We're stuck in Solomons still, but it's much better being stuck here than Atlantic City. There has been a small craft warning for the past three days and they're threatening one again tomorrow. The conditions are not sounding too bad but when it gets a bit rolly George and Ben have a hard time woking.

After school Ben decided to try his hand at crabbing. Above is the result of his efforts. He had a second one on but got so excited that he pulled it up too quickly and it jumped off. All it takes to catch crabs here is a string, some kind of weight (Ben used a shackle) and raw meat (Ben used bacon.) Than you drop it off the side of the boat and let it down to the bottom of the bay and tied the other end to a cleat on the boat. After a while you go back and check the bait. You have to haul the bait up very slowly inorder to keep the crab from letting go before it reaches the surface. When it gets close to the surface you scoop under the crab with a net. For the record, while we only got a few tablespoons full of crab from this guy, it was delicious.

In additon to crabbing we have spent time getting some of the thing done. We went shopping for food. This is the first place in a long time that we've found easily accessible stores with resonable prices. George got a few boat jobs done this weekend and today I managed to get all of the laundry done. Everything was wet so I ended up with six loads. So all in all it was much better than when we were stuck in Atlantic City where we couldn't get anything done.

We are planning on leaving tomorrow and heading to Reedsville. If we can get an early start and we make good time we may continue on to Deltaville. It would be nice to get to Norfolk by the end of the week, but the weather is not looking very good for the rest of the week. Of course it could always change.

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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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