BACK IN THE SLIP AT HILTON HEAD

Arrived back in Hilton Head about noon today, after spending last night in Beaufort, SC. Yesterday's cruise down from Charleston was tedious....very shallow water all the way.

THE LOCK AWAITS KNOTUGAL AT WINDMILL HARBOUR

Our Blog will be put on hold until we return to Knotugal right after Christmas

CHARLESTON DAY 2

More fun to be had our 2nd day here. We researched and found an Artsy Fartsy Movie Theater about 4 miles away. It was really hot and humid so we called UBER and had a delightful ride to it. Our driver was a City of Charleston fireman. He gave us some good tips on places to go.The movie was PHOENIX...was ok, but a challenge to keep my eyes open.  For our trip back, we had a very sweet older gentleman. We LOVE UBER!!! He dropped us off on King St. and we made our way to The Cocktail Club, supposedly a must do spot. It had a very quaint atmosphere and made some unusual drinks. We had a cute 20 something bar tender  that also gave us more suggestions of places to go in Charleston. We had dinner at The MacIntosh and started the long walk back to the marina.

The Charleston Yacht Club is adjacent to the marina, so we decided to take advantage of our reciprocal membership with the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and stop in. They could not have been friendlier, and we met a lot of boaters.

We were docked on the Mega Dock and enjoyed a walk back to the boat among all the giant yachts. 

CHARLESTON DAY 1

Arrived here yesterday, after spending Sunday night in McClellanville, SC. This is a small marina up a very shallow creek. We had to time our arrival/departure down to the hour. It's a good place for an overnight in the middle of nowhere. Yesterday, we dodged rain showers and shallow spots. You gotta love SC's marshes, tides, and areas of having 2 feet of water under your boat :-((

We docked at the City Marina, and noticed a boat that had been at the same marinas for the past several days. We finally had the occasion to meet them. Leo and Marion are on a Mainship Trawler from Ft. Lauderdale. They are on their way south after being in Connecticut for the Summer. We met up with them at Pearlz for happy hour, and then on to Circa 1886 for dinner. This restaurant is part of the Wentworth Mansion. We had a very enjoyable evening sharing hours of boat stories! Another benefit of the day, was that we walked over 5 miles on the streets of Charleston going from one place to another. Great way to see a city.

JUST ONE FABULOUS HOUSE AFTER ANOTHER IN CHARLESTON

neat piece of artwork comprised of watch faces in the lobby of the Vendue Hotel

MYRTLE BEACH FUN!

THE PIRATE SHIP WAS DOCKED RIGHT BEHIND US

 While in MB we did a walk to the grocery store, John got a haircut, we hit a good happy hour both nights and went to a performance at the Alabama Theater. This is a huge venue right near our boat. Saturday night's feature was Charles Esten and Clare Bowen from the TV series NASHVILLE (we are avid fans of the show).

After the theater, we went back to the boat to sit on the sun deck and watch a great fireworks display directly overhead. 

A LITTLE R & R AFTER 2 LOOONNNGGG DAYS!

We have done two 11 hour days and are now settled in at Myrtle Beach. We did this so as to avoid going through the Rock Pile north of Myrtle Beach before the Labor Day wknd with all the crazy boat traffic. They were not easy days, either. We had bridges to make that only opened once an hour, we ran aground twice, almost T Boned a fool with no clue sitting in front of the Wrightsville Bridge, and successfully avoided a huge thunderstorm that popped up. As we came down the Cape Fear River yesterday, we had 4 knots of current pushing us.....wheeeee! The engine was set to go at 7 and we were doing 11 kts!

We left Southport, NC at 7 this morning and are happily settled in at Myrtle Beach for  the next 2 days. We are on a Face Dock with a great view.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP SOUTH

PROOF THAT WE DID GET THE DINGHY OUT

PA FRIENDS, ERIC AND CINDY

NEW FOUND FRIENDS ON ORZA

OUR VIEW WHILE HAVING DINNER ON KNOTUGAL IN BELLHAVEN, NC

PREPARING THE LAST SUPPER WITH MARK AND MARIDEE

THE ORZA GANG

SMILES FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY

THE LAST SUPPER

ENJOYING AN ADULT BEVERAGE ATOP KNOTUGAL IN KILMARNOCK, VA

Continuing South

Spent last night in Norfolk. Tonight we are tied up at Coinjock. We made it through the maze of bridges and the lock. It rained all day. No worries, water was flat and cruising was good.

OUR VERY FIRST ANCHORING EXPERIENCE!!!!

Saturday, we cruised down to Mobjack Bay. Mark and Maridee had some friends from Norfolk that were anchoring there. We arrived, mid afternoon, had a very successful anchoring experience and even got the dinghy put into action. We had SO MUCH FUN.

THE CAPTAIN ASSUMING THE ANCHORING POSITION

THE MOTHER SHIP "ORZA"

PARTY CENTRAL

 We had a great Happy Hour on Orza, dinner with Mark and Maridee on Knotugal , and a shared breakfast the next morning on Folie a Deux.....complete with eggs benedict and mimosas. This anchoring stuff is quite fun!
BTW, we did keep our generator on all night and slept in AC comfort :-))

This property holds the oldest Tide Mill on the Chesapeake. The home was once owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Cruising South Again

Got back to the boat from Philly and went down to Cambridge on Wednesday. Spent the first night at the City Dock where our St. Michael's boating friends, Jim and Linda, joined us and Mark and Maridee for dinner at the Cambridge Yacht Club. The next morning, we cruised up the Choptank River about a 1/2 hour to spend the night at the marina of the Hyatt Resort there. Very nice. Very $$$$. Got our resort fees worth by sitting by the pool It is a beautiful setting. We just may stop here again sometime.

Friday we cruised over to the western shore to revisit Kimarnock. We had a T head with a gorgeous view. We used the loaner car to pick up some groceries at Walmart. We definitely will return here. Next time we will spend a few days and do some dinghying. The town is cute, the marina is friendly, and the area is scenic!

Philly and Such

We arrived to Ambler, PA last Thursday and received a warm welcome from Kristi, Rich, Kate, Connor and Evan. We were able to attend a karate class, go to the farm coop, and take the kids school shopping. It was a really fun time with lots of wonderfully, healthful food prepared by Kristi.

PICKING RASPBERRIES

HANGING OUT IN THE BLEACHERS AT KARATE

SELECTING JUST THE RIGHT PRODUCE!

In the midst of our visit, we found time to visit good friends, Eric and Cindy in Mechanicsburg, PA. We went to Hershey park for a fun evening at the historical hotel there, and did a grand tour of Gettysburg the next day. Eric is an excellent docent....we learned a lot.

Visit to Mechanicsburg, PA

In the midst of our visit to Philly, we found time to visit good friends, Eric and Cindy in Mechanicsburg, PA. We went to Hershey park for a fun evening at the historical hotel there, and did a grand tour of Gettysburg the next day. Eric is an excellent docent....we learned a lot,  not to mention had a really great time!!!

View of Harrisburg from Eric and Cindy's friends house

Linda and Frank hosted a Happy Hour with this fabulous background of Harrisburg

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OFF TO PHILLY

We are leaving the KNOTUGAL here at Osprey Point Marina in Rock Hall, Md. It is on the Eastern Shore of the Bay. It is a quiet, manicured pastoral place. The marina and docks are superb. We will leave this morning for a week in Philly with Rich, Kristi, and the grand kids.

painting on the side of a building

BALTIMORE

Although we always have a pretty good time here, the marina and harbor aren't perfect. When we arrived, no one answered our call on VHF or phone after many attempts, so we pulled in and docked ourselves. The water in the Harbor always has lots of trash floating in it, and this time was no exception. We worry about sucking debris into our engine intake. Even walking around the city, there is way more trash lying around than in other cities!

Last night, we went for dinner in Canton at Momma's on the Half Shell....our favorite haunt here. Their Orange Crushes beat all! After dinner, as we were leaving the restaurant, A police car, fire truck and several large flat bed trucks loaded with people passed by. Lights were flashing and sirens blowing. It  was the Emerald Society.....an Irish policemen's organization. They stopped, unloaded, and proceeded to do a pub crawl to all the cutsy bars in the neighborhood.....complete with a large group of bag pipers.....festive and fun.

Beater Boats at the end of our pier, still not uncovered from last Winter :-(

 Today we did a major walk through the neighborhoods of Fells Point, Little Italy, and Inner Harbor. There was an Italian festival in Little Italy complete with food, bocce ball, and live music. Great people watching.

FELLS POINT AREA

FRIED DOUGH 

TOLCHESTER, MD PARTY SPOT!!!

Hooo Doggies! Who knew? We saw in the Waterway guide that there was a small marina on the Eastern Shore that had a beach and tiki hut. We pulled in for the night. Well, this is the place to be on the weekend. Lots and lots of boats arrive here for good times. Not only is there a Tiki hut, but a pool, beach, bands , corn hole and Mudslides!

Down side is our slip was under a shed....no satellite signal or cell service. Oh well, had a gorgeous sunset to watch :-)

Bay was so flat that a pontoon made it across

UP THE SASSAFRAS RIVER TO GEORGETOWN

Arrived here yesterday after a very scenic cruise. The Bay at the North end is really pretty, with high treed bluffs and beautiful properties.
We are staying at the Georgetown Yacht Basin. Observations: Lots of spiders here. They say that is because of fresh water. We are far enough up the River, that the water is fresh. Good news is that there are no sea nettles/jelly fish in the water, as there are everywhere in the Bay :-(

All dressed up headed to "date night" at the Kitty Knight House...yes, there is an unplanned "blue " theme in our attire

Never had mashed potatoes and onions on the same plate before. Must be a Northern Maryland thing. BTW...best ever onion rings I have EVER had!

Walked into the local neighboring town of Galena. Who should we meet outside the grocery store, but the town;s mayor.

View from our dinner table!

ROCK HALL ...virgin territory

We departed Annapolis on Monday in the rain. The seas were rough as we headed north on the Bay. Miraculously, they subsided quite a bit after we passed under the Bay bridge. I can remember this happening before.  You wouldn't think the bridge would make such a difference.

We arrived Rock Hall in the rain, as well. We stayed at Osprey Point Marina there. What a charming place this was. The docks were superb and the grounds gorgeous. It had and inn and restaurant associated with it.

ARRIVING IN THE RAIN

SIGHT IN TOWN

OLD FASHIONED ICE CREAM PARLOR...CHOCOLATE MALTS ALL AROUND

BIT OF LOCAL COLOR

WAITING FOR THE BLUE CRAB CRAWLER IN THE RAIN

THE BLUE CRAB CRAWLER THAT TOOK US INTO TOWN

BEAUTIFUL SCENE IN MARINA AFTER STORM PASSED

ANNAPOLIS

Again, had great seas for the trip up here 2 days ago. Got into Annapolis Yacht Basin about 10 AM and had the day to play. Don and Anne, our VA friends were already there waiting for us on their boat. After walking the town, we met up for drinks at Happy Hour .

Yesterday, John and I did a big walk in the morning, while Mark and Maridee did the Naval Academy tour. After lunch, John, Mark and Don did boy stuff on their boats, while Anne, Maridee, and I shopped til we dropped. We hit every ladies shop in old town Annapolis. I don't usually shop with others, but we had a wonderful girlie time, trying on clothes, and chit chatting etc. We ended afternoon with Happy Hour on the back of Anne and Don's boat. They were docked right up to the Yacht Basin. The view left us speechless!!! Later we walked over to Ruth Chris Steakhouse for dinner. My Garmin Vivofit recorded that John and I walked almost 20,000 steps yesterday!

This morning we went to Church at the Naval Academy Chapel. It was a beautiful service and attended by many Plebes. Afterwords, went to long time Annapolis standby, Middleton's, for Brunch.

COULD NOT LEAVE ANNAPOLIS WITHOUT PAINKILLERS