Annapolis

Annapolis, what an awesome place!  So full of history everywhere you turn and more sailboats than anyone has ever seen in such a small space!  We didn't intend on staying here as long as we did but there was a threat of some nasty weather coming so we said "why not stay put in a place where there is so much to see and do"!

We came here a few years ago by car but it is not the same as coming by boat!  The harbor is the best we've ever visited.  We have spent part of two days touring the Naval Academy - mostly in the museum, which is so interesting and beautiful.  If you've never been here you should consider it.  The grounds of the academy are huge and the buildings are just magnificent - especially when you think about that they were built in 1845!  The museum takes you through the Navy's involvement in the wars that plagued our country from it's establishment beginning with the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War and then into the age of space exploration.  The Naval Academy chapel is just magnificent and the body of John Paul Jones is buried in a crypt below it.

Then there's the rest of the "old" town with so many buildings dating back hundreds of years ago everywhere you look!  I have never been to a place with so many interesting restaurants, bars and shops housed in such old buildings - block after block in my life!  It just goes on and on and you can't help but be amazed as you walk along the brick paved sidewalks!

We tried to make a lot of pictures to show how very special this place that was for a very brief period our nation's Capitol - that's right but only for a few short 10 months!  However, they do boast the continous title of being Maryland's state capitol with the largest wood-structured dome in America where Gen. George Washington resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on 12/23/1783 and the home of the Naval Academy.

Thomas Point Light, which marks the channel to Annapolis in the Chesapeake Bay

Naval Academy on the harbor

Annapolis Harbor

Dome of the Maryland State House sticking up above the trees.

Annapolis "downtown"

Eastport, which is a section of Annapolis located on the other side of the harbor is home to a company named Weems & Plath.  They have been manufacturing some of the finest precision navigational instruments for almost 100 years.  I specifically wanted to be sure we located it while in Annpolis because our good friends - Gail and Herbert gave us one of their compasses as a bon voyage gift earlier this spring.  Here's a picture of the very unassuming buildings where these fine products have been made for almost a century!  Thanks again, you two!