9/29/12: Tom just loves getting underway at the crack of dawn! HaHa! We had a rolly rainy day but we were rewarded at the end of the Chesapeake Bay with three different dolphin shows. They scared the bejeese out of me twice coming so close to the boat I could have touched them. We both can't get enough of their visits ! Such a treat each & every time:-) We are now offically out of the Chesepeake Bay. We anchored in Hampton Roads near Norfolk,VA for the night. We will take the scenic route at the beginning of the Intercoastal Way and go thru the Dismal Swamp. Hope to be in North Carolina tomorrow if weather holds & we make our bridge openings.

9/28/2: As we left the mouth of the Wicomico River we spotted dolphins following us, what a thrill & nice way to wake up with a beautiful sunrise as well. We motor sailed and anchored in Deltaville for the night. We stopped early due to forecast for thunderstorms. We were able to get a nice hidey hole & get our chores & dinner done before the heavens opened up.

9/27/12: Tom was true to his word & we did get an early start...6:30am...ugh:-) We needed to motor/sail mostly motor today. It was a hot humid day but enough breeze underway that made it comfortable. We left all the fun in Maryland and crossed the border into Virginia after passing Smith Point Lighthouse. We anchored in Mill Creek off the Wicomico River. Some cool plantation buildings and very pretty scenery. Rated very high in the Skipper Bob book we have. Both books we have on anchorages & marinas have been very accurate & helpful. Quiet & cool this evening....time to plan our next adventure tomorrow!

9/26/12: We picked up a mooring this morning to make it easier to get ready for our next leg. We were able to car pool with another couple from Florida taking the courtesy car to Food Lion & to get propane. First time we refilled since Coecles Harbor. We are all topped off with fuel & water. Clothes clean just waiting for the small craft warning to lift, which looks like later tonight. Tom plans on an early morning. I was able to upload some pictures to the blog using marina internet & power. I will keep uploading pics when I can from this old computer. I did get a flash drive & moved pics so I don't lose them :-)

9/25/12: Took the bus to Best Buy & to get some groceries. Low key day with alot of walking! We'll grab a mooring tomorrow & get ready for our next leg of our trip.

9/24/12: Decided to move and anchor in front of the Calvert Marine Museum with a short dinghy ride to Zahniser's Yachting Center. We were able to get everything we needed from there. We took a bus ride to Target which Tom found the bus ride to be very entertaining. Small craft warnings thru Wednesday night so we'll hang out for a couple of days and get some things done.

9/23/12: Arrived Solomon Islands mid afternoon, so we decided to head up one of the many creeks . What beautiful scenery. Many pretty waterfront homes with almost everyone having a sailboat or power boat with their personal dock. Life is good here. We anchored in Mill Creek & had an awesome nights sleep. We were treated to a pretty sunset and many fish jumping out of the water.

9/22/12: We will spend another night here in Herrington Harbor and wait out a cold front & storms predicted for this afternoon. We watched doggie pool swim races. They have closed the pool here to humans for the season. Too bad since it's a hot 85 today. Thank goodness the nights have been cool. We head south to the Solomon Islands tomorrow. Getting a little chilly need to keep heading south:-) We also changed the jib from the 130 genoa to the light weight mylar/kevlar genoa. To washed the decks & wash river munge off the dinghy. We also removed the happy spiders that wanted to call Tomkat home!

9/21/12: Great sail over to Herrington Harbor arriving around noon. We were happy to see the first palm trees on our trip south. We are on a dock & we are able to give the boat a good cleaning. We were originally going to spend the month of August here, but opted to spend more time in Newport & Block Island. I'm glad we were able to visit. It's a very nice resort . Laundry then we'll have an ice cream supper! They like to party hardy here but at midnight it was soooo quiet. Great night!

9/20/12: Explored the quaint shops of St. Michael's & went to the Maritime musuem which reminded us alot of Mystic Seaport with a focus on the Chesapeake Bay & it's estuaries. Very interesting how the tides mix fresh & salt water. We have noticed less barnacles here. Stayed one more night on the hook, leaving early am for Herrington Harbor.

9/19/12: Left Annapolis and had to motor sail most of the trip to St. Michael's. We were pleasantly surprised to anchor in front of the Maritime museum.

9/18/12: Rainy & windy on a nice protected mooring. There is even a tornado watch here which is crazy! We are reading, blogging cooking and cleaning. Looking forward to heading out tomorrow. We're amazed we have been on our adventure for over 3 months now. It is definitely a different way of life. The further south we get we are meeting more & more couples doing the same thing. Several headed to the Keys, Bahamas or further south.

9/17/12: Went back to West Marine & Trader Joes! Stocking up for the next leg of our trip. Plan to head south again after the front goes thru tomorrow. We enjoyed another nice evening with Kellee & Chris. We had stuffed flounder dinner & chocolate ganache with whipped cream. We all loved that Trader Joes is so close. We all needed to fortify ourselves in prep for the big blow tomorrow...gale force winds predicted. We'll all ride out the storm on our boats & head out Wednesday.

9/16/12: We decided to hang out a few more days siince a nasty front is expected to hit here on Tues. Did laundry & cleaning . Had Kellee & Chris over to the boat for Chicken Parm. & enjoyed the nice evening watching boats come thru the bridge.

9/15/12: Took bus trip to West Marine & Trader Joes's and were pleasantly surprised to find a Cheesecake Factory nearby. Awesome lunch! We went back to boat for our afternoon siesta & met up with Kellee & Chris who sailed into Wèems Creek earlier. Love that we have been able to meet up with them along the way.

9/14/12 : Toured the US Naval Academy & watched the freshman noon meal formation. Checked out the museum & exhibits & movie at the visitor's center. We wanted to check out John Paul Jones' crypt at the Chapel, but it was closed due to a wedding rehearsal. We walked all over the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful day. Enjoyed stting on the dock of the bay people watching with our Kilwin's ice cream!

9/13/12: We ran errands this morning walking by many historic houses. The city is steeped in so much history. We took a self guided tour of the Maryland State House. It is the oldest continously operating State house in the country & was the nation's capitol for a year. We took a trolley tour of the area which was well worth it. Headed to the Naval Academy for the day tomorrow.

9/12/12: Another early morning! Headed for Annapolis. This is one of our bigger milestones and feels good to be here. We grabbed a mooring in front of the Naval Academy until the bridge opened and we were able to get into Spa Creek. What a beautiful city. We walked to get familar with the area & did a little shopping. The Pride of Baltimore ship is in port for a couple of days & we plan to tour it. We had a nice dinner out then headed back to the boat for sunset. We were treated to music from the Naval Academy at sunset.

9/11/12: Tom decided to get an early start for our next stop Rock Hall,MD. 6am was too early for the first mate but she dragged herself out of the rack to watch for crab pots til we got into the channel then it was back in the rack! We were very happy with Rock Hall. We walked into town to the marine & grocery stores. We also stopped at an old fashion authentic drug store soda shoppe. We were able to tie up to a bulkhead dock for free & it was a great night.

9/10/12: We liked Worton's Creek so much we stayed another night. Really enjoying the warm days & cool nights :-) We watched several crab fisherman come in.

9/9/12: We left Georgetown,MD mid morning and got to Still Pond early afternoon. We were very optomistic we were going to get into the pretty creek area ....then boom we hit the mud. Tom yells you need to jump on the bow. It was enough to get us out. The things this first mate has to do! lol! It ws fun anyway. We then went to plan B and headed to Worton's Creek. Very pretty & quiet anchorage.

9/8/12: Tom took a bike ride to Galena for groceries and Kathy cleaned & organized in prep. for getting underway and heading to Still Pond tomorrow. We had strong thunderstorms come through. We ordered pizza & hung out watching the weather channel in the lounge. Kathy also knitted, blogged & read. Tom got a first rate haircut! We met a couple that came in the lounge getting stuck due to the weather. Tom & I are still laughing over him telling us " I tell you what when the clouds got really dark everybody came a hellin' in" lol!

9/7/12: Kellee & Chris wave goodbye as they head to Baltimore. Kathy hung out at lounge in the Granary area of the marina, where it was air conditioned. Did laundry & a good lay low day. I even got to watch one of my favorite shows "The Chew":-) They say this is the last day of the heat wave...they better not be lying! We went to Kitty Knight again for a sunset light dinner lol! Cooler night finally. Everyone here is talking about the "big blow" coming in tomorrow.

9/6/12: Kathy down for the count with a sudden onset GI bug! ugh!ugh! Kellee & Chris had a study day & tried the Kitty Knight House & loved it too.

9/5/12: Finished the Count of Monte Cristo! What a great book, now Tom will read it shortly. Shared dinner with Kellee & Chris. Another hot & humid day/night.

9/4//12: Enjoyed the pool with Kellee & Chris. They spent some time studying for their upcoming merchant marine exams they are going to take in Baltimore next week. We had yummy homemade pizza on Navigagator and Kellee also made a batch of awesome magic cookie bars. Threw out a few tortilla chips to 2 ducks that quickly multiplied into 14 in a matter of minutes.

9/3/12: Laundry & cleaning day. Bought a new battery for the boat...need all the juice we can get with the fans we need. Reading alot by the pool on page 1038 of the Count of Monte Cristo! Went to Kitty Knight house again, we love the food here & beautiful sunsets. Kellee & Chris came in as we came back from dinner. They were so tired from their trip we got a wave & they hit the rack. It's another hot & humid night:-(

9/2/12: Went to the pool then rode complimentary bikes to Galena for groceries and to a local firehouse fundraising all you could eat breakfast. Very yummy! We picked up a few things at the market & headed back. Glad we made a good morning of it since it rained all afternoon. After it cleared up we had an ice cream sundae supper, my favorite. We met a couple here for repairs (John & Joanne. Very nice and shared alot of knowledge related to the intercoastal waterway. We ordered a part (bilge pump) for the boat so we'll hang out at least til Wed. and let the remnants of Issac blow through.

9/1/12: Labor Day weekend in Maryland! Hot & humid and it's been a great pool day and Kitty Knight again!

8/31/12: On a very reasonable mooring, inexpensive compared to up north.

8/30/12: Departed early for the Sassafrass River. Very pretty River with cliffs with birds and older homes & farms. Prior to entering the Sassafrass we went by the Aberdeen Proving Ground. We could hear & see smoke from the stuff the Army was blowing up. We decided due to the hot/humid forecast we would head for a marina with a pool. We hit the jackpot with Georgetown Yacht Basin. Tom was happy the Kitty Knight House was half price dinners for seniors! Great dinner:-)

8/29/12: Headed down the rest of the C & D canal and headed to Havre De Grace. Anchored in front of the Old Comfort Point Lighthouse. We walked the boardwalk and a long way to get groceries. We rewarded ourselves with homemade ice cream from a nice shop. It was difficult to get ashore and anything was a hike. Disappointing:-(

8/28/12: Stayed another night, Tom is enjoying all the goings on at the homemade houseboat near us. We met a couple that came in & anchored from Michigan (Jeff & Mary) they shared all their adventures coming thru the Great Lake locks.

8/27/12: We went throug the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware Canal with a favorable current. We stopped in a quaint area off the canal called Chesapeake City. Good anchorage for R & R and cleaning.

8/26/12: Departed Cape May around 12pm and headed to the Delaware Bay via the Cape May Canal. We headed to the Cohansey River due to severe thunder storm threat over the Chesapeake Delaware canal we were headed for. We have renamed the river Tom Tom's locker due to our adventures there. First the waves were picking up and we came into an area on our approach to the river that was saturated with crab pots. We hit one that had a smaller crusted black one that stopped us dead in the water. Tom jumped in the water and thankfully was able to cut it away in the rough current. What a fright he gave me! Then if that wasn't bad enough after we anchored in the Cohansey the anchor rope wrapped around the keel. It thankfully righted itself before Tom had to go swimming again. The Cohansey River though even with all the bad luck was an incredibly beautiful scenic place. The scenery included grassy marshes, ospreys and eagles.