Annapolis, MD

It was a great treat to stay on anchor after being in a covered slip at White Hall Marina for a week.  We woke up on Wed., July 1, after a nice calm night with only one incident. (Isn’t there always an unexpected incident when boating)?  In the middle of the night we were awakened by a big thunderstorm which we didn’t expect.  We had to jump out of bed to close all the windows and Stratoglass on the fly bridge and aft deck.  Fortunately, no harm done.  

After a lazy morning, we pulled the anchor and set off for Annapolis by 9:10. It was a beautiful sunny day with somewhat cool temperatures and calm seas.  We made it to Annapolis in three short hours and secured a mooring ball in the harbor exactly where we stayed last year. Our plan was to move further back into Spa Creek when Stephanie and Ryan join us the next day because it’s much calmer there than the  rolly and busy main harbor. 

We spent the day getting Zendo ready for our guests.  We had to finish cleaning all the Stratoglass panels, a lengthy three step process, but well worth the effort. Jonny inflated the paddleboard and organized the aft deck so it would be more comfortable with the four of us moving around.  Later in the afternoon it poured rain all of a sudden which caused us to roll down all the carefully rolled up panels and close all the windows. Sound familiar? The rain cooled things down some but the weather was forecasted to be very hot over the next several days. 

On Thursday, we did laundry which involved taking the dinghy onto shore where the harbor master had a washer and dryer located in the ladies room. We also took an Uber to go grocery shopping and finished cleaning Zendo.  Afterwards, we moved up into Spa Creek and grabbed a mooring ball to secure our calmer anchorage.  Ryan, who has been known to get seasick, would be more comfortable in this  calmer setting. 

By 5:30 we took a water taxi to Eastport where we met Stephanie, Ryan and his parents at the Boatyard Grill, one of our favorite restaurants in Annapolis.  The restaurant and the Farrells were definitely prepared for social distancing with masks, lots of outdoor dining and widely separated tables. We really enjoyed meeting Tim and Kerry. Tim, who is a graduate of the Naval Academy was happy to be back on his old stomping grounds.  After an engaging evening and a delicious crab cake dinner, we said our goodbyes and hailed a water taxi to head back to Zendo.

We spent a good part of Friday exploring Annapolis.  Stephanie had never been there before and we wanted her to see this charming historic little city. Unfortunately, some of the major sites were closed due to Covid but we managed to visit the pretty gardens at the William Para House and walk through the grounds of St. John’s College and the State House. 

We had lunch at The Galway Inn, our favorite Irish pub.  Later that afternoon while three of us went swimming off the boat, Jonny Ubered to West Marine to buy a new bilge pump (another unplanned incident). He spent the rest of the afternoon successfully installing it.  He has become quite proficient at all kinds of boat repairs!

Ryan and Stephanie had brought ingredients with them to make us a delicious shrimp curry for dinner. Afterwards we had a fun time playing games before hitting the sack. The next day we would be starting our cruise through the Chesapeake Bay.