Sat 9 Jun 2012
Docked at Worton Creek Marina

[no photos until the cell signal improves]

What a nice evening and night it was! While our surroundings are not the prettiest we have encountered so far, they are certainly pleasant enough and it is very still and quiet. The few times Duane awoke during the night, he could hear the owls hooting in the trees. It got comfortably cool last night but not as chilly as yesterday morning. At the moment, our cell signal is so weak that we cannot check weather via Internet, but hopefully that will improve as we get to the marina later this morning.

At 0830, we raised the marina via VHF and came in for diesel, a little gas for the dinghy, and a pump-out of the waste tank. We are still averaging almost 10 statute miles per gallon, but favorable currents (due to good planning) and some beneficial wind make that number higher than would otherwise be.

Every staff member we met here is very friendly and helpful. I asked Tom at the desk if he was aware of our situation and he said yes. I offered to pay for the electric hook-up even though the dockage was free due to the repair work and he had to ask management about that. Libby (co-owner) said to forget it for now and let's see how the repair bill shapes up.

It is shaping up to be a very warm, sunny day and plugging in for the air conditioning is very welcome. With Duane's back finally back to near normal, he has no excuse to procrastinate on polishing the all-too-numerous tubes of stainless steel, which are well stained. It is called "stain less" not "stain free" for a reason. [Many of our boating friends say that is a "pink" job, but try telling that to the Admiral.] First, I got all the shower/bathing suit gear ready so that after I was thoroughly drenched in perspiration, it was a quick trip to shower without having to make a mess below.

Even working in the shade of the Bimini cover, it was sweaty work to get about one-third polished, and then it was off to the shower and pool. The pool was at a nice, refreshing temperature and during the 3 hours we were there, at least a dozen different people came in to enjoy it. Naturally, Duane had to make conversation with many and got some advice about the next 200 miles or so of travel.

The purpose of this cruise is not to spend 5 or more days lounging around a pool in one place, but if you are stuck, there are certainly many worse places to be stuck. We had an early dinner of leftover chicken Marsala and some canned peas. How is it that most canned corn we have eaten is pretty good, yet we have never had any canned peas that tasted remotely good? I guess with all or provisioning in Annapolis, we failed to get much in the way of fresh vegetables. At least we have salad ingredients.

Clyde has definitely seemed more at ease since we are back on the boat after our whirlwind series of visits in NJ and PA. He must now identify the boat as home and sees it as something familiar and stable. We have so far not indulged in desserts more than a few times in almost 10 weeks, bit tonight Diane walked up the hill to the restaurant and brought back a brownie with ice cream. It was pretty tasty.

Our cell reception, and therefore our Internet connection, is horrible here. It may require carrying the laptop and smartphone to the top of the hill to post this and check email. If our postings are not timely for the next 5 days or so, that is most likely the reason.