Still here at Solomons! It’s been a comfortable, interesting two weeks since last we spoke. Our plan, of course, was to head out and cruise the Chesapeake. Well, as we’ve always said of plans (“What good is a plan if you can’t change it?”) we’ve stayed true to form and changed this one.
For the first few post-Hurricane days, we just puttered. Took long walks every day, swam in the hotel’s beautiful outdoor pool (once it was cleaned and back up and running), and enjoyed moseying around Back Creek in the dinghy. That really is one of our favorite things to do—just look at boats, neighborhoods, birds and other critters, not to mention the occasional dockside restaurant. We got to try out the new painter Fred spliced out of a piece of AmSteel. Worked just fine.
One afternoon I went to see “The Help” with Sherri (GYPSY CRICKET) and Diane, (MOJO), a couple of other Solomons Dock A residents. Once again, I found that the book was better than the movie. This I know, but must always check, just to be sure!
One thing that boaters must be is responsive to the weather. In the case of the days following Hurricane Irene, the fine weather lasted a week which, happily, included Labor Day weekend, and it was beautiful. Sunny and clear, and by Sunday the humidity was down and a delicious breeze was blowing as we motored (the Jeep) over to the Navy’s Bi-annual Air Expo.
We had a good afternoon looking at the planes on exhibit, talking to test pilots, maintenance guys and officers of the law who very generously provided us with chairs to put in the shade and watch the Blue Angels. I’d not seen the Blue Angels before, which is why we went to the show. I was rewarded with several great photos, and we had a great time. Thank goodness for earplugs!
That breeze we enjoyed so much on Sunday puffed up a bit on Monday—we spent a totally Labor Free Labor Day. I did swim several laps in the Hotel pool, and found out (when the rain stopped a week later) that the season ended and Pool closed on Labor Day. Humbug.
By Tuesday the rains came. This was due to the next---no the one after the one after the next---hurricane, Lee, which flooded Louisiana. Weather moving westward (did you know that it does that?) as it does, we spent the week pretty much indoors. Instead of taking YA up the Patuxent, we left the lines in place and read, cleaned and occasionally dodged the raindrops to go for a ride in the car. We were fortunate. Many others were really suffering from the flooding exacerbated by the heavy rain.
On Thursday, we agreed to meet Mike and Linda Borum, (SEA DREAM) who were in Washington, DC., for dinner. We set out (by car), but a section of a highway we needed to cross had disappeared into a sink hole and we were re-routed to Annapolis in order to get to DC. Didn’t seem like such a good idea. Also, it was pouring in DC, which meant Mike and Linda would have been drenched. We turned around, discovered Harrington Harbor Marina on Tracy’s Creek (just off the Patuxent) and had a fine dinner at the Calypso Run. Would you believe they plant palm trees every spring and take them out in the fall so the winter doesn’t’ kill them off? What price ambience?
Sunshine on Friday afternoon! As an added bonus, our computer arrived by FedEx from our friends at Progressive Technologies in Hilton Head. They tried everything to make it work; finally put in a new motherboard and sent it off. And it didn’t work. Fred had to take it apart and discover an unplugged wire (did that happen at the same time as the tear on the shipping box?). Plugged it in, put it back together, and Viola! We once again have navigation, speed and depth displayed, along with the gazillion other functions that little puppy can perform. We looked at Weather Works and saw that the rain was past, so we tossed the lines and cruised up the creek to buy fuel and get the holding tank pumped out.
An hour later the ‘cruise’ ended and we moved back to our ‘Irene’ slip, tied up to the new starboard piling, and here we are.
Saturday we went to the Naval Air Museum across the river. A highlight for Fred was seeing the Grumman S2F airplane that his submarine played war games with in the ‘50s. I was a bit disappointed as I’d read on the website that there was a cool restaurant and an IMAX theater at the museum. Oops. That would be the Navy Air Museum in Pensicola, FL. Fine print on the website, I believe.
Sunday we re-visited the UU of the Chesapeake, and then enjoyed a leisurely brunch at Lenny’s Restaurant, next door to the motel where we stayed in May. While Fred was industrious and changed impellers on both engines, I languished at Happy Hour on dock B. I did help with the generator impeller this morning. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!
Today we’re preparing to go to the USPS Governing Board meeting in Greensboro, NC. Plan to drive away in the a.m. We’ll see.
Yesterday, thank the Powers that Be, there were no major incidents to mar the remembrance of 9/11. The day here was calm and the morning beautiful, as Fred’s photo attests. Peaceful. May peace prevail.
