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May 25, 2012  Day 14                                                              Total miles to date: 287.64

Today was a beautiful day on the water.  We left Georgetown at 6:40am under an overcast sky, but within an hour the sun was peeking out!  When we were halfway up the Sassafras River we were surprised to discover two deer swimming across the river, which was fairly wide at that point.

We reached the Chesapeake Bay at 8:00 and had a very smooth ride. We also had the current with us so we were flying along at over 9 knots at 1300 RPM.  We entered the Elk River at 8:30, and by 9:15 dropped anchor at Hollywood Beach and took the dinghy to shore.  This is the small riverfront/beach community where Bill’s family spent their summers. When Bill was four, his Dad built a small summer house and they kept it until we were married in 1970. We walked down a few of the streets and talked to some of the local residents.  It was nice for him to reminisce. We have been back occasionally over the past few years, but never by boat!

We were on our way again at 11:00 and arrived in Chesapeake City and the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal by 11:35. We had hoped Schaefers Restaurant would be reopened since it is under new management and the renovation is almost complete. But knowing in advance they were not quite ready, we kept going up the canal. We passed two or three tugs with barges and lots of “go-fast” boats who don’t slow down for anyone!  

We arrived in Delaware City at 1:15 and were greeted by a very friendly and helpful staff. The Delaware City Marina has about 300 ft of floating dock wall space along the old Canal Wall – a very well kept place.  Delaware City dates back to the early 1820’s and many of the homes and buildings proudly reflect that.  We took a short walk into town and browsed through a few shops before returning to the boat.  We went back out for dinner at Kathy’s Crab House then took another walk through town. There is a nice park area in front of the Delaware River so we sat there for a while before returning to the boat.

We met Loopers Carl and Glenda on Gold Leaf, from Iowa who are docked next to us.  They are heading to Cape May along with us and they joined us on our boat to discuss the trip. Dockmaster Tim suggested we depart at 6am Saturday to have the current with us, so we called it an early evening.