Baltimore (Crab Cake Land)

 Hospital Ship

BALTIMORE/FELLS POINT/CANTON

We had good friends, Eric and Cindy Clancy from PA join us for a cruise up to the Baltimore.The trip was smooth water and good weather.We enjoyed walking for blocks and blocks exploring the area. Dinner was @ Momma's on the Half Shell.....a very happening place in the cutsy, old neighborhood of Canton. We enjoyed Momma's signature drink, the Orange Crush, as well.

Overnight, we had a lot of rain. Bad thing was, all the garbage from the city streets washed into the marina and surrounding harbor. Sadly, we have NEVER seen so much debris in a waterway. There were plastic bags everywhere....a very bad thing if sucked into your sea strainers! We felt very fortunate to depart unscathed.

Got back to Annapolis late afternoon and headed to Carrolls Creek for dinner....had my first crab cake...scrumptious! John had CHICKEN.....scrumptious, he said:-)

Tomorrow AM we will rent a car, drive to Hilton Head, pick up our car, and see John's mom. From there we will drive to Atlanta for the birth Keri and Tom's new baby.....due on Friday...sex TBD. We'll keep you posted!



SURVIVING THE GRANDKIDS

Actually, we had a wonderful visit with Kristi, Rich, Kate, Connor and Evan. It does confirm the theory that raising young children is best left to young parents. Kate and Connor stayed onboard Grampa John's boat, while R, K, & E stayed at a hotel. We had thought our boat was a good size with plenty of room. That is until you put 7 people on it and throw in a crazed cat and an old  dog.

Rich made a wonderful tour guide and historian. He kept everyone on the move. The kids learned a lot of new stuff like: dinghies, jellyfish, crabs, sailboats, the "pump out" boat, ducks that poo on swim platforms, water taxis, granny's cabinet of junk food, walking down the center of the dock, punching in the bathroom code, putting coins in the machines at the marina laundramat, walking around a boatyard and seeing the underbelly's of yachts, trolley rides, and on and on.

Baby Evan proved again to be the best baby on earth, ever! He just goes with the flow and adjusts to whatever is going on. He took a couple naps onboard and always awoke with a smile.

Kristi enjoyed a much needed vacation, and Granny and Grampa John enjoyed the excitement  of having everyone here. The picture below is how Grampa John recovered .

GRETA'S FENDERS

We left bright and early by our favorite (and only) mode of transportation ....the water taxi. We went to see baby sister Knotugal  at the sale yard. We finally went today, as they just now got their power back since last saturday.
The excitement of the afternoon, was moving our boat to another slip. The one we had was not easy to get in and out of. Our new one is a T head....and....it belongs to Greta Van Sustern. She keeps her boat in our spot, but is in Nantucket for the Summer. She, very considerately, left her jumbo fenders, which are putting to use :-)

JULY 4 ANNAPOLIS

Wow! Is it ever hot! Sweat and water are the new normal. We are thankful for good AC on the boat! We did brave going to the Annapolis parade last evening. We shuttled over on the water taxi. It was a hot affair. You sure can tell this is an election year....many, many politicians marching.We went back to the boat afterwards and sat up on our sundeck with a glass of wine to watch the fireworks. A nice end to a nice day.

UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS

We had a marvelous tour of the Academy today. What an awesome , beautiful campus. It is rich in history and tradition. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The Plebes (new students) looked so very young. They are all stellar indivduals to even get accepted here. We were fortunate to see them doing the noon formation. They just arrived 6/30 and have 4 rough weeks ahead. We wish them all the best.

ANNAPOLIS, MD

We left Solomons on Saturday AM and arrived here about 2. Water was fairly calm. Again we were wedged into a slip with a narrow fairway. Fortuantely they will move us in a day or so to a slip that is easier to get in and out of. We didn't realize how lucky we were when we arrived here to have power. A lot of the area is still without, as are many marinas. Can't imagine being on a boat in this 100 degree heat with no AC!

Yesterday we took the water taxi into downtown Annapolis. We walked around and had a nice waterside dinner. I have yet to try a crab cake. I am saving myself for some special time. John will stick with what he knows, and that doesn't ever include crabcakes :-)
We caught up with stuff today and will explore more tomorrow. We like our marina and continue to meet many nice, friendly people.