BAYFLOWER ADVENTURE

26 July 2016 | Newburgh,New York
20 July 2016
17 July 2016
15 July 2016 | Baltimore
14 July 2016
02 July 2016

To Newburgh

26 July 2016 | Newburgh,New York
I am not certain how my new setting on Facebook will work, but for some reason I can't get on my blog account right now.. I’m chasing it down. Any way this may work better. We had a good day yesterday. We stayed on board until mid afternoon then Langdon,Craig and I walked up the street in search of more shirts for Craig. We were on a mission. We wanted to find a bakery so we could have desert for dinner. (We had invited Dozier,Nancy, and Gardiner Hasty to eat duck casserole with us on the boat.) On our way back from our mission, IT STARTED RAINING. A lot- with thunder and lightning to go with it. It was going to last a while. Our only real option was to walk back to the boat. I called Nancy to give them an out if they didn't want to brave the weather. No way. They were committed. We enjoyed having them and they loved duck casserole.
We got out of New York and what a difference a few miles up the Hudson makes. Craig,Langdon and I thought we had missed the mountains this year. Not true. The scenery is lush with rolling hills , small mountains in the distance and wide open spaces. Our trip up the river was much smoother than being parked at the dock in New York
. It is hard to describe the motion we had. There were water taxis,barges, ferries and just other boats that sent their wake our way. The docks were not secured by pilings because there are subways that run under the river. The waves would roll in under the dock and the feeling was like riding a bucking horse after three glasses of wine. None of us could walk a straight line. Every time I would get Dooley off the boat, it was a test of balance. Not only was the dock rocking but also the boat. We are now up the river in Newberg, New York. This is going to be a beautiful part of the trip.












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Maggie and the girls

20 July 2016
We were excited that Maggie and her girls were coming to ride with us from Baltimore to New York. 🛥 We had everything ready for them to arrive on the 12th . Maggie called us around the time her plane was going to leave Valdosta to say there was going to be a delay in her flight to Atlanta; it was something mechanical, but she thought they would still be able to make their connection. Shortly thereafter she called to say their flight had been postponed again.Delta would be bringing a replacement plane from Atlanta 🛬, and she would not be making that flight after all, but not to worry. There was a later flight leaving Atlanta that would arrive in Baltimore at 1:00 am💤 We were glad😀 to know that, even though it was late, she and the girls would get to the boat that night. Her final call was to say there was a ⚡weather delay and so they would not be able to make the later flight. At first, she was told they would not be given hotel vouchers in Atlanta😂 because the delay was weather related. Then the airline came back and said they would get vouchers👍 since the original flight was delayed due to mechanical. When the plane arrived in Atlanta at midnight or beyond, they were told there were no vacancies in the hotels. Instead of trying to get a room away from the airport, Maggie decided they would sleep on the floor.
They got almost no sleep and arrived in Baltimore exhausted. Langdon and I had decided we would delay our departure by a day so the girls would have a day to explore. After getting here, they were soon napping. They awoke to the wifi activity on the boat, and got to meet Teresa and Lorenzo.
The next day we went exploring. We saw the oldest boat in the navy, the Constellation, a sailing vessel. It was in service during the civil war. Its’ job was to stop the slave boats and take the people back home and arrest the slave traders.
The navy takes it out one day a year and sails it up to the Fort McHenry and back. That way it stays commissioned.
We also saw the USS Torsk which is a WW II submarine. There were approximately 40 sleeping stations on it and 80 men. Each bunk had two assigned to it. One up, one sleeping. Very efficient use of space, but it did not look inviting to any of us.
Clara and Maggie wanted to go to the Science Museum and Clara really enjoyed it. They would have stayed longer, but it closed at six.
That night We had spaghetti on board as Lorenzo set up my blog.
Early the next morning we were off to Delaware. It was about a 6 hour ride and our stopping place was Delaware City, Delaware. It was a cute little town of 1900 with a somewhat off color sense of humor. Their Main Street was Clinton and they had a restaurant named Lewinsky’s on Clinton. Maggie and the girls and I walked in to check out the menu. Two men were sitting at the bar and one of them came over to meet us. He told us he was the mayor and the man with him was the city manager. They meet at the bar every Friday to have a beer and discuss city business. We then went to the next restaurant to check their menu; Crabby Dicks. You can just imagine the innuendos on their meal selections.
We were glad to see Forrest again. He got the the Marina about an hour after us. He has a friend, Maggie, riding with him for the next six days.

17 July 2016
bayflower.scout@gmail.com

Lorenzo and Teresa / GOD IS GOOD

15 July 2016 | Baltimore
Dear family and friends,
We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay inBaltimore. On Sunday, we wanted to go to church so I googled nearest Christian church to the Marina, and it came up Christ Lutheran. We also thought it would be fun to go to breakfast before hand. I headed up to the Marina office to ask where the closest breakfast place might be. There was a couple on the dock and I asked them. They began to explain to me How to get to an eatery, then they asked where I was from . When they found out they asked what we were doing here and I told them we were on the great loop.The lady got very excited. "Oh,I have always wanted to do that, I even have a book. Ya'll come have breakfast with us." I told her we were heading to church, otherwise we would love to.(not on the way) She said she would bring the book to me that afternoon.
We went to the 9:45 service and met a very warm, diverse inner city congregation.The priest was from Ethiopia and his message was 'who is your neighbor?'
We got back to the boat and around 2 Teresa and her husband, Lorenzo, were knocking on the window(don'tknow if y'all remember about the uncooperative davit. Langdon was geared up to tackle it that afternoon.)
We invited them in. I was showing her around and asking questions. She was telling me a little about them, and it came up that she was a retired,full colonel and he was a whiz at all things electronic and computer related! Lorenzo and Langdon were looking around the outside of the boat. I let Langdon know in a hurry, so he and Lorenzo headed to the dastardly davit. Lorenzo had it fixed in two minutes.
Then the two-insisted on taking us to the grocery store so we could provision the boat for Maggie and the girls.
After that, Langdon asked about a wifi extender. Lorenzo had a suggestion.
It was ordered and Lorenzo came back to the boat and helped install it then he set up my blog.
These two were extremely generous with their time and a real blessing .
We are seeing some beautiful things on this incredible journey which we expected. Many things I will remember, but the people along the way, I won't forget.

Norfolk to Yorktown

14 July 2016
Dear family and friends, I am having a hard time getting spacing right with pictures so keep scrolling.
I realize that my messages are not getting through and I have completely lost our trip through Virginia. I will remember the best I can and try again to get it to you.
We were up early at Alligator River Marina because we wanted to get across the Albermarle sound when the wind and water were low. It has quite a reputation for bringing boaters to their knees if conditions are wrong. It is a large body of water and there are a lot of shallow spots. It was like glass and we had no problems. Our next stop was Norfolk. We had left our friends, Forrest and Lewis but they caught up with us. We came in to the largest naval facility in the world, passed a huge air carrier guarded by patrol boats armed with sub-machine guns and docked right across from the navy seal training center. We awoke with reveille and the star spangled banner being played right across from us. We
were looking forward to having Lang and his family come on board on the second.

When they arrived, all three children were excited and covered the boat in minutes. They were starving so we had a very early dinner. Sandy and Langdon took Bradshaw and Audrey swimming and Langdon and Lang wanted to fish. We thawed out some chicken and they caught a few croakers. There were people there crabbing so when the other two got back, they shifted over to that. We did not have the right equipment so were not successful.
We woke up the next morning with the wind and rain. It was time to leave for Yorktown The rain did not slow the kids down nor was the captain deterred.
It was not long into the trip that the 1 to 2 foot seas we were expecting turned into 5 to 7. What we had mercifully been spared from on the Albermarle Sound, the Chesapeake Bay made up for. The wind and waves were coming on the starboard beam (out of the east). This was where the British took significant damage to their fleet in the Revolutionary war due to bad weather conditions. They hightailed it back to New York. Several of us would have been happy to hightail it back to Norfolk. Dooley and Audrey particularly who succumbed to sea sickness.
These rough conditions caused door and drawer slamming, and objects to fly off shelves. Dishes were moving around in their cabinets. The water and weather Langdon and I encountered earlier in the trip had spoiled me. Nothing had been secured . We were in this situation for over an hour until we were able to get in the Lee of the land. We were glad to get to Yorktown. (When the children were with us last summer on the boat, we took them to Bush Gardens and arrived in time for torrential rain. Our only activity was buying a sandwich and getting each of us a blue, Bush Garden Poncho.) It was raining as we docked in Yorktown but the kids were prepared. Out came the bright blue ponchos and the Smurfs were out in force helping us land. We had had problems with the lowering mechanism on the dingy, but Lang and Langdon finagled the boat into the water. Lang and his family went for a ride. Langdon iv had been successful catching fish in Norfolk and was soon on the front of the boat pulling them in. Bradshaw joined him in the haul. They had a great time catching and throwing back.
You can tell by the picture below, that Langdon HAS been schooled on how to properly display your catch! Good Job Lang.He has also been schooled on the proper school. Notice the tee shirt..🐝🐝🐝
We ate at the marina restaurant where Bradshaw found out about she crab soup. The next morning, the 4th, we took it easy but decided to take the kids to the Victory Museum in the city proper. It was very interesting with people dressed in period costumes full of information of the day. We also hopped a trolley and learned about some of the historical sights. It was a shame we could not go to Jamestown or Williamsburg, but we only had a day. (There were a lot of miles to cover to get us to Baltimore in time for the young Flowers crew to catch their airplane.)
We got back to the Marina where they were having a low country boil. Most of the food was gone but apparently everyone got enough. The grand fireworks we had hoped for were canceled because of the weather. The city had expected ten thousand people for the display and we're going to park the cars in the battle ground. Because of the muddy conditions, all those tires would have rutted it.
Lang took his family out on the dingy and watched the fireworks across the way. Everyonenjoyed them except Dooley. She found a great 'hidey' hole underneath the shirts in Langdon's closet. The 4th of July is her least favorite day of the year. She gets suspicious when it thunders that it might be another Fourth of July.

We left Yorktown about 7:30. We let the kids sleep through the leaving in order for it not to be such a long day. We were heading for "Someplace, Maryland", ( not really name but don't know what it was.) We were looking forward to this Marina because it had such wonderful amenities. We hustled to get there before 6 so we could get helped docking the boat. We got there at 5:30. This was Tuesday. The restaurant was only open Thursday-Saturday. The swimming pool was ¼ mile away and closed at 6, the bicycles had flat tires and the 'loner' car had gone home with the Marina owner. It was a beautiful spot but not what we had imagined. I put together a duck casserole while Lang and his family pumped up tires on two of the bikes, they used our two and put Audrey in the basket in the three wheel Marina bike. They went about a mile down the road to this restaurant where the man goes fishing everyday and whatever he catches, his wife cooks for supper. They had an appetizer and came back and had some casserole. We were out of there by 7 the next morning heading to Annapolis.
Many of the places we have seen are beautiful. Annapolis ranks right up there with them. We got in around 3:30 and were surrounded by huge boats. The one two away from us had a hot tub on the top deck. I think it was 100+ feet and the other one was about the same size. Most of these Marinas have free wifi but ours was blocked because of our neighbors size.
We went to a restaurant called Middleton Tavern which was an 18th century place to lodge and dine. It was much more than that in the day. It served as a communication network where news was carried from port to port. This tavern hosted such greats as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamen Franklin. To be melodramatic, 'the halls dripped with history.' The food was very good also. Most of us left , but Sandy and Audrey stayed for dessert in the piano bar. Lang went back to get them on the dingy and found his daughter doing what her Godfather, Craig, would have been doing. Conversing and enjoying the band. Before the evening was over, she was the lead tambourine player. Langdon and I had Langdon and Bradshaw. Bradshaw was sleepy, but Langdon was not. I had on my pajamas but the two of us decided it would be a good idea to walk to the end of our dock where a GREAT BIG YACHT, 140-150 feet long was sitting. They had on their underwater flood lights. We got down there without our fishing rods, but when we saw the number of large fish in the water, Langdon and I went back to get them for us. We fished for a while and had a good time. If you want to see the boat, look up Vera Vida. It will give you an idea of who our neighbors were.
The next morning, we caught a trolley and toured Annapolis. You can see the capital from this memorial overlook.
It was sad that our time with Lang, Sandy, and the children was drawing to a close. We left Annapolis heading for Baltimore, our final stop with them.
WOW! What a place. We are at Inner Harbor Marina, smack dab in the middle of everything. A science building with hundred of interaction opportunities, the national aquarium, and the Baltimore stadium to name a few. With only this day left, we took full advantage. Langdon, Lang, Langdon, Bradshaw and Audrey went to see the Orioles and the Angels, and Sandy and I stayed on board and went to the Rusty Scupper, the Marina restaurant, for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed our mother daughter time.

Norfolk to Yorktown

02 July 2016
Dear family and friends, I am having a hard time getting spacing right with pictures so keep scrolling.
I realize that my messages are not getting through and I have completely lost our trip through Virginia. I will remember the best I can and try again to get it to you.
We were up early at Alligator River Marina because we wanted to get across the Albermarle sound when the wind and water were low. It has quite a reputation for bringing boaters to their knees if conditions are wrong. It is a large body of water and there are a lot of shallow spots. It was like glass and we had no problems. Our next stop was Norfolk. We had left our friends, Forrest and Lewis but they caught up with us. We came in to the largest naval facility in the world, passed a huge air carrier guarded by patrol boats armed with sub-machine guns and docked right across from the navy seal training center. We awoke with reveille and the star spangled banner being played right across from us. We were looking forward to having Lang and his family come on board on the second.

When they arrived, all three children were excited and covered the boat in minutes. They were starving so we had a very early dinner. Sandy and Langdon took Bradshaw and Audrey swimming and Langdon and Lang wanted to fish. We thawed out some chicken and they caught a few croakers. There were people there crabbing so when the other two got back, they shifted over to that. We did not have the right equipment so were not successful.
We woke up the next morning with the wind and rain. It was time to leave for Yorktown The rain did not slow the kids down nor was the captain deterred.
It was not long into the trip that the 1 to 2 foot seas we were expecting turned into 5 to 7. What we had mercifully been spared from on the Albermarle Sound, the Chesapeake Bay made up for. The wind and waves were coming on the starboard beam (out of the east). This was where the British took significant damage to their fleet in the Revolutionary war due to bad weather conditions. They hightailed it back to New York. Several of us would have been happy to hightail it back to Norfolk. Dooley and Audrey particularly who succumbed to sea sickness. These rough conditions caused door and drawer slamming, and objects to fly off shelves. Dishes were moving around in their cabinets. The conditions Langdon and I encountered earlier in the trip had spoiled me. Nothing had been secured . We were in this situation for over an hour until we were able to get in the Lee of the land. We were glad to get to Yorktown.
Vessel Name: BAYFLOWER
Vessel Make/Model: MARLOW
Hailing Port: ST MARKS FL
Crew: N/A
About: N/A
Extra: N/A
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