Baltimore to Tilghman On Chesapeake

Day #323: Loop Miles to Date = 4,062

On Wednesday this past week, we finally left Baltimore. We had a great time there, but frankly, we were glad to be out of the harbor and the associated floating trash that was ever present. We were able to snag a quick visit with niece Jenny before we left, although in spite of her ongoing attempts to provide us with a sail in the harbor, it was not meant to be. We, unfortunately, always seemed to have something getting in the way of being able to do this, and this is one regret that we leave Baltimore with...maybe next year?!

Rob rented a car and made a trip up to Philadelphia to visit Gigi, and was also able to squeeze in a quick stop to see Lolly, Tom, Charlie and Emmy. It was awesome to see all of them, and we're glad that it worked out before leaving the area!

So...we are now back at Tilghman On Chesapeake, which has turned out to be one of our favorite stops on the Chesapeake. It's just so peaceful here...great views, beautiful facility, fantastic pool, free laundry, etc. And this time around we are delighted to be joined by our friends on ACT III and Corkscrew. We're having fun doing nothing important at all! We also met some fellow loopers on Greek's Folly, and Short Vacation...it was nice to meet some new folks and spend time getting to know them as well. Chances are, we'll run into them again along the way somewhere.

One highlight while here was an afternoon of beading! Phyllis on Corkscrew is a jewelry designer and artist, and she has a full inventory of materials and tools on board. So, yesterday afternoon, the girls from all 5 boats spent the afternoon on Corkscrew designing and crafting their own bracelets and necklaces...rumor has it that there might be a second session yet this afternoon (Saturday) as well. They had a wonderful time with it, and are very thankful for Phyllis's generosity and expertise!

And now a few pics:

Baltimore Harbor Fire Boat Station

One final shot of Fort McHenry on our way out of the harbor.

There is not a lot to see near the marina...but this little restaurant has a fantastic breakfast menu. We had a really good brunch here this morning.

The inside of the restaurant. One of the book cases was stuffed with all sorts of different cook books.

This is what they call a "W" house, germane to this area of the country. It is built in the shape of a "W" in order to allow a breeze from any direction to cool the house. If you have windows open in the front, back and sides, the breeze will cool no matter which direction it is blowing.

All for now...

More From Baltimore

Day #316; Loop Miles to Date = 4,014

It amazes us sometimes how busy we get when we think we have nothing to do! We've now been here in Baltimore for about 3 weeks, and while we are getting antsy about moving on next week, there still seems to be too little time left to get things done that we thought we'd get accomplished while here. But...all is good and we'll try to catch you up on some of the stuff that we've been up to.

We're happy to report that the surgery on our pup Kikie went very well, and for all intents and purposes, she is fully recovered. The doc removed a rather large bladder stone, and we are hopeful that in the long run, this will eliminate the issues we've been having with her. We still have some medication protocols that we are in the midst of to sorting out, but we know that she must feel a bunch better having this out of her system. Not a perfect world yet on the puppy front, but for now all is fine.

As planned, we were happy to see Rich and Verna, and we had a great time with them...including a delicious meal at Mama's Oyster House in Canton. Unfortunately, just as soon as they got home, they learned that our niece Lara had a serious medical issue requiring surgery while traveling far from home on business. A very stressful week followed, but we understand that she is now resting at home and on the mend. Best wishes for a less stressful and speedy recovery Lara!

One afternoon, we took the water taxi over to Fort McHenry (where the Star Spangled Banner was penned) and were fortunate to be able to view a Navy Tattoo while there (basically a recognition event with full pomp and circumstance). They had the Navy Band playing, the Navy Drill Team performing (amazing) and some period re-enactments of military maneuvers with cannons and all. If it hadn't been 95 degrees out it would have been more enjoyable, but we had fun none the less.



The Drill Team and Band exiting the Fort.

We also had the pleasure of diving under the boat again...after a rain storm unleashed a massive amount of floating debris. Once again, this excursion produced another plastic bag that had attached itself to the water intake for the AC system...we won't miss this part of our visit here at all!

Rob's golf trip was a success...at least the part about catching up with his golf buds...the golf wasn't too stellar as predicted. And Sandy showed off her boat maintenance skills while he was gone...correctly diagnosing the need for cleaning out the AC strainer when the AC units quit working. She unfortunately spent one night with no air at all, but was able to fix the problem the next morning and had the AC up and running after performing the needed service.

(It seems like we spend a lot of time talking about AC problems doesn't it? These units are running almost non-stop in this weather, and we need them to keep doing so. Therefore, they command our attention daily to make sure we stay cool.)

Last night we were treated to an evening with 2 of Rob's fraternity brothers who came into town to visit. A big shout out to Mark (don't call me Deese) as well as Tom (Tindoo) and his wife Karen. We really appreciated the effort they made to come see us, and we had a great time catching up and spending some quality time with "old" friends. We hope our travels next spring on the way back up here allow for a repeat visit...with more brothers perhaps??

So...that hits some of the hightlights for the past few weeks...we'll be on the move by Wednesday next week, so hopefully it won't be so long before we post another entry. Thanks for reading this lengthy post...

Another shot of the vessel that collects all of the floating debris in the Harbor...we just wish it was more effective and made more frequent visits to our patch of water.

The flag flying over Fort McHenry. A little known fact that we learned...whenever a new American Flag is commissioned, this flagpole is the first place in the country where it is flown. This as an homage to the birthplace of our National Anthem...very cool!

Baltimore

Day #297; Loop Miles to Date = 4,014

Another milestone...on our way to Baltimore, we crossed over the 4,000 mile mark for our journey thus far! Wow...it has flown by...it is hard to believe that it adds up to this many miles when you are only traveling 30 to 50 miles per travel day. The good news is that there are many, many more miles to go!

We are now in Baltimore, at Anchorage Marina. We needed a spot to stop for awhile to take care of some things...most notably to make sure that we were on top of what needed to be done with our pups. We will spare you the details, but the good news is that we found a vet here that we really like, and he is going to perform some surgery on Kikie tomorrow. We have now learned that she has a large stone in her bladder that needs to be removed. The good news is that it is a rather routine procedure, and once accomplished, all of her issues should completely disappear. This will make both her and us a whole lot happier. We are glad we chose to figure this out here, and know that we will be here long enough to take care of any follow-up issues that might arise.

Additionally, this location will allow us to catch up with some additional family and some good friends. Already this week, Rob's roommate, Jeff, from college was able to join us for dinner. It was awesome to spend time together, and we hope to see him again while we are here. There are also some plans in the works for a small handful of Rob's fraternity brothers from college to make a road trip to visit us on the boat. We're hoping that they can pull it off, and look forward to some fun and frivolity!

We also have some nieces in the area who we hope to connect with (that's you Jenny and Gabi) and as well plan to have Rich and Verna come see us again from York (Rob's brother). On top of all this, Rob is planning a short get-away to play some golf with his golf buddies...in Colorado! This will be the first golf for him in about a year and a half, so expectations are rather low and he has been begging for more strokes all summer.

And now to the theme for this entry...the Baltimore Harbor. We are quite happy with our choice here for an extended stay, as it is very secure, has floating docks, laundry and ice nearby, and a grocery right across the street. We have no wifi at our slip, but other than this, it is close to ideal. But the water quality in the harbor leaves a bit to be desired...as to be expected in a harbor that is basically a "dead end". Fortunately they have these wild looking water borne machines that collect all of the floating trash and debris:

But unfortunately, the task is never ending, and these boats can't keep up with the influx of debris. It often looks like this around the dock:

Note on the right side of this pic...that's our blue bow right there.

The sorta good news is that it doesn't smell! It is mostly plastic bottles and Styrofoam cups and sticks and stuff. However...we unfortunately had a need to go swimming a couple of days ago. The good news is that the wind shift had blown all of this sort of stuff away from our boat when Rob decided to jump in. The short version of the story is that our air conditioning quit, and after more than an hour of trouble shooting and trying other solutions to the problem, we deduced that something was stuck on our raw water intake, preventing water flow to our a/c units. Which in turn means that they shut down and don't work.

So...the unfortunate solution ultimately was to jump in and dive under the boat to check to see if indeed this was the problem. Fortunately, it was a  quick swim, and the problem was solved once we found a black plastic bag stuck to the inlet. And as long as he was in the water, Rob was also able to check our prop and rudder zincs, and found both to be in good shape. We just hope that this is the only time we need to do this while we are here! A long hot shower was all that was needed to put this behind us.

Getting ready to get wet.



Now this is fun...

 

 

The culprit!