We left shortly after 8:00 this morning heading for Cambridge on Chop Tank River. We arrived at the mouth of the river shortly after 11:00 and decided to do what we do best and change our minds. With bad weather heading this way for tomorrow and possibly Sunday we figured we might as well get as far south as we could today. So we kept heading south and broke out the guides.

We still needed some place where we could get food for Ben and we wanted a place that was well protected from potentially bad weather. We settled on Solomons Island and we arrived here shortly after 4:00. It seems like a great place to be for a day or two. I've already found a Gourmet Grocery Store and there is apparently anothernon-gourmet grocery store a mile or so away. There are also hardware and boat stores within walking distance.

On the way here today George and Ben spotted an island that they figured looked rather tropical. I think they're just wishful thinkeres. Look at the picture above and you decided.

More exciting for me than the island were the pelicans. We saw a large flock of them today as we headed south. I didn't get any pictures because I was just so happy to see them, mcuh like the dolphins earlier. For me, pelicans really mean south. We don't have anything that even looks remotely like a pelican in Michigan or Ontario. They are definately a signs of goods things (e.g. warm weather) to come soon.

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Well it seemed that way. There really is too much to see in just one day. To do this city properly you need a week, but we had one day and we rammed as much as we could into that one day.

If you want to do Washington while your sailing down the east coast this is the place to do it from. Save yourself the 100 miles up the Potomac and catch a commuter bus. For $4.25 each, both ways, we caught the bus just before 7:30 from a stop a short walk from the mooring field. It let us off about an hour later right at the Smithsonion. We just reversed the route for the trip home. Not a bad deal at all and you get to travel in a very comfortable bus.

It really is amazing how much area the capital covers. It all looks so close together on the television. lol By the time we caught the 4:00 bus home we were all pretty tired.

If we had more time we probably would have gone again at least once, but it's not getting any warmer so we need to get moving again.

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We spent an extra day in Georgetown so we could celebrate George's birthday at the Kitty Knight House. Actually George and Ben both needed a day to get caught up on their work. The story behind the Kitty Knight House is that Kitty, who was a beautiful red head, was a stubborn lady who stood her ground. During the War of Independence the British came to Georgetown during their effort to burn down Maryland. All the residents of Georgetown left, except Kitty who stayed behind to take care of an ill neighbor who was too sick to travel. When the British arrived Kitty threw open her upstairs window and yelled at the soldier to leave her and her neighbor alone. For what ever reason, her beauty, or maybe the red hair flying, the British left the two houses standing while they burnt down the rest of the town. Those two buildings are now joined and are part of the Kitty Knight House Inn and Restaurant. I don't know how much of the story is true but I do know there food is excellent, especially the crab and spinach dip.

Tuesday morning we left for Annapolis. It was a grey day but for the most part it was pretty un-eventful, at least until the end. Just after we crossed Chesapeake Bay the fog started to roll in and we had a hard time seeing much of anything. Add to that the fact we still haven't got our radar working just right and the situation was a little tense. Just before we were to re-join the shipping channel and pass under the bridge the visibility became well under a mile. In fact we could not see the top of the bridge as we passed under. Throw in to that mix the three freighters that were passing under the bridge at the same time it is really amazing that any of us has any fingernails left. But we made it through and headed for the Spa Creek, after scooting around the Naval Anchorage that had several ships anchored.

Once we entered the creek we were met with yet another challenge. Everywhere we looked we could see small sailboats and several 24 foot sailboats. One group appeared to be students learning in sailing dinghies, which meant they were changing course sporadically. The second group appeared to be part of a race. Of course the first thing that crossed our minds was who goes out to sail in this kind of fog on purpose. Once again we managed to get passed these two groups and grabbed a mooring ball right across from the Naval Academy.

When the guys took Kooper to shore they discovered that we had stumbled across the Melges 24 World Championship. One whole basin is full of them rafted together. The guys also discovered that Annapolis is a place that you don't want to miss if you are planning a similar trip of your own someday. The area around the harbor bills the city as "A Museum Without Walls" and it's a great description. Every direction you look holds another historical site. The oldest, continuous state capital, stores that are over 200 years old, a tavern that once served the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The homes of four of the signers on the Declaration of Independence are still here, including the Paca house. That plus a rich sailing history and the Naval Academy makes this place a must stop, and when you do be sure to check out the tribute to Alex Haley, author of "Roots." Annapolis is where Haley's ancestor, Kunta Kinta first arrived in the US aboard a slave ship.

The photo above depicts Haley reading and teaching three children from various ethnic backgrounds the importance of family history. The tribute also includes ten stones with quotes from various characters in "Roots" that also deal with the importance of family history, love, relationships and forgiveness. It is really quite a moving tribute and well worth the time to visit.

Tomorrow we're often to Washington.

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First things first. Happy Birthday Mary Magin. You're officially a teenager, congratulations.

I've heard some sailors say that their plans are written in sand and others claim their plans are written in jello. Well, today our plans seem to have been written in water. Actually, our initial plan, last night, was to spend another day in Chesapeake City. We hoped to move from the anchorage over to the free town dock. The plan was to charge our batteries while waiting out some gusty weather conditions. This plan would allow George time to catch up on both boat and real work while I finished the last two curtains for the cockpit and Ben did some extra school work. It would also give our friends on Trefoil a chance to catch up, now that they're back in the water.

It seemed like a good plan so when a space opened up at the dock just before 8:00 this morning we jumped at the chance. In fact, some of us were still in our pjs. While we motored over to the dock two other boats left. This was great. The whole dock was open. As we made our first approach George ran aground in water that was supposed to have a MLW of 5 feet. We still had 2+ hours until low tide and we don't quite draw 5 feet in brackish water. So we backed off, the benefit of approaching slowly, and tried a second attempt from a completely different angle. Again we ran aground. Again we backed off, this time right into the C & D. At that point, we were not interested in heading back into the anchorage, a little too crowded for us, so we headed down river with out any plan.

Very quickly we broke out the cruising guides and got the GPS system running. Once we did that we decided that we would go to Bohemia River to an anchorage near the mouth. It was only a few miles and we could still keep most of our plan in tack. Well as we started our approach the water started disappearing and you know what they say about once bitten, twice shy. Well we had already been bitten twice by the river's bottom so we headed back for the channel and dove back into the cruising guides.

Our second choice, or is that the third choice, was somewhere on the Sassafras River, a further 10 miles down the bay. So off we went. Shortly after leaving the Bohmeia River mouth we looked behind us and realized that we were being followed by what looked like "The Pirates of the Chesapeake." (Picctured aboved.) Once we realized that they had no attention of using their, very much present, cannons on us, we started to thank our lucky stars the NOAA was wrong again and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Once we reached the Sassafras River we went to looke at the first of two anchorages that looked like they had good potential. It was located at the mouth of Turner Creek. When we arrived there we watched a ketch, about our size, trying to come out of the anchorage area. He was having difficulty trying to maneuver in the very tight entrance and the many boats trying to get around him didn't help the situation. So we turned around and headed further up the Sassafras to Back Creek.

At Back Creek we dropped the anchor and got a pretty good hold. And it wasn't any too early. When George went to check the engine after shutting down, something he always does, he found leaks in the cooling water hose and in an anti-siphon valve. So he broke out his tools and Ben and I took Kooper to the nearby deserted beach. Did I mention that we had left in such a hurry this morning that Kooper had missed out on his morning walk. (We figured we would just take him once we tied to the dock.)

After Kooper ripped and tore up and down the beach for a half hour or so Ben and I headed back to the boat. George was just finishing up on engine repairs. As we sat in the cockpit taking in the natural beauty of this anchorage, George got more and more nervous about spending the night there. Although we were well off of the main channel the boats were flying past us. George figured with our anchorage light so high off the water there was the potential of having some boater under the influence come by tonight and not see Ishmael until it was too late.

Plan, whatever. I got on the phone and started calling marinas in Georgetown, another 4 or 5 miles down the Sassafras. The first marina I called didn't even answer, but Georgetown Yacht Basin answered and were happy to give us a place for the night. So we hauled the anchor up and headed up river. We figured we would take the opportunity to use the laundry facilities as well as picking up much needed bread and milk at the store. Not to mention a hot, real shower sounded pretty good. We got in just before 4:00 and while Ben and George got us tied up and got the power hooked up, I went and got us checked in for the evening. On the plus side the price was $0.50 a foot less than the advertised price. On the negative side the store was already closed and the nearest store was a mile away. (Yeah right!)

So I picked up some ice at the dock and George, Kooper and I headed off on our one mile walk. Two miles later we found the small grocery store and the post office. Then we headed back. We managed to get back just as the sun was setting. We unloaded our few groceries and while George started dinner I went to get a load of laundry started. Now we are finishing up a few things and then we're going to figure out tomorrow's plans. Although, not having a plan today eventually worked out pretty well.

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