Solomons, MD to Charleston SC (Sep 19 to Nov 1)

As it turned out, Joe and I were separated for almost three weeks. Since Alex was not born until September 18, I delayed my departure from Charleston for a few days to give Meredith’s mother a chance to visit with him. Lynn and I had a great time touring around Folley’s Island and Charleston before I left. Since I was driving, I decided to detour a bit and went to visit Caitlin and Andy in Atlanta. While I was there they were in negotiations – which eventually ended in a contract - on a house they wanted to buy. I didn't get to see it, but we're happy it's working out for them. It was a short visit; just overnight on her one free weekday evening. With all of her school obligations – teaching and attending – Caitlin just doesn’t have much spare time. It was good to see them both, though. I finally arrived in St. Petersburg shortly before Alex’s one week birthday. As you might expect, he’s the cutest grandson anyone could hope for. John and Meredith were often bleary eyed in the morning, but insisted that they weren’t considering sending him back yet. I stayed nearly two weeks while Joe whined about being cold up in Maryland. While I was gone, Joe tried to amuse himself with boat chores and the local activities. The Catholic Church he attends when in Solomons had built a new church since our last visit. Unique interior! One day he attended a boat docking competition. Speed was the most important factor in the competition – which isn’t always so good for the boat or the dock. Another cold rainy day the area hosted a race for go-fast boats. Or maybe they should be called go-noisy boats. Two years ago we’d met the Potter’s on Alfie while we up in the Rhode Island area. Joe’s kept loosely in touch since then and was happily surprised when Ed called to tell him he was anchoring nearby for the night. Ed was by himself, too, except for the dog, Charlie. Joe picked them up and they shared a casserole, wine and conversation on Carolyn Ann. For our last night in Maryland we moved back around to Jim and Judi’s dock and enjoyed perfectly cooked steaks – thanks, guys! The dinner was preceded by happy hour on their porch overlooking Helen Creek. A perfect setting. The next morning as Joe was trying to get a good picture of a bald eagle, a flock of Canada geese flew over. Guess that was our cue to get moving south. This year we’ve been trying to visit some of the towns we usually just zip by. First on the list going south was Portsmouth/Norfolk, VA. We’ve overnighted at the free ferry dock previously; usually arriving near dark and leaving near dawn. This time we spent three nights.

We’d been told to try out the Commodore Theater in Portsmouth and were lucky to find Secretariat playing. The Commodore is an art deco theater that was built in 1944 and restored in 1990 after years of neglect.

The theater seats have been replaced with comfortable chairs surrounding small tables. From a telephone on your table you order dinner and drinks and then watch the movie. It was great fun and we enjoyed the movie – how can you get so tense watching horse races when you know the outcome ahead of time? We also took the ferry across to Norfolk and toured the USS Wisconsin and Nauticus.

Our next stop wasn’t a new one, but one we always enjoy, Elizabeth Dock at the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal. This time we ended up staying four nights. Windy weather was causing a back-up of boats in Elizabeth City at the other end of the canal, so we and several other boats just stayed put. There was a sociable group at the dock and we ended up eating at the Mexican restaurant twice and having a pot-luck one night. There was a young couple from NY there – actually she was Korean/American and he was Irish – who had recently quit their jobs and sailed off together. They were excited to finally feel like part of the cruising community with their first pot-luck dinner invitation.

Robert, the conch-playing lockmaster/swamp historian, now offers tours of the canal and Lake Drummond that feeds it. He takes care of the history lesson and has an associate who describes the flora and fauna in the area. We didn't take the tour this time, but we may on a future trip.

After an overnight at Elizabeth City, we went to Edenton where my sister Jean met us for dinner. Joe and I have docked there before and spent time visiting family, but this time we took a walking tour of the town. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable. Her family had owned a farm in the area since the 1750’s. There are always so many interesting stories behind the houses and the families that lived in them. One house - the Cupola House - was built in 1758 with amazing woodwork in the first floor rooms. The same family occupied the house for more than 140 years, but as time passed their fortune disappeared. The last family residents had gone so far as to sell the moldings off the walls and fireplaces. One whole room was sold to a museum in Brooklyn. The house has now been restored by craftsmen who copied the original moldings that are on display in Brooklyn.

While we were in Edenton, Brooke and Dee (East Passage) came to town to visit with Roger and Jacki Arrowood (Pelican) and take a pre-arranged tour of the Regulator factory. We extended our stay and joined them on what turned out to be a fascinating tour. Carolyn Ann is the smallest trawler Mirage makes and East Passage is the largest model - a moving house!

From Edenton we took a short trip to the southern banks of Albemarle Sound and visited Columbia, NC. Our guide book suggested we visit the hardware store and the wine store. The hardware store was packed full of all kinds of things you don't normally see in hardware stores and the wine store is beautiful inside. The store specializes in wines made of Scuppernong grapes which are a type of muscadine grape. After tasting several of the wines, we asked about touring the vineyard which is owned by a couple who also own the wine shop. The next morning, the wife picked us up and drove us to the nearby vineyard. She had been a realestate broker and her husband was a developer. They had purchased the river-front property with the intention of developing it. While working on the layout of the development they fell in love with the property - and the bottom fell out of the real estate market. They built themselves a nice house on the water and planted grapes! They now bottle about 5000 cases a year in a labor intensive process. Not the retirement they'd planned on, but when life hands you lemons - or grapes...

We decided it was time to get back on the water and continue moving south with the hoard of snowbirds. We had a nice overnight stop in Carolina Beach at a restaurant that would let us tie up at their dock overnight if we'd eat dinner there. It was $1.00 taco night so it turned out to be cheap dockage. The regular menu looked good, though, so we might have to stop again next spring. We arrived early enought to walk to a small grocery store nearby and then I still had time for a long walk on the beach. Great day! When we came up on the deck for dinner some folks at a table commented on the boat. One thing led to another and we joined them at their table. One of the women, Peggy, is especially friendly with the chef - she comes in and makes the coffee for breakfast - and insisted that we join them for breakfast the next morning. We did, and are hoping to get together with them this winter when they visit Sarasota.

The rest of the trip down to Charleston was fairly uneventful. Except for the inverter problem. As I understand it, the inverter takes the power from whatever the available source is - engine, generator, or ac from a dock - and makes it into a form that the systems on the boat can use. As you may have gathered, I totally don't understand what the inverters do. All I know is we have two that are capable of doing amazing things but one of them decided not to do them anymore. The bottom line is a reduction in usable power and battery charging. Since we're not needing air conditioning or heat it isn't causing huge issues, but we can't use our cook-top or water heater either - an inconvenience. Joe's working on it.

But we made it to Charleston and had a good visit with my sister Lynn and cousin Ronnie and his wife Susie. Also, we got to see Col. McCullough - Daddy Mac. When I was young the McCullough's lived in a house sort of behind ours - coincidently owned by the Fahey's, whose son Patrick is now married to Joe's sister. The McCullough children were the same ages as my sisters and I and our families became friends. Being military, they eventually moved away to California - where we visited them - and subsequently moved back to a different neighborhood near us. Joe's family ended up living across the street from the McCullough's new house, also becoming good friends with them. Col. Mac retired to Columbia, SC and his daughter Betsy, who lives in Savannah, is still friends with Lynn. Before we got our boat we had visit Col. Mac in Columbia and he - although in his 90's - expressed interest in it and has followed our travels on the blog. He is one of the most interesting people you could ever meet - a mechanical genius with a memory like a steel trap. At any rate, while we were in Charleston, Betsy brought him down from Columbia for a visit and to finally see Carolyn Ann in person. We had a marvelous day visiting with them both and hearing more of his stories of his time in the Air Force, followed by a nice dinner (thanks again!) at the marina restaurant.

There are more pictures on the picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/joseph.pica

St. Michaels to Solomons (Sep 3 to Sep 18 )

Joe was starting things up for our departure and found that the breaker switch for the auto pilot was broken. "It's a boat." Joe, of course, had a spare and once he'd located it, Bruce helped out getting the old one out and the new one in. So, we left around noon. As we approached the bay, we saw a wall of boats - mostly sailboats, under sail, many participating in races. Joe managed to pick our way through the boats and crab pots and turn south to head for Oxford. Again the wave action was not as predicted. I guess they didn't want to spoil anyone's holiday plans. Although we did hear several calls for the Coast Guard, so I guess plans got spoiled once people got out there. Anyhow, Carolyn Ann got us safely through the quick, four foot plus waves on her bow - we just held on!

It was late in the day when we anchored in Oxford, so we decided to just relax, enjoying a nice happy hour on the flybridge. The next morning we took the dinghy over to Schooner's restaurant - free dock if you eat there. Well, we tied up and the place was deserted. It turns out that because of the holiday, they were closed on Tuesday. The museum was closed on Tuesday's. The ice cream place was closed on Tuesday. Seemed like most of the town, such as it is, was closed. We met some locals who had planned to have lunch at Schooners also and they suggested the Robert Morris Inn. It was open - actually just recently re-opened with a new chef. The inn dates back to the 1700's and lunch was very good. We walked down the main street for a while after lunch, admiring the old houses, English-style gardens, and the Oxford signature picket fences.

Joe was also able to walk through the Cutts and Case Shipbuilders building and see the wooden boats they design and build there.

The next morning we decided to move to Cambridge - a short trip. Unfortunately, the bay was still kickin' so it was a short, unpleasant trip. Cambridge has a very well protected little harbor with a wall you can tie to. The downtown area is right there. There just isn't much to see or do.

There are a few shops - one gallery had a whole room full of Danny Doughty's works with accompanying models. I had a nice chat with the girl who makes the models and just loved the art. He has a whimsical style that just makes you smile. We also stopped in a decoy store that could've been a museum!

Since the downtown didn't hold much interest and the weather was just incredible, I found a nice residential area to walk in along the water. The homes were mostly old and mostly well-kept. Evidently they have architectural restrictions. I didn't notice any signs of cottages having been torn down to be replaced by McMansions.

This one stood out in the neighborhood – including the sign in the yard showing that they’d be cited by the Historical Society.

We also had time to view the local wildlife. The jelly fish population was highly concentrated, discouraging any possible thoughts of taking a dip.  In general the jelly fish seem to have been thick this summer.  We assume the extreme heat had something to do with it.

 We picked up a dozen "Choptank special" crabs one night for dinner - yummy.! And then decided to do it again a few nights later!

There was also a man who walked his two dogs - German Shepard and black Lab - past the boat everyday. Following them were cats - ten cats! Strangest thing.

Many of you know that Joe spent a lot of time on the Eastern Shore in earlier times. Several of his old hunting buddies now live in the area. Harry and Linda Trimble made the trip from Berlin one afternoon for grocery shopping and dinner. Harry and Joe met while working a detail at Ft. McHenry back in the 70's. They started talking and Joe mentioned that we had spent our honeymoon on Assateague Island - duck hunting in December. Harry, who was a ranger there, said, "That was you??!!" After that they got together at least once a year to hunt and we often saw them on our yearly pilgrimage to Ocean City.

The following night we had dinner with "Fast" Fred Ropko and Bernie Clipper and their wives. Fred and Bernie were also old hunting buddies. Fred was also an artist. I've got several of his ceramic pieces that he was less than happy with - I'm very happy with them! Bernie owned the father of our beloved black lab Abby.  We all laughed through dinner, listening to the old hunting stories.  Hard to believe they had time to shoot the ducks.

We ended up staying in Cambridge for a week before moving back over to the Solomons area.  First stop was back at Jim and Judi's for a few days.  They generously let Joe borrow their truck to take me to the airport.  I flew to Charleston to pick up the Explorer and drive it to St. Pete (via Atlanta) to see John, Meredith and the soon to arrive, Alex.  Meredith had gone into the hospital the day before my flight.  After numerous calls for updates during the day, we finally got the call a bit after 7pm, September 18 that Alex had arrived, albeit reluctantly!  Meredith was a trooper through it all and John managed not to pass out.  Welcome to the family, Alex.

There are more pictures on the picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/joseph.pica

Havre de Grace to St. Michaels (Aug 20 - Sep 2)

We finally managed to leave Bruce and Joan's on August 20th. They are such good hosts and in such a nice location, it was easy to keep extending. But we had places to go and things to see! You wouldn't think that would be the case knowing the amount of time we'd lived in MD, but we had never cruised there and really hadn't done much in-state traveling in years either. So our first new destination was Havre de Grace. We happened to arrive the day before a weekend arts and crafts show - according to the advertising more than 250 artist/crafts people would be in attendance. Maybe that many attended, but far fewer had booths set up. In spite of that, we spent an enjoyable hour or so browsing and visiting with the artists. Havre de Grace is a small old town with some interesting shops and nice old houses. It is also home to a decoy museum and a maritime museum. This area had been big during the market hunting years and the decoy museum is dedicated almost entirely to working decoys, meaning those that hunters use in the field or water to attract waterfowl as opposed to the kind people buy for art. There were interesting displays about many of the more famous carvers, some of whom Joe had met during his hunting years. The maritime museum was also interesting. One surprising thing was this canoe hanging near the entrance. It is functional and weighs only 12 lbs. After getting back into the sightseeing groove, we moved on to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. We docked right down in the thick of things between the aquarium and the science center. After getting all settled in, we were told that we would need to move because of a large ship coming in later in the week. So we moved over one pier and again settled in. The morning of our first day - with rain in the forecast - we decided to go to the American Visionary Art Museum. The only museum of its kind in the US, it displays the works of untrained artists along with their biographical information. The art coupled with the stories was so interesting that we spent most of the day there and didn't really do it all justice. The next day we rode the circulator bus (free!) to the Basilica of the Assumption - the first Catholic Cathedral in the US. As we entered we saw that we had arrived between tours. A gentleman asked if we'd come for a tour and decided that he had time to take us on a slightly abbreviated one. I can't imagine the full tour being much better. The enthusiasm he brought to the telling of the trials and tribulations of the construction translated to one of the best tours we've ever had. The cathedral was designed by Latrobe (who also designed the US Capitol interior) at the request of Thomas Jefferson, who had his own ideas that he wanted incorporated too. Completed in 1821, it underwent extensive renovation from 2004-06. During that renovation, previous changes were removed to bring the building back to the original plan. One controversial change was the removal of all the stained glass windows that had been added. The large domes are supported by inverted brick arches. Latrobe had wanted that structure exposed under the cathedral and also to have that space be used as a chapel. Originally it had ended up mostly filled with sand, but was excavated during the renovation. We ended up extending our stay through Sunday and Joe was able to attend mass at the Basilica. Unfortunately the pews were the most uncomfortable he'd ever experienced. We also went to the near by Walther Art Gallery which houses a wide range of art and peaked into the incredible Peabody Library. Baltimore is a harbor, so boat tours were on the schedule: the USS Constellation, launched in 1854 and used to intercept vessels engaged in the slave trade, then illegal, and later became a training ship at the US Naval Academy; the USS Torsk, the submarine that was the last American vessel to sink a Japanese warship in WWII; the USCGC Taney which in the 1960's became the last active ship that had survived Pearl Harbor; the Lightship Chesapeake that served from 1930 to 1965 when it was replaced by an offshore tower light. These lightships anchored in locations that were hazardous for ships but were unsuitable for lighthouses to be built, making it hazardous for the crews also.

We also got to visit with some friends. We had met Wayne and Lynn Flatt at the trawler fest in Solomons in 2005; the year we ordered our boat. Since then Joe has had contact with them through various boating sites. As we entered the harbor, Joe pointed out the pirate ship that Wayne - aka Bones - captains during the summers. Eventually, contact was made and we spent a fun evening getting to know them better.

We also met up with Great Harbour owners Gene and Judy Koetitz and Henry and Debbie Dennig. Henry and Debbie live nearby on their GH47, Seven Tenths. Henry picked us up one night and we had a great dinner on their boat. The stories behind boat names are often interesting - seven tenths of the earth is water, so you should spend seven tenths of your time on it.

As I mentioned, a large navy ship was supposed to come in on Friday...then Saturday...then Sunday. We had originally planned to leave on Friday, but ended up extending through Sunday. Boy, were we glad we did! Shortly before noon on Sunday, I noticed some police boats with flashing lights. I looked around the side of the boat and a HUGE ship was being pushed by tugs in our direction. The USS Whidbey Island LSD is more than 600 feet long. Just watching the tugs push and pull in concert to maneuver the ship to the wall - a space that hardly looked big enough - was worth the price of the extra dockage. The next morning we were allowed to tour portions of the ship. It's job is to deliver amphibious landing craft and it even carries an air cushioned vessel that can carry them right up on shore. It can also carry a tank. Very impressive - our tax dollars at work!

After a quick overnight at Lake Ogleton, we crossed the bay to St. Michaels. We docked at the Maritime Museum there. Joe had learned that museum members get half price dockage and stay. St. Michaels is another nice small town with lots of interesting shops that I didn't manage to browse in. We did spend a day touring the many buildings of the Maritime Museum. It concentrated on the Eastern Shore and was one of the best we've been to. Lots of old pictures and memorabilia of time spent on the bay, among other things. Andy and Annie (SeaDee) happened to be there at the same time and we had a nice dinner in town one night.

St. Michaels turned out to be a sad stop for us, though. The night before we arrived there, Rocky had been restless and was having some obvious issues. I made a vet appointment on our way over and Jody from the marina drove us to the vet. After an exam and x-rays, the vet determined that he had prostate cancer and a large abdominal mass. Add in his age (13+ years), and the vet said there was really only one option. Even with no other options available, it was a hard choice, but I returned to the boat alone. For such a small dog, he seems to have taken up a lot of space. Joe and I shed tears and hugs, and finally popped a cork off some Champangne to toast Rocky and give thanks for the joy he gave us. The boat sure seems empty without him. There are a few more pictures on the picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/joseph.pica