Oxford, MD

On the 4th of July we headed out from Annapolis at 10:30 to cross the Chesapeake.  It was a hot and sunny day but there was a nice breeze. As always, Captain Jon was at the helm in all his glory!

Stephanie and Ryan were fully enjoying getting away from it all.  They were quickly acclimating to the cruising lifestyle!

We arrived at the lovely little village of Oxford off of the Choptank River by 2:45.  We tied up at Oxford Yacht Agency where we had stayed for an extended period during our 2015 cruise. We loved the little town and were surprised to see only two other boats staying there.  John, the owner, came by and helped us tie up at the T dock.  

It was beastly hot and we really wanted to go swimming but with all the jellyfish around, we didn’t dare.  Stephanie and Ryan decided it was safe enough to go paddle boarding.

Afterwards, we walked into the village where there was a little market that was remarkably open and sufficiently stocked for our needs.  The market is across the street from a beautiful park that overlooks the Tred Avon River.  Sitting on the benches under the huge oak tress provided a welcome relief from the heat.

That evening we had delicious cocktails and apps followed by a traditional 4th of July meal of burgers on the grill, potato salad and a tossed salad.  That evening we played a fun trivia game that the kids brought called I Should Have Known That.

The next day Ryan and Stephanie went for a run while Jonny and Lynn went for a less taxing walk.  We all remarked on the many pretty scenes we encountered along the way.

It was Sunday morning, a perfect opportunity for a nice onboard brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries with the requisite Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers.  Needless to say, this was followed by a lazy day including naps!

That evening we treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at the historic Robert Morris Inn where we sat outside with a beautiful view of the water.  Dinner was outstanding. Stephanie and Ryan tried the local rockfish which was a great discovery for all of us.  Oxford is such a slow-paced little town surrounded by water.   Everything is within walking distance.  It was a great way to wind down and have lots of quiet time to enjoy each other’s company.

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.

2020 Cruise - Herring Bay Anchorage on the Chesapeake Bay

In late June we drove from Miami to Virginia to spend a week getting Zendo ready for our 2020 cruise.  On the drive up, we stayed with our friends Alex and Natalie in Jacksonville Beach and Cathy in Davidson, NC.  We had moved Zendo to a new marina, White Point in Kinsale, VA, to have some work done in advance of our arrival.

Most, but not all, of it was completed by the time we arrived. Jonny still had quite a long list of things to do including changing filters and impellers, replacing the regulator in the propane system, preparing the dinghy, reassembling the bimini, replacing hoses, etc. and of course, lots of deep cleaning.  We also had the boat hauled to scrape the barnacles off the bottom - a rather unpleasant job that we all participated in!  

The boatyard where we had it pulled had quite a motley collection of old cars in various stages of repair,

Our daily reward after long hot days of work was a dip in the marina’s swimming.  And finally, by Tuesday, June 30, we were ready to cruise!  Departure time was 7:30 since we had a long day ahead - almost 9 hours!  

Our destination was Annapolis where Stephanie and her boyfriend Ryan were joining us for a week of cruising on the Chesapeake.  Ryan’s parents had offered to drive them so we would have the opportunity to “meet the parents.”

It was a perfect day for cruising.  Sunny and warm, but not hot and seas were calm,  It felt so great to be back on the water again!  Since it was mid-week  and we are in the middle of the corona virus epidemic, there was very little boat traffic. It got a little choppy as the winds picked up but it didn’t last long and most of the day was just perfect.

We arrived at Herring Bay at 4:20, our anchorage for the night.  We had stayed here on previous voyages.  It’s just a shallow cove carved out of the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay between the Solomon’s and Annapolis.  We had a quiet night aboard enjoying  appetizers on the cutting board Stephanie had given us for Christmas.

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!

Harness Creek near Annapolis, MD

On Saturday, October 5, the morning was spent on projects, Jonny working on his MTOA Board commitment and Lynn, as usual, on her blog.  We planned to head back across the Chesapeake because the winds were forecasted to be lighter than the following day and we had to get back to Annapolis because our friends, Addie and Lange King, were due to arrive on either Sunday night or Monday.  Though we would have happily spent more time in the Choptank we decided it would be prudent to cross sooner rather than later.

On the way back, we traveled through Knapp’s Narrows going under the bridge and cleared Tilghman Island.

The bay turned out to be remarkably calm with lots of sailboats taking advantag of the breezy weather.

We were going back and forth on where to anchor for the night.  Jonny really wanted to visit a “new to us” anchorage called Harness Creek just south of Annapolis and very near to Eastport where we would be meeting the Kings.

The anchorage proved to be another outstanding one.  There are so many of them on the Chesapeake!  We found a spot such that no one was behind us. A beautiful park called Quiet Waters was on one side and an attractive home nestled among trees on the opposite shore.  Although there were about four other boats nearby, there was plenty of room for all of us and it was very  quiet and peaceful.  

Jonny went for a long paddle, we had leftovers for dinner and just relaxed and read all evening.  We can’t get enough of these peaceful anchorages.

La Trappe Creek on the Choptank

We left our anchorage on Harris Creek at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 4 for a cruise to Cambridge and later to another anchorage in the Choptank. The weather was quite blustery. There were  1-2 foot waves but we were reasonably sheltered in the Choptank basin. We made our way up the Choptank River noting the place we planned to anchor that night on La Trappe Creek.  We made our way to Cambridge, MD, the county seat of Dorchester County where we planned to explore for a few hours.

We tied up at the town dock where a friendly local boat owner gave us a hand.   We chatted with him for awhile.  He and his wife had a sailboat and a condo next to our dock. They sail to the Bahamas and beyond every winter and we compared notes on the various places each of us have traveled to.

We walked into town which had some very attractive homes near the waterfront.

After a satisfying lunch at  Jimmie & Sook’s, a local spot on the main drag that had good food we visited the Harriet Tubman museum. This small museum provided a good overview of her heroic role in helping to free slaves through the Underground Railroad.  Outside of the little museum was an evocative mural of her painted on the building’s exterior.  There is a much larger commemoration to her outside of town, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park which we unfortunately were unable to visit this time. 

Other interesting murals were scattered throughout the city. 

It turns out that Cambidge is the inspiration of the fictional town of Patamoke that plays a central role in Chesapeake, the historical novel about the Chesapeake that Lynn is currently reading, a fact she only became aware of the next day!

We headed back to LaTrappe Creek where we explored three different lovely anchorages before deciding on the first one that had two other boats in it. It seemed to offer the best protection from the wind and the space was large enough to accommodate several boats.

We skipped dinner that night due to our hearty lunch and were witness to a world class sunset. Later we watched The Shipping News, an excellent adaptation of the book of the same name.