September 21, 2015  Day 9 Fall Break 2015

Whitehouse Cove Marina
Poquoson, VA

A rainy day…a Monday… and time for an update….

We have been back for nine days now and have been busy adjusting to staying put – at least on the boat.  We do seem to be in the car every day though!

Joyce and President Lincoln in front
of the Gettysburg Battlefield Museum



A view of the battlefields 

We spent four days in Pennsylvania this past week. We began with a visit with Bill’s aunt who is currently in a nursing facility recovering from a light stroke.  Then we spent two days at a very large RV show in Hershey, PA, learning as much as we could about RVs and that lifestyle.  We had a great time and certainly got our exercise!  We took a slight detour on the way home and stayed in Gettysburg.  We took a wonderful guided bus tour of the battlefields the next day and also toured the museum and cyclorama.  We had not been there in over 25 years and took in all the history, trying to soak up the immense amount of data. Over 7000 lives lost during that three day battle in July 1863. A very sad time in our nation’s history.  We left the battlefield and then found an Irish pub for lunch before starting our drive back home – Friday afternoon rush hour toward DC!

Yesterday we drove to Virginia Beach and spent the afternoon with our daughter, son-in-law and four grandchildren!  It is so nice to have them nearby when we are here.

We are also getting things done on the boat, relaxing, reading and visiting friends.  We will take the boat to Portsmouth, VA next week for repairs to the bow. We had hoped to go this week but the bay is too rough!  We will leave it there about three weeks and stay with Bill’s brother.

We will try to update the blog again in another week or two.

September 12, 2015  Day 84 New York Summer 2015

Whitehouse Cove Marina
Poquoson, VA

Sunrise over Fishing Bay

Our last day of our summer cruise was not quite the day we would have planned. We left our anchorage at 0725 still towing the dinghy and Bob’s boat.  Joyce took the helm to get us out of Fishing Bay.  All was calm in there!

When we got back into the Chesapeake Bay, we were faced with challenges all day.  We encountered three to four foot seas at times with rain and wind, and we had to cruise for quite a while under 3 mph which made for a very long day.  We even had to resort to peanut butter crackers for lunch. It was too rough to make sandwiches in the galley.

At one point the tow line got caught on the dinghy brackets so Bob had to go to the swim platform and unhook it. Bill went to the bow to fend off Bob’s boat which had floated up there! All this time we had to make sure no lines were caught in the props.  Later the wind was so bad it tore off our Gold Looper burgee off the bow and the pole it was on with both lost in the bay. We will need to replace them!

We finally got into the Poquoson River and decided we could get into the marina. First, we had to get Bob’s boat rafted to ours again, so we were able to do this fairly easily.  When we got to the marina, the wind had picked up and kept blowing us off the dock. (There was no one there to get our lines.)  Finally Bill got the stern close enough so Bob could jump off the swim platform and catch the spring line Joyce had ready.  By now it was raining heavily!! 

After we got secured, Bob was able to get his boat unrafted to us and drive into his covered slip.  We were all exhausted, looked like drowned rats, and were hungry. So we had some appetizers and then just popped a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner.  Bob and Debbie got their things off the boat and we said goodbye for the evening.  We will see them tomorrow at their Yacht Club’s final summer party.

Such was our nine hour day of cruising on our last trip of the summer!

We will spend several weeks here and probably won’t head south until mid-November.  We are taking a road trip to Pennsylvania this week to attend a large RV show. We have to get the boat to a boat yard to have the broken bowsprit repaired, and that could take a few weeks.  We are going on a cruise in late October. We have all the medical appointments, and visits with family and friends to keep us busy.  Our heads are spinning!!

We will not be updating the blog on a daily basis, so please check back from time to time.

September 11, 2015  Day 83 New York Summer 2015

At anchor
Fishing Bay, Piankatank River, VA

What an interesting day we had!  We left Solomons at 0715 with our dinghy towing behind us and then Bob’s boat (a 28 foot Owens) behind it!  We traveled over 10 hours with varying weather conditions from clouds to sun, and from 1 foot to 3 foot waves.

our boat parade!

rafted together at our anchorage

The boat towed fairly well until 12:30 when the towing line broke.  Then we went into rescue mode to retrieve Bob’s boat that was floating away. We got it back and tied up again and were back on our way – what an adventure!

We arrived at our anchorage at 5:20 and then brought the boat around and rafted it to us.  Bob and Debbie used the dinghy to take their dog to shore.  In the meantime, Joyce prepared dinner!

We played two rounds of our favorite game, “Ticket to Ride” after dinner and had a fun evening.

Tomorrow will be the conclusion of our summer trip when we arrive back in Poquoson. We look forward to seeing family and friends for the next two months!

September 10, 2015  Day 82 New York Summer 2015

Spring Cove Marina
Solomons, Maryland

We made the decision to leave our mooring at Annapolis at 0705.   We were watching the weather reports and since the storms were mostly forecast for the afternoon, we decided to go. It was the right decision as we only encountered rain for four minutes while we were underway. 

Leaving the mooring field under a cloudy sky

We had a good 52 mile cruise to Solomons and arrived at 12:45.  We got tied up at the dock and then welcomed Bill’s brother Bob, Debbie, and dog Jazzy to the boat.  After the rain came and went, we spent some time this afternoon getting Bob’s boat rafted to ours in preparation for towing them tomorrow.

We all walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner and enjoyed the meal and catching up with each other. 

We will get an early departure tomorrow as we will tow Bob’s 28 foot boat.  We have taken our dinghy down and will tow it also.  It will be quite the parade!  We will go as far as Deltaville and then complete the trip to Poquoson on Saturday.

September 9, 2015  Day 81 New York Summer 2015

Mooring Ball, Annapolis Harbor
Annapolis, Maryland

Today was moving day after spending a week at a marina. We departed Georgetown before nine o’clock, after first stopping at the fuel dock to empty the holding tank.   We retraced our route back out the Sassafras and then entered the Chesapeake Bay, heading south.  We were fortunate to have the current with us all day and enjoyed the 10 mph speed we maintained!  The bay was a little choppy but definitely not uncomfortable. We were happy to see the sun come out after having started under a cover of clouds.

Approaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

We arrived in Annapolis at 2pm and chose a mooring ball. Joyce stayed at the helm while Bill got us secured to the mooring ball.  We have a good system of hand signals that works for us.



The Pride of Baltimore visited Annapolis today

Room for a few more in the mooring field -
but these were mostly filled by evening

We had hoped to see the sailboat races that take place here every Wednesday evening, but then learned that last week was the final one for the season. 

We watched the sky as dark clouds moved in around dinner time. We had lightning but no rain.  We will determine in the morning whether we stay another day with storms forecast or if we will continue on to Solomon’s.  Bill’s brother’s boat developed engine problems at Solomon’s, and we will meet him there and tow his boat back to Poquoson this weekend.

September 8, 2015  Day 80 New York Summer 2015

Georgetown Yacht Basin
Georgetown, Maryland

A lovely view as the sun set on the mooring field
behind our dock at Georgetown

It is finally time to catch up on the blog, although our days here have been fairly uneventful. We have used the time to get some work done including cleaning and polishing the stainless steel railings on the deck; changing the oil in the generator; doing laundry; baking; and polishing the wood surfaces in the interior. We have also taken time to schedule marinas, hotels, and a rental car that we will need next week.

We rented the van from the marina one day and provisioned the boat.  That was an important task!  We have cooked onboard each day although there are two very nice restaurants here.  The weather has been very hot in the low 90’s, and we have not felt like venturing far.

We will leave in the morning and head to Annapolis!

September 2, 2015  Day 74 New York Summer 2015

Georgetown Yacht Basin
Georgetown, Maryland

We left our calm anchorage on the Bohemia River just before ten this morning. We weren’t in a hurry because we only had to travel 21 miles.  We did have to dodge a few crab pots at the entrance to the Sassafras River.  The river is very winding and scenic with trees and houses lining much of it.

We arrived at the marina in Georgetown at 12:30 and first stopped at the fuel dock.  At $2.25/gallon, this was the lowest diesel price we have ever paid.  Can’t pass up that opportunity!  We also emptied the holding tank.  We then went to our slip and got tied up for the week!

Leaving our anchorage on the Bohemia River

We walked up to the ship’s store to drop off some mail. It was 90 degrees today and we were feeling the heat.  Joyce got some laundry done and fixed dinner but we really just wanted to relax.
 

Since we will be staying put for the week, we won’t update the blog each day.  We wish everyone a Happy Labor Day in advance!



Three lovely homes along the Sassafras River

 

August 31- September 1, 2015  Days 72-73 New York Summer 2015

Veazey Cove, Bohemia River
Maryland

We decided to stay here at our anchorage on the Bohemia and spend two extra days relaxing.  Joyce reads and Bill practices his violin.  The weather has turned hot and we are running the generator each afternoon to have air conditioning.  Other than catching some unnecessary boat wakes, it has been fairly calm here in this cove.

We also spent time to make reservations for the next two weeks as we slowly head south.

Tomorrow we will cruise down the bay to the Sassafras River and go to Georgetown. We will spend a week at the Georgetown Yacht Basin. This enables us to get some chores done and to be in a marina over the busy Labor Day weekend, avoiding holiday boat traffic!