Leaving Chesapeake Bay today.

Today we departed Annapolis and are headed north to the C&D Canal, which connects Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River.  Tomorrow we will take the Delaware to Cape May, NJ, and Sunday, if the weather holds, will travel 100 miles in the Atlantic to Sandy Hook, and enter the East River in NYC.  

The Chesapeake Bay area has been delightful.  There are myriad stops and one could spend the entire summer exploring the bay.  But, we have an agenda that includes Maine, so up we go!  Our favorite stops on the bay have been Cambridge (eastern shore) and Annapolis (western shore) this trip.  We will hit different stops on the way back and hope to have enough time before the cold weather returns to explore them all.  Here are some pics in no particular order.  

Cambridge has a park where flags were placed for local veterans on Memorial Day.  A neat idea.  

These pics are from Cambridge, a small but very nice town. 

Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad fame, was from Cambridge, and this statue is in front of the local courthouse.  The town has done a remarkable job of juxtaposing its past slavery roots, with the good deeds of Ms. Tubman by way of a museum and historical plaques explaining both issues.  

Annapolis describes itself as the sailing capital of the US.  This is for my sailboat friends.  

Ships waiting to get into Baltimore Harbor.  The harbor recently opened after the horrible bridge collapse there.  We immensely enjoyed our stop at Baltimore when we did the loop, and hopefully will be able to stop by on the way back.  

Annapolis harbor. 

Some of you may know I am an avid birder.  My childhood friend, Bill, and I started at a young age.  I think Bill was the first to spot an Orchard Oriole in Houma, which are rare there.  Orioles  are everywhere here (hence the Baltimore Orioles).  This one is for Bill! 

We took a guided walking tour of the Naval Academy.  My cousin Berwick went here in the 1930s.  It was a remarkable and interesting tour. 

I did not know Camp Lejeune was named after a fellow Louisianan! 

A 16" bomb.  These were shot from Battleships in WWII.  They could travel over ten miles, and were highly destructive.  May dad called fire from Battleships during WWII and had vivid memories of the sound these shells made flying over his head on the way to the target.  

The first naval airship. 

Plaque dedicated to James Lawrence, who lost his life during the War of 1812. 

The chapel. The current class of midshipmen is about 20% female.  Many of the female astronauts are graduates.  

The final resting place of John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy.  After his remarkable feats during the American Revolutionary War, he then served as a Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy.  He has an interesting history! 

The goat is their mascot.  They take their football rivalry with the Army quite seriously.  Evidently some Army cadets stole the goat once, so now it is under heavy guard!  As the goats pass on, they are buried besides this statue.  There is also a goat in waiting!

Annapolis is Maryland's capital.  The statehouse has a storied history. 

The church next to the statehouse boasts that it had three signers of the Declaration of Independence as members and this guy. 

If you have watched the series Franklin on Apple TV, you know about this guy.  

 

New and improved boat patch.  Starboard and lots of goop.  Papa would still be proud!  

Things that go bump in the night

 A 40' Tiara sportfishing boat, with a slightly disoriented captain, that's what goes bump in the night! You got that right, we were rammed whilst safely (a relative term) tied up at Crisfield's Somers Cove Marina.  Around 10:00 pm we heard yelling, and then a loud bang on the aft portside of the boat.  I hurried out to see the offending boat headed off in the darkness in this rather large marina.  I called the Coast Guard which happened to have a station in the marina, only to be informed that unless we were spilling fuel, that is not the sort of thing they handle anymore, but, somewhat, more helpfully, gave me a number for the Maryland Maritime Police.  They were much more helpful and sent two officers to the scene of the crime.  

By the time the officers arrived, the marina owner, witnesses on the dock, and the security guard from the marina had arrived in a true show of force.  Into that scene walked the slightly disoriented captain, who was genuinely chagrined.  Apparently, he has a permanent slip at the marina and while trying to access it, somehow managed to back into Perfect Fit.  His throttle cables went out-right...  Anyways, the police did their thing and the slightly disoriented captain gave me his insurance info, and all was well, except for the hole in my boat.  At this point it was midnight, and Alexis was on meds (to prevent her from attacking the slightly disoriented captain).  Alas, you may think Perfect Fit is my baby, but Alexis is its mother hen, who has decorated it, chosen the paint color and all round made it into our home on the water.  In her mind this was an a out right assault on her baby.  Lets just say if a taser was going to be used, it would not have been on the slightly disoriented captain.  So we went to bed after midnight in the hopes dawn would bring a fresher outlook.  It did, Papa lives...  Two words-duct tape..

This is Somers Cove Marina.  Prefect Fit is in the background, so as you can see, large fairways, and plenty of room to avoid hitting an unsuspecting boat. 

The new hole.  

 

Yep, we taped over the hole and set sail to Cambridge Maryland the next morning.  The tape held! We will put on a better patch, but not take the time to haul out, again, to have this fixed properly now.  Papa would be so proud! On our way back down this fall we will probably have our friends at Myrtle Beach fix it properly.  

Onancock.

 Our first stop on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, is Onancock, VA.  The peninsula that makes up the eastern shore is known as Delmarva, as it includes the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The eastern shore is, in general, more rural than the western shore which boast cites such as Annapolis and Baltimore.   Onancock is a small town, and its history as a chartered town begins in 1680.  Before then it was a farming community, and before then used seasonally by Native Americans, as Onancock Creek is navigable all the way to town.  

Now it is a quaint town that boasts a surprisingly diverse dining scene, with arts and craft shops, and the occasional mystic.  Local crabbers run traps out of here, and, just like home, you have to be vigilant running the gauntlet of floats on the way in.  The small marina is completely protected at the end of the creek and happens to be a looper sponsor to boot.  We have spent a pleasant two full days here, and walked nature trails, seen a variety of birds, local flora, and rabbits.  Also we took in a little too much of the dining scene, as usual..  The town has become a destination for retirees, and we can definitely see the appeal.  It is clean, with a vibrant diverse culture, and town fathers that concentrate on keeping it that way.  A quick look at the real estate prices indicate it is much cheaper to settle here than Florida.  Something for us to think about??

The marina.  Perfect Fit is in the background, facing the Mallard Restaurant, where we we had a great Rockfish meal. 

A typical house.

History. 

Onancock Creek. 

Town.

Cypress knees on the nature trail. 

I did not know about frisbee golf! 

Leaving Norfolk, we ran past these ships at anchor waiting in a queue to head into port. The Bay is a major source of shipping. 

A perfect day on the Chesapeake Bay. 

Part of the US Sixth Fleet.  

Norfolk, and the end of the ICW!

We made it to Norfolk!  As stated before, Norfolk/Portsmouth is mile 0 on the Atlantic ICW.  From here we enter Chesapeake Bay.  The last 50 miles were a slough, dealing with restricted bridge openings, and a lock which only opens on the top of the hour.  Miss it by 10 minutes, and you have to wait another hour.  But we made it trough today, and are at the Waterside Marina in Norfolk.  Just so happens, there is a festival at the marina complex today, featuring DJ's with my favorite music.....

Sunset at Belhaven, NC. 

The ICW here cuts through several large rivers, such as the Neuse, Pungo and Alligator Rivers. Here we are crossing the Neuse in some substantial chop.  

This part of coastal North Carolina reminds me of home. 

Duck blinds are common on the ICW here.  I wonder what type of ducks they get?  

Dinner at Belhaven. 

Something in common with South Louisiana.  Belhaven is having to raise homes due to sea level rise, and more storm surge. 

I like the small blue sign at this church in Belhaven. It is a very welcoming community. 

This "decoy" was on the dock at Belhaven.  I wonder what they are trying to scare off?? 

This guy wins the most interesting Looper award.  He is doing the loop very quickly on this jetboat (notice the loop flag).  He has a hammock he sleeps on.  He is a 50 year old West Point grad, and has a limited time to complete the loop.  He started in New Orleans.  An interesting guy! 

Dessert in Belhaven.  Just like Mama's banana pudding! 

What is it about us? This guy buzzed us and with a roar! 

We have anchored out a bit saving the time of going into marinas.  This is sunset on the hook at the NC/VA border.  

The ICW at the Virginia border. We have spotted Golden and Bald Eagles, and a ton of nesting Osprey.

Boats lined up in the lock.  We have been travelling with the snowbirds headed north for the summer, and have been with the same pack since Myrtle Beach. 

Norfolk is a military town, and these are pics with the navy's sixth fleet shipyards. 

This is right across from our dock. 

The party was in high gear when we docked. 

We have seen so many towns that have capitalized on their waterfronts for tourism.  Norfolk has done it big time.  All it takes is money and leaders with vision.