Annapolis, MD

We left Rock Hall after a leisurely morning on Monday, September 30 and headed back across the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis.  We had another fine weather day - warm and sunny with smooth seas - boating at its best.  After about two and a half hours, we entered the Annapolis Harbor mooring field and were told by the dock master that they were full due to the upcoming Annapolis Boat Show.   We decided to try our luck and cruised up and down the mooring field and at last, lo and behold, we found an empty mooring ball! We snagged the last mooring that had just been released and it was in a great location.  We were surrounded by boats, mostly sailboats, some trawlers and a few mega yachts, the largest one being right in front of us!

We dinghied into town to start exploring.  Annapolis is such a beautiful historic small city.  It was great to be back there.

After reading reviews of the million restaurants in town, we decided to go to the Boatyard in Eastport, just across the water. It was reported to have the BEST crab cakes in Maryland and a great happy hour.  So we dinghied five minutes over to Eastport just in time for happy hour. As it turned out, the crab cakes and the happy hour proved to be as good as they said.  Apparently, Michelle Obama declared them to be the best she’s ever had and we have to agree that they were excellent!

The next morning Jonny went to another health clinic because his ear, that had been bothering him for weeks, was still not better even though he had already seen a doctor. Lynn and Cathy checked out a number of nice shops in town and scouted out a lovely French restaurant for lunch.  Jonny met us there and we had a very delicious lunch of soft shell crabs and a bottle of rose’ wine! 

After lunch we headed over to the United States Naval Academy where we participated in an excellent tour.  We had a delightfully enthusiastic multi-lingual guide who showed us everything she could and regaled us with interesting facts, lots of history and entertaining anecdotes about this storied academy.  The grounds were beautiful and the facilities were outstanding. We even saw a plaque with Cathy’s great uncle’s name commemorating him and others who lost their lives fighting for our country (see the second name from the top on the last photo that follows).

The tour was so long that we went straight back to the Boatyard for their great happy hour and skipped dinner. Are we just a little food obsessed??

We returned to Zendo just before dark and hit the sack early after our fun-filled day.

Rock Hall, MD

The plan for the day on Sunday, September 29 was to cruise across the Chesapeake Bay to Rock Hall on the Eastern Shore.  Originally, Lynn and Cathy were going to go to the big farmer’s market in Baltimore that several people had recommended.  But given that Cathy is as big a news junky as Lynn and Jonny, we all ended up watching some of the Sunday morning news shows unstead.  After all it’s not everyday that the president is facing an impeachment inquiry!

After lunch on board we headed out for our three hour cruise across the bay. As we left Baltimore we saw this typical juxtaposition of boats on the bay.  

It was a beautiful sunny day with little wind so our crossing was smooth and uneventful, just how we like it.  We arrived at Rock Hall Landing Marina where a very friendly dock master helped us to tie up. We’ve been seeing a lot of these traditional Chesapeake Bay deadrise boats that watermen use to catch crabs, fish and oysters.

We walked into the little town to explore.  However, because it was Sunday, most places were closed.

Lynn had learned that a local music venue was hosting a late afternoon jazz concert.  We happened to walk by it during intermission and walked in to check it out. We were somewhat surprised to see the small crowd all looking older than us. It was a very informal setting but no one invited us in so we just moved on.

We returned to Zendo for cocktails before heading out to dinner at Waterman’s Restaurant, the best in town and the only one open!  We had yet another seafood dinner on their porch with a beautiful sunset in the background.

Baltimore, MD

We left our lovely anchorage on Friday, September 20 at 10 a.m. on a beautiful summer-like day. Jonny went on a long paddleboard ride all around Worton Creek before we left.  After an uneventful four hour cruise we entered Baltimore Harbor, where there were some pretty impressive ships,  and we arrived at Anchorage Marina. 

This was our first visit to Baltimore by boat.  We would be staying at the Anchorage for a week while we went to Solomon’s Island for a Marine Trawlers Owners Association (MTOA) board meeting.  Later in the week we would be volunteering at Trawlerfest at another marina in Baltimore.  We were very happy with the Anchorage Marina which had newly renovated docks, full length finger piers, a very nice cruisers lounge and lots of sponsored activities for dock owners and cruisers.

As we were exploring the marina we ran into Liz and Steve from Shingebiss who we thought had already left for the Solomon’s. We had fun catching up with them and comparing notes on our summer cruises.

We discovered that the amazing Baltimore Aquarium was half price on Friday nights so we headed over there for a few hours of excellent exploration.  

On Saturday, we went to a great farmer’s market in nearby Fell’s Point, a wonderful historic neighborhood with cobblestone streets and narrow interesting row houses.  The corn on the cob we bought at the market was as good as any we got while we were in Connecticut,  which is saying a lot for us Connecticut natives.

That evening we met Stephanie’s best friend, Amanda and her husband Ryan at a lively seafood restaurant called Choptank in Fell’s Point.  We had a great time visiting with them.  Amanda is a resident at Johns Hopkins and her husband is a pharmacist. They are both working long hours but managing to enjoy living in this fun city.

The next day we rode our bikes to a very unusual and interesting museum called the American Visionary Art Museum.  This fascinating collection of works by non-mainstream artists was well worth the visit. We spent several hours there.

On the way back, Lynn got a flat tire on her bike but fortunately we were close enough to the marina so it was just a short walk back. That evening we picked up the rental car we would be using to drive to the Solomons. 

We left very early on Monday morning so we would arrive at Solomon’s Island in time for the MTOA board meeting.  We were excited for this visit because the meeting was being held in a lighthouse and several of the board members, including us, would be staying overnight there since the lighthouse is also an Air B&B!  It was quite an amazing setting overlooking the water.  The house was really a duplex where the two halves could open up each to the other side to make one big comfortable house.  About eight couples stayed for either one or two nights.  The local MTOA member who organized it brought food and organized breakfasts and other meals as well as a number side trips, tours, and activities that included many members of the local group.

After the board meeting, an outing was organized to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River where the highlight was spending a little time in an actual flight simulator. How cool is that!

The next day was Lynn’s birthday and Jonny presented her with the lovely ring she had chosen.

All in all, the past two days were a unique way to spend her 66th birthday!  After driving back to Baltimore, Lynn chose Miss Shirley’s Cafe, a well-known Baltimore institution for a delicious lunch of Southern specialities such as shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes, all of which were beautifully presented and delicious!

The next three days were spent working at a booth at Trawlerfest, a boating conference for trawler owners and wanna-be’s sponsored by Passagemaker magazine  The goal was to recruit new members.  Several local MTOA members were assigned to volunteer each day and altogether we signed up 28 new members - a record!

Each day we would ride our bikes to the conference and stop at a local (and historic) pub for a beer on the way back.

On Saturday, Lynn got to cut out early because Cathy Tisdale was flying in to spend three days on board Zendo.  After Jonny broke down the booth, we went for dinner at a very good restaurant called Gia’s located in Little Italy. We left with a bottle of their homemade limoncello!

Worton Creek Anchorage

On Thursday, September 19, Jonny started the day with a long bike ride across the huge bridge that spans the C & O Canal and explored the other half of Chesapeake City.  In the meantime, Lynn engaged in her own more modest exercise routine.  When he returned we walked into town once last time. 

We eventually stopped at an attractive historic building that was once a bank and is now an interesting jewelery store. Lynn found a ring she really liked that Jonny decided would be a great present for her upcoming birthday. Since he didn’t have his wallet with him, we returned to Zendo for lunch. Afterwards, he returned to the store for the gift but held out giving it to her until her actual birthday.

By 1:30 it was time to shove off to take advantage of the ebbing tide and passing a number of cool-looking tugboats.  We had a beautiful cruise on the bay with little boat traffic. 

The day was sunny with temperatures in the 70’s - perfect!   Our destination was an anchorage on the Eastern Shore. We decided to try a new one on Worton Creek just south of Still Pond where we had anchored on a previous voyage. It was a beautiful spot, quiet, peaceful and green with only two other far flung boats in sight.

We celebrated with a drink and nibbles on the aft deck and later ate the ravioli we had purchased at Corlino’s Italian Market near Philly.  Internet reception was poor so we spent a relaxing evening just listening to music. 

Chesapeake City, MD

We left Philadelphia early on Wednesday, September 18 to take advantage of the tides and current.  It was a cool and calm day as we left our wonderful seven day stay in Philly. We were heading out for a six hour cruise to Chesapeake City, MD.  It was a peaceful, uneventful cruise. There was little boat traffic other than some massive freighters.

The current was with us for the first part of the morning and we zipped along at nine knots.  But when the current switched as we entered the C&D Canal we slowed down to a pokey 5 knots.

We arrived at the Chesapeake City Town Dock at 1 pm and tied up in a very pretty setting with only one other boat at the dock, a big catamaran. The price is right, a free dock with only a $15 charge for electricity. The only caveat is a 24 hour limit on docking which was no problem for us. 

We usually stay at nearby Delaware City Marina but Jonny had stayed here on his trip north and thought Lynn would like the little town.  Chesapeake City was originally known as the Village of Bohemia or Bohemia Manor. Its name changed when the C & D Canal was built in 1829. It is tiny, really just a village, with only 693 residents. It was separated into north and south when the canal was built. The two sections were connected by a drawbridge which was destroyed by a freighter in 1942.  A huge bridge was built to replace it, large enough for supertankers to pass underneath. When this happened, it staunched the flow of traffic into town so business declined considerably.

It is now a sleepy little town with some lovely colorful homes, many of which are B & Bs.  We walked around to get a feel for the town but didn’t stop anywhere. 

Back at Zendo, Lynn worked on the blog from Philly  - a rather long one due to the length of our visit.  With the excessive dining over the past week we were happy to settle for a big salad for dinner.  We watched a couple of episodes of Ken Burns’ excellent new series on country music.  As we tumbled into bed, we confirmed that we would definitely stay in this sweet spot again.