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| Family of ducks out for a swim at sunrise |
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.
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| Chesapeake Bay Bridge |
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| 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.
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| Maryland State House Tons of history in these rooms! |
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| We only made it into the lobby of the Naval Academy Erik had no ID at all Renee didn’t have a “real” ID 😂 |
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| 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.
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| 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 🦀 |
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