A Weekend in Annapolis and St. Michaels with Family Guests

I'm going to give the straight scoop, and then turn it over to our weekend guests, my sister Debby and my brother JP.


Once again this blog site won't accept a photo
 that has been rotated, so please turn your head
to see Debby and JP!
 

Deeper Season has been in Annapolis since July, although we left it to spend all of August and half of September at home in NJ. We've had a great time with guests in October, and this weekend was glorious. What's even better, Debby and JP were able to be here long enough that we could actually go for a sail! On a cloudless blue sky with gently winds heading (for a change) in the right direction, we headed over to St. Michaels, which is across the bay from Annapolis. It was Halloween there, complete with church-benefit oysters on the half shell and the town parade. The spectators far outnumbered the parade participants, which included the high school band of about 25, the Brownies and Cub Scouts, and a few hardy souls with good costumes who felt like walking down the middle of the street. A good time! We headed back to Annapolis to get here before low tide (since we can sometimes find ourselves aground at the dock in a very low tide, and we need a little water to maneuver), which meant we were back by lunchtime. We dinghied into town for Sofi's Crepes and a beer at McGarvey's, which is one of JP's favorite spots from when he lived in Annapolis.
Now, I'm turning it over to Debby for more...

For every story ever told, there's a back story, and ours takes place around the oval table of Deeper Season's beautiful (and very functional) galley. Long battles between competitive sisters wrangling over Banagrams (and I humbly confess that I won all but one game, to Beth's great frustration)...and long, earnest discussions about politics, religion,aliens AND clouds, because family is allowed to talk about that stuff, and if we occasionally threaten bodily harm, no one takes it seriously (unless JP is holding a paring knife in one hand and a martini in the other). We argue about electronics, whether Apple's iPod is being unfairly controlled by a host radio, what music we should play. And we laugh. A lot. My son David would appreciate our foray into scatalogical humor...Oh well, I tried to explain the subject of his latest writing project - about a profane folk hero and dubious saint of Tibetan culture. But some things haven't changed, and I still can't remember the punch lines of any given story. More laughter. More food. A little indigestion. Well, we're old (except I have to say that it's JP who's been downing the Gas-X, and he's the youngest!). And now, before I get myself into too much trouble, I'm passing the torch to my baby brother, who (along with the rest of us), is missing Norma, his lovely wife and our dear sister-in-law, tonight. To our hosts, Beth and Bill, many thanks. They're the best! (And I know JP agrees with me on that one...)

JP: OMG! BTW, I picked up two typos from my dear sisters.  If you find them you get a free cruise to the Bahamas!  LMAOROTF!

A Week on Land at Chautauqua

Our home away from home

We just finished a fantastic week at the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, NY. What a week! The theme was the 2012 election, and what we as voters need to know. Each morning was a general session in the ampitheater (which seats about 5000 people), and for our week the morning was hosted by Jim Lehrer (co-founder of the PBS Newshour). He had great guests, including a Friday recap with Mark Shields and Michael Gersin. (Watchers of the Newshour will know them).
The rest of the day, we took classes and attended lectures of interest. I signed up for an art class and Zumba - two things I've been wanting to try for a long time. Bill attended a series on the American Constitution. The evenings included concerts, theater, fireworks and just talking on the porch.
We shared a house with four other women, and all of us were brought together by our good friend, Ruthann Prange, who followed a hunch last year by renting a large house in this charming village. We highly recommend that everyone get recharged at Chautauqua for at least one week in the summer. The institute goes on for 9 weeks, and we were in week 2, so there are still opportunites this summer. Go! You'll love it!

Out of the Water in Solomons, MD

Out for repairs

A little more than a week ago we arrived in Solomons, MD, grabbed a mooring at Zahniser's Marina, and were glad to have avoided some nasty weather coming in. The next morning (last Friday, June 1) we were able to have Zahniser's pull the boat out to repair the gelcoat that was damaged by the cruiseliner last fall. We rented a car, zipped home for the weekend (it was great!), then back down here to meet the insurance adjuster and show him the estimate for repairs.

The breakfast porch
at the Victorian Inn

Even luckier, we were able to get lodging at a nearby B&B called the Victorian Inn. It has been marvelous! Great room, great breakfasts, a short drive or bike ride to the yard - all the conveniences of home! With the exception of this past Saturday night, when the Inn was full with previous reservations (it was a very hot night aboard the boat) we've been able to get a good night's sleep and leave the boat chores behind us each night.

Watching the model boat
races at the Calvert Marine
Museum Sunday

From here, we will most likely put the boat on a dock in Annapolis that our friends Tina and Scott told us about. Should be a neat way to explore that town and to have visitors come sail with us. That's a hint to those who might like to give it a try for a few days!

Closer to Home Now!

We left Beaufort with Beryl right on our heels, so decided we would skip Oriental this trip, and get as far along as we could. After two days we were ready to head up the Dismal Swamp into Virginia, still running ahead of Beryl. We learned later that the Dismal Swamp had caught several boaters in a fallen tree the previous Friday, so we were glad we avoided that mess! We met up with another catamaran, Nati, at the tie-up by the Deep Creek Lock. We rafted up with them, then joined them for Mexican food at a nearby restaurant while we waited for the bridge and lock to open. Then flew through Norfolk, and a last-minute call to Hampton Public Piers got us a place for the night. This time, Beryl was a helper - the winds were the only reason we made it to Hampton before the marina closed, and with high winds and strong current, we needed the help to tie up!
  The next day was rainy but not windy, so after a morning of oil changes and cleaning the water filters on the engines (the Swamp had filled them with debris) we set off for Cape Charles, VA, across the Chesapeake Bay from Hampton. Arrived around 4:30, fueled up, then docked and met up with Dave Steward and Hania for wine and then dinner. A fun evening!
  Today we decided to head north, so we are now on a mooring in Solomons, MD. We have a rental car reserved tomorrow for the weekend, so will head home to collect mail and say hello to our condo after 5 months away. It feels good to be so close to home!

Back in Beaufort, NC



Dawn over the marshes

Beaufort docks at night

After three pretty long days starting at dawn and ending near dusk, we made an average of 83 miles a day to get us up to Beaufort, NC, where we once owned a house and still have friends. We splurged and came into a slip at the Beaufort City Docks, right in the middle of the action. Our first day we rented a car and drove up to Sea Level, where we had built a vacation home. We first looked in on old neighbors Colleen and Ray who, unfortunately, are no longer in their house since it was ruined by hurricane Isabel and then Irene. They are renting a nice place and hoping to be able to win a lawsuit against the insurance agency to get enough money to tear down the old house (that Ray build himself) and rebuild. However, they are both getting up in age, so we're a bit worried for them.

The house we built in
Sea Level, NC

Bill, Pat and Carol, and Colleen
(seated) in our old kitchen/dining area

We took them to lunch at the Sea Level Inn, which used to have a very nice (and large) restaurant. Now, it's just a cafe, basically in the space that used to be the registration lobby for the Inn. The rest of the Inn has been turned into condos, mostly sold to fishermen who come down on weekends. So, one big disappointment there. Together with Colleen we then visited our old house, where very nice people (Carol and Patrick) now live. The house looks just the same, including the furniture (we had sold it furnished), the paint and paper on the walls, and all the curtains I had made. It made us feel very good to see it. Buzzing cousins who joined us there for a reunion will recognize the living room and dining area furniture.
Back in town, we've enjoyed just bummin' through the lovely town of Beaufort, eating lots of good food and listening to good entertainment every night from the bars. The winds have been high from Beryl, but are supposed to diminish tonight, so we plan to continue north tomorrow.

Florida to Georgia

Farewell to the Bahamas -
the remnants of our
Bahamas courtesy flag!

We're making tracks, although slower than we'd like. The weather has kept us in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), which means battling tidal currents and bridge openings. More important to our progress has been that we've been facing daily severe thunderstorms that either have caused us to drop the hook or slow us down as we wait for better visibility. But, at least we're able to make some progress.

A music box at the
Lightner Museum

We spent an afternoon and morning in St. Augustine, with a memorable breakfast (Southern Benedict - shrimp and grits cake topped with spinach, poached eggs and bacon grave - just a few calories) at the Old City Inn, and a short visit to the O.C. Lightner Museum. He was a collector and publisher of antiques and hobbies magazine, and he collected EVERYTHING! Very cool.

Our frayed flag, and a cool
double rainbow as a
thunderstorm goes through.

The croquet playing
field in front of the
Jekyl Island Club

It takes an engineer to
design a footstool at the helm!

Following Scott and Tina on
Sangaris (another Manta, like ours)
through the Bridge of Lyons in
St. Augustine.

Heading north, we stopped at Fernandina Beach (love that town), then at Jekyl Island, where we took a quick bike visit to the historic estates. This morning we headed into northern Georgia, where we are anchored next to friends Tina and Scott on Sangaris. There is a named tropical storm (Alberto) heading our way, so we may hunker down here a few days until it passes through. Then we will continue north.

A Last Great Day in the Bahamas

Lunch at Green Turtle Club
with Tina and Scott

A cool gate on a property
on Green Turtle Cay

We had our last day at Green Turtle Cay, and saw it all with Tina and Scott on a golf cart. They showed us places we would never have found (last year they were looking at properties, so had discovered all the interesting 'roads').

We found these painted palm branches
hanging on a garage. Couldn't
resist shooting them all individually!

This one reminds me of a mahi-mahi

 Returned to the US, leaving Saturday and arriving after 22 hours at Ft. Pierce, FL on Mother's Day. We celebrated with a giant rum drink called Voodoo Juice. We're now slogging north, and should be north of Melbourne tonight on our anchor.

Love the expression on
this 'face'

Enjoy the pix!

This hermit crave enclave was
nestled in a rotted tree trunk.

What a fierce expression

 A flirty female fish - my favorite!

Back in New Plymouth, a visit to Vert's Model Boat Shoppe

One last sundowner at Sundowners in New Plymouth,
Green Turtle Cay.