Annapolis with Carolyn and Jon

Arriving Tuesday evening of this past week, my sister and brother-in-law Carolyn and Jon Silvester joined us as we toured the Naval Academy, then to Washington, D.C. to visit the Holocaust Museum and our Nation's Capitol. In between these events, we found time to dine in some great restaurants as noted above. Jon and Carolyn stayed at a bed and breakfast just a few block from the boat and furnished a big car for us to get around in, including several trips for our provisioning for the next few days. We also had the chance to take them on a cruise of Chesapeake Bay and up the Severn River. The week was complete with our Sunday morning attendance at the Naval Academy Chapel, with Stan Tukarski and Jon's college buddy, Gary Cook joining us for the day.

Annapolis, Maryland

We arrived Sunday afternoon in Annapolis and had the great honor and privilege of being hosted by Stan and Jane Tukarski in their home. Stan is Lisa Groves' brother and has worked high ranking government positions both here and abroad.

Jane prepared a feast which included the main course of those famous Maryland crabcakes, clearly the best we've had. We were joined at dinner and for the evening by two of their daughters, Lara and Lydia. It was so enjoyable to be in a real home for the first time in over two months. The following evening, we invited Stan and Jane to join us for a short cruise around the Annapolis area, including a great view of the Naval Academy from the Severn River.

Tomorrow, we have two mystery guests arriving all the way from California. Here's a hint: He was a history major and flew over Iowa in one of his first jobs to take and sell pictures of farms to their owners. She graduated from Baylor University. If you know the answer, leave a comment.

Up the Chesapeake toward Annapolis

As we cast off to head out into the Chesapeake Bay, we were soon greeted with dense fog. This happens when the hot sun meets the cold water in the bay. I was ready to turn around and wait for it to lift. But the admiral said let's keep going -- so we did. Not being able to see in front or back, I sounded my horn every few minutes to warn other approaching craft, hoping they had their radar on and working since mine is at the lower helm and I preferred to stay on top to look and listen. This is when the GPS becomes worth it's weight in gold. As you can see on the top view, I set the course for a waypoint and activated the autopilot to go to that point. We did. Slowly the fog began to lift and we arrived in Solomons, MD for a stopover about half way to Annapolis.

Tangier Island

About one-third of the way up Chesapeake Bay is a little fishing village named Tangier Island. It is very unique in that it was settled 400 years ago last week. (what's the word for a celebration of the 400th year?) In any event, we found the little village of 300 people very interesting. That guy sitting next to Marlene owns the Marina we pulled into. He was so hospitable that he took us on a personally guided tour of the town. There is much that has been written about the inhabitants of this island. The three last names of the island which makes up about 75% of the 300 are Parks, Pruitt, and Crocker. And yes, some of them marry their cousins.

Also, I took a picture of the Sandra Gail fishing boat. It is the second boat I have seen named Sandra Gail. The first one was named that by my dad when his first grandchild was born. Her name is Sandra Gail Richardson now, living in beautiful Wenatchee, Washington.

One huge ship

This is looking at our boat from the opposite direction. The Navy ship in the background had just come out of drydock. It is a supply ship, so high in the water because it is completely empty of the normal contents.

Joy@Sea docked in Downtown Portsmouth, Va.

As it turned out, we stayed 5 days in the Portmouth/Norfolk area, three of the days here in the center of the historic district (seems every town on the East Coast has a historic district) We've been able to dodge most of the stormy weather they've been having here.

Another Must See - Williamsburg

No tour of the Eastern US would be complete without a visit to Colonial Williamsburg. We docked at Portsmouth, Va. and rented a car to travel the 45 miles to this living history museum. It is the seedbed of American History. The entire town is a stage where you will hear and see people in their attire of the 1700s conversing with each other on the issues of the day. Reenactments also take place on the piviotal decisions of early American leaders to begin the separation from England and, of course, the revolutionary war. I would estimate the investment in restoring and maintaining this magnificent place to be in the hundreds of millions.

The Portsmouth/Norfolk area is the home of the U. S. Navy. The big ships are, of course, everywhere. So far we've managed to stay out of their way.

Our boating journey continues in a couple of days as we travel up the Chesapeake Bay. Plans are to anchor out on the western shores of the bay before we arrive in Annapolis, home of the U. S. Naval Academy.

We found a small A/G church in Norfolk area yesterday. I have another interview scheduled for tomorrow.