16 October 2014 | Crab Creek, MD, USA 38’57.40N 76’31.75W – Crab Creek, MD, USA 38’57.40N 76’31.75W via Dividing Creek, MD, USA, St Michaels, MD, USA & Washington DC
Ducklings follow their mothers everywhere and the mothers pass on all sorts of knowledge to their little fledglings. Sometimes a mother will pick up an errant little duckling that has lost its way. Sid and Rebecca Shaw and their fine ship “Dovka” have been the mother duck to the little Ruffians. They have passed on local knowledge and we have followed them everywhere from secluded little creeks to the heart of American politics and history. We owe a debt of gratitude to them for literally taking us under their wing.
Like little ducklings, the OCC cruise in miniature, followed “Dovka” across the Chesapeake Bay. “Kinabalu”, “Chinook” and “Dovka” powered along and as usual for Ruffian our sails pulled us along faster than our engine could push us. Slowly but surely we shamed the assembled fleet into turning off their noise generators and slowly but surely Ruffian ran out of wind and had to turn on hers.
We took in never before explored creeks and towns that were olde worlde Americana to the core. St Michaels revelled in its oyster history and the supermarket was left over from days gone by. The single store in this charming town was named ‘Acme Stores’ and with a name like that we expected Wile E Coyote to be browsing the isles looking for dynamite and anvils ready to catch the ever elusive Roadrunner.
After sharing the ‘best of the bay’ “Dovka” took things to a whole new level when they opened their home, in Washington DC, to us. For the first time in a year we slept in a square bed, showered in freshwater, delighted in the company Sid and Rebecca and after the shutdown of last year were able to sample the pleasures of the city.
This time last year Washington DC was closed for business. Doors were barred shut and barricades surrounded every attraction. This year things were rather different and a joy to behold. Lincoln sat high up on his chair looking down on the assembled tourists, queues for the Washington Monument curved as far as the eye could see and museums had open doors.
As we strolled around the mall we made a beeline for the Lincoln Memorial and listened as a park ranger battled with the excited screams of children to tell the story of the great man and his tragic demise. To make the crescendo of his story all the more dramatic the ranger had laid on a brewing storm, the sky turned green, lightening struck the ground around us and rain hit the ground so hard that the real life ducks and ducklings sought shelter in the trees.
Unfortunately as we dashed from monument to museum along the mall we failed to outrun the storm. We needed to be taken under someone’s wing as it would be the only dry place in town. Torrents of water cascaded down the mall and soaked us to our skins and when it stopped the ducks returned to their happy quacking lifestyle while we discovered that hand dryers in museum restrooms are not designed to drying cloths or people.
Earlier in the day we thought that someone high up was smiling upon us as we got our hands on sought after tickets for the Washington Monument. The view is billed as the best in Washington, where the city is laid out before you and it’s the only time you get to look down on the most powerful man in the world, Mr President.
Braving more rain and surprised at the lack of crowds we thought that we’d gone back to Washington DC of 2014 as we got to the Monument for our allotted slot. Then, instead of finding signs saying ‘Closed because of Government shutdown’, as they did in 2014, they read ‘Closed due to extreme weather conditions’. One day we’ll go to this amazing city and everything will be open.
Not feeling disheartened we visited the Museum of American History. Fiona thought that this museum wouldn’t take long a America was such a new country and so was shocked when 4 hours later, it’s doors were shutting and we were being carted out into the streets having learnt that yep it’s all very new but it’s pretty darn big.
The warm embrace continued at Sid and Rebecca’s and we can’t thank them enough for their hospitality, convivial company, generosity and expertise in all things cruising. If only we had a bigger boat we’d try to take them with us so that these little ducklings wouldn’t be without their mother duck again.
Winter is coming.
The race is on and “Dovka” takes the lead.
We try our hardest and only win the moral battle.
Fiona makes a great catch.
The assembled mini OCC fleet.
1 candle power.
You can have anything canned as long as its oyster based.
And another day dawns.
Sailing in close company.
Ruffian romping.
Reach for the sky.
The autumn colours are out.
They said you were tall, but we had no idea how tall.
Great sightseeing weather.
Only in America. A train tucked into a corner.
All the fault of Costco.