Pasadena, MD

On Wednesday, September 8 we took Archie into shore for a quick walk. Heading back to Zendo we were able to capture this nice shot of our home away from home.

We left our anchorage on Sue Creek and headed out onto the bay. It was a beautiful day for cruising and we headed south on the Chesapeake bound for Pasadena, MD which is not far from Baltimore.

We arrived at the Maryland Yacht Club, site of this year’s MTOA Annual Rendezvous. MTOA stands for Marine Trawlers Owners Association.

We were welcomed by the MTOA docking committee who helped us to tie up.  This yacht club is situated in the most beautiful setting. It is on a promontory with a 270 degree view of the water.

We wound up on the same dock as our friends Liz and Steve which was great. That evening we joined them along with two other couples for a fun dinner at a local restaurant.

The rendezvous took place over the next few days with an array of interesting workshops. It was great to see so many of the people we’ve gotten to know through our boating adventures and to make new  friends as well.

On the second day we participated in a tour of Annapolis which was excellent. Although we had been to Annapolis several times we had never taken a tour of the city.  The guide was a young woman dressed in colonial attire and full of interesting facts and stories.  It was well worth it. 

The copper dome of the Naval Academy had just been redone and it looked completely different. Every other time we had seen it, the dome had the classic burnished green patina from having weathered over nearly a century. It was quite a change!

The other famous dome in Annapolis is that of the Maryland State House. This is the largest wooden dome in the U.S. constructed without nails! 

Back at the Rendezvous, we were happy to spend a half day getting re-certified in first aid and CPR. That evening, dinner was served outside on the lawn overlooking the water. Later on a couple of musicians performed on the nearby gazebo - a lovely setting on a beautiful evening.

I left the Rendezvous on the second to last day to travel to Davidson, NC (outside of Charlotte) to help my friend Cathy pack up her mother’s apartment. Her mother is quite ill and will be moving to a skilled nursing facility. We kept very busy during the several days I was there but we did manage to enjoy our time together and have a few very good meals!

In the meantime, Jonny finished out the Rendezvous and was going to take Zendo to Baltimore where I would join him at the end of the week.

Sue Creek, MD

Our original plan on Tuesday, September 7 was to take a couple of days to explore new anchorages on the Chesapeake Bay as we make our way to the MTOA Rendezvous. We decided that our our first stop would be in Georgetown, MD which was only a three hour trip from Chesapeake City. So we took  our time in the morning and brought Archie for a walk in this charming and historic little town.

Back onboard we set about doing boat chores.  Jonny cleaned the hull (which really needs a good wax job) and I worked on putting up our new wall hangings. 

After having a leisurely lunch we left Chesapeake City at 1:30 and hopped across the canal to get fuel.  The fuel stop was located directly under huge pillars holding up the bridge that spans the C&D Canal.  With a running current and the bridge pillars right there, it could be a little tricky tying up for fuel. But of course Zendo’s able Captain had no trouble! We took on an enormous amount of fuel (fortunately at a very good price) having somehow miscalculated how much we had put in previously. (See Zendo docked to the right of the bridge in the photo below).

Once we got underway it was a glorious day - clear skies, calm seas and perfect temperatures.  We thought we would arrive in Georgetown by 5:00 but we received a phone call from a friend who was out on the bay and paying more attention to the weather forecast.  We immediately checked the wind and wave forecast and learned that the wind on the bay expected to pick up that night and over the next two days.  Because of that we decided to skip Georgetown and push on to an anchorage closer to our ultimate destination.  We would have a very short cruise from there to the Maryland Yacht Club and arrive at the Rendezvous a day earlier than originally planned - all in all,  a good idea for safety and convenience.  Plus the negotiated rate for our boat was just $25 per night plus electric, an amazing price to stay at a very nice yacht club!  

So on we went arriving at Sue Creek, a very well protected inlet off of the Middle River where we had anchored once before.  We arrived at 6:00 and dropped the hook in very calm waters. The days are definitely getting shorter which is evident by the afternoon sun that seems to start waning by 4:00.  We are not at all keen about traveling on Zendo in the dark if we don’t have to.

We weren’t sure where we could take Archie in to relieve himself but we decided to dinghy over to a nearby yacht club’s gas dock. The dockhand said we could tie up as long as we didn’t stay long. Fortunately there was a good sized grassy area nearby and we threw Archie his frisbee over and over to give home some exercise.  He’s getting pretty good at retrieving it (with lots of treats of course)!

That night we had ravioli and salad for dinner and Jonny had a long phone call with his friend Mao who lives in Reno.  We cemented our plan to go to the Maryland Yacht Club in Pasadena, MD the next day just to make life easier. We’ll be there at the MTOA Rendezvous for several days and I’ll be flying out to Charlotte for a few days to help my friend Cathy with her mom who is quite ill. Jonny will be holding down the fort with Archie who will be promoted temporarily to first mate!

Chesapeake City, MD - return trip

After eight wonderful days in Philadelphia, we left on Labor Day, September 6, bound for  Chesapeake City. We had delayed our departure by a day due to all the debris in the Delaware River. Our scouts told us that conditions were improving so we timed our departure to take advantage of the tides leaving at 9:50.  It was a good decision.  Although we encountered some clumps of debris and occasional floating logs early on, once we got a little ways down the river (and once the tide turned) we were practically debris free.

 It was a long day of cruising - seven and a half hours - but it was calm and sunny and very pleasant. 

Boat traffic was light, mostly just the occasional barge.

It got busier once we entered the C & D Canal. It was Labor Day, after all, and there were quite a few weekend boaters out and about.  We arrived at Chesapeake City by 5:10. There’s a free town dock that one can tie up at but it’s on a first come first served basis.  Jonny was quite irritated because the space we could have fit in was occupied by two jet skis.  Little Chesapeake City was buzzing with the holiday crowd. The harbor was filled with small boats and jet skis zipping around and the waterfront restaurant was full and playing loud music.

We chose the better option which was to anchor in the nearby anchorage basin where it was quiet and surrounded by greenery. We could dinghy into a nearby dinghy dock and walk Archie along the same canal walkway that we loved in Delaware City. And that’s exactly what we did.

That evening we had an easy dinner of leftovers and explored our options for the next two days cruising through the Chesapeake Bay as we make our way to the MTOA Rendezvous in Pasadena, MD.

Philadelphia, PA - return trip

On Sunday, August 29 our plan was to leave Delaware City Marina at noon and head up the Delaware River to Philadelphia where we would stay for a week. We became concerned when we were told by Tim’s crew that there was a lot of debris including big logs in the river from the recent rainstorms surrounding Hurricane Henri. However after checking in with SeaTow we decided to proceed with caution. It turned out that we encountered very few logs on our four and a half hour cruise.  The day was sunny and mild and we rode the current all the way arriving at the marina at 4:45.

Ben, who was in the sailboat next to us last time we were here, helped us to tie up. He and his wife, Kristine and their little baby, Maverick, live onboard in the marina and have proved to be great neighbors - friendly, helpful and engaging.

Unfortunately, the marina had a lot of debris including logs and branches that collected as a result of the running waters in the river.  Throughout the week, Jonny and others had to clear some out.  Jonny took to the dinghy to haul a log that was almost 60 feet long back into the river!

Stephanie has been jammed with work and school the last few weeks so we didn’t plan on seeing her until Wednesday. But on Monday, we walked over to their apartment and took Ryan to lunch and picked up all the many items we had had delivered to their address.  

On Tuesday morning, Jonny met up with our friend Tracy and they walked through the Fishtown and Northern Liberties parts of Philly to a cool area called Grafitti Pier.  The name is self explanatory.

Jonny had been craving Chinese food so upon his return we walked to Chinatown and had lunch at Panang.  It wasn’t Chinese, it was Malaysian but that was close enough for us.  It was quite good though he declared it more Chinese-Malaysian than that which he had eaten when he lived in Malaysia.  The servings were so large that we took half of it home and had it for dinner.

We had mailed some of the delicious ravioli from Arthur Ave. in the Bronx to Stephanie and Ryan, so on Wednesday night we made dinner for them in their apartment.  We had ordered cheese ravioli for them (and mushroom ravioli for us) but when we cooked it, it turned out to be filled with mushrooms which Stephanie doesn’t care for so it was a little disappointing.  She nibbled around the edges and ate the appetizers and salad but was so exhausted that we left early so she could get a good night’s sleep.  Bugatti’s made it right after I called them the next day to tell them of the error.  They sent out a new box of cheese ravioli the next day.

Each day we’ve been taking Archie for walks along nearby piers as well as in two nearby dog parks.

We particularly like one that is on the side of a hill and usually has a couple of nice dogs that he likes to play with.  It was here that we met a dog owner who we had met on our previous visit.  We saw her almost every day and she recommended a groomer for Archie where we were able to make an appointment for him on Friday.  Thursday, however, was haircut day for me and I was quite pleased with the referral I received from Stephanie.  This photo shows the results of both my haircut and Archie’s.

On Thursday afternoon we walked over to the Italian Market and had a delicious lunch outside at DeBruno Brothers.  We also took the opportunity to stock up on more cheese, salami, sausage, pasta and tomatoes.  Do we eat to live or live to eat? Guess!

That night we went out to dinner with Stephanie and Ryan in a restaurant close to Rittenhouse Square. Philly has great restaurants and many of them are BYOB which is such a plus!

Saturday was a beautiful, clear day - perfect for apple picking! And that’s just what we did. Stephanie picked us up (and finally got to visit with Archie).

She took us out to Terhune Orchards in New Jersey where we picked two pecks of four kinds of nice ripe apples. The orchard also sold wine and cheese boards and had a musician playing so we hung out there for awhile enjoying the perfect weather before doing a Costco run.

Ryan wasn’t with us because he had gone to the Navy game in Annapolis with his dad for the day.  Later on that evening we went to a cool little Korean restaurant near Rittenhouse Square for dinner.

When we got back to Zendo that evening we went out on the dock to join our neighbors, Ben and Kristine, who were watching a great fireworks display by the bridge over the river. We enjoyed the ringside seat and a glass of wine with them.

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Originally we were going to leave on Sunday morning, but the debris from Hurricane Ida was still significant and floating down the river so we decided to delay our departure.  This log floated next to our boat.

We spent quite a bit of time this week shopping for fabric to create a textile wall hanging to cover water stains on the teak in the saloon.  We found some we liked and bought foam board to mount it.  On Sunday, we finally put it all together and hopefully it will look good when we hang it. Photos to follow once that happens. 

Philly has been great fun as always. It’s clearly becoming another home away from home for us.  How’s this photo for a historical reference for this city of brotherly love?