August 2005

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Monday August 1, 2005
We left Portsmouth and traveled North up the Chesapeakeabout 55 miles to Deltaville, VA. We stayed at the Fishing Bay Harbor Marina and had a nice night. Sydney and Frankie saw their first rabbit. They went balistic as you would guess.

Tuesday August 2, 2005
Got into Reedville, VA today. It was a short trip... only about 28 miles or so. This is a sleepy little town but pretty. The only down side is that there is a plant here that processes menhaden. These are small fish that are used for their oil and feed for farm animals. The smell is rather obnoxious, but I suppose everyone around here gets used to it. It smells like sardines. When we docked, the wind was blowing away from us, but when the wind changed... there was no sitting out in the cockpit. We met some really nice people, Oscar and Pam, from SC and had dinner with them at the Crazy Crab. She was a school pychologist, so I got to talk shop with her. And Larry and Oscar talked about... what else... boats!!!

Wednesday August 3, 2005
We sailed form Reedville to Solomons today and it was pretty rough. It was an 8 hour day, so the girls and I were more than ready to dock at Calvert Marina. It was the only marina that charged a decent rate. We are really getting up to the places that hit you with big slip fees now.

Thursday August 4, 2005
We arrived in Annapolis Harbor today at about 2:30 and grabbed a mooring ball right in front of Ego Alley. It is the place we have been planning on going for a month and we were thrilled to see that there were moorings free. But we had no sooner picked up a ball, when the harbormaster came over and asked us to leave. The moorings were for boats 45 feet or less. We were disappointed but we found a lovely little anchorage in Spa Creek that is directly across from a park where we can walk the dogs. So it was probably for the best. There is no traffic and we the best part is... its FREE!!

Friday August 5, 2005
Larry's sister, Sheri and her husband Tom, met us here today. She lives in Pennsylvania and they are coming to Annapolis in their RV to go camping. We were excited to see them because we had been planning this for a while. After they came to pick us upon the boat, we went back to the campgrounds where they were parked and sat around, talked and had a great steak dinner compliments of Tom.

Saturday August 6, 2005
Sheri and Tom picked us up at around noon and we went to the Fleet Reserve for lunch. Then we took a boat ride in a boat they had rented up the Severn River. It was amazing to see all the gorgeous homes. When we got back, since Tom was in the Navy, we were able to get into the commissary and do some heavy duty provisioning for the boat. Like they say... its not what you know, its who you know. Then it was back to the campgrounds for another great meal. Tom is quite the cook and I was glad for a reprive away from the stove for a few days.

Sunday August 7, 2005
Sheri and Tom went back home but we are planning a trip to see them in a week or so. Really enjoyed our visit with them and having a car to run all our errands was a real delight. They really seem to enjoy their little Vixen RV as much as Larry and I enjoy the boat. Everyone needs their getaway and that seems to be theirs. Sheri and I are going to celebrate our birthdays together in a week or so since they fall only 5 days apart. I am sure it will be a blowout party (especially since Larry and I rarely stay up past 10PM). I am sure our husbands are planning elaborate gifts for both of us!!!!

Tuesday August 9, 2005
Today Larry went out and played tourist. Bought stupid T-shirts, had lunch, took pictures and spent money. It was a blast! We will probably leave to go to Baltimore tomorrow so we needed a day of no stress and all play. Larry did not even work on the boat all day. It's a miracle. We sat in the cockpit, drank a cool one and read our books. Life is good!!

Friday August 12, 2005
Tom, Larry's brother-in-law, came to get us at the boat and drove us back to Morton, PA, where he and Sheri live. We had never seen their charming home and were surprised and amazed at how much work Tom, who is an architect, has put into it. Sheri has taken up growing orchids and we were fascinated how many she has accumulated and how gorgeous and unusual they are. We got a brief lesson in raising orchids. It is quite an interesting hobby with each species having their own distinguishing characteristics and uniquie qualities. She has learned so much about them and Larry and I both found it quite fascinating. Tom cooked us a great beef stew for dinner (as usual) and we sat around doing parlor tricks for the rest of the evening.

Saturday August 13, 2005
Sheri chauffered Larry and I around today picking up all the things we needed for the boat, but the real fun started that evening. We got all spiffed up and I gave Sheri a make over. (Not that she was in need of one.) Everyone agreed that the "new" Sheri looked ten years younger. After we played dress up and got beautiful, we went to Tango's and celebrated both birthdays - Sheri's is on the 15th and mine on the 20th. We all laughed and acted silly. A grand time was had by all and the dinner was fabulous!!

Monday August 15, 2005
Sheri's birthday is today. Larry took us all to lunch. Considering the amount of food we are all eating, we will be lucky if we don't gain 10 lbs. a piece. I decided to cook for Sheri and although my cooking skills are limited, I do fry some mean shrimp. We went to the grocery store, bought 5 lbs. of shrimp, fresh squash and coleslaw and had a heck of a meal. We all ate 'til we thought we would pop!! Sounds like we all have done since we got here is eat? Yea, I guess so. But the company has been great and Sheri and I have laughed and talked like I haven't done in a while. It was a nice visit and we are looking forward to coming back in a few weeks when Larry's Mom comes to visit.

Tuesday August 16, 2005
Tom has a friend who is a vet, so we thought we would take the opportunity to have him look at the girls while we are here and have someone we could trust. Larry and I dropped Tom off at the airport for a business trip and then drove to New Jersey, where the vet was. It was a beautiful drive. The countryside looks so different and we all enjoyed traveling in a car for a change. The vet gave the girls a clean bill of health and Sheri drove us back to the boat, spent the night with us, and left Wednesday morning.

Friday-Sunday August 19-21, 2005
Harry and Susan, our friends from Texas, have come to visit us and some other friends of theirs. Their friends live on the Magothy River and we sailed there to meet them all. We anchored right behind the house. Teresa and Craig were great hosts and nice enough to share their gorgeous home with us and Sydney and Frankie. Craig was a marvelous cook and the meals all weekend were more than we imagined. They have 5 kids that Larry and I thouroughly enjoyed visiting with. I think I have a pretty good sense of spotting "neat kids" and these were 5 kids who all seemed to be pretty darn "neat". Polite, witty, smart and a delight to be around - not always easy to find these days. We all went out in the power boat on Saturday and the kids went tubing, while the "big kids" (Larry and Craig) went skiing. Larry had not skiied in about 29 years and was delighted to see he still had it in him. Since it was my birthday, Craig cooked ribs and a marvelous tuna mitsuhisa salad. Susan whipped up her secret cauliflower veggie dish and a cheesecake topped off the night for dessert. It was a great birthday spent with very nice people. Sunday, Larry and I sailed back to Baltimore and Susan and Harry met us for dinner in Little Italy. We had a great time and planned our next visit when we get to the BVI's.

Wednesday August 24, 2005
We met some really nice people on our dock who started out in California and sailed around the world. They are here in Baltimore for a while and we have gotten together with them on a few occasions. Their stories make ours seem quite tame but at the same time, make me anxious to do more sailing. We went to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game with them and got to see the stadium here. It was really nice but reminded me of Houston. You know...$7.00 beers and $6.00 hotdogs. I guess that is just the American way!!

Saturday August 27, 2005
Larry's Mom flew up to Sheri's house yesterday and they both came to pick us up today and take us back to Sheri's to visit for a few days. Larry and I were anxious to see his Mom because it has been a while. Margie (Larry's Mom) got to see Amanda Jayne for the first time and get a small taste of what our lives are like. I think she feels a lot better (not that she wasn't OK with it before), but she said now she can better visualize what is going on whenever she reads the logs. Larry was very happy she got to finally see his "pride and joy."

Sunday-Tuesday August 28-30, 2005
We had a great visit once again at Sheri's house and the main event remained.... EATING!!! We managed to fit in a little shopping but mainly we spent most of our days eating or planning on eating. Hey, you only live once, right? Margie showed me how to make her enchiladas and Sheri taught me how to make homemade tacos. So, if anything, besides gaining a few pounds, I also gained 2 great recipes that are easy and delicious. We got Tuesday night and begin preparing for my "favorite" niece to come to visit.

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