Hello again! We arrived back in DC on Thursday September 23rd, late, and stayed the night at a Marriott. My sister, MaryLynne, and her husband Ted, came back with us to spend a week with us and a week in the DC area. After a good nights sleep, we spent Friday showing them Austin’s hotel and getting the boat ready for cruising. Fortunately, our wonderful daughter-in-law, Cindy, agreed to help us return our rental car, and ferry us back to the marina, so we treated her to dinner. It was also our 33rd wedding anniversary, so MaryLynne and Ted graciously picked up the tab!!
Saturday, September 25th 2010
We left Fort Washington marina and headed south down the Potomac River. It is hot today!! No wind to speak of, so no sailing. We traveled as far as the Tobacco River, then anchored in the same bay we stayed in on the trip up the Potomac. After a full day of traveling, we were hot and sweaty, so ML and I opted to go for a swim. The water was very refreshing, and was not yet salty. It had been many years since we had last swum together off “Trojan”, our family’s boat while we were growing up. It brought back many memories.
That evening, we were watching “Grumpy Old Men”, when we got a call from our sister Judy. She informed us that our Uncle Jim had passed away. This brought back a whole slough of other good memories, but left us feeling very far from home.
Sunday, September 26th 2010
We awoke to a cold, damp, foggy morning. As we continued our travels southeast, the weather worsened, so we decided to cut our journey short, and motored into Colonial Beach to sit it out. I could not believe our luck! As we entered the harbor, we hit some shoaling in the channel and went aground. Fortunately, I was able to put it in reverse and got us off.
The Colonial Beach Marina is almost a mile from town, so we decided to take a taxi into town. The taxi driver was not a great representative of the area, as he could not think of one thing that we should bother to see. He gave us a quick tour of the town, then dropped us at a restaurant he thought we should try. We passed, and found a lunch spot of our own. We spent the next hour or two browsing through some of the gift shops and art galleries. When we called for the taxi to take us back to the boat, we were informed that he was out of town and wouldn’t be back for an hour. So, we spent the next hour at the tiki bar on the beach, having cold drinks and watching football. It actually was an hour and forty-five minutes before he picked us up!
Monday, September 27th 2010
Since the weather refused to cooperate, we decided to rent a car and see some of the sights in the surrounding area. We drove south to Stratford Hall, a plantation that belonged to the family of Robert E. Lee, and the home where he was born. It was in a beautiful setting, and we were with a handful of other tourists, so we really got a good tour. We were allowed to see 18 of the rooms in the house, as well as the kitchen, housekeeper’s room, overseer’s room, and stable, complete with carriages and buggies. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, then headed back to the boat for the evening.
Tuesday, September 28th 2010
Today Dave had some engine repairs to make, so ML, Ted and I took off and headed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, the site of 3 civil war battles. We stopped first at the Civil War Life Museum. We had read a write up about this unique museum, which turned out to be only a private collection of war antiquities in a one room space. We paid $5.00 each for maybe 15 minutes. They did have a 3D slide show, of pictures from the civil war era, that made you feel as though you were there!
We then perused the gift shops and had lunch in a deli, before heading across the river and up to Chatham Hall. This was another famous plantation that had the distinction of having 3 presidents visit. It became the headquarters for the Union army during the battle of Fredericksburg, and afterwards, it became a hospital for the wounded soldiers. You can still see the blood stained floorboards and graffiti written by the soldiers, on the walls. The house was later restored in the 1920’s, and was then used as a private residence before being willed to the National Park Service in 1973. It was surrounded with beautiful gardens and lawns.
Wednesday, September 29th 2010
We caught a break in the weather today, and decided to make a break to get farther down river. As soon as we left the marina, the rains settled in, but there was very little wind. We motored all day and arrived at Point Look Out Marina at about 4:30PM. It was a bit foggy as we entered the channel, and still raining, so the visibility made it a tricky entrance. We had just docked the boat and Dave was hooking up the power cord, when he took a step backward on the extremely narrow dock and walked right into the water. Ted yelled, “Man Overboard!!”, but ML and I were down below, with the air conditioner on, and did not hear him yell. Between the two of them, they managed to get him back on the dock!
We are now only 5 miles from Chesapeake Bay. They have a restaurant on the premises, so we took advantage of that and had dinner there that night.
Thursday, September 30th 2010
This has been the worst day yet!! All last night, and all day today, it has been raining. HARD!!! The docks are now covered with water and it has moved into the parking lot. It has also been very windy! We have been cooped up in the boat, since it is not fit for man nor beast outside. And, the weather forecast for the next few days looks BAD! We decided that there is no way we can safely make it to Annapolis by Saturday, or any day in the near future, so we will rent a car and drive back to DC for a few days, for a little bit of fun.
Cindy’s parents, Jim and Jelan will be visiting this weekend, and, we are dying to see our new grand puppy, Tiger. She is a Shiba Inu, and absolutely adorable!! Try googling it , and take a look for yourself. You will fall in love with this breed. They look like a miniature Husky. Tiger is red and white. So, in one weekend we can say hello to the in-laws, say hello to our new grand puppy, and deliver ML and Ted to DC, where they hopefully will have a better time the second week of their vacation.
From where we are at Point Look Out, we can drive up to Galesville, Maryland, where we will participate in our Whitby rendezvous, then drive to Annapolis for the Boat Show, and then, if the weather will give us a break, we will head south to warmer and hopefully dryer climates. We are watching the hurricane forecasts daily!!! We have no schedule after this next week, so we are in no hurry, and will stay safely holed up when we need to. We are disappointed that the weather has changed so dramatically, especially since ML and Ted came all this way to spend time on the boat with us. They will have to join us later, while we are in the Bahamas, to make up for it.
I hope this finds all of you in good health and hopefully better weather!! Please send me an email and let me know what has been happening with you. We will be away from home now, for quite a while, so emails from home would really be appreciated.
Sorry for the long delay in writing. We had a fabulous time back in Olympia, catching up with almost all of our friends and family. Matt and Jacinda have a beautiful new home, and were very gracious enough to let us stay with them, for quite a lot of our trip. Our thanks also to Norm and Kathy for letting us stay at the “Inn”, while we stayed in Longview. It was so good to see you both!!!
Love & Hugs,
The Admiral
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
September 2nd 2010
Hello friends and family!! First I want to reassure all of you that we are fine and unless hurricane Earl takes a real wide swing to the west, we should be very safe where we are at. We are about 100 miles up the Potomac River, off of the Chesapeake Bay, at Fort Washington. We have spent the past 2 weeks in Washington DC, having a family reunion with Austin, Cindy, Matt, Jacinda, and James. We were sightseeing every day from early morning until late at night, and there was no time for me to update the blog. Sorry, but family always comes first!
We had a fabulous time in DC. The boat was moored at the Capital City Yacht Club, right on the waterfront, in the hub of the city. If we could have jumped over the freeway bridges, we would have been standing at the Jefferson Memorial, and we could see the top of the Washington Memorial from the marina. We were a block away from the busline, and only a few blocks from the subway, so we could get anywhere in the city in a very short time. We were thoroughly spoiled!! The yacht club had great facilities: floating docks, showers, library, computer access, bar, and brand new washers and dryers for only $1.00 a load!! Plus, they had a very active club with events about twice a week!
On August 21st, we made our way up the Potomac River, a very long and wide river, but also very shallow. It has a dredged channel to follow, that allows the ships and barges to get up to DC, but on either side of that, it is only 4 to 8 feet deep! It is a beautiful trip though. We were especially impressed with seeing Mt Vernon, Washington’s home, and Fort Washington across the river. Then cruising right up into DC was spectacular!
We only had a short time to wait, and then all of the kids joined us at the marina, so they could see the boat. After a tour of their parents new home, we all went to the Chinese restaurant upstairs from the yacht club and had dinner. Then, our first night in DC was over!
On Sunday the 22nd, we took a tour of the city on Old Town Trolley Tours. Our first stop was the Archives Building, where we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. James was a little young to understand the importance of what he was seeing, but he was a real trooper! Next we visited the major monuments: Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. James had studied Abe Lincoln in school, so he was most impressed with this monument! We ended the day by meeting Austin for dinner at a restaurant up by the Marriott where he works .
On Monday the 23rd, we spent nearly the entire day at the Air & Space Museum. This was a big hit with the guys!!! It was pretty amazing to see the Wright Brothers very first airplane. We ended the day with dinner at Union Station.
Tuesday the 24th, we loaded our old inflatable on the roof of Cindy’s Jeep Cherokee, and transported it to Annapolis. We dropped everyone off in the downtown area for sightseeing, and Dave and I worked out the exchange of inflatables and getting the new one registered in Maryland. Then we met up with the group for lunch at Chick and Ruth’s Deli. It is a quaint New York Deli that was featured on the Food Network. Austin had wanted to eat there the last time we were in Annapolis, but it was too crowded. This time we got in, and everyone seemed to enjoy their food. Too bad Austin had to work that day!
We got the new inflatable back to DC and had time to put it to work. Dave took James for a boat ride that I’m sure he’ll always remember! The yacht club had a BBQ dinner that night, so we decided to stick around for some great food!
On Wednesday the 25th, we spent most of the day at the Woodley Park Zoo. We saw some great animals. The best one was the lion. He was really putting on a show. He was roaring, and strutting his stuff! We also enjoyed the gorillas, especially the baby, and getting to watch some research they were doing with the orangatangs.
After that, we met up with Austin, who drove us to the National Cathedral. We got to see the inside this time. Quite impressive!! Then we were off to the National’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs. It was a perfect night for baseball, but they still lost. We had a great time anyway! We paid $10.00 a head to get in, and because of the low attendance, we were able to sit on the first level, right off third base, in foul territory! Awesome!
Thursday the 26th, we played spy all day, at the International Spy Museum. Everyone had a great time, especially James! He liked crawling through the air ducts. I liked seeing James Bond’s car!! After our mission, we went out to Austin and Cindy’s apartment in Silver Spring. It was time for a dip in the pool. Boy! Did that feel good!
After the sun set, it was time to eat, so we jumped in the car and headed to the Pyrate Tavern!! We had so much fun!!! All of the staff is dressed in pirate garb, and we had us a pitcher of grog!! AAARRRGGGHHH! Was it ever strong! I finally had to add some coke, in order to drink it! James received a gold dubloon from a pirate captain, and had his face painted by one of the wenches. We stayed long enough to watch the “stupid fire tricks”, out in the back alley of the restaurant. A good time was had by all.
On Friday the 27th we split up. Cindy, Jacinda and James went to the Crime & Punishment Museum, and Matt, Dave and I went to the American History Museum. Afterwards, we met up at the White House, then went to a jazz concert in the Sculpture Garden, not far away. Then right about sunset, we met up with Austin and we all went to the top of the Washington Monument. It was spectacular!! What a way to see the city at dusk! When we finally came down to earth, we took a cab over to the Georgetown waterfront, and had dinner on the veranda overlooking the water. Another great day!
Saturday the 28th came all too soon, and before we knew it, we were saying good bye to Matt, Jacinda, and James at the airport!! We had such a great week together!
On Sunday the 29th, Austin, Dave and I took off in the car for Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home, not far from the nation’s capital. The grounds and buildings have been completely restored and there are demonstrations going on in some of the buildings, from artists in period costumes. You also get to tour the house itself, which was quite interesting! George Washington and his wife, Martha, are buried on the estate, as well as many other family members, and the slaves that worked the plantation. After leaving Mt. Vernon, we drove back to Silver Spring and met up with Cindy for dinner at Red Lobster.
Monday the 30th, we had planned to leave DC and move the boat to Annapolis, but weather reports on Hurricane Earl have caused us to change our plans. If we leave now, we will be in the middle of the Chesapeake when Earl hits. Not a good idea!! Soooo, we will stay put for a few days. With more time on our hands, we decided to visit the Natural History Museum. With temperatures in the mid 90’s, we needed to stay air conditioned. Inside the museum, we were too cold!
Tuesday the 21st, we spent the day at the Newseum. They had a great display of all of the Pulitzer prize winning photographs from years past, as well as an exhibit about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to see everything the Newseum had to offer. We went back to the club, where they were having a grilled pizza dinner. Delicious!!!
Wednesday September 1st we left DC and moved the boat to Fort Washington Marina, a little further down river, but we will leave the boat here during the storm that Hurricane Earl is bound to send our way, and during the time we are back in the Pacific Northwest. We will fly to Seattle on Wednesday, September 8th, and return to DC on Thursday, September 23rd. During this time we plan to visit family and friends, attend 2 Husky football games, and take care of medical and dental needs. I do not plan to update the blog during this time, as our adventures will be put on hold, but come the end of September, you will be able to read about our newest adventures!
I do have to regress, just a bit, to tell you about an adventure we had on the Yaecomico River in Virginia, after we had just entered the Chesapeake. We needed a place to anchor for the night, so we left the bay and headed up the Yaecomico. We had just gotten settled, and the sun was going down, when a figure silhouetted in the dark, asked if we were friend or foe. Lo and behold, it was a pirate at the helm of his very own ship!! Pictures are to the right. He takes it upon himself to be the welcoming committee to Virginia. What a kick!! We talked with him for several minutes and exchanged emails. We will never forget our evening on that serene little bay. Dave laughed and laughed for hours after our encounter!
So now you know what we’ve been up to, having a wonderful time!! We hope that all of you are doing well and having wonderful adventures of your own.
Love & Hugs,
The Admiral
Hello friends and family!! First I want to reassure all of you that we are fine and unless hurricane Earl takes a real wide swing to the west, we should be very safe where we are at. We are about 100 miles up the Potomac River, off of the Chesapeake Bay, at Fort Washington. We have spent the past 2 weeks in Washington DC, having a family reunion with Austin, Cindy, Matt, Jacinda, and James. We were sightseeing every day from early morning until late at night, and there was no time for me to update the blog. Sorry, but family always comes first!
We had a fabulous time in DC. The boat was moored at the Capital City Yacht Club, right on the waterfront, in the hub of the city. If we could have jumped over the freeway bridges, we would have been standing at the Jefferson Memorial, and we could see the top of the Washington Memorial from the marina. We were a block away from the busline, and only a few blocks from the subway, so we could get anywhere in the city in a very short time. We were thoroughly spoiled!! The yacht club had great facilities: floating docks, showers, library, computer access, bar, and brand new washers and dryers for only $1.00 a load!! Plus, they had a very active club with events about twice a week!
On August 21st, we made our way up the Potomac River, a very long and wide river, but also very shallow. It has a dredged channel to follow, that allows the ships and barges to get up to DC, but on either side of that, it is only 4 to 8 feet deep! It is a beautiful trip though. We were especially impressed with seeing Mt Vernon, Washington’s home, and Fort Washington across the river. Then cruising right up into DC was spectacular!
We only had a short time to wait, and then all of the kids joined us at the marina, so they could see the boat. After a tour of their parents new home, we all went to the Chinese restaurant upstairs from the yacht club and had dinner. Then, our first night in DC was over!
On Sunday the 22nd, we took a tour of the city on Old Town Trolley Tours. Our first stop was the Archives Building, where we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. James was a little young to understand the importance of what he was seeing, but he was a real trooper! Next we visited the major monuments: Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. James had studied Abe Lincoln in school, so he was most impressed with this monument! We ended the day by meeting Austin for dinner at a restaurant up by the Marriott where he works .
On Monday the 23rd, we spent nearly the entire day at the Air & Space Museum. This was a big hit with the guys!!! It was pretty amazing to see the Wright Brothers very first airplane. We ended the day with dinner at Union Station.
Tuesday the 24th, we loaded our old inflatable on the roof of Cindy’s Jeep Cherokee, and transported it to Annapolis. We dropped everyone off in the downtown area for sightseeing, and Dave and I worked out the exchange of inflatables and getting the new one registered in Maryland. Then we met up with the group for lunch at Chick and Ruth’s Deli. It is a quaint New York Deli that was featured on the Food Network. Austin had wanted to eat there the last time we were in Annapolis, but it was too crowded. This time we got in, and everyone seemed to enjoy their food. Too bad Austin had to work that day!
We got the new inflatable back to DC and had time to put it to work. Dave took James for a boat ride that I’m sure he’ll always remember! The yacht club had a BBQ dinner that night, so we decided to stick around for some great food!
On Wednesday the 25th, we spent most of the day at the Woodley Park Zoo. We saw some great animals. The best one was the lion. He was really putting on a show. He was roaring, and strutting his stuff! We also enjoyed the gorillas, especially the baby, and getting to watch some research they were doing with the orangatangs.
After that, we met up with Austin, who drove us to the National Cathedral. We got to see the inside this time. Quite impressive!! Then we were off to the National’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs. It was a perfect night for baseball, but they still lost. We had a great time anyway! We paid $10.00 a head to get in, and because of the low attendance, we were able to sit on the first level, right off third base, in foul territory! Awesome!
Thursday the 26th, we played spy all day, at the International Spy Museum. Everyone had a great time, especially James! He liked crawling through the air ducts. I liked seeing James Bond’s car!! After our mission, we went out to Austin and Cindy’s apartment in Silver Spring. It was time for a dip in the pool. Boy! Did that feel good!
After the sun set, it was time to eat, so we jumped in the car and headed to the Pyrate Tavern!! We had so much fun!!! All of the staff is dressed in pirate garb, and we had us a pitcher of grog!! AAARRRGGGHHH! Was it ever strong! I finally had to add some coke, in order to drink it! James received a gold dubloon from a pirate captain, and had his face painted by one of the wenches. We stayed long enough to watch the “stupid fire tricks”, out in the back alley of the restaurant. A good time was had by all.
On Friday the 27th we split up. Cindy, Jacinda and James went to the Crime & Punishment Museum, and Matt, Dave and I went to the American History Museum. Afterwards, we met up at the White House, then went to a jazz concert in the Sculpture Garden, not far away. Then right about sunset, we met up with Austin and we all went to the top of the Washington Monument. It was spectacular!! What a way to see the city at dusk! When we finally came down to earth, we took a cab over to the Georgetown waterfront, and had dinner on the veranda overlooking the water. Another great day!
Saturday the 28th came all too soon, and before we knew it, we were saying good bye to Matt, Jacinda, and James at the airport!! We had such a great week together!
On Sunday the 29th, Austin, Dave and I took off in the car for Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home, not far from the nation’s capital. The grounds and buildings have been completely restored and there are demonstrations going on in some of the buildings, from artists in period costumes. You also get to tour the house itself, which was quite interesting! George Washington and his wife, Martha, are buried on the estate, as well as many other family members, and the slaves that worked the plantation. After leaving Mt. Vernon, we drove back to Silver Spring and met up with Cindy for dinner at Red Lobster.
Monday the 30th, we had planned to leave DC and move the boat to Annapolis, but weather reports on Hurricane Earl have caused us to change our plans. If we leave now, we will be in the middle of the Chesapeake when Earl hits. Not a good idea!! Soooo, we will stay put for a few days. With more time on our hands, we decided to visit the Natural History Museum. With temperatures in the mid 90’s, we needed to stay air conditioned. Inside the museum, we were too cold!
Tuesday the 21st, we spent the day at the Newseum. They had a great display of all of the Pulitzer prize winning photographs from years past, as well as an exhibit about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to see everything the Newseum had to offer. We went back to the club, where they were having a grilled pizza dinner. Delicious!!!
Wednesday September 1st we left DC and moved the boat to Fort Washington Marina, a little further down river, but we will leave the boat here during the storm that Hurricane Earl is bound to send our way, and during the time we are back in the Pacific Northwest. We will fly to Seattle on Wednesday, September 8th, and return to DC on Thursday, September 23rd. During this time we plan to visit family and friends, attend 2 Husky football games, and take care of medical and dental needs. I do not plan to update the blog during this time, as our adventures will be put on hold, but come the end of September, you will be able to read about our newest adventures!
I do have to regress, just a bit, to tell you about an adventure we had on the Yaecomico River in Virginia, after we had just entered the Chesapeake. We needed a place to anchor for the night, so we left the bay and headed up the Yaecomico. We had just gotten settled, and the sun was going down, when a figure silhouetted in the dark, asked if we were friend or foe. Lo and behold, it was a pirate at the helm of his very own ship!! Pictures are to the right. He takes it upon himself to be the welcoming committee to Virginia. What a kick!! We talked with him for several minutes and exchanged emails. We will never forget our evening on that serene little bay. Dave laughed and laughed for hours after our encounter!
So now you know what we’ve been up to, having a wonderful time!! We hope that all of you are doing well and having wonderful adventures of your own.
Love & Hugs,
The Admiral
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
