The calm before the storm in Solomons, MD

Despite the fact we are hundreds of miles north of Hurricane Ian’s 2nd landfall (near Charleston) we have still been feeling it’s effects.  It’s slow passing, followed by a reinforcing low-pressure system, have given us winds of 20 – 30 knots, gusting to 40 with heavy rains, for almost a week.  Oh – did I mention the nighttime temps have dropped to 48! With no sunshine, the daytime temps have only been in the 50’s.  “Record breaking cold” the TV news people have been repeating.

These are only the remnants of Hurricane Ian – you can guess those dark colors are bad

We survived the first 3 days at anchor – freezing.  While we frequently run our generator to heat up our boat, the temp would drop like a rock within minutes of turning it off.  Cruiser friends Mike & Ann, who now live nearby at a condo, generously invited us over for a wonderful gourmet dinner, but the thought of returning in our dinghy in the freezing, pouring rain, in the dark gave us pause … What?  The condo association has a guest boat slip we can use for cheap … we’re there!

For 3 glorious days, our heat aboard blasted away while Mike & Ann provided a fantastic dinner, food shopping & even laundry!  Like magic, on Thursday, the weather is forecasted to suddenly warm up with the big rains & winds coming to a halt.  If so, we’ll be off to Hampton, Virginia, then thru Norfolk if the rains haven’t caused too much local flooding (some of the low bridges in that area flood which shuts down their openings until they can dry things out).

Every single year we have had to hold, divert or prep for a hurricane – fortunately either weak or distant, so a mere inconvenience compared to the alternative.  Our hearts go out to those in southwest Florida …

We enjoyed a nearly perfect run down the coast from NYC to Cape May, NJ followed by an easy run up the Delaware River, across the C&D Canal down into the Chesapeake Bay. Two of the most trying legs are over!

A great breakfast on the patio of the marina to celebrate our easy offshore passage to Cape May. However … we now have a new vice – bourbon butter!

A favorite restaurant in “downtown” Cape May we needed to re-visit from a few years ago. Here’s the birthday girl!

This pissed-off Bald Eagle appears to be trying to figure out why his beautiful nest fell off the pilings at the Cape May ferry terminal.

Half-way up the Delaware Bay, we came across this old ship with 2 tugs pushing & pulling in every direction, but not moving. Aground? No – it was in 40′ of water. Watching the show for over half an hour as we headed up the bay, Lori finally called one of the tugs on the VHF radio. Apparently, while being towed from Philadelphia to a scrap yard in Texas, the towline snapped. The tug at the stern was keeping the ship in position while the other tug was attempting to retrieve the broken towline & attach a new one. Ummmm … how was it going to make it 1,500 miles in open ocean when it couldn’t make it 15 miles down the peaceful Delaware River??

A stop at Chestertown, MD was recommended by fellow cruiser Gene on Adventure & was well worth the 14 mile detour up the Chester River. A little town with lots to see & good eats. Evergrain Bakery had fantastic breakfast pastries in the morning & delicious breads in the afternoon. Chestertown is a cute little town filled with dozens of restored 18th century houses. It had been the state’s 2nd busiest port for almost a hundred years … until railroads in the late 1800’s across the Chesapeake in Baltimore made it obsolete as a major port.

Kent Narrows was another new stop for us, just in time for a nasty cold front with wind gusts to 40 & a temp drop of 30!. This sky the night before confirmed that something was up!

Fortunately, the nearby Harris Crab House had fantastic crab soup & these yummy oysters to keep us sustained thru the storm!

We always debate how quickly to be moving south.  Why be rushing south when it’s still in the 80’s? Well … we’re now being reminded of why!  After this cold front, temps in the Chesapeake have drastically dropped into the low ’50!  While the temps will moderate next week, fall has both officially & un-officially arrived!