Annapolis, MD

Once again we were heading to Annapolis.  This time for  several days as it would be our base of operations for a visit from our good friends Addie and Lange King and later, Greg and Lynda Gallagher.  So on Sunday, October 6, we left our lovely anchorage on Harness Creek.  We made the short two hour cruise over to the Annapolis mooring field.  Once again, we had to circle the mooring field for about an hour before a mooring  ball became vacant.  We were lucky to snag it when we did.  The boat searching behind us was still searching 90 minutes later!  The Annapolis Harbor was gearing up for the sailboat show which is a big one.  We were the only trawler in the mooring field, all the others were sailboats and a couple of mega yachts.  

This was to be Lynn’s last real day of cruising for the year since she would be heading up to Philadelphia at the end of the week and Jonny would be heading to Olverson's Marina on the Yeocomico River off of the Potomac to winterize the boat all by himself!

Addie and Lange arrived on Sunday night and we met them for dinner at the Boatyard Grill, our new favorite place.  It’s away from downtown Annapolis where because of the back-to-back boat shows, it’s been kind of crazy.  It’s easy to dinghy to, the food is delicious and it has a great happy hour.

On Monday, after breakfast on the aft deck, we headed into Annapolis proper. Addie and Lange had never been here before so it was a real treat for them to see this charming and historic city.  We walked through old neighborhoods, St. John’s College and the Naval Academy. We had lunch and some beers at Galway’s Irish Pub but were back to Zendo for happy hour and a light dinner.

The weather on Tuesday was quite cool and overcast. Originally we were going to go for a local cruise and maybe anchor overnight somewhere. Instead we decided just to do a day cruise over to Cantler’s, a famous crab restaurant, and tie up there for lunch.  Jonny was still having problems with his ear so he wanted to stay close to Annapolis to get an appointment with an ENT.  We had an excessively crabby lunch, took a little walk in the neighborhood to work it off and headed back to Zendo for a nap.

That evening we rallied and headed back to the Boatyard Grill to take advantage of their great happy hour. It was our last night with the Kings who were leaving in the morning.

They departed on Wednesday morning after a very fun three day visit.  This is the third time Addie and Lange have joined us on Zendo while we were cruising. Each time was either on or adjacent to Lynn’s birthday so the visits are always very celebratory.

On Wednesday and Thursday it was time to start packing both for Lynn’s trip to Phoenix (to accompany Stephanie for an awards ceremony) and for the items Jonny would be bringing home to Miami.  We dinghied over to Annapolis each day to do laundry and so Jonny could go to the ENT while Lynn strolled through the old town and shopped.  Fortunately, the doctor finally diagnosed his ear problem and was able to correct it. No more pain and discomfort after six weeks! 

Our friends Greg and Lynda who live in Alexandria came for lunch on Friday.  Lynn went back with them so she could get a train to Philly on Saturday.  Stephanie invited her to go to Phoenix where Stephanie and others from Aramark who were being recognized for their excellent performance and contribution to the company would be feted at the Phoenician Resort.  Of course, Lynn was thrilled to be chosen as Stephanie’s “plus one”!

This has been yet another wonderful summer of cruising aboard Zendo. Although we didn’t travel as far as we had in the past nor for as long a period of time, it was still a perfect trip.  We took more time to relax and “smell the roses”.  We’ll be sad to get off the water for the next six months but we’re looking forward to settling into our new condo in Miami.  And the best part is we can just look out any window and see beautiful Biscayne Bay!