Back in the Chesapeake

After a peaceful, relaxing day at anchor in the St. Marys River on Monday, August 9th, we were up and underway by 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. We arrived at Solomons, MD about five hours later and pulled in to a private marina on the south side of the Patuxent River where Bill & Ana aboard “Knot Tide Down” have taken a slip for the month. That evening the four of us ate Chinese take-out aboard “Life’s2Short.”

Wednesday was spent doing a few boat chores and enjoying the air conditioning as it was far too hot and humid to do much else. That evening Bill & Ana joined us for BLT pasta and mushroom bread wedges for dinner before walking down the dock to see fellow boat owner Mike and tour his beautiful 53-foot Hatteras.

Thanks for your hospitality, Mike!

The four of us then climbed into Bill & Ana’s dinghy and motored out into the Patuxent River to watch the Perseid meteor shower. Unfortunately, the clouds had moved in and we weren’t able to see a thing. But it was a nice, calm evening and we enjoyed the late-night ride.

Mike picked us up Thursday at 11:00 a.m. to take us on a tour of the Naval Air Station (NAS) where he works. The NAS is home to the Naval Air Systems Command Headquarters, the Air Test Wing Atlantic and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Commands. It is also home to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and has research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. And it serves as a center for test and evaluation and systems acquisition relating to Naval Aviation. So, when the Captain pulled out his camera to take a few photos, Mike politely suggested that he not – too much “top secret” stuff not intended for the eyes of the general public!

The five of us then went to an on-site restaurant called Rivers Edge where we had a great buffet-style lunch. Mike brought us back to the marina and took his Corvette when he returned to work so we could use his other vehicle to make a re-provisioning run to Wal-Mart.

Thursday evening we joined Bill & Ana for a tasty dinner of biscuit-topped chicken with rice followed by a few hours of Catch Phrase on the flybridge. The boys were in a zone, though, and ended up winning all but one game.

On Friday, August 13th, we took our boats across the Patuxent River to anchor in the Solomons Island area for an MTOA Chesapeake Bay Cruisers Event. (MTOA stands for Marine Trawler Owners Association.) We have been thinking about joining the organization for the past few years and Bill & Ana finally pushed us over the edge.

Looking out toward our anchorage in Back Creek from Solomons Landing.

An interesting sighting in the harbor.

That evening we all brought an appetizer to the kick-off event and spent a couple of hours socializing. Afterward, we dinghied over to “Knot Tide Down” for more Catch Phrase. This time Todd partnered with Ana and I partnered with Bill. However, as with before, Todd and Ana won all but one game. I hate to admit it, but I’m beginning to believe I’m the weak link!

Socializing at the MTOA kick-off event.

Bill gearing up to play Catch Phrase… wait, maybe I’m not the weak link!

About a dozen of the group met Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. for a bicycle ride to nearby Annmarie Garden, a Smithsonian-affiliated, thirty acre forested sculpture park and art center featuring the creations of several major sculptors. When someone suggested riding to Annmarie Garden, we assumed we were going to a place with a lots of plants, flowers and elaborate landscaping. We soon discovered otherwise!

The entrance to Annmarie Garden.

Parking our bicycles.

This landmark bronze fountain-sculpture made for Annmarie Garden stands in a traffic circle outside the Arts Building. It depicts a Chesapeake Bay waterman standing in a boat while holding oyster-harvesting tongs. The plaque beneath the statue reads: “A man’s gotta love it to do it.”

Samples of the sculptures we saw in the “garden.”

This was the Admiral’s favorite piece of artwork in the art center.

This rug was braided with tightly wound plastic shopping bags.

A curtain of water bottle caps strung on fishing line.

A coral reef crocheted partly from yarn and partly from more plastic shopping bags.

After the bicycle ride, the four of us dinghied to Solomons Pier for a late lunch of crab pretzels and crab Monte Cristos (notice the crab theme?). Then it was back to our respective boats for the women while Todd and Bill went to West Marine to pick up some things for the boat.

Saturday evening the MTOA group gathered at the Solomons Landing Pavilion for dinner. Each boat was responsible for bringing a side dish or appetizer, and the event sponsors (Ted & Nancy) grilled ribs and chicken. As is typical with these kinds of events, there was an excess of wonderful food and we overindulged. So, we declined Bill & Ana’s invitation to play more Catch Phrase and went back to the boat for a relatively early night.

Ted finishes grilling the chicken and ribs.

The group’s final event was a coffee and pastry gathering at 8:00 a.m. Sunday that Todd attended by himself. (That’s far too early for me to be sociable, just ask my husband!) Shortly after noon, in the midst of a light shower, Ana brought Bill over in his diving gear to check out the zincs and a few other things on the bottom of our boat. Thanks, Bill, we appreciate it!

Sunday evening we were again invited over to “Knot Tide Down” for dinner and Catch Phrase. As we were dinghying up to their boat late that afternoon, we saw Bill “fishing” with Deoge off the swim deck. Bill casts the lure into the water and Deoge jumps off the surf board to swim after it. Bill then reels the line back in, just ahead of Deoge, until she reaches the swim deck and climbs back on the surf board. Too cute – and she absolutely loves doing it!

Sadly, Bill laid the fishing pole down to help us tie up and it fell in the water, sinking like a rock. Poor Deoge’s fishing days are over until she gets a new rod and reel!

We spent our final evening (for now) with Bill & Ana on the flybridge of “Knot Tide Down,” munching on appetizers (to the extent that we decided to forego dinner) and playing Catch Phrase. This time the girls outshined the boys, winning almost every game. The girls rule, Ana!

Late Monday morning we pulled over to Spring Cove Marina to pump out and take on some fuel. Bill & Ana stopped by in their dinghy to say good-bye as they were heading to West Marine to pick up a part. We left Solomons at 11:30 a.m. headed for the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. By 3:00 p.m. we were anchored in Hudson Creek off the Little Choptank River. The temperature was back in the low to mid-90’s and humid after a very enjoyable weekend of temps in the low to mid-80’s.

Tuesday we spent three hours motoring from the Little Choptank River to the Choptank River to anchor in La Trappe Creek. We originally planned to go on in to Cambridge (MD) but decided to spend a few more days anchored out as La Trappe Creek is a very nice anchorage.

We knew there was a high probability of rain and/or storms Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday, so we weren’t surprised when storms moved through about 3:00 a.m. Although there was quite a bit of lightning, we had very little severe weather to contend with and were back in bed by 4:00 a.m.

Today is Wednesday, August 18th, and yes, it is still raining. But it is also 72 degrees, which is a beautiful thing! We plan to go in to Cambridge tomorrow (about another five miles) and will see friends Steve & Diane who are there on a boat called “Jolly Good.” Steve & Diane have their own boat, “Aurora,” but they are both licensed captains and spend much of their time moving boats for other people.

So, we will spend a few days exploring Cambridge and then go to Oxford, a few miles up the Tred Avon River, on our way out of the Choptank. I’m not sure what our destination is after that but I’m guessing we will continue moving north on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay.

We are still in limbo as to when we may need to go back to Missouri to assist with my niece, Jennifer. She is currently in the rehabilitation unit at St. John’s hospital in Springfield, MO, and is doing fine, all things considered, but we still don’t know when she is going to be released. Once we know that, one or both of us will likely need to go back to Missouri to help get her settled somewhere. But until we know more, we will continue our journey on the Chesapeake.