Mike and Kathy
07/06/2008, Annapolis, MD

July 4th... Annapolis, MD

We left the boat this morning a little after nine and walked a few blocks to the home of William Paca who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later Governor of Maryland. There was to be a Naturalization Ceremony at 9:30 and we thought it might be interesting.

There was a tent in the back yard and seating for about 100. The 50 soon to be citizens were seated near the front with family and friends taking up the remaining chairs. We stood to one side with about 40 other latecomers.

The program began with the Annapolis children's choir singing the national anthem and then we were led in the pledge of allegiance. There were two reasonably short speeches before the oath was administered. The new citizens represented 31 countries and were asked to stand as their country was called. When they were all standing the oath was read in unison.

We walked up to State Circle and then back the waterfront on our way to the Navy Yard for a walking tour. On our way we stopped at a corner café for a late breakfast.

When we were here in October we spent some time wandering the Naval Academy but have been told that we needed to pay the money and take the guided walking tour. Whoever gave us that advice was right. We had a great time, were taken through buildings and given a wonderful history lesson. We learned for instance, that the Navy College in Annapolis has been built three times and that it boasts the worlds largest dormitory which covers 33 acres and has 4.8 miles of hallways. It also has the worlds largest swimming pool.

After our tour we wandered town for a while before walking over to Pusser's Restaurant for a little lunch. This is a wonderful town to wander around in. Narrow little streets in places and interesting buildings and homes.

At 2:30 we were back on the boat and although the skis were a little threatening, I went to work applying another coat of finish to the bow pulpit and trail boards. We had invited Lenny and Ceil over for the concert and fireworks so we spent some time picking up things but as it turned out the concert was rained out and they decided to stay put for the evening. The rain did let up for the fireworks which was nice for the thousands of people who had braced the weather to see them.

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Mike
07/06/2008, Annapolis, MD

July 3... Annapolis

If you want to be seen, this is where you park your boat in Annapolis. Right in the middle of town!

The plebes showed up this morning. We've seen families around town obviously dropping off their sons and daughters for the last few days. This morning we woke up to their chants as they ran around the Navy Yard at 6am. We've been told that this summer session serves as their "boot camp" and that they have no contact with the outside world for about six weeks.

After coffee we took the dinghy to the end of Spa Creek tying up at Truxton Park. From there we set off for the West Marine about two miles away. The walk was uneventful and we reached our destination without any problems. We purchased a Link 1000 battery monitor and the necessary cable and fittings to hook it up.

We've known since last winter that the volt meter that is attached to our main battery bank is inaccurate. The Link 1000 we replace the remote panel attached to our inverter/charger and will give us accurate readings on amperage as well as voltage.

From West Marine we walked down the street another ½ mile to the Giant Supermarket, stopping at the Apex (another brand of dinghy) dealer on the way.

After purchasing a few things at the grocery, we retraced our tracks and arrived back at the boat about 11:30. I was pooped. Although there was a nice breeze it was hot and our walk ended up being closer to 6 miles than the four that I had bargained for.

In the afternoon I sanded our trail boards and then got a coat of finish on them as well as the bow pulpit.

Annapolis is filling up. The mooring field has been full for a couple of days and the anchorage just to the east is filling up as well. There is constant boat traffic and things are a little rolley. By accident we have ring side seats were for the fireworks tomorrow night.

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Mike
07/03/2008, Annapolis, MD

July 1... Annapolis

After coffee I began the task of sanding the bow pulpit. The first step was to remove the anchor rollers which sounds easier than it is ... aluminum bolts and steel nuts. Then I fired up the generator on the foredeck and started sanding. Kathy worked on photos and she cleaned out the refrigerator during the morning. After lunch we went ashore to purchase some sandpaper and the new "Natural Teak" Cetol that I wanted to try. It is supposed to be less orange and let the grain of the wood show up better.

Back at the boat I went back to sanding and by mid-afternoon was done. We took a break for awhile waiting for the sun to drop a little before applying the first coat of finish.

In the evening Lenny and Ceil were visiting Sebastian on the mooring next to us so I went over to say hi . Lenny was running errands tomorrow and I jumped at the chance to ride along. I also volunteered to run Sebastian to shore in the morning.

July 2... Annapolis

My first task of the day was to clean the duck poop out of the dinghy. For some reason in Annapolis, ducks love to roost on dinghies and leave a mess behind. I ran our neighbor to shore at 8am and wasted some time before Lenny picked me up. Our engine needs an oil change so our first stop as NAPA for oil and a filter. Next we went to a Home Depot for a few items and finally drove to the mall for a radio shack. While I was gone Kathy took the floor grates out of the cockpit and cleaned the floor... a job that needs to be done more often than it is...

Back at the boat I cooked some lunch and read for while before going ashore with Kathy for a walk around town. Many of the streets are quite narrow and interesting.

Once it cooled down I applied another coat of finish to the bow pulpit. We grilled some chicken for supper and then took a dinghy ride to Back Creek.

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