For the last few days we keep running into this interesting phenomenom called "bait balls". You see the swirls on the surface that represents bunches of little bait fish swirling madly trying to avoid some really big fish coming after them from below.
It is called Solomons Island because it used to be an island but the old oyster house shucked so many oysters that the remains, thrown out the window, filled in the water ultimately connecting the island with the land. But everyone we talked to called it Solomons Island.
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| It is really hot!! |
There is not much in Solomon’s Island, especially not much
when the weather is 100 degrees. It is hot. All we wanted was the swimming
pool.
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winding the clock in the
lighthouse |
We pulled in and gassed up before heading to Zahniser’s Yacht Center. This is a nice marina. Our fellow travelers were at far
points in this large marina. We tied up and headed immediately to the pool to
move that body temp down to more normal levels. The pool water was already at
89 degrees. The lady working at the pool said at 94 degrees they have to close
the pool according to sanitary safety standards. Can you imagine what it would
be like at 100 degreees if you could see the pool but not go in? By the way,
the water was so hot in the hoses that we didn’t need the hot water heater on
to take a shower. The water from the faucet was so hot we had no cold water. It
was hot.
Despite the heat, after we cooled off a little we headed
down the road to visit the Maritime Museum. This was supposed to be a good one
and it was. We walked very slowly.
They had a neat exhibit of restored Bay boats used in commerce and transportation.
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| Fresnel light in the lighthouse |
The Drum Point Lighthouse had a screw pile lighthouse with a fresnet lense that
previously operated at Drum Point at the mouth of the river and the bay. To
give the museum docents a little break in the heat, they only had tours during half hour intervals
a few times a day. We were lucky to get there in time to climb up to the
lighthouse keeper’s quarters. It was hot.
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| the potty |
The steps were narrow and there were
a bunch of kids. In fact, this one kid was wearing a spider man costume complete
with the mask. He didn’t look too hot but everyone who saw him started to sweat
even more.
This kind of lighthouse is called screw pile because the legs were screwed into the bottom of the
Bay. The lighthouse keeper fastened his boat to the bottom of the lighthouse
and climbed stairs to the quarters. It was pretty nice with a nice breeze so it
would have been comfortable most of the year. The bathroom was pretty neat – a
little outhouse stuck to the outside. The hole opened to the water so it never
needed cleaning! Talk about pump out!
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| Sharkasaurus |
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| Kermit and Mike "downtown" Solomons |
This area is famous for fossils pulled out of the river
cliffs. I particularly wanted to see the massive sharkasaurus – gosh it was
cool!
Kermit enjoyed the neat exhibit about power boat racing on
the river through the years. It reminded me of the boat racing on the Great Lakes in the olden days.
After the museum we walked a few blocks passed the marina
to the few shops where we wandered with Mike and Judy from One September. A
little ice cream and the local farmers market complete with Amish people who
live in the St. Mary’’s community and it was time to get back to the air
conditioning.
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| Night falls at Zahniser's in Solomons |
We had dinner at the fine restaurant at Zanheiser’s with
Rick and Betsy from Rick N Roll. They are quite experienced loopers so we
enjoyed hearing their stories.
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| Good Karma leaving Solomons |
The next day we ran another 60 miles to Annapolis, a big
highlight on the Chesapeake. The water was just about perfect.
We’ve been to Annapolis before about 15 years ago
with friends from All Ports Yacht Club. It was such a blast to visit during the
annual October Boat Show.
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| Nuclear power plant in background |
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| Naval ships for midshipman practice |
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| Coming in to Annapolis |
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Naval Academy ball field from the
water |
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| Naval jet doing a flyby |
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| Following JimsJoy up Ego Alley to the Yacht Basin |
We stayed at Annapolis Yacht Basin immediately next to the
Annapolis Yacht Club – literally next to the building. We tried to get in but
they were not interested in us at all since our club has no reciprocal
privileges and no dining room. We couldn’t even get in with Blue Gavel. We
didn’t need it anyway.
You enter the Yacht Basic past the Naval Academy through
what is called Ego Alley, a very narrow passage in which very large boats
parade to show off their big boats to their friends and neighbors.
Our boat is
not large but even we found the passage to be intimidating. The basin is filled
with really big boats. I mean really big boats. Yachts even. We heard that the
Yacht Basin is having a little dispute with the Annapolis Yacht Club so they
purposely dock the biggest boats right next to the club house to block the
view. Nice.
Docking even our little boat is quite a challenge. You go
around some corners without being able to see what is coming at you because
moving boats might not be seen around the really big boats. We had to stern in
to this tiny slip with a teeny finger dock tucked in a corner. Kermit was up to
the challenge. He made it look easy. But it was not easy at all.
We continue to travel with One September and Jim’s Joy. One
September docked at Jay and Donna Tull’s dock nearby. We met Jay and Donna in
Naples over the winter so it was nice to reconnect. He is a pediatric dentist
that Mike knew from his dentist days. Donna was with us when Judy and I bought
new bathing suits in Naples.
Mike and Judy rented a car to attend a bridal shower for
their son and future daughter-in-law in Easton. Along the way they stopped for
a tasting at the place they targeted for the rehearsal dinner. It sounds
delicious!!
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L: Kermit, Katherine, Marianne, and Allen at
Chick N Ruth's for breakfast |
On Friday night, we walked over the bridget to join Mike and Judy for dinner at this
great restaurant called Carroll's Creek Café with Jim, Joy, Donna and Jay. We
had cocktails and appetizers during happy hour. I had the best scallop
appetizer with two big scallops wrapped in shreds of phyllo. Mmmmm….. Judy and
Mike moved on to Baltimore with Cavalier Yacht Club while JimsJoy and Good
Karma stayed in Annapolis for a few more days.
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| This restaurant is a kick |
On Saturday we had breakfast with Allen and Marianne Bernard
from Treasure Cay. We laughed and talked and got caught up on life since the
Bahamas. They suggested this crazy deli on Main Street, Chick N Ruth’s.
Breakfast was greasy and wonderful. I finally got potatoes cooked or rather
burned the way I like them!! It was wonderful! It was so good that we took Jim
and Joy there on Monday!
Marissa joined us after lunch, driving up from DC. Gosh it
is so good to see her and hold her in my arms. She stayed overnight.
We did the whole touristy thing. The State House was quiet
on Saturday morning. Kermit couldn’t come in because he had his Leatherman so
couldn’t pass through the metal detector. He chatted with the security guard
while I wandered around.
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| Couldn't go in here either |
This state house functioned as the Maryland capital since
it was a colony. George Washington resigned his commission after the Revolution
in this building.
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| The Rotunda was closed |
Unfortunately that room was closed for restoration. In fact
half the building including the oldest parts is closed for restoration (in
restoro as they say in Italy) while they replace glass in the famous rotunda.
But the house and senate chambers are open and very impressive.
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| Japanese tourists in the state house |
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| Critter alert! |
We visited two Georgian mansions from the 1790s, the Paca
House and Hammond-Harwood House, both fascinating architectural specimens. Both houses
were built around the same time.
William Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
and three time Maryland governor, designed his home himself on 2 acres of land,
built in 1765. This style of architecture is known for its symmetry inside and
out but Mr. Paca made a few mistakes. For example he forgot to add a back stair
so he added it on at the end, making the house a bit off balance.
We learned that these houses are built in five parts - a
main house and two smaller outbuildings connected by passageway buildings
called “hyphens”. Isn’t that clever? The kitchen is usually one of the
outbuildings.
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| Entrance to Hammond-Harwood House |
e Hammond Harwood house was designed by a famous architect trained
in Paris, William Buckland. Jefferson called this the most beautiful entrance and copied it for Monticello.
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Marissa and Kermit in front of that special
door made to look like a window |
Buckland did not make mistakes with symmetry. The house has 3 fake doors to
carry off the symmetry. Each door and window has a matching door or window on
the opposite side.
Taking it to the extreme, they needed a window in the big
back parlor leading to the outside so guests could use the lavatory in the
garden but the symmetry required a window so he build a special door that
looked exactly like a window!!
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| Gardens at Paca house |
Both houses have amazing gardens. The Paca house was
converted into a hotel and the gardens covered with cement. In the 1970s the
historical society got involved and purchased the home when the hotel went out
of business. They convinced the state to purchase what had been the gardens
then rebuilt the gardens exactly how it had been in the past. The guide says
they even found the original garden foundations. They rebuilt and remodeled
using the archeological excavations and Peale’s portrait of William Paca
showing the gardens in the background.
Neither house allows any photos inside the building. We are
confident this is because the houses are jam packed with furnishings either
original to the house or original to the period. The contents are worth a
literal fortune.
I particularly liked the moldings in the Harwood house. Each
room had different kinds of moldings made off site and installed in place.
Really intricate stuff with dentils and curlicues. And the rooms were painted
in bright colors appropriate to the period – blues, greens, and yellows.
The Harwood house was stuffed with paintings by two
generations of Peale’s, the same fellow who painted George Washington. It had
this really famous Peale painting of a little girl holding her doll and they
also had the actual doll painted in the picture sitting on a chair next to the
picture. We found that a little creepy.
The docent said she had 3 people in the last week who came on the tour just to
see that particular painting and the doll that goes with it. Go figure.
We visited a little house with a docent describing what it
was like to live in this area when Indians lived here, called Hogshead.
He
showed us the many uses for cow horns including making combs and cups. We
visited the Freedom Bound exhibit about runaways slaves and slave resistance.
Alex Haley and his family are from Annapolis area so they have statues
commemorating his famous book, Roots, at the dock where the slave auctions were
held.
By the way, just because I didn’t mention it, don’t assume
the weather got better. It was so hot on Thursday when we arrived that we
didn’t even leave the boat. We tried to walk in the morning and rest in air
conditioning in the afternoon.
Rusty wanted no part of walking around. He is
still favoring his back legs although he can walk better than when we had that
major problem at York River Yacht Haven. But he was satisfied with two walks a
day, one in the morning and one in the evening before and after the heat. His
legs are getting stronger but he is still a bit wobbly. The heat doesn't help.
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The gang from left: Darrell, Lisa, Allen, Marianne, Jim, Joy,
Katherine, Kermit, Laura, and Ross |
One of the wonderful parts of looping is meeting up with
great people. We arranged dinner with Why Knot and The Zone on Sunday night at Carroll's Creek Cafe again. Allen and Marianne joined us again making it a big group of fellow travelers. They fit right in.
Why Knot and The Zone are making an extended stay at Annapolis Landing a few miles away. We
laughed and told stories on each other and generally had a great time. We also
celebrated Jim and Joy’s 41
st anniversary with a cake supplied by
the Carroll's Creek Café. We liked the restaurant so much we visited again this
time for dinner. More crab cakes for me! I am almost crab caked out. Hard to
believe.
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| Isn't that sweet? |
Marissa and I took a drive to re-provision the boat and
generally kill time with each other shopping. There is nothing better than time
with my daughter. Then Sunday afternoon she went back to DC. I will try to drive out in the fall after we
return home to see her again.
Monday Jim, Joy, Kermit and I walked over to tour the Naval
Academy.
We took the 10:30am tour with a wonderful guide whose son and husband
both attended the Academy. She said her son described the first year, or plebe
year, as a mixture of monastery and prison.
The only students on campus were
first year plebes, their instructors, and the upper classmen on site to whip
the plebes into shape.
We lucked out and saw students in the gym learning how
to swim and how to wrestle (females too).
The place is littered with statues and monuments.
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Upper class leaders watching a
group of plebes do something |
We also lucked out and saw the rehearsal and actual change
of guard. The plebe summer is divided into two parts. The first 3 weeks is
really intense indoctrination and physical training, sort of like boot
camp. All privileges including any
communication with the outside world is taken away. We heard a lot of yelling.
I can’t imagine what the upper classmen do to these poor kids.
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| Practice |
The second three weeks is more about learning about school
and how to function among the other students. This requires a new set of upper
classmen. So they have a formal change of guard in the plaza outside the living
quarters where all 4000+ students live in one building divided into brigades and
units filled with all years of midshipmen.
When our tour arrived at this
building, we saw the upper class unit leaders practicing marching in and
yelling their responses over and over until they got it right. And they did! It
was great.
Every tour goes to the Chapel to visit the John Paul Jones
tomb, kind of garish black marble with gold stripes.
Outside the Chapel is an obolisk that plebes climb every spring to pick up the new cover to replace the plebe hat. The entire class has to participate. The obolisk is covered in grease! Every graduate remembers the time it took to make the climb ranging from 90 seconds one year (no grease) to over 4 hours (lots of grease). Everything here is competitive.
We walked through the armory on the day the plebes would get
their school supplies. Each kid gets a trolley filled with computers, clothes,
tools, and communication devices. All that stuff was being set up in the
armory. Midshipmen are supplied with everything they need from linens to
clothes to computers as part of the privilege of going to school there. The
guide kept saying it is all part of ensuring the students can focus on becoming
the best leader they can be.
2013 is the 200
th anniversary of the War of 1812.
This was a particularly big deal in the Bay because the British were all up and
in their faces in the Bay. Remember the British burned Washington DC which is a
short couple day ride up the Potomac River off the Bay.
The Naval Academy has a neat exhibit “Seas,
Lakes & Bay: The Naval War of 1812” describing all the ships involved from
every nation, all the captains, and all the big battles. They have ship models,
swords, flags, and clothing worn by folks involved. One exhibit described the
battle of Lake Erie at Put-in-Bay!
We stayed longer than we planned in Annapolis because there
is so much to see. But we are ready to move. Next stop is St. Michaels, MD to
meet up with the Cavalier Yacht Club and One September. It was another
beautiful day for a ride. Again this was about 50 or 60 miles, east out of
Annapolis into the Bay then south southeast to St. Michaels on the eastern
shore.
A little side note. On the way to St. Michaels out of Annapolis we encountered the Coast Guard practicing rescue maneuvers.
Food note: I had gazpacho with lump crab meat. Delicious!!
While the Cavalier folks went to town for dinner, One September, Jim's Joy and Good Karma arranged one last dinner on One September. Judy made a great salad and chicken fingers with Mike's mustard from Canada. Joy roasted a chicken. I made squash ravioli with brown butter, walnuts, and dried cherries.
Friday morning bloomed bright and everyone disbursed to their various parts of the world. Jim's Joy headed to Colony Beach on the Potomac to visit Joy's cousin. One September headed off with Cavalier. And we headed north to Delaware City. It was very sad.
