Am unable to resist photographing a pretty sunset. At Herrington Harbor North

The trip up to Herrington Harbor North at Tracy’s Landing was a rather short four hours. Along the way we reached the 3,000 nm mark, about 3,450 statute or land miles. The big excitement of the day was retrieving Bonny from her outside winter “home” at Skinners Turn Storage, just a 10 mile uber trip away. She looked good and started right up after Russ re-connected the batteries. A bit musty but hey that will dissipate.

Packages awaited us at the marina office where we confirmed a week’s stay (at least) and got a pool pass (can you believe it went unused?) Haha

Our new boat batteries- taller but no heavier. Trojan (deep cycle golf cart)

I’d been waiting with very high expectations for these new babies ever since Russ attended an electrical/solar/battery talk on Volleyball Beach in George Town, Bahamas. These replaced the not-very-old AGM dudes. The Trojans are designed for constant and deep discharging. Since we rely on our batteries to keep two or three fridge/freezers running all night, these new ones can handle discharging down to 12.3 (or lower) and still come back swinging full force. Life on the hook just got a positive boost. Leave it to a Trojan to provide great protection, right?

Uh oh- engine trouble ruins the day for these locals

So we are sitting at the salon table, I look up to see a boat about to kiss our exposed starboard side- what the? Turns out they had engine troubles, no power and so we helped them tie up around the corner. Weekend outings are so precious; we remember those times.

About to scoop a crab off the trot line & into his bucket. The harbor must be loaded with crabs!

Time got carved out for a short drive down to Herrington Harbor South where Don on s/v Blue Dancer now had a slip. We’d met him during our stay last Sept/Oct. He headed south but due to circumstances never got farther than Swan Point Marina in NC where we last saw him, preparing to be hauled out then fly home to Hawaii. A genuine, really nice man who loves to sail and I am certain is an excellent sailor. (maybe he and Patti should meet!) A lovely evening and my first Mojito in a long time. (thanks for planting the idea Benj)

The dreaded day arrived. No, not leaving the marina. The day we’d spend 15 hours away from Twins driving Ms Bonny to Connecticut and shelling out $67 in tolls for the pleasure of the shortest (fastest?) route on I95 and the NJ Turnpike. All in all the trip was good. Our EZPass is a life saver. We stopped at Tweed New Haven Airport for the Hertz (best price) car we’d drive back to MD, grabbed a delicious fast lunch at Lobster Landing (you should all be drooling and very jealous now), picked up our mail, dropped off Bonny, and back we went. Oh, I should mention that a HUGE mass of rain and thunder storms was headed east. PA got it bad but location and timing was our friend today and only had some light rain a couple of times on the way back. Whew, I was very glad we dodged that.

Google saved us a 90 minute delay on I95 before the GW, routing us on the Hutchinson and Saw Mill Parkways. The bridge seemed half empty, mostly due to the backup, we figured.

Finding a place for dinner is my challenging job. Was easier in pre-smartphone days when you almost had to stop at a service plaza or take a chance on some exit. I used a couple of different methods to find a place not too far off the interstate where we could wait out any commuting traffic slowdowns. Thanks for the help honey.

Texas Roadhouse came out on top and while 6 miles off the interstate, we just knew we’d be pleased. Oh ya babe, sure were. Only our third time ever in a TR; each time the entire experience has been delightful. You know how often the first time can be so great and then the next is so-so. Not so at TR and since this was our first time at this particular one, they lavished extra attention upon us. But not so hovering that we couldn’t stand it.

Insides of satellite TV dome

Inside that rounded dome thing that sat forward of the solar panels is a mini 360 degree directional dish that moves to find the station you want- or some such nonsense. You have to subscribe to DIRECTV in order to watch anything. I will spare you the LONG story on this but we tried it for a 3-day trial last Oct, and for a whole bunch of reasons, decided it wasn’t for us.

A few days before arriving at Herrington, Russ placed it on ebay along with the box and wiring, making sure that the darn thing still worked. yes it did. He listed it for pickup only and at the end of the auction- SOLD to a local guy who came when he said he would and took it off our hands. Weight off the boat is a good thing; so too is $$ in our PayPal account.

All week we listened and watched osprey in action. As we passed a nest on our way out I finally got a decent photo… or two

It’s not much but it’s home- with a prime address in the harbor.

For many days the June 10 forecast promised 5-10, but from the north so we said, OK we need to get moving, we’ll do it; how bad can it be? Saturday looked much better and after a short day we’d be nestled in at Delaware City Marina, hunkered down for 3 nights.

Lots of possibilities here, as we enter the home stretch; Essex/Deep River CT only 375 nm away.

Entering Solomons

Calvert Marina occupies what was once the site of our country’s first amphibious training base. Few of the buildings remain but you can see and read about them as you walk around the grounds, which indeed have a military feel.

Here’s the short cliff notes summary:

In the early 1940s the world was at war and a new military base was being built on Dowell Peninsula. At its peak, in 1944, the base had 10,150 men. These hastily trained men shipped out to U.S. fleets in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Training was likely to have been little more than a quick cruise on the Bay watching the school staff chief petty officers handle the boat and perhaps getting in a question or two. Men were often formed into crews in those first frantic months of war in 1942 without ever seeing the type of vessel they’d be called upon to operate. God love ‘em.

Fortunately, as time went on the training expanded and the base turned out well-trained men, proficient in all aspects of operations. But only up until 1945, when the base closed.

We received our own very basic training in docking alongside a floating dock (we like these) without an assistance (we don’t like that). We chose Calvert Marina not only for its easy floating docks and reasonable price but because friends Ann & Mike of m/v Traveling Soul were there. They just weren’t on the boat when we arrived, but we knew that ahead.

The marina offers a loaner car that you can take for up to one hour; not much time, but a decent Food Lion is up the road a few miles and that’s all we needed. Got that done Sunday morning and then dinghied over to the excellent Calvert Museum. We love these well laid out, inside and outside Chesapeake museums.

Calvert Marine Museum is located across from the Calvert Marina- a very short dinghy ride

We also didn’t mind qualifying for the Sr Citizen rate- amazingly fair at $7.  This museum isn’t as large as the one in St Michaels but it’s the right size for me.

Megladon- almost not terrifying as “skeleton only” but put flesh and skin on, and a monster is revealed

The homey-ness of the lighthouse is amazing and a 360 degree view!

After lunch, keeping an eye on the sky for rain, we got in a quick harbor tour then tied up at a town dock on Solomons Island. We found the usual: a few shops, eateries, pubs, ice cream but also the J.C. Lore Oyster Packing Plant now owned by the Calvert Museum.

For many years this was a major shucking and packing operation on Solomons Island, by The Narrows of Back Creek

Shucking stations- two different heights for a taller or shorter person

This man was amazing!

One half of a display of unusual oysters from around the world

And then it did in fact finally rain… but we were back aboard. 🙂 Monday was a washout thanks to Tropical Storm Bonny who sent a ton of rain up our way, but most of it passed east of us. We were surprised to see our friends walking down the dock much earlier than expected. But wait, why are those other people with them? Uh oh, car trouble – a tow and a ride from friends!

Russ spent many hours researching and ordering items for our Herrington Harbor project week. Now doesn’t that sound like a fun week? The good part is then we have less to tackle in the summer.

Tuesday brought sunny and warm, as well as another grocery trip, this time with Ann to a Giant (same as Stop&Shop up north) because we blow through certain foods very fast and Giant offers a bigger better selection. We swung by the condo complex where Ann & Mike will be owners soon, living part of the year on land and part on Traveling Soul. I like that plan and that we can see them on land and on the water still. Way to go guys!

Happy Hour aboard Traveling Soul was extra nice. Not only hadn’t we seen these guys and Empress Spot, in 3 months but we also got to meet cruising friends of theirs, Tom & Cristina on m/v Tadhana. Had heard the stories, got the cleanser recipe and now got to meet them.