Solomons, MD - New Jersey!
Here is our route from Solomons to Moonbeam Great Kills Marina, New Jersey.
We have gone 306 nautical miles since our last blog post!
Tuesday, June 4. It was a ‘no go’ for maintenance to get the shaft repacked, so another day of exploring on the bikes. First stop—McD’s for ice cream—of course. Then on the way back I wanted to explore the Annmarie Sculpture Garden we have passed by several times. This was a very interesting park with unique sculptures accessed on a trail we were able to ride the bikes on.
A little about this park. In 1991, Francis and Ann M. Koenig donated this property to Calvert County with the intention that it be developed into a sculpture garden. The thirty acre property that comprises Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center is owned by the people of Calvert County.
The Smithsonian Affiliations Program was created in 1996 to offer non-profit cultural and educational organizations the opportunity to have greater access to the Smithsonian Institution's collections and resources. This means that places like Annmarie can submit requests for the loan of items from the eleven different Smithsonian museums.
This is what caught my eye as we rode the bikes past—also because it was shady and a very hot day. To our surprise they let us take our bikes on the path inside.
Title of this sculpture is: Man with Beard. I wonder how long it took to come up with that name. : )
I loved this portion of the trail.
There were several little creations mixed in with the trees.
Wednesday, June 5. Packing shaft replacement day! Hooray!!
This ended up taking two days. Oh well its done.
Thursday, June 6. Boat back in the water next to our sailboat friends Hillary, Bryan and Hersh. We have enjoyed their company and Casey from Tika since we came back May 29th.
Friday, June 7. We left early this morning with Annapolis as our destination. We found it interesting to see crab pots marked with flags. They sure are easier to see as opposed to the Florida crab pots that are small round and various colors.
Saturday, June 8th. Annapolis. We walked to Baker’s & Co. for coffee, then to the Annapolis Maritime Museum. This museum focused on the changes that has occurred by over harvesting oysters between 1860 & 1920. The effort to bring back the oysters and the value they have on cleaning the water was well described with various exhibits. Also they have a great photography display by Jay Fleming. His photos of Chesapeake wildlife and fishermen were extraordinary.
Museum kitty.
We were lucky to time our visit to Annapolis on the weekend, and enjoyed meeting my FAA boss Cletus and his lovely wife Yvonne for lunch. This was a highlight to time the stop when they were available to drive and meet us.
After lunch, we walked to the US Naval Academy and stumbled on the 3:15 walking tour that had just started.
This is the USNA Miller Chapel. The tourguide brought us in to see the Crypt of John Paul Jones.
This plaque is in the Memorial Hall.
This tour was excellent, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the grounds, the chapel, dorms, and athletic facilities. We learned about the traditions, mascots, and student requirements. The tour guide explained how hard it is to get into the academy and what plebe life is like. The dedication each student must have truly stood out.
Sunday, June 9. We left Annapolis and passed these two osprey. It never gets old seeing these nests on the channel markers.
We went to Rock Hall after a very squirrelly cruise from Annapolis. This photo shows a snorkel mask Darth had to use to free the fender roap that wedged under the boat. We didn’t know what it was caught on and thankfully it was not caught on the prop or the thruster. I wish I had taken a photo while Darth had it on. : )
I took the marina’s coutesy bike to a nearby grocery store.
Monday, June 10. We left Rock Hall early for Delaware City and spotted this eagle on the way.
Arrived in Delaware City just in time for a walk to ice cream.
Nice chairs at the marina side by side. Just saying.
We docked with several boats. Tim the owner, gives a daily presentation to boaters with recommendations of how to read weather for navigating the cruise from Delaware City to Cape May through Delaware Bay. It can be tricky. Lucky for us Tim was all smiles and said you all need to go!
Tuesday, June 11. Obviously water was easy. This ship was intimidating to see though—is it turning? Are we far enough away?
All tied up secure at the Utsch’s Marina at Cape May.
Utsch’s showers. These doors cracked me up.
Wednesday, June 12. We are heading to Atlantic City on the OUTSIDE. This is the kind of water I signed up for.
It was so calm in the Atlantic Ocean we were able to cruise from the command bridge.
This is Atlantic City. We anchored at Rum Point Basin—without any rum.
Thursday, June 13. We decided to go on the inside as weather didn’t give the same calm day conditions. Our destination was Captain’s Inn at Forked River.
Captain’s Inn ended up being a fun stop for us. We chatted with a lovely family—Bill who was 86, his wife Rosie-83, and their daughter and husband who brought them by boat Kathleen and Jeff. The story of a duck and a kitten that Bill had was priceless!
Friday, June 14. We left Forked River for Manasquan to position ourselves for our next jump that must be taken on the OUTSIDE to NYC. We enjoyed a walk to the Jenkinson’s Boardwalk a short distance from our dock with no frills at Captain Bill’s Fuel stop.
This is not our boat… but it is cute.
Storm alert. Thunder - lightening -wind gusts. It came and went.
About an hour later.
Saturday, June 15. We left Manasquan at 8:00 after checking with a boat already on their way on the outside. We made a quick decision to go for it. It wasn’t like the first time in the Atlantic. It was ‘sporty’. The worst part was after Sandy Hook and in the Lower Bay in New Jersey. Being beamed by yucky waves is not fun. We decided to stay at the Moonbeam Great Kills Marina. We arrived at 11:00 am and rode the bikes to a nearby grocery store. The fellow boaters are wonderful—full of advice and friendly.
Sunday, June 16. We are still here—originally we were going to anchor behind the Statue of Libery but the wind picked up. We are feeling very confident we will leave early tomorrow morning for Liberty Landing Marina in New York City!!!