Solomons Island, MD

On May 23, we arrived in the Solomons, on the western short of the Chesapeake, after a sunny cruise with one to two foot seas.  Even though we knew that Solomons was a major boating center, we were unprepared to see all the marinas and the large number of  boats traversing the waters.  All of a sudden we had to be very cautious of heavy boat traffic moving this way and that!  We had reservations at the very friendly (and cost effective) Calvert’s Marina.  We borrowed the courtesy car, an old Mercedes, and drove into “town” to the grocery store and fish market.  Since one of our goals was to eat as many soft shell crabs as we could get our hands on, we eagerly bought four fresh ones from the local fish market.  

While Jonny washed down the boat (you wouldn’t believe how salt–encrusted it can become running through the Chesapeake), Lynn made the best soft shell crab dinner we’ve ever had!  These were fat, juicy and succulent and along with corn on the cob and salad, we had a meal as good as, if not better, than any we could get at a fine restaurant!
The next morning we took the dinghy just across the inlet to the Calvert Maritime Museum.  There were several highlights here including a real lighthouse that had been transported from the bay to this spot.  It was one of the old fashioned lighthouses that the keeper lived in with his family.  The museum also had displays of the many wooden boats used in the Chesapeake as well as an aquarium and displays of endangered and invasive species of fish and plants.   

Later that afternoon we left to cross the Chesapeake on a four hour run.   Although we had checked the winds, the ride was pretty rough.  We had to carefully “batten down the hatches” as the boat was rocking so much that the heavy salon table fell over as did many other miscellaneous  items.  Unfortunately, we did not do a good enough job of securing every little thing (i.e. one of the toilet lids) because the little rubber sink plug in the forward head must have popped off the counter and into the toilet.  When we went to use it, an awful noise ensued and that was the end – at least for now- of that head!  Good thing we have two of them!

Sadly we learned that afternoon that Jonny’s Aunt Pearl died in Connecticut at age 94.  Fortunately, Jonny had just gone to visit her knowing that the end was near.  We stayed at a peaceful anchorage that evening on Fish Creek off of the Little Choptank River surrounded by lovely homes as we figured out how we could get to her funeral.