Sunday August 15th 2010

Hooray!! The electrician showed up! And, he was determined to solve our problem. He believes it to be an old relay that no longer works. He will look for a replacement, and hopefully replace it tomorrow!

With another free afternoon, we decided to take the ferry over to Norfolk and visit the naval museum, “Nauticus”. They had some interesting hands-on exhibits, including a shark tank where you could actually touch some bamboo sharks. They feel like find grade sandpaper. We also got to use sonar and fire torpedoes, and try to land a top gun jet at Miramar. We stayed until closing, then walked back to the waterfront and had a beer at “Hooters” while we watched the finals of the PGA Championship. It lasted longer than we anticipated so we were there quite awhile, then took the ferry back to Portsmouth.

Tonight’s concert was George Jones, but we couldn’t hear any of it, and the crowd seemed really small. We just put in a DVD and watched “Hidalgo”, about a bazaar horse race through the desert. It was actually pretty good. We both stayed awake, anyway!

Monday August 16th 2010

This morning the electrician replaced the relay and then went through most of the electrical systems looking for anything else that might be bad. In spite of the frustration, Dave seems to be learning quite a bit from all of the repairmen we’ve seen lately.

While they worked in the engine room, I wrote a few emails, paid bills, and read a few more chapters in “Chesapeake” by James Michener. It deals with the rich history of this part of the country, starting in the late 1600’s. It is really fascinating, especially because we are now about to sail in Chesapeake Bay.

By the time the electrician left, it was too late to leave the dock, so we took the ferry one more time over to Norfolk to run some errands. Boy! Was it ever hot!! Not a good day to be walking on hot pavement!! But it was a good day for a cold beer. There seem to be a lot of those lately!

Tuesday August 17th 2010

Today was an exciting day!! First thing this morning, the super secret Navy trimaran destroyer left it’s berth and headed out to sea. Yesterday, the aircraft carrier that was across the river left for sea. And today, yes today, Dream Ketcher left for sea!!!! Things were really happening on the river. Tug boats, Navy boats, Coast Guard boats. Lots and lots of boats. We had our own personal Navy warship escort as we entered the Chesapeake.

Then, suddenly, we were almost all alone out there. Or so it seemed! Chesapeake Bay is such a large body of water, that on three sides of us, all we saw was the horizon, for miles and miles. The wind finally picked up, so we were able to sail for awhile.

Just as we were getting to our destination, a nice little squall descended upon us. In spite of that, we were able to get the boat through a very shallow channel and in to Deltaville Marina. This is a pleasant little marina that has more sailboats than power boats, a pool, showers, laundry, and a BBQ area that is enclosed in a screen porch.(that should have been a clue as to the insect population here!)

After we got settled in to the dock, we were invited over to a catamaran in the marina for happy hour. The boat said “Newport, OR” on the stern. The couple actually bought the boat in France and sailed it over the Atlantic to the states, and they are from Oregon. They, too, have had their share of boat problems, and spent 2 months at the same boat yard in Portsmouth, last year. After a nice visit, we went for a quick swim in the pool, as it was getting dark, then showered and had a quiet dinner on the boat.

Tomorrow we will reach the mouth of the Potomac River. One step closer to Washington, DC!

Stay tuned for the latest and greatest adventures…

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral