GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: June 2012

BALTIMORE AND THE $200 HAMBURGER

DAY 324: WED. JUNE 6, 2012 TO SAT, JUNE 9, 2012

DEP. ANNAPOLIS 07:33 ARR. BALTIMORE 1:06

D. 38.9sm / 5320.2

Another beautiful ride up the bay. The sun was shining, the air was dry and 75 degrees and the seas were calm. As we approached the Keys Bridge we made a turn to starboard into Bear Creek to take advantage of the lowest fuel price on the bay. We had to cruise 3.5 miles to Anchor Bay Marina and back, but we saved about $40 on fuel. From there it was another 10 miles into Baltimore Harbor and the City Dock. There are many marinas in and around Baltimore harbor, but none is as close to the action, or as inexpensive as the City Dock. There is only room for about 6 boats there, but during the week it was no problem as we and Something Special were the only 2 boats there. By Fri. night the dock was full. As stated, we are literally in the middle of the action. There is a red brick walk that completely surrounds the harbor and several piers where large tour boats tie up. We have seen several bus loads of students boarding these boats for class trips, graduation parties, etc. There are throngs of people from around 10:00 till midnight walking the harbor, shopping, eating at the many restaurants. There are also many tourist attractions, the USS Constellation (sister ship to the USS constitution), a submarine, a lightship, a USCG Cutter, a screw pile lighthouse, and an aquarium. No wonder there is so much foot traffic. On Wed afternoon we went to the observation tower in the Transamerica building. It was a beautiful afternoon and we could see for miles. On Thurs we invited Theresa and Don up for lunch and went to a Brazilian Restaurant called Fogo Au Chao. It’s one of the places where the waiters come around with skewers of roasted meats and slice it into your dish. They also had a great salad bar, and for only $31 you got all you could eat of everything. It was so good we didn’t mind the price. On Fri. Sid and I went to the B&O RR museum and it was a great take. We had lunch at Five Guys and came out to discover that someone cut the cable lock on our bikes and stole my almost new $200 West Marine Jetty Express folding bike. We had 90 day coverage with our Visa card, but, unfortunately it was 96 days since the purchase. Pat & Evelyn went to Fells Point for the Historical Walking Tour.

PAT AT THE OBSERVATION TOWER

FREE STREET ENTERTAINMENT WITH OUR SLIP
(WHO NEEDS TV?)

AT THE PUBLIC DOCK

USS CONSTELLATION
(SISTER SHIP TO OLD IRONSIDES)

GLORY DAYS FROM THE TOWER

BALTIMORE HARBOR

FOGO AU CHAU
PAT, JOE, THERESA, DON, SID, EVELYN

THE HARBOR AT DUSK

THE B&0 RR MUSEUM

ANNAPOLIS/ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

DAY 321: SUN. JUNE 3, 2012

DEP ST. MICHAELS 09:53 ARR. ANNAPOLIS 1:14
D. 27.8sm / 5281.3
WX: SUNNY, COOL, WIND W 10K

We cruised down Eastern Bay, around the southern tip of Kent Island and back into the Chesapeake Bay, north to Annapolis. The wind was out of the west at about 10K and the waves were 1’-2’, a very pleasant trip. As we approached the Severn River we were suddenly surrounded by sailboats. Annapolis is a big boating city, and particularly a sail boating city. There are several marinas and yacht clubs in the harbor, and it is packed with boats, especially on a Sunday. We picked up a mooring ball and met fellow Loopers Julaine & Fred on Boreas, and Mary & John on Passport. Since John is a yacht club member, he was able to get us into the Annapolis Yacht Club for a very posh dinner. On Mon. we did a tour of the Naval Academy in the morning and the Naval Museum in the afternoon. Both were outstanding and are not to be missed. Mon. night Theresa and Don from Great Escape met us and Evelyn & Sid for dinner and it was really great to see them again. Sunday was Ev & Sids 1 year Great Loop anniversary, and Mon. was ours. We left home last June 4 with some idea of the adventures that lay ahead, but there can a big difference between expectations and reality. Reality has far exceeded our expectations almost daily. It has been one heck of a year, and we are grateful and happy to have had the opportunity to do it. We would do it again in a heartbeat. We spent the better part of Tues. morning lounging, went to lunch at “Chick & Ruth’s Delly(their spelling).” We missed it, but every morning at 08:00 sharp, everybody in the place stands up and recites the Pledge of Allegiance. That afternoon Theresa called and invited us to their boat for dinner and it was excellent. What great friends, they not only made dinner, they had to drive over and pick us up and bring us back. We really had a good time with them and the Tilstras

THE LAUNCH TO THE AYC.
JOE, PAT, EVELYN. SID (SOMETHING SPECIAL), FRED, & JULAINE (BOREAS)

SMILE, YOU'RE GETTING YOUR PICTURE TAKEN!

IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE GLORY DAYS & SOMETHING SPECIAL THRU THE WINDOW OF THE NAVAL ACADEMY

THE RECREATION HALL AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY

NAVAL ACADEMY CATHEDRAL

HERE LIES JOHN PAUL JONES

ONE OF MANY INTRICATE ANTIQUE SHIPS MODELS IN THE MUSEUM THESE MODELS WERE MADE IN THE 17th & 18th CENTURY WHEN THE SHIPS WERE MADE

LUNCH AT CHICK & RUTH'S

MAIN ST. ANNAPOLIS

THE MARYLAND STATE HOUSE

SID, JOE, THERESA, PAT & DON

MORE ST MICHAELS

DAY 319: JUNE 2, 2012

AT ST MICHAELS

We spent 2 days In St Michaels and it was not enough to see everything. Here are some pictures of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and the interesting boat we saw in Knapp Narrows that later came to St. Michaels. This boat is truly unique. Not only is its hull design unusual, its interior is truly unique. All the interior wood is imported french walnut and everything is custom designed and made by skilled craftsman in Belfast ME. This is one of 46 cuttom boats the owner/designer has made. (www.yarkitecture.com)

WOOD BOAT RESTORATION

BUILDING A NEW WOOD BOAT, A LOST ART

A VIEW FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE

ISABEL

THE DECK ON AN OYSTER BOAT

CONCERTO

THAT'S A CONCERT PIANO ON BOARD

CUSTOM MADE FOLD DOWN TABLE
IN THE CENTER OF THE TABLE ARE 2 VIOLIN HEADS

ST MICHAELS, MD

DAY 319: FRI. JUNE 1, 2012

DEP. OXFORD 07:10 ARR. ST. MICHAELS 11:20

D. 34.6sm / 5252.6

WX: O/CAST, WARM, WIND ESE 5K-10, WAVES 1’-2’

The cruising was much better today than yesterday. We decided to cruise through Knapp Narrows rather than go the longer way around the southern tip of Tilghman Island. It was not only shorter, it was more protected, and Knapp Narrows is more scenic. I called the Tow Boat US operator before we left and she said we would have no problem getting through, just keep really close to the red side. I did, but we still touched bottom as we entered Poplar Island Narrows. Fortunately, it must have been mud or soft sand as we didn’t do any damage. The rest of the trip to St. Michaels was easy. The harbor is very pretty and is an upscale tourist mecca. The marinas here are expensive during the week and charge even more on weekends and holidays. We stayed at Higgins Boat yard for $2 per ft as it was the least expensive but also had the fewest amenities. The town has many similarities to Falmouth. It is about the same size, it is a tourist mecca. It was fired upon by the British during the War of 1812; it even has a cannonball house like Falmouth’s Nimrod house. And, just like Falmouth, about 50% of its houses are second homes. On Sat we walked the town, and went to dinner at the Crab Claw Restaurant. I expected the restaurant to sell steamed crabs for dinner, but I didn’t expect to see every table in the place piled high with them. The medium crabs are $36 per dozen and the large ones are $72 per dozen. We stuck with the crab cakes and the Alaskan Snow Crab. On Sat we did the tourist thing and went to the museum on St Mary’s Square, the historical walking tour, the Strawberry Festival, and the Chesapeake Bay maritime Museum (www.cbmm.org.). After walking all day doing the tourist routine, we went to the 5:30 mass and had to walk another 1.3 miles to church. Fortunately, one of the ushers offered us a ride back to the boat which we gratefully accepted

KNAPP NARROWS

SUPPOSEDLY THE BUSIEST BASCULE BRIDGE ON THE CHESAPEAKE

MORE ABOUT THIS BOAT LATER

ST MICHAELS TOWN

PAT @ TALBOT & GRACE ST

A CHANGE OF PLANS

DAY 318: THURS. MAY 31, 2012

DEP. SOLOMONS I. 07:24ARR. OXFORD, MD 12:12

D. 39.5sm / 5218

WX: SUNNY, WIND N 15K WAVES 1’-2’ BUILDING TO 4’-5’

We left Solomon’s with plans to arrive at St. Michaels early, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. Again, the forecast called for waves around 2’, which we had starting out, but as we cruised further north the winds started to increase and the waves started to build. By 09:45 the waves were on the bow at 4’-5’ high and we were just at the point where we could turn east into the Choptank River and head for an alternate destination, Oxford, MD.