Annapolis Maryland

We arrived in Annapolis on Saturday and fought our way in and around a million sailboats.  It was a beautiful day and also what is called Naval Academy week.  We boated over from St. Michaels with another boat called Navigator with Jan and Tom.  They are from Minnesota but have a condo in Fort Myers.  They have some friends they know here in Annapolis and those friends invited them and us to the Annapolis Yacht Club for dinner.  Sounds great except one problem is that Chloe had started vomiting and it continued for the rest of the day after we had arrived.  She also was lethargic and we were very concerned.  We did have cocktails on Navigator before dinner but opted out at the last minute and decided to stay with Chloe to follow her progress.  She had vomited more and was not eating or drinking water.  We went to bed and hoped she had just eaten something that didn't agree with her and would be fine in the morning.  In the morning there was no change and after taking her for her morning walk discovered that she also had diarrhea.  We walked into the town of Annapolis for a short tour and breakfast and returned to the boat to check on her and still not improvement.  The friends of Navigator, Al and Marianne, after only meeting them for maybe 45 minutes offered to take us to the vet if she didn't get better and that night after we backed out of dinner, brought us over food from the yacht club.  Since she wasn't better we called them and they picked us up at the boat and took us to the emergency vet hospital.  This is on a Sunday and they never hesitated to help.  I don't know if I have ever said that one of the fantastic things about this trip is the people you meet along the way and the new friendships that are discovered.  Turns out Chloe had X-rays and a check up and everything looks okay.  She was given fluids for dehydration, a anti nausea shot and some antibiotics.  However, if she was still vomiting the next day we had to take her back for more tests.  Thankfully the next day she was not vomiting and a little more like herself, but still had diarrhea.  Al and Marianne had invited all of us, Tom, Jan, Chloe, Jan and I to their house for dinner.  Chloe was continuing to feel better and Marianne had made her chicken and rice.  We had a fabulous dinner and  Chloe wasn't complaining either.  We can't say enough about Al and Marianne, except thank you.

Leaving St. Michaels

Bloody Point Lighthouse (who comes up with these names?)

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

WWII Memorial looking over Annapolis

Downtown Annapolis

You can see Annapolis Harbor at the end of the street

The Maryland coat of arms

Maryland State Capitol

Beautiful buildings are everywhere.

This is Al who walked Chloe everyday when we were in DC . Marianne  and Al had us over for dinner to their house and took us to the vet for and invited us to the yacht club for dinner and brought us dinner when we couldn't  go to dinner at the yacht club because Chloe was sick.  Al is a retired firefighter and use to captain the fire boat in Philadelphia. 

Annapolis had these birds scattered around town

Thanks everyone for thinking of me while I was sick. woolf, woolf!

Saint Michaels Maryland

What a cool place!  This is one of those places all the rich people come to with their yachts and show off.  We got here this last Wednesday and no one was here.  I guess all those big boats are owned by people who work. We were going to leave today but a storm was coming in with 25 to 30 mph winds so we decided to stay today and leave tomorrow. We had 3 inches of rain in three hours!  Then we had a flash flood warning!  Whew! After the storm blew through and the sun came out the boats started coming into the marina.  We are here at the St. Michaels Marina with Navigator and Attitude Changer is just on the other side of the city anchored out.  We all got together for lunch yesterday at an Irish Pub and the guys; Ross, Tom and I, went to the Maritime Museum.  The museum had several wooden boats on display that were used in the Chesapeake Bay for oyster, crab, and the fishing industry.  They also had a lighthouse that was in the bay some five miles out that was occupied by one guy who made sure the light was on every night.  Poor Chloe has had a case of fleas that we just can't seem to get under control.  We have tried Front Line, Advantage, flea baths, and anything else we can of for her.  Today was her third bath in a row and through cleaning of the boat including washing all our bedding and hers.  She seems to be better and I'm sure she'll get another bath tomorrow until they are gone.  Never had fleas in California.  Tomorrow we leave for Annapolis.

Church founded in 1672

St. Michaels Parish

I can't get over the cemeteries at the church

Downtown

Boat ride

I guess I took this because you don't see houses in Calif like this

One of the boats commissioned to build

Lighthouse that was out five miles

On top of the lighthouse

The lens

Looking down on the museum grounds

Hey, hey, hey, watch that hand

Panacea has blue lights just like the big ones

Everyone at Tower Park, blue lights is the thing back here

Solomons Island

Leaving Deltaville at 8:00 am, we arrived at Solomons Island and tied up at the Solomons Island Yacht Club.  Since we are members of the Tower Park Yacht Club we were accepted as a recipocating club to stay with them.  Included with our stay we got two free drinks at their club bar.  Really nice people and they had a really nice facility.  Two other boats, Attitude Changer and Navigator also stayed with us and we had a great time.  The town of Solomons Island was an easy walk and we had lunch out the next day.  The speciality of the Chesapeake is blue crab and oysters.  Every restaurant has crab cakes and fish and chips, my favorites.  We stayed two nights before heading off to Saint Michaels, about a 50 mile run.

This is the Point no Point Lighthouse

Navigator

This church was next to the yacht club

Welcome to Solomons Island

Yacht Club docks

Yacht Club

Deltaville VA

We left Norfolk on a beautiful morning with about ten other boats.  Some were going to Deltaville and others were going elsewhere.  We passed all the Navy ships in Norfolk and headed out to the  Chesapeake Bay going North.  Like most beautiful days it started out great and slowly as we continued on the wind kept getting stronger and the bay kept getting rougher.  It was about a 55 mile run and we made it with no problem. There was about 12 boats that arrived at Deltaville. The marina we stayed at was having a mini rendezvous with free beer and wine when we arrived.  All the loopers put together a pot luck the next night and the marina, once again, provided beer and wine.  They also had three courtesy cars you could use for an hour.  We went to West Marine and the grocery store.  Deltaville is one of those little towns with only the essentials. I think West Marine was one of the largest stores in town.  We had a great time with all the other loopers and the marina put on dingy races where you had to row with one person blindfolded and the other person giving directions.        
We didn't participate but had fun watching.  One of the questions I brought up at the Norfolk rendezvous was if you are on the one year plan and are working up the Chesapeake where do you want to go and see.  There are a few people who spend the whole summer on the Chesapeake.  There's a million places to go.  We are going to the Solomons Island, St. Michaels, Annapolis, and Baltimore.

Fort Wool going into the Chesapeake Bay

Smith Point Lighthouse

Another lighthouse in the Chesapeake

Deltaville

This is Dozier Regatta Marina

Dozier is the name that publishes the Waterway Guides

Here's Barb and Ross doing the dingy race.

This is the couple from Summerland

Here's Average Looper giving it a try

Pot luck

Had a front come in with about 35mph winds

Norfolk VA

We had a great time in Norfolk at the AGLCA rendezvous.  There were some fifty looper boats there at the marina and many more who drove or flew to attend the conference.  Besides the rendezvous Jan and I rented a car to do some errands and take Chloe in for her grooming.  We also had the AC on the boat repaired and both props pulled and fixed.  One of the surprises was Cindy and Dennis, from our yacht club in Lodi, flew in and attended the rendezvous.  They have plans to start their loop sometime next year.  It was great spending time with them and maybe we'll see them at the end of the year when we finish.  The next rendezvous is on the Tennessee River at Joe Wheeler State Park in October. Hopefully that's where we'll be at that time.  After being in Norfolk for six days we were ready to move on.   One of the marinas in Deltaville is having a rendezvous after the rendezvous so that's where we are going next.

We stayed at the Tidewater Marina for one night across from downtown before moving over to the rendezvous

We were tied up in front of Hooters

Looking at Hooters from Panacea

Dennis and Cindy from Tower Park Yacht Club

Look who's in Southern Boating magazine.  This was when we were in New Orleans at Pontchartrain Landing.

Just got groomed and done for the day

Enjoying dinner at the rendezvous

Looper attendees (We couldn't make it for the pic)