Finally is in Her New Home

And we are home! The yard is not wildly overgrown and the house has not been taken over by spiders and ants. So nice to be back with a full kitchen, in a place with no holding tank, and in a bed which does not feel like a coffin.

We enjoyed a lovely morning in Solomons and got underway around Noon. The 4 1/2 hour ride across the bay was mostly smooth, and we had a brisk SSE wind at our back. Amazed at how many fishing boats we saw, large charters and small private boats. I hope the rockfish population can withstand the assault.

I now have a daunting list of things to deal with for the boat, from the water leaking at the base of the toilet to the generator, and many other little things that collectively should keep me out of trouble for a while.

Our Reserved Slip!

Solomons

Our trip across the bay from Crisfield to Solomons was smooth until the last few miles when the wind picked up from the Northwest and the ride became a little rocky. Still it was a beautiful day on the bay, and Anne drove the boat for the last hour into our harbor at Solomons. We arrived at 5 pm, washed Finally down from stem to stern, and enjoyed cocktails by sunset. We are tied up in a lovely marina, Zahniser’s, which comes with an excellent restaurant where we enjoyed our last dinner of this journey. Today we make the last leg - home to Herrington Harbour North.

Crisfield this Morning

An abandoned health club.

Awoke early this morning to the wild screeching of gulls and terns on the docks; apparently it is mating season and there was a lot of seabird sex underway. We took an early morning walking tour of Crisfield and discovered that the town is down on its heels. We passed many empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings, and few people were about on Friday morning. Our marina is huge and mostly empty - appears to be an attempt by the state to build business in the community. There do seem to be  several thriving businesses around the crabbing industry.

After an early morning rain, the sky remained cloudy and the winds light. We are heading for Solomons tonight and home tomorrow .

In Crisfield

We got underway from Norfolk this morning at 7:40 am and marveled at the massive display of naval power in various stages of maintenance as we made our way into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Even though I had only been on a boat at the southern end of the bay once before, entering it felt like coming home.

The ride was a bit choppy at first as we rode north on the western  side of the bay. Once we turned east, headed for Tangier Island, the ride became smoother as the wind lessened and the bay waters calmed, at times looking like pools of mercury undulating in filtered sunlight. After rounding the southern end of Tangier Island, we cruised easily north to Crisfield and arrived at 4:30 - a 9 hour day on the bay.

We are in a slip at Somers Cove Marina, tucked nicely back into a quiet cove. It is early in the season, so there are only a few other boats here, and there were only two other dinners at the Waterman’s Inn, where we enjoyed an excellent meal including crab soup, steamed clams, a crab cake, and shrimp and grits.

We are expecting rain tonight and tomorrow morning, but the forecast beyond is for sunshine and moderate temperatures. Plans for the next few days remain to be solidified, but Solomon’s is likely the next stop.

View from the Bow