Tag Archives: Chesapeake

On the river

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Maryann and Ray's house

What a treat that was!

Betsy and Maryann stayed up late last night and took care of the wine Betsy didn’t want to carry home in her suitcase, and I went to bed early. So when Ray was ready to go on the boat, Maryann was not feeling up to it and so it was just us two.

 

 

The boat is an older Cobra, a go fast boat, with a very comfortable ride. Ray is quite the tour guide, and knows what seems like everybody on the river! He gave me a running commentary as we went by houses and islands. What a fantastic area this is! If it was a little warmer in the winter, it would definitely be a place to consider moving to. But the idea of having someone ice sailing in front of my house in the winter is not appealing.

The glass house

 

 

 

 

The trees were just starting to turn, I could see the reds and golds starting – probably in 10 days or so, it will be brilliant. But that didn’t take away from the beauty of the area. Everywhere you look, there are coves, bays and inlets. Houses line the shore, ranging from MacMansions to shacks, with everything in between. And boats! Everywhere! So unlike the Puget Sound and Hood Canal where you hardly ever see boats out sailing. Here, there were small boats, big boats, power and sail. The boats really get used, which is what is supposed to happen.

Gibson Island Yacht Club

There is a ritzy, guard-gated island called Gibson Island that we drove around. Beautiful protected harbor, lots of boats on moorings. Then we headed out into the Chesapeake to see a lighthouse that one of Ray’s friends bought. It is a way to preserve the old structures. Private parties or in some cases, Maritime Museums, buy the lighthouses and restore them or convert to B&B’s or apartments. Then the Coast Guard maintains the navigation lights and equipments. The one this guy bought is called a Caisson. It would be a fun place to spend a weekend. Self-contained, with solar panels etc.

B&B Lighthouse

I was getting a bit nervous, wondering if I would make it to the airport in time. But he “floored” it and we blasted back to the house. Going through security was quick and I had plenty of time, boarded, sat back and enjoyed an uneventful flight.

Ryan was right there and it was wonderful to see him!

Annapolis

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Dinner at Pirate’s Cove was good – not outstanding and marred by an exceptionally dull waitress! But the cream of crab soup was one of the better ones.

Thomas Point Lighthouse outside Annapolis

We had a great sail up the bay to Annapolis. Weather and wind were perfect (except it could have been 80F instead of 60F). It was different, too with tankers anchored out, waiting to go to Baltimore. We sailed right by Thomas Point Lighthouse which is a National Historical Landmark, one of 10 in the country.

We topped up with fuel, had the heads pumped out and returned the boat to the charter company, unloaded everything into Maryann’s car, swung by the Boat Show office to get out badges and went to lunch at a place Bobbie calls the Office, but is actually called Davis’ Pub, sat outside and had fish and chips. The first meal out I didn’t have something crab!

We all had soooo much laundry, we took it all to the laundromat and spent an hour or so watching the clothes spin around – and the weird people there! Enormously fat – one woman could barely move, and she had these enormous, pendulous boobs (no bra) that swung and swayed as she moved! Amazing!

Dinner was at Seaside Restaurant. I hadn’t planned on eating too much, so stuck with cream of crab soup, a good one. It seemed as if most of the other diners were having crab, piles of them on the table. The one thing I didn’t do this trip – beat on a pile of crab with a hammer. Next time!

Boat Show

Thursday was Trade/Exhibitor Day at the Annapolis Boat Show and we made the rounds. What a show it is! Hundreds of beautiful boats, exhibitors lining the docks and masses of people. I wasn’t there so much to get leads/names for articles, but did make some good contacts. Finally met Greta, Sailing Magazine’s editor and we had dinner with her at a Thai restaurant.

Big boat making it's way through the show. Betsy checking things out.

Yesterday, Friday was also boat show but I was really tired. Too many people, too much activity. Betsy and Bob and things to do and people to see so I walked around a while, then went out of the show and explored a little bit of the surrounding area, but there were just so many people! I just don’t care to be around crowds like that, they make me want to go sit somewhere quietly by myself. I don’t like schmoozing and being “on” all the time. I can do it in small doses, but not long days of it. Anyway… it is an amazing show and if I was in the market for a boat, it’s the one I would go to.

But! I did have a couple of Pusser’s Painkillers which reminded me of the Virgin Islands and got the very cool enameled mugs the drinks come in.

Today, Betsy and Bob are off to the show again, but Maryann and Ray are taking me out on their boat to see the area a bit and then taking me to the airport which is very kind of them.

Go West

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Lighthouse at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

We have all been surprised at how cold it’s been. Wet, bitey cold. Definitely not what the brochure said. Too much like Washington weather.

Dinner at the Crab Claw on Sunday night was marginal, I was not impressed and neither was anyone else, really. Soft shell crab is not all it’s cracked up to be – in fact it was rather mushy. I learned that it would have been better to have them fried, not sautéd, and that we should have Maryann, Bob’s sister, cook them for us. And then the funny part – the restaurant doesn’t take credit cards and we all scrabbled around trying to gather enough cash together to pay the bill! Betsy said Donna (who invited us all) was mortified!

Main street, St Michaels

Monday, we went out to breakfast. Bobbie G treated us girls at the Carpenter Street (or C Street) restaurant. It’s an old place with lots of character. And the food is good too! Betsy and I both had crab omelets which were loaded with crab. By the time we finished breakfast, the skies had opened and of course, I didn’t have my foulie jacket. So we ducked in and out of stores before making a beeline for the boat.

Later, we went to the Environmental Concern facility for ecology.com. Betsy is writing an article about Poplar Island, which is an interesting project. The island has eroded over the years, so they are using the original footprint, and then using fill from the Baltimore Harbor to recreate the island. Environmental Concern worked with the state and other agencies and planted the first “cell” of native grasses in the wetlands. This island is now a bird sanctuary and is monitored closely.

The facility is quite large, with big greenhouses where they grow all the indigenous wetlands plants. We met with the young woman who runs the education side of things (something that I will work on for the kid section of the site) and with the woman in charge of the nursery. There are lovely wetlands and what they call a living shoreline, which is the way all shorelines now have to be protected. No more hard (or armored) shorelines.

Beer flight

On the way back to the boat, (rain had stopped) we popped into the local brewery and tried a “flight” of three of their beers. I’m not much of a beer drinker, so enjoyed one, but not the others so much. And we did a little window shopping. Didn’t buy anything but saw some cute things, very touristy.

I was feeling a bit wiped out so didn’t go to watch Monday night football. I knew I needed a bit of down time so was asleep by nine.

Tuesday morning – woke up to an almost clear sky. Beautiful colors so eased off the boat, hopefully not waking anyone else. Coffee in hand, I walked around the Museum. It’s 18 acres of history, an amazing place with hands on exhibits for grown ups! It was wonderful and I wish we were staying longer. Next time, but I will try not to come here when it is cold!

Pirate's Cove

Bobbie was anxious to leave so we left by ten. The weather and wind were really good and we had a great sail. Of course, in a cat, it take a while to get anywhere if the wind is from the wrong direction, but we managed ok, and arrive here on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake, in a little place called Galesville. It looks like the entire town is marinas! After Bobbie expertly spun the boat and planted it next to the dock, we went for a walk. My legs are tired from bracing myself all day, I think.

I’m taking them to dinner at the restaurant on the dock this evening as a thank you for having me along.

Tomorrow, it’s back to Annapolis to give the boat back, then to Maryann’s. Thursday is the Annapolis Boat Show, then Friday we meet with Bob Petz from Ecology then Saturday get on a plane to the boys.

 

Countdown

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In 10 days I will be on a plane heading back east. And then way south!

The time is going by so fast. It feels just like yesterday that I made the decision to go. Since then, the days have been flying by and departure is staring me in the face. Fortunately, I’ve been doing a bit of packing/clearing out/trashing every day, so I don’t feel rushed. I don’t do “rushed” any more. It might seem like an old lady way of doing things, but to me the stress of last minute stuff, putting things off, procrastination is worse than just about anything else. Sure, the house is a wreck and has been for weeks, but I know where everything is and where it is to go. The boxes are stacking up and I have actually managed to label them! A first!

The worst part has been the paperwork – what can I throw out and what do I absolutely have to save? But even that is being whittled down nicely. I have several goodwill boxes to go tomorrow and my clothing is down to minimal. I can take two suitcases and I need room in one for my Kangen machine! So that limits the space a bit. I think I am going to go the UPS luggage route as I can tape them completely closed and that might hinder sticky fingers in the airport luggage departments! And then just toss them once I get there. Both the boxes will get shipped down to Ryan before leaving here. I’ll take just a carry on back east.

With the weather changing I am getting out of here just in time, I think. Trees are turning, yellow and rust mixed in with the green now. And the maples turning beautiful reds. In the howling winds, poplar leaves are coming down like driving snow; pretty soon the trees will be bare limbed and dark against the gray sky.

I don’t remember if I mentioned I am keeping my car. After I had it detailed, and haven’t had a single bite on craigslist, I reconsidered. It’s paid for, a really good vehicle and I am pretty sure that I will have to be back here within the year to handle stuff with the house. And unless I want to pay an absolute fortune, will have to come back through the States to get to Panama or wherever I decide to land. So will have wheels and can then decide whether to sell or what. It will go under a cover here at the house, get driven once a month or so and will be fine.

It’s amazing how many odds and ends have to be handled – Hinckley had to go for his shots on Friday (yowling in the car but he is fine); changing utility accounts; runs to the Goodwill with all sorts of “stuff”; and on and on. But now things are coming together. Boxes stored in a cupboard; the last of the paperwork sorted; final bit of shopping today; then the clean sweep of desks etc.

And all the while, the old Mac is whirring away, loading my thousands of photos into dropbox out in a cloud! Love it!

It’s confirmed!

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Booked my flight to South Africa today. I leave Los Angeles late on Oct 25th and arrive at the new Durban airport at 11:15 am on 27th! But only 2 stops – New York JFK and Jo’burg. Long long flight but I will put my brain in neutral and hopefully, zone out. It will be strange flying in there for the first time – the old airport has been decommissioned but that is the airport I initially flew away from in October 1967 – good grief! That’s 44 years ago. And I remember that day as if it were yesterday! (Actually better than I remember yesterday.)

I can take suitcases – free! – and probably don’t have enough to fill them so will try to get everything into one. After all, I don’t need warm clothes, and if I go down to see Biff and Jules at the Somerset West lodge, won’t need any clothes! Ha ha! Betsy says when she comes over, we are going to do the nudist thing – and I say, I don’t think so!

Packing up is moving forward. I realize how little I have accumulated; a good thing. Some things are being tossed, but things like the Christmas ornaments I made out of wood and handpainted when the boys were little…both Ryan and Cody want them so I will divvy them up and it will be wonderful to think of them hanging on the trees when I am not there. And I know Oliver and Everett will enjoy them too.

Memories…

I’m getting excited now, not just going to SA but the trip back east. I haven’t been sailing for so long that I might not know where the pointy end is – and to confuse things, there are two pointy ends as it is a catamaran. The biggest cat I sailed was a Hobie so this will be interesting. It is a Mahe 36, has 3 cabins and a lot of deck space.

We’re hoping for an Indian Summer, but will enjoy whatever mother nature throws our way. Weather here in Washington is beautiful at the moment, not very warm, but sunny and warm enough. Makes it almost worth living here – almost but not quite.

“notorious’ bars and ‘outrageous’ crab shacks

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Chesapeake

Yep, well that’s what is happening!

I know, I should be focusing on packing up, working etc., but why would I turn down the opportunity to go sailing on the Chesapeake, when the timing fits in perfectly with my Washington departure?

And Betsy says…is life supposed to be this much fun? should we let anyone know … ?

I actually considered not going and thought, why on earth not?

So I fly from Seattle to Baltimore with a shuttle to Annapolis, spend the week cruising around “notorius bars and and outrageous crab shacks,” then head back to Southern California to spend time with the boys (and girls) then head out to South Africa at the end of October.

This East coast trip came about just when I was trying to get mymixednuts closed down, with nuts everywhere and people coming by, saying how sad it was and making suggestions how to keep it going. This was when I had already pretty much come to terms with it going away. I did follow up on some suggestions about local angel investors, but I just don’t have the energy to put into it any more. Now, if it had happened last year, I would definitely have done something with them.

So I have boxes of nuts and fruit to send to Ryan and Cody and some for Annie, at Ryan’s request. All the documentation etc will go to her lawyer. I’ll do that tomorrow then it is over.

So when Betsy said, why not go with her, I was feeling so burned out I almost said no. But hell, why not?

Booked my flight this morning, leaving here 28th of September and fly back to S. Cal on 8th October and will spend a couple of weeks there, seeing everyone and meeting Jane and some of the ecology crew. I think Betsy and I will meet up with a couple more of them on the East coast, so this is definitely a business trip.

Then I think my departure date for South Africa is 25th October.

I’ve started packing my stuff up – really, I don’t have much and it is going to be stored in the cupboard in the second bedroom, out of the way, but dry as a lot of the “stuff” is pictures and slides.

My car is for sale, so have to go out and give it a good wash today – while the weather is nice! Still chilly, sunny but here it almost noon and it’s not 60F