Way aye blow the (wo)man down
It was my turn to fix breakfast, so I surprised even myself by making edible crepes. Pretty tasty with a little maple syrup. It was also my turn to check out a bike and ride to the grocery store to buy the things we forgot to put on the list yesterday. Going was a piece of cake, but returning against the wind I felt as if I were on one of those exercise bikes wheels spinning but not moving. A weather buoy in the Patuxent River recorded steady a 15-20 knots with gusts to 30 knots. Not a good day to be out on the bay.

But not these guys...
When I returned from the Food Lion, we set off on a windy walkabout Solomons. From the boardwalk we spotted a couple of wind surfers who were really flying up and down the Patuxent. They certainly weren't pinned down by the wind.

Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
We left the boardwalk and followed residential streets that stayed close to the river. The wind banged signs, bounced boats around like bathtub toys and whistled through leaves just beginning to turn gold and red. We came upon a long pier with a small white building at the end that appeared to be a weather station. The pier was lined with seagulls, hunkered down with their bills pointed into the wind. Across the street we spotted the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. I went inside to ask if they offered tours. The visitors' center is only open on weekends this time of year, but we're in luck. There's a tour at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Sultana!
While we were locating the visitors' center, Robert spotted a tall ship docked near the laboratory's research vessel. That part of the laboratory's campus is closed to the public, but we thought if we wandered around toward a nearby marina, we might get a closer look. We ended up at the Waterman's Wharf where a fleet of working boats are tied up and were able to walk right up to Sultana, the beautiful schooner that is almost an exact replica of a British schooner that patrolled the coast of North America before the American Revolution. We had originally planned to go to her home port in Chestertown, Md., to see her and the John Smith shallop built by Sultana Projects, but we ran out of time. We saw the John Smith shallop in St. Michaels. What great good fortune to get a chance to see Sultana too before we head home for the winter.
Several members of her crew were tying up sails and taking care of chores when we walked up. The crew members we met - Kirstin Schoeninger, Bill Laughlin and Jesse Duff-Woodruff - said the schooner is in Solomons for educational programs with local school children through Tuesday or Wednesday. There will be a public sail on Saturday when members of the public can come aboard and sail on Sultana, they said. We had spotted Sultana in the schooner race when we got caught in the middle of it on Thursday, Oct. 13, and I asked them how they did. Kirstin said the wind conditions were poor and they and a number of other vessels didn't finish. Never mind. Sultana emerged from the mist that rainy day a spectacular sight to see.
The Schooner Sultana

Shearwater
On our way back to the boat we spotted a large vessel of a very different sort - R/V Shearwater - tied up to a dock near the Tiki Bar. "Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey" was written across the front of the enormous blue-hulled ship. Robert guessed it was used to survey for oil and gas. He was right. It looked so shiny and new because it is. Shearwater was launched in May 2011.
Shearwater launches

Eating well
We finished our rambling walk back on the boardwalk where we came across a small farmers' market. We made a nice haul of broccoli, squash, nectarines and best of all - a small pecan pie.