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!

St. Michaels

A Maryland town on the Miles River just off of the Chesapeake Bay that boasts the name "The Town that fooled the British" in the War of 1812.  They have a big celebration planned for this summer because of that and it makes me wonder (obviously I didn't pay close enough attention in history class) why after winning our independence from England were we in a war with them again in 1812?  Maybe between reading materials here and the book "Chesapeake" by James Michener, which I am on page 496 of 1001 I will be able to figure that out.  Or maybe one of our nieces or nephews who are currently in school can enlighten us!   

Speaking of that book I'm reading there's a picture of a replica of Capt. John Smith's boat (below), which he sailed all over the Chesapeake Bay.  Based on our experiences with the wind on this bay I cannot imagine how he did that! 

Anyway, St. Michaels is a beautiful town full of rich history, lovely old homes on old brick sidewalks, colorful shops and many wonderful restaurants.  We're told that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld both own homes here and I have kept my eyes peeled  but have not spotted either of them when I have been walking and shopping!

Solomons Island

This is a beautiful place just off of the mouth of the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay and it is the home of thousands of sailboats as well as the very famous Tiki Bar! 

The Calvert Museum is located just behind the screwpile lighthouse, which was moved from the Bay to it's current location by the museum.  The museum also operates one of the old Chesapeake Buy-Boats, which is docked in front of the museum.  These were the "working boats" used by the "watermen" all over the Chesapeake Bay in the early 1900's.  They hold a special and significant place in the history of the Chesapeake.

 

Moving on

Long, hot travel day yesterday.  Winds were extremely light, which makes the water nice and smooth but doesn't bode well for sailing and it brings out the flies!  As you can see - Rick had to get out of the cockpit for a little more air and hopefully to escape the flies!  Thought I would share a coule pictures made along the way of a sailboat that traveled along pretty close to us as well as a couple of "little boats" out of Baltimore that we met on the Bay!

Lastly, just had to share this gorgeous sunset from a couple of evenings ago!

Rappahannock River

Last week we spent a few days in the most beautiful and serene little cove I believe we've ever seen.  The water was crystal clear and green as grass because of all the beautiful trees that surrounded it and hung over it's banks.  There was also a beautiful little spit of white sandy beach that was just perfect for doing a little walking on and dipping your toes into the cool water.  The Ospreys were constantly flying over and diving into the water to find fish for their babies who were still sitting on the nests.  However, one afternoon we were out exploring some of the other creeks which were bountiful in every direction and we saw a mother osprey teaching two of her babies how to fly!  It was really neat to see but it was nothing in comparison to spotting and watching the bald eagles!  Apparently, this area of the Rappahannock River is one of the largest nesting grounds of bald eagles in the US.  Who knew?  One afternoon we spotted 3 eagles!  They sit up on the highest branches of dead trees and I'm guessing they choose those because there are no limbs and leaves to obstruct their 360 degree view.  We tried our best to zoom in and get some pictures but it just didn't turn out too good because of how far they were from us and we were on a "floating" boat, which doesn't bode well for zooming! 

We shared this beautiful spot with two very nice couples from nearby in VA who are vacationing together on their sailboats.  Hi Ron, Sue, Ellis and Marti!

Our next anchorage was just a little farther up the Rappahannock in the harbor of a little town named Urbanna.  It's a really neat little town that is just full of history.  During the Civil War it was a port town where they loaded tobacco onto ships that sailed to Europe (mostly England) to trade their cargo for goods that were not available in the US.  We had a little stormy weather at first but then it turned warmer and nice for Sunday and Memorial Day when all the locals came out in droves to parade in and out of the harbor in every kind of water craft imaginable!  Here too, they have a little white sandy beach and quite a few of them gathered there on Sunday to picnic and hang out on the beach.

Another beautiful anchorage

Just off of the bay.  We shared this anchorage (pictues below) with numerous other boaters for a few days last week.  We specifically chose this spot because there's a marina and boatyard there that have a very good reputation for their work and we needed to have our new autopilo installed.  True to their rep. they did a very nice job - leaving us with nothing more than calibrating it which requires a few girations under sail, which we accomplished without too much anquish yesterday morning once we were back out on the bay!

It's amazing how many interesting people you can meet in one small setting.  We talked to an old sailor/gentleman on a very rickety old cattamaran that has sailed from the Chesapeake Bay to the Bahamas and back 31 times!  As you might imagine he is extremely knowledgeable and very willing to impart some of it to anyone interested enough to listen.  We also met a woman about our age who also single-handedly sails her boat and has just returned from spending the winter in the Bahamas - simply amazing!  On the other end of the spectrum, we met a young couple and their dog (from California) on a brand new 40 ft. cattamaran who have taken two years off to "just sail"!

That's just a small sampling of all the people we did meet in just one week but I thought they were by far some of the most interesting.  I can only imagine how many more there will be as we continue making our way around the bay!

Underway at last!

Well, it certainly didn't happen as quickly as we had planned but we finally left our home base marina (below) and sailed north up the Chesapeake Bay yesterday!  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon with light winds and clear, blue-green water!  By the way - Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all of you to whom it applies.  As far as I know it was the first one that we didn't get to spend with our mothers but they both know that we love them and were thinking of them even though we didn't see them.

We had a very nice, peaceful evening anchored in this lovely spot where we enjoyed watching a gorgeous sunset and listening to our very special "boat music" CD's, which were so thoughtfully made by my sister Leslie and my good friend, Bertie.  Thank you both so much!  The assortment of artists and music genres make for hours of incredible listening pleasure!

We will certainly miss all of our friends and "neighbors" back at the marina.  It was a real pleasure to have gotten to know Mike, Jackie, Emma, Russ, Kimmy and Capt. Mike.  Emma, you will have to keep the ducks fed for me until I return.

Have a great week everyone.  We're certainly going to give it our best!