Tilghman's Island to Cambridge to Oxford to Herrington Harbour North

Day #289; Loop Miles to Date = 3,966

No pics in this post...frankly, some days, we simply forget to take any. Or we snap a few, and they turn out to be lousy and not worth sharing. So...just some words today...

We found Cambridge to be a small, but rather tired town. Half of the store fronts in this town appeared to be closed, and the shops that were open weren't really all that interesting. There were some beautiful older homes and neighborhoods, but obviously not much commerce in the town itself. We did find a very nice restaurant (High Spot) where we had a tasty dinner on Thursday. But on Friday we took off, content that we had given Cambridge a shot.

It was a quick trip to Oxford, only about 14 miles, and we were delighted that our plans coincided with our "old" friends on Inspeyered 2. We figured that it had been 4 months since we had seen each other, and thus there was lots of catching up to do. We had dinner out one night, and docktails on Inspeyered 2 on Saturday. It was great fun to catch up, and as we both will be knocking around the Chesapeake for another couple of months, we plan to find each other again somewhere on the bay.

We now find ourselves once again at Herrington Harbour North, and will likely only be here for one night. We are however fussing with a fan motor on one of our air conditioners that is acting a little cranky. We had someone look at it at Oxford and other than being replaced, our only current option is to live with a noisy fan. But, we certainly do not want to be caught with an air conditioner on the fritz in this weather. So, we plan to check with an on-site refrigeration service company here tomorrow morning to see if they just might have a replacement fan. Chances are they won't, but in the event they do, we may hang out here if we can squeeze into their schedule.

As a side note, the folks at Brewer Oxford Marina were absolutely fantastic in offering to help us diagnose this fan issue. They had 2 different folks visit us to check it out...one of them the general manager on a very hot Saturday afternoon. They had no obligation to help us, but went out of their way to see if they could help. And after these 2 visits, they wouldn't even let us pay them for a service call. This is the sort of outstanding service that the top notch marinas and service yards offer, and it was very much appreciated. Brewer gets an A+ for effort and support. Unfortunately, they did not have any replacement fans that we could make use of, and therefor we decided to live with it for the time being.

All for now...hope everyone is staying cool...

Rock Hall to Tilghman's Island

Day #286; Loop Miles to Date = 3,905

We left Rock Hall on Monday, anticipating that the day might be a little rough, as the winds were forecasted to be in the 15mph range, but we planned to stay in the East Bay, and utilize both Poplar Narrows and Knapps Narrows to avoid going out into the main Bay. And it paid off, as we never experienced rough seas at all and had a very pleasant cruising day. Poplar Narrows was really no problem at all...just a few fish pots to dodge. Knapp's Narrows on the other hand was indeed narrow, and a bit shallow. It was fine for us, but if you were to catch it at low tide with the wrong wind condition, it could certainly be a problem for boats with drafts deeper than ours.

The payoff was that we found an absolute gem of a stop at Tilghman's on Chesapeake Marina. It is just a gorgeous spot...quiet, peaceful and reasonably well protected. It has a gorgeous pool setting, free laundry, floating docks, passable wifi, and very reasonable rates. The only downside is that it is a bit isolated, with only a couple of eateries close by, and only a small country store within walking distance for some bare essentials if needed. But, the dock master offered us the use of his personal car to run to St Michaels if we needed provisioning, and did everything he could to make our stay an absolute pleasure. We expect to come back here for another stay...it was very enjoyable.

Sandy also found some entertainment options while here. On a marker near the dock there was an osprey nest that had 3 full grown babies in it. This provided hours of enjoyment, watching the parents both feed and start flying lessons. There was a level of concern when we had a front roll through with some 40 mph gusts...but of course, it all turned out fine...these guys knew what they were doing and were all hunkered down and safely weathered the storm. As we depart, it is a very crowded nest...these birds are basically full grown, but still have more lessons to learn about fending for themselves...they must be sleeping on top of each other at this point!

Osprey babies waiting for a snack from Mom and Dad.

 So...today (Thursday) we are off to Cambridge to check it out, and then from there we plan to go to Oxford for a couple of days. Then, we'll decide what's next...

At a local restaurant, we found this display of oyster serving dishes on the wall, a testament to the rich fishing history of this area. This specific area is home to one of the most vibrant fisheries on the Chesapeake. And every day we saw dozens of watermen entering and exiting the harbor plying their trade (clams, oysters, crab, etc.)

Panoramic view of the marina...it doesn't do it justice really.

Did we mention that it was quiet??

Elevated pool with a 270 degree view of the Choptank River. About half the time we were there, we had it to ourselves!

Glad we're not swimming in the bay...the jellyfish population is very healthy. We literally saw 100's of these right next to our slip.

Evening pic of the clubhouse with a hazy moon.

Sandy found these Barn Swallows to be quite cute resting on our bow rail. Rob on the other hand wanted to shoo them away with vigor to avoid having a mess to clean up.

Havre de Grace to Rock Hall

Day #281; Loop Miles to Date = 3,870

We had a blast with family on Thursday! Gigi, Linda and Carl drove down to meet us on the boat for a day and it was fantastic! They got in just before 11, and we toured the boat for a bit, and then went out for a really nice lunch at Tidewater Grill (thanks Mom!). Then we jumped back on the boat and went for a cruise up the Susquehanna as far as we could (only about 5 miles) to Port Deposit. We turned around and then went back out in the Chesapeake for a few miles, just because we could and it was a beautiful day. A really nice afternoon cruise. And then to top it off...we went into town for some terrific ice cream...none of us are admitting whether this was dinner or not?

The day was over too quickly, but we are so glad that we were all able to get together...it was so good to see family!

We hung around in Havre de Grace for another day, getting some laundry and a few other things done. We were able to take a bike ride around town and saw most of what the area has to offer...we enjoyed our time here in this quaint, small town.

On Saturday, we decided to head south again, and ended up back at Rock Hall Landings Marina. We caught up with our friends on Act lll and some other boaters who they had met for a Meridian Rendezvous...had a nice dinner out, and then they all took off on Sunday. We are at Rock Hall for another night, and then we will head south to explore a few places that we haven't seen yet.

Carl, Linda and Mom arriving!

Heading to the boat after lunch...time for a cruise.

Ready for some cruising!

 

Relaxing view from the top deck.

Sandrobber crew with Gigi and Linda. A great day had by all!

White Point to Calvert to Herrington Harbour North to Baltimore to Havre de Grace

Day #278; Loop Miles to Date = 3,810

Phew! Last week went by very quickly. We left White Point Marina on Saturday (which is on the Potomac) and by Tuesday afternoon we were at the north end of the Chesapeake at Havre de Grace. So in the last 7 days, we have been in 7 different marinas...much busier than we typically are. But, we wanted to get to Havre de Grace (Penn's Beach Marina to be exact) in order to meet some of Rob's family tomorrow (Thursday). Rob's Mom, sister, and brother-in-law are driving down from the Philadelphia area to join us on the boat...it's gonna be great! We've been looking forward to this date for some time...so all we need now is some cooperation from the weather...fingers crossed.

Here are some highlights from the past few days...

The weather behaved for the most part...the crew (the 4-legged variety) was fussing at the captain on a few occasions, but we managed with no real issues. White Point Marina was nice...very quiet, and a spot that we would definitely return to if it makes sense for our itinerary. Remote, but worth a stop for sure. Calvert Marina was a repeat (3rd time actually) and this time we tried the North location of the 2 Herrington Harbour Marinas. Both are resort marinas, but North was prettier, and had a full service yard that appeared to be capable of just about everything.

Then we stopped at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore...this is also a spot that we could return to...floating docks, and reasonable access to facilities. We didn't have a chance to do much on this visit (other than we both were able to get haircuts) and there is plenty to do in Baltimore to warrant a return trip. Then finally, we made it to Penn's Beach Marina at the mouth of the Susquehanna River...mostly it is a condominium complex with a small marina, but it suits us just fine!

So...tomorrow is fun with family, and then after that...who knows?

 

This was actually from Boathouse Marina in Colonial Beach...from our slip. We spotted this eagle feeding amongst a group of vultures. Interesting...

Point No Point Lighthouse

Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse

Baltimore Lighthouse

Our rides awaiting us...to explore Havre de Grace.

Now that's one tired crew member!

Belmont Bay to Boathouse Marina to White Point Marina

Day #273; Loop Miles to Date = 3,631

No pics today...just a quick update...penning this entry as we are traveling today on the Potomac. It is hot, hot, hot - but the water is flat, and there is no one at all out here with us, so it is a very peaceful ride today.

We just have had no luck with marinas in Colonial Beach. The last time, we were sitting in mud, and this time (at a different marina) we had power issues. Last night we had to run the generator because every time we turned on our A/C, we tripped the circuit breaker on the boat. We and the marina fiddled around with it yesterday, but decided that we would just use our generator to run our A/C...which we could do with no issues.

We conjectured that we had a problem with our A/C circuit breaker, but after a visit from an electrician this morning, we deduced that the problem was most likely a weak power supply from the marina. There is a chance that our older A/C unit is starting to go (1 of our 2 was replaced last fall) but we will need to have this diagnosed by someone at another stop. For now, we expect that we are fine...we'll know with more certainty once we hook up to the power at White Point later today. If we have no issues tonight, then we can know what the issue was with more conviction.

One thing that we must point out though is that the folks at Boathouse Marina were wonderful. Bill, the owner lives on his boat there in the marina, and was helpful, friendly, and interested to make sure that we were taken care of. He loaned us his car to make a run to the grocery store, and also discounted our rate because of our issues...even though we had no clue at the time whether the issue was with us or the marina. And this morning, he arranged for the electrician to show up first thing, and after spending a half hour with us, he didn't charge us a nickel! The marina is small and a bit tired, but the people were just terrific.

Other than that, not much going on. We are still on track to meet up with some family mid-next week...and for now it appears that the weather will continue to cooperate.

All for now...

Final Days in DC...and Back to Belmont Bay Marina

Day #371; Loop Miles to Date = 3,541

Washington, DC was terrific, but honestly, we were ready to move along after the 4th. We walked our legs off for 2 weeks, saw some amazing sights, spent quality time with good friends, and generally had a fantastic time. In the final segment of our stay here, we added these to our list of sights seen:

• National Botanic Garden
• American Indian History Museum
• Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
• Union Station
• The Holocaust Museum

Sandy ventured off one morning on her own to tour the Botanic Garden and the American Indian Museum...and saw some absolutely stunning flowers in the garden. Here is just a sample of the many beautiful plants that were there.

 

One disappointment was that we were unable to hook up with a fraternity brother of Rob's (Jeff) for the fireworks on the 4th as we had hoped and planned. The weather took a miserable turn on the 4th, and it just did not make good sense for him to fight the crowds/traffic, waste an expensive hotel stay, and risk not seeing any of the fireworks in the event they were canceled. As it turned out, the fireworks did occur, but our anticipated perfect view was partially blocked by the very low cloud cover. So, we only saw about the lower 1/2 of the display. In the end...a good decision for him not to make the effort. The good news is that we will have ample chances to get together another time while we are in the upper Bay region.

We also had fun one day when we decided to just jump on the train and find our way to Union Station. There was a Metro stop just a couple of blocks from the Marina, and we only needed one transfer to find our way. Lots of shops in the station, and the station itself is a magnificent building. Not too many pictures here, but we had a fun and relaxing outing (more or less away from most of the tourist crowds).

Our vantage point at the Capitol Yacht Club on the Washington Channel (just off the Potomac) allowed us to see first hand the amount of overhead security that occurs over the Capitol. The area where we were is closed to private and commercial air traffic, and open only to authorized security and government aircraft. We are pretty sure that we saw the President being shuttled back and forth a few times, mostly because we saw 3 USA helicopters in formation, which is supposed to be how they travel.

However, we also learned that there are plenty of practice runs flown in addition to actual shuttle runs. There is an enormous amount of helicopter traffic...on the order of 50+ helicopters per day were flying over us at all hours. Here is a sampling of the variety that we saw:


DC Metro Police

US Park Police

United States of America

This guy was looking right at us!

Here are the 3 USA helicopters flying in formation.

US Coast Guard

These guys went right by us a couple of times a day. Yes, that's a pretty big gun on the bow...

 And so now we are off again. Our friends on Act lll left DC yesterday, and our friends on Corkscrew are staying in DC for about another week. We are off on our own for awhile, and very much looking forward to seeing some of Rob's family as we make our way north on the Chesapeake Bay. For the next week or so, we will be re-tracing our some of our recent steps, but we'll be checking out plenty of new spots for the rest of the summer on the Chesapeake. Bring on the heat!