibly refreshing…..ahhhhh.   With now lowered body temperatures we enjoyed taco salads for dinner aboard.   Erik made an attempt to seal the leaking valve that was not successful.  Any pressure or movement to the leaky fitting seemed to make it worse so he left a message at the adjacent boatyard which was now closed for the evening to hopefully make arrangements to have the boat pulled for the repair.   Erik considered attending the maneuver with the boat in the water but after more consideration (and Renee’s reasonableness) decided against that tomfoolery.  

As the beauty of the sunset cast a glow upon us

6/17/25 - St Michaels to Oxford MD

 

Dove fermarsi deventa un piacere

Residence just outside the St Michaels public landing and park
Very inviting
Complete with mini library box and signs inviting folk in to explore the gardens 

Erik has finally settled in, sleeping until 5:20 this morning 😮  It was a lazy morning, needed first couple hours of the day just hanging out listening to nature and the sounds of the bay.  After a small breakfast and taking Riva to shore to do her business (and hunt bunnies) we got the dinghy up on its davits and shortly after set out for a nice, slow, short cruise over to Oxford.   

Early morning sounds of heron and other birds at a peaceful anchorage with this little fella swimming by to say good morning 😃 

Also had a beaver 🦫 , river otter, or muskrat come by to say hello

The water was placid and many crab boats were out pulling in lines and setting traps as we made our way out of our anchorage.  We were in no hurry this morning thus keeping the cruise slow and easy.  On this side I’d the bay (east side) the structure is such that there are many inlets and small islands all around you.  The depths are generally pretty shallow so following the route and watching the channel day markers is advisable.  

Our short, relaxing 14.7 mile track for the day

This crabbing boats name is 
‘ADDICTION’

We pulled into the Tread Avon River where Oxford is located and found a comfortable spot to anchor that was only a couple hundred feet away from the towns landing with a dinghy dock that would make it easy and convenient to get to town.  Like many of the small towns on the bay, life in Oxford seems slow and relaxed.  

Nice park at the waterfront 

Peaceful sounds of the church bells

Both of the small museums in town were closed on Tuesdays so we just mainly walked through and around town exploring the park, the streets, and the small beach before stopping into the ‘Oxford Market’ to split a corned beef sandwich and bag of chips for lunch.  On the way back to the boat we stopped through the ‘Scottish Highland Creamery’ where we scored a quart of coffee brownie brittle ice cream to be savored later after dinner.   Back aboard we prepped shish kabobs, did some reading and blogging, napped and just generally relaxed for a few hours.  The hot sun had now gone back behind the clouds and a nice bay breeze wafted through the windows keeping it comfortable.  

Sampling of the many old charming homes

Nice view of the river from the town park with boats out sailing

A walk along the small but nice beach

Riva getting her beach time and swim on

6/16/25 Another day in St Michaels

Erik has crabs 🦀!
….or actually just A crab

Erik was up early and shoved off in the dinghy to try to catch some crabs!  Only slightly successful as he had a couple on the string with chicken tied to it but wasn’t able to get them all the way in 🤨.   He was trying to use one of our bike baskets as a net because our only net is a nylon fishing net and would be a real PITA to get the crabs out.   Finally right at the back of the boat as he came in he caught one and got it in the basket (yes that’s our bike basket🤪).  We decided to move the boat closer to the dinghy dock as it was a pretty good haul to get Riva into shore.  After a bit of a struggle with a very well set, or hung up anchor, we managed to get the anchor up and move on up the creek.   It got fairly shallow but we had no problems and pretty quickly got the anchor re-set and took Riva to the park for a walk.  

Selfie from the top of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse
Circa 1879
The lighthouse….not Erik and Renee

We decided to leave Riva on the boat while we headed back into town to explore the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum more.  Erik decided to release his lonely crab as cooking a single crab seemed like a lot of effort.  Walking through town we stopped at several shops looking for old bay seasoning, vinegar, and a single beer just in case Erik was able to catch a mess of crabs to cook up this evening.  The maritime museum was very well done and informative.  It sits on a huge (probably 6-8 acre) ‘campus’.  There were many early skiffs used for oystering and crabbing, the main occupation of most of the early settlers of the area.  Lots of displays including one on the Underground Railroad that included the history of Frederick Douglas who grew up and was enslaved in the town before becoming a well known abolitionist.  A lighthouse and several other buildings (about 8-9 total) held so much history and information.  There is a working boat building/repair yard where there were several people working on old wooden boats.  One was getting a completely new hull from the waterline down.  This one had been started 3 years ago and they are hoping to have it done by the end of summer.  Finally exhausted from the overload of history and lots of walking….. ice cream was needed 🍦😋

The working boatyard
Pretty impressive the time and dedication put into building restoring, and maintains these boats

Interesting and informative stories were told about the histories of these vessels and their owners some dating back to the 1700’s

Back to the boat to rest our feet a bit then grab some dinner of left over pork chops and sweet potatoes.  After taking Riva for a walk in the park and playing some ball with her Erik headed back out on the dinghy to get crabs 🦀…hopefully.  Unfortunately those hopes were again dashed as his haul consisted of just one small crab that was released to see yet another day.   He will try again at one of our upcoming stops; got to use the beer, vinegar, and Old Bay somehow!  

And one more feisty little guy who was returned to the bay to grow big and strong….
And delicious!

6/15/25 - Annapolis to St Michaels

 Happy Father’s Day!!!! 

Erik’s Fathers Day gift

Typical morning aboard Happy Destiny, shoving off a little after 8 to head to the gas dock to fill up.  The wind was pretty strong, and that engine likes to stall at the worst docking times, so it took Erik a couple tries to get to the dock.  Filled the tanks….🤑, then headed into the bay for our 38 mile cruise across the Chesapeake Bay about 9am.  The water was choppy but not too bad.  Our 3 hour tour 😂 landed us in a secluded anchorage behind St. Michaels a little after noon.   Set the anchor, dropped the dinghy and headed to the free town dinghy dock.  It was a little bit of a longer dinghy ride than expected, but got to shore and made the walk to town.  

Love the old beautiful churches in these small towns

Brunch music at one of the many dining option in St Michaels

Lots of restaurants and shops, but we were on a mission to get to the Antique Boat Show and Festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  We weren’t sure if they would let Riva in, we not only managed to get her in, but our admission covers tomorrow too! Winner, winner! There were SOOOOO many antique boats! Lots of beautifully restored wooden boats, Chris Crafts, Lehman’s, and many others we’d not heard of. We came across a sign….

One of the MANY classic boats was a 1966 Marinette Family Cruiser
The owner was giving rides to families
He stated the boat is really his wife’s passion and that she recently bought another to restore out of a field in Kentucky
He REALLY does NOT want another project at 70 yrs old and is going to talk her into selling it to Erik!
Renee says we need another boat 😝 

Uh Oh 😳 Erik wants one!  Moby Dick is a 1966 Marinette Family Cruiser.  “Perfect for our river” he says, “ perfect for the grandkids” he says 🤦🏻‍♀️

A sampling of the many antique boats at the show

Back at the boat we used a Thai chicken marinade that we had purchased from one of the small local vendors in a tent at the boat show to make some chicken that was delicious! 😋.  Erik took Riva to shore in what looked like an abandoned yard in order to not have to go all the way back to the town dock which would have been about a 1 mile dinghy ride round trip.  Then another early to bed after a very peaceful evening at anchor sitting and relaxing ⚓️. 

Renee’s new waterman boots
One size fits all!

6/14/25 - Another day in Annapolis

A second day in Annapolis to see the sights meant sleeping in.  Okay Renee and Riva slept in 😊.  Shortly after waking up we headed out to start the day at the “World famous Red house” meeting.  Followed by some shopping and walking through the Main Street where all of the shops were just starting to open up.  Renee bought a few t-shirts.  

We received a nice welcome visitors token at the Red House
Neat clock design 😊
Not sure what kind of tree this was in the rear courtyard but pretty cool trunks and bark

We brought Riva back to the boat and grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch(Renee’s leftovers from dinner).  Next stop, US Naval Academy.  Apparently we are too old to apply 😂😂. We decided on a tour and lucked out with a great tour guide who was an alumni that had returned to the area after retiring and was enjoying doing tours.  He had a great deal of knowledge about the history of academy as well as a few stories!

Slideshow of some of the Naval Academy sites

Herndon Monument
 ‘Plebes’ (first year freshman) climb as a unit at the end of their first year to become seaman
It gets covered in vegetable shortening to make it more difficult  

The Naval Academy Chapel is pretty spectacular 

A memorial plaque in the chapel
Noticed that it was memorializing a guy who died in Mazatlan Mexico
Aboard the steamer ‘Mohican’ on the Teacapan River

Pew with flowers roped off with blue velvet that no one ever sits in dedicated to POW’s and those missing in action

We had hoped to visit Bacon Sails and Marine Supply but they closed at two and it was a decent distance to bike.  We decided to make a go for it hoping to not get caught in the rain that was predicted.  Made it with time to spare and picked up a few small things for the boat.  Still trying to find a new Captains chair for the helm, but no luck.  Not that we could have gotten it back on the bikes even if we did find one!  Another mile further we found a grocery store and got a few things we needed then headed back to the boat.

Back at the boat Renee did a load of laundry, cheapest laundry we have seen this trip, $1 to wash and $1 to dry.  Erik made pork chops and corn on the cob for dinner 😋.  We showered and bathed Riva too! Then headed to town for ice cream 🤪. Another blessed day on the road/waterway of Happy Destiny ❤️

At the Annapolis Yacht club where we are docked a cannon is fired at sunset followed by the playing of 
“To the Colors”
Riva is NOT a fan of this so she went to the lowest point of the boat, under the V birth bed to hide amongst dads shoes ☺️ 

6/13/25 - Rock Hall to Annapolis

Family of ducks out for a swim at sunrise

Riva was pretty interested in the killdeer playing injured to detract her from its nest

Walks and breakfast done, Renee called Annapolis Yacht Basin to see if we could check in early.  They said anytime after 10am, so we started prepping and unplugging and headed out about 8:30am on a smooth bay with just a ripple.   The clear but hazy skies soon revealed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge off in the distance.  It is quite an impressive structure and was the longest span in the world when built in 1952 at 4.35 miles.  A second parallel/adjacent bridge was built in 1973.  Our turn off of the bay into Annapolis Harbor would be just after going under them.   On the short 18.5 mile, 1 hour and 45 minute cruise we saw more ships and large commercial vessels than we had seen in a long time; probably since Mobile Alabama many years ago.  Dodging crab pots was also the name of the game today.  Anywhere outside of the main shipping channel apparently is fair territory for dropping lines and pots into the bay to catch the Maryland state delicacy.  Hitting one or getting one caught up in the boats running gear would be a bad thing so it was necessary to keep eyes wide open.

Smooth cruising

Life is good!

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Our short 18.5 mile jaunt today

We pulled in to Annapolis about 10:30am after a beautifully smooth cruise.  They led us to our slip that was all the way to the rear of the marina, closest to the physical yacht club building and shore.  Nice and convenient for getting bikes off and taking Riva for walks.   Almost directly adjacent to our slip is ‘Ego Alley’, a row of 10-12 yachts that are insanely BIG (most 100+ feet long).  

After getting checked in we went on a search for grass for Riva (scarce in this area) and found a park about a block away.   With Riva tucked back into the boat with AC we hopped on our bikes to explore the city.   We rode about a half mile first to a noon meeting where once again we were asked to speak 🤨. Erik begrudgingly agreed.  After the meeting we biked through the historic downtown with many historic homes and buildings.  In Church Circle visited the Episcopal Church that had lots of history dating back to pre revolutionary times and included gifts from the Queen of England.  Next was the oldest in the nation, still in legislative use, statehouse dating back to 1783!  Lots of amazing history in those walls including George Washington resigning from his position as commander and chief after the Revolutionary War  here.   We then took an 1/2 hour tour of a the Hammond-Harwood House, described as the premier example of preserved colonial homes which dates back to 1774.   The guide, George, was an old man (just slightly younger than the home 😂) who had good knowledge and did a fine job of sharing about the house, it’s occupants, and the time period.  Our next stop was the US Naval Academy where we couldn’t enter without a drivers license.  Erik had not brought his and Renee doesn’t have a “real” ID yet.   We will try the naval academy again tomorrow.  

Maryland State House 
Tons of history in these rooms!

We only made it into the lobby of the Naval Academy
Erik had no ID at all
Renee didn’t have a “real” ID
😂 

St Anne’s Parish alter

Back at the boat we took a quick nap and rested a bit before heading to the Boatyard Bar and Grill, with Riva as they had a dog friendly patio.  Erik finally got his crab cake with crab Mac n cheese and Renee had an amazing chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries.  We shared a butter cake a la mode desert with caramel and toffee….delish 😋.  With our bellies full we headed back to the boat to relax for a bit before bed.  As we sat on the aft deck directly behind us through huge plate glass windows we people watched a crowd of folks gathered for what appeared to be a wedding or other type reception.  As the food was being laid out on the serving tables for the guests to partake we sipped our coffee for a very short time before making it an early bedtime.   Pretty sure we were both sawing logs before 9:30pm.  

Boathouse Bar and Grill 
Was recommended by both a fellow looper and locals at the AA meeting
Winner winner chicken dinner!
Or
In Erik’s case Crab 🦀 

6/12/25 - Chesapeake City to Rock Hall MD

It was another peaceful night, this time at the free dock, and we all slept well.  So much so that Erik almost slept through sunrise…almost!  We forgot to mention yesterday that our entrance into Maryland marked the 18th state on our journeys that we’ve been in.  

Sunrise in Chesapeake City

It was predicted to be a hot and sunny day so after our morning routine we shoved off the dock shortly after 7am in an attempt to beat the heat.   After a short 1 mile or so we were officially off of the C&D Canal and onto the Upper Chesapeake Bay which started out fairly narrow and almost more river like but soon widened and opened up to big water.   It was a smooth 43 mile cruise down the bay as we continued to pass several loopers heading north; the flow of them has slowed now as we believe many are now north of us still awaiting the delayed opening of the Erie and other NY State Canals.  The heavy spring rains have played havoc on the openings.   While cruising Renee decided that a marina sounded in order with the heat.   So, she found one that had a pool and made a reservation.

Our route today into the narrow top of the Chesapeake

Once settled in at Northpoint Marina in Rock Hall we left Riva aboard in the AC and set off on foot to walk into town.  It was a hot 1 mile walk but proved to be worth it.   We had read and been told that Rock Hall was a very small, old fishing village so our expectations for excitement was not high; the way we actually often prefer it.   The first of two museums we came to, which was about 1/2 mile out of town the opposite direction, turned out to be closed for renovations even though it said it was open online…should have called to confirm 🤷‍♂️.   Walking into town the first thing we came to was a coffee shop…our kinda town!  As hot as it was a coffee wasn’t on the top of mind but a double shot espresso frappe sure was.  We chose to split one and we’d often wondered what happens to the extra drink that always seems to get left in the blender when they make these up.  In today’s case the lady was kind enough to pour the substantial extra into a second cup for us so we didn’t have to split it after all 🙂.  As we moved down Main St there turned out to be a nice selection of small businesses including restaurants, bakeries, fresh farm stand, and the usual souvenir shops.  We stopped into a couple before heading back out of town the other direction to the ‘Waterman’s Museum’ which was small but had some interesting things to see about the history of the town, particularly as it relates to crabbing and oyster harvesting.   

Some sites of Rock Hall
Each town we’ve stopped in there has been a small dentist office on the main drag…hoping we don’t need one again!

Waterman’s Museum 
And 
Oysterman Statue and piles of crab pots along the bay

Renee scored herself seahorse earrings at one of the small shops in town

Some of the many pretty flowers and gardens along our walk

On the way back to the marina we took a different route that brought us by the towns small public beach and along a different part of the waterfront.  By the time we made it back the swimming pool that we walked by on the way to our dock was calling our names.  Renee suited up right away and headed over while Erik hung back for a bit with Riva and got onto a brief work call before heading over to join.  There were two other couples at the pool, one local to Rock Hall and the other from Guntersville Alabama.   The Alabama couple were loopers aboard ‘Watermelon Trawl’ and they had some good intel to share about their recent stops in the area which soul be our upcoming ones.  The local guy gave Erik some pointers on how to best go about catching some of his own crabs 🦀 to cook up.  

 

Had to add the ‘POOL TIME’ caption for Renee to allow this one into the blog 
😝 

                                             

The evening was spent back at the boat chatting with the only other couple on our dock who were also transients, eating a dinner of leftovers, walking up to do a load of laundry, and putting teak oil on the bow pulpit and steps up from the gunwales of the boat.  In this marina we were docked right up against the sea wall looking out onto the open water of the Chesapeake and the warm steady breeze kept it very comfortable (and most importantly NOT buggy!).  We rounded out the evening by sitting on the rock sea wall to watch a beautiful sunset before walking up to shower and finish laundry 🧺 before heading off to bed.   Rock Hall was a nice and relaxing stop which was in order given that tomorrow we will be moving along to the much larger Annapolis which will likely be much busier.

Life Is Good

🌅 

6/11/25 - layover day in Chesapeake City MD

It was a very peaceful and calm night at anchor with nice temperatures and breeze to keep the cabin comfortable and offer up a great nights sleep.  As usual Erik was up before dawn and at about 5:30am noticed that one of the sailboats across the bay was pulling off of the city dock where we had hoped to secure a spot for tonight.  The dinghy was still tied off and floating behind the boat so he quickly got down on the swim deck to get the motor off and get it up onto its davits which stirred Renee and Riva from their slumber.  Now up on deck Erik pulled anchor and we moseyed through the bay zig zagging through the other anchored boats and over to the dock where we tied up for the day/night.  

Sun rising after moving over to the free dock from our anchorage

Gorgeous Grand Banks…love the color!

After coffee and a light breakfast we got the bikes down and loaded Riva into her basket for a ride around the bay to the C&D Canal Museum which was a very nicely done, free attraction.   All of the towns along the waterways of America have their own stories and Chesapeake Cities is long and interesting.  

Steam engines, wheel, and lots of scale models. Very old original pump house.

After a PBJ and some chips for an early lunch we again departed on the bikes, this time leaving Riva aboard to stay cool and happy.  There was a noon AA meeting 3.5 miles away that google maps indicated was moderately hilly.  Our thighs judged slightly differently by the time the 7 miles away that round trip was completed!  About 1/2 mile into the ride we had to cross the Chesapeake City Bridge which was part of a busy main road and spanned about 1/2 mile.   We chose to walk the bikes over the bridge because the walkway was only about 2.5’ wide.   The remaining ~3 miles of the ride were quite hilly; some up and some down.   It was a good meeting at a treatment center, Haven House, that in reading about its history was founded in 1970 (the year both of us were born) ☺️.    

Loved the Traditions reading at the meeting 
Note the way they added phonetics to 
Autonomous (ah-than’-uh-muss)
And
Anonymity (Anna-nim’-itty)
😂 

On the ride back to ‘our side of the canal’ we rewarded ourselves with iced coffee treats from the local small coffee shop, Cafe On The Bay and as we sipped our treats we walked into a couple of the towns shops including Chesapeake Candy Works which resides in a very cool looking historic bank building that still has the vault inside.   We walked out of there with some dark chocolate covered espresso beans, a small bag of butter toffee pecans, and a shot of Turkish coffee which we dumped into our remaining ice of our drinks to give it an extra kick of flavor.   After a rest on the boat in the cool AC we took off for one final ride for the day to the Dollar General (yep….every small town has one) which was about a mile and a half out of the small historic downtown where we got a few needed provisions.   

Chocolate please

The evening was spent aboard making up some yummy chicken tacos, chatting with townspeople, and accomplishing a few small boat chores, most importantly a good cleaning of all the fly bridge eisenglass so we can clearly see the sites while cruising when it’s down.   The town dock area, adjacent marina and restaurant, and park areas were fairly busy with many people mulling around.   Live music was playing at the Tiki Bar directly behind us offering up a nice selection of music for a relaxing end to our day.  

Hot air balloon flying over the small bay