Author: Mike & Jonell Murphree

Jun 19 – Tue
We left the wonderful city of Annapolis at about 7:30am, an hour early due to the threat of mid-day rain. Upon leaving, we crossed under the famed “Annapolis Bay Bridge”.

We are gettin’ north pretty quick now, we just arrived at Baltimore Maryland, at a marina called The Marine Center at the Inner Harbor.
Our initial reactions after only 1 afternoon/night has been wow, nice city (as Jim Price would say “nice area”).

Like Detroit, Baltimore has received a lot of negative press.
But their downtown, sports complex area, inner harbor, and an area called Fells Point – are all wonderful areas of the city.

We started our afternoon with a walk around the Inner Harbor Marina Area.
It is a beautiful area with wonderful views across the harbor from the marina, especially at night.
One can see ; High Rise Hotels, Restaurants (Hard Rock), the Baltimore Aquarium, Historic Ships, a tented bandshell area with concerts at night, and Camden Yards ballpark is only 2 blocks away.

Even though there is a lot of stuff close to the marina, we unloaded the bikes because we would be in Baltimore for 3 days & also wanted to see an area further away called “Fells Point”.

The weather was threatening for rain, so we started our tour of the city indoors at a place called The Visionary Art Museum.
The museum specializes in the display of outsider art (aka “intuitive art,” “raw art,” or “art brut”), and has a lot of very large art, art made of many media & moving/mechanical art.
The city agreed to give the museum a piece of land on the south shore of the Inner Harbor under the condition that its organizers would clean up residual pollution from a copper paint factory and a whiskey warehouse that formerly occupied the site. It has been designated by Congress as America’s National Museum for Self-Taught Art.
It contains 67,000 ft2 of exhibition space and a permanent collection of approximately 4,000 pieces, with a lot of large pieces, as well as over 40 pieces from the Mechanical Theatre of London.

The museum was Cool, Strange, Weird, Interesting, Eclectic, etc.
Some of the most interesting stuff we saw was ;
> A tin-can man riding a bike, made of coffee cans.

> A man made of marshmallows & peep marshmallows.

> A woman made of sea shells, beads, pearls, and exhaust vent tubing.

> A man made of colored wiring.

> A fallen Angel spinning from the ceiling.

> An 1800 lb Ball of Bra’s (Dennis Taylor, do you have your boat deposit tray ready ? ).

> There were also several pieces of large human driveable art, being prepared for an upcoming Race in May of 2019 (Wilson’s & Palmer’s –  time to break out your elephant & limber up them legs ?).

> The museum also had a cool movie/video called – “The Art of Flying” , by Jan Van Ijken. The Art of Flying is about the mysterious and mesmerizing flights of the Common Starling, and shows the constantly evolving patterns of the dense swarm of thousands of birds make while in flight in the Netherlands. The sound of so many birds is also overwhelming to the senses.
“The Art of Flying” , by Jan Van Ijken = https://youtu.be/GZ-bXw0pM_4

Maybe the coolest thing for me, was the exhibit on loan from the Mechanical Theatre of London. It featured many little pieces of art which all had electro-mechanically controlled motion = https://youtu.be/CHgyfKBY8qY

After the Art Museum, the weather was still dicey, so we went to the Aquarium, but the $45 price tag was a little steep for the few hours we had to visit.
It started to rain, so we ducked into Dick’s Last Resort, as our last resort to stay dry.

We had a drink and the rain let up after about 20 minutes.
After Dick’s, we headed out to an area we discovered on Google, called Fells Point.
Fell’s Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood established around 1763 and is located along the north shore of the Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. The area features many shops, antique stores, restaurants, coffee bars, music stores, a municipal market house with individual stalls, and over 120 pubs – the greatest concentration of drinking establishments and restaurants in the city.

> I looked up the directions to Fells point on google
> It looked like a more direct route to follow one main drag directly to Fells Point North, then work our way down to Fells Point South.
> Mistake – Fells point North took us thru The Projects !
> We started heading further south, back toward the waterfront, and got better directions from some locals.
> Once we arrived at Fells Point South, is was as advertised, really cool.

We had dinner at Fells Point, at a great waterfront place called Barcocina.
We shared some EXCELLENT Steak Tacos & Shrimp Quesadilla.

On the bike ride home, we listened to the music on the river front, watched some large volleyball tournament, & took some photos at the 7 Foot Knoll Lighthouse.

The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse was built in 1855 and is the oldest screw pile lighthouse in Maryland. A beacon of the Chesapeake Bay, it used to be located at the mouth of the Patapsco River, atop the Seven Foot Knoll in the Chesapeake Bay until it was replaced by a modern navigational aid and relocated to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor as a museum exhibit.

It was a very long afternoon & evening.
We were bike ride bushed.
That’s all for today.

Jun 20 – Wed
Wednesday was a great fun day, dedicated to Sports !

We started the day with a tour at Camden Yards Baseball Park.

Let’s start with some Camden Yards History, from our tour guide Bob.
> Camden Yards Ball Park is built on the former land & warehouse of the B&O Railroad.
> B&O stands for Baltimore & Ohio, Baltimore was the endpoint hub.
> Trains would arrive with a lot of freight that would be stored in the warehouse at Camden Yards.
> The Camden Yards Warehouse became the centerpiece of the Park, much like J.L Hudson Warehouse became the centerpiece for Ford Field.
> The Camden Yards Warehouse is 1100 feet long, and currently houses shops, offices, and management for The Orioles Ball Club.
> The ball park is connected to the warehouse via a very large, very long walkway.

Now let’s start with some history of The Baltimore Orioles.
When I was a 10 year old boy, I began following baseball as the Tigers won the World Series in 1968. I remember many great battles between Baltimore & Detroit from the early 70’s.
Some facts between what I remember & history from tour guide Bob.
> Baltimore has won the World Series 3 times (1966, 1970, 1983)
> Baltimore is 1 of only 2 teams to have four 20 game winners in the same season (1971).
> Baltimore has retired the numbers of 6 people
* Earl Weaver (4) – Managed the Orioles his entire career for 17 years.
* Frank Robinson (20) – MVP in both American & National Leagues & 2 Triple Crowns.
* Jim Palmer (22) – Won 3 Cy Young Awards & won 20 games in 8 straight seasons.
* Brooks Robinson (5) – 16 consecutive gold gloves,
* Eddie Murray (33) – 1 of 5 players to have both 3,000 career hits and 500 home runs.
* Cal Ripken (8) – 19 time All Star, 2 MVPs, & the Ironman 2632 consecutive games.
All of the retired players are honored at multiple places at the Park.

Bob took us all over the park.
We had a very intimate 4 person tour.

Some of the most cool places on the tour were the following ;
> The Control Room for all the stuff that goes on during the game & scoreboard.

> The Press Boxes

> The Cal Ripken Hub – showing the record 2131 consecutive games.

> Bob pointed out the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where Babe Ruth was raised as a young boy (gray church like building with peaks – more coming later).

>The Orioles Trophy Case

> One of the most interesting bits of trivia Bob gave us was – that there has been 98 balls hit out of the park onto the walkway between the park & the Camden Yards Warehouse. Each historic home run is marked with a plaque of who hit the homer, the date, and the distance. Look at all the round dots on the pavement below. The warehouse itself has only been hit once by Darryl Strawberry during an All-Star Game Home Run Contest.

The tour of Oriole Park at Camden Yards was over, but the Baseball History was not.
Next stop was the Birthplace of Babe Ruth !

 

Rain was threatening, and we were on bikes, so we hustled thru the museum in about only 30 minutes.

Some of the coolest stuff we saw was ;
> The Bed that Babe Ruth was born in.
Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth Jr. on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth was raised in a poor waterfront neighborhood in Baltimore, where his parents, Kate Schamberger-Ruth and George Herman Ruth Sr, owned a tavern and lived above the bar. The bed below that Babe Ruth was born in, is actually at the home of Kate’s father, because the room above the bar was viewed as not clean enough to have a baby. Ruth was one of eight children born to the couple, and one of only two that survived infancy.

The story on the Babe’s childhood goes – At the age of 7, the trouble-making Ruth became too much of a handful for his busy parents. Routinely caught wandering the dockyards, drinking, chewing tobacco and taunting local police officers, his parents finally decided he needed more discipline than they could give him. Ruth’s family sent him to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, a Catholic orphanage and reformatory that became Ruth’s home for the next 12 years. Ruth particularly looked up to a monk named Brother Matthias, who became a father figure to the young boy.
Remember the photo from Camden Yards – shown again below with the gray steeples.
As The Babe grew up and excelled at baseball, The Orioles Manager & Owner Jack Dunn had heard about The Babe. In 1913 Jack Dunn signed Babe Ruth, at the age of 19, to a $600 contract.
Initially , the monk Brother Matthias who had responsibility of Babe Ruth until age 21 had resisted allowing the contract to happen.
Jack Dunn then adopted George Herman Ruth.
As his career began, the players on Jack Dunn’s team teased George Herman Ruth, calling him Jack’s Baby, which went on to become his famous nickname.

But as time went on and Babe Ruth was becoming a well known minor league pitcher, Jack Dunn’s team was loosing money and he was forced to sell his top players including The Babe. On July 9th, 1913 Jack Dunn sold Babe Ruth, Ben Egan, and Ernie Shore to the Boston Red Sox for $25,000

Maybe the coolest thing we saw at the museum was a baseball bat given to Babe Ruth by Shoeless Joe Jackson (bottom bat of the two below).

George Herman (Babe Ruth) – with Family !

 

A lot of Sports today, eh ?
But wait, there’s more !
We spent early Wednesday night at the Baltimore Raven’s Practice Facility !
I’m not sure if you remember the Charleston blog of May 11th, but we had met with my financial advisor Randy Eschels & family.
We met his daughter Erin Eschels on May 11th.
We learned that Erin works for The Baltimore Ravens in the Video Production Department.
Erin offered a tour, & we graciously accepted.
Erin advised that – Photos were only allowed in certain areas.
There are no photos of anything directly involving the players, locker room, or even the practice field.
The practice facility appeared to be a joint venture between The Ravens & Under Armour.
It was beautiful, all adorned in Raven Purple.

Erin took us to many places.

> We went to The Meeting Theatre.

> We went to an Audio/Visual Control Room.

> We went to an area where the Audio/Visual Team does interviews.

> We went to the beautiful Cafeteria.

> We went to many other areas, but photos were not allowed. It was a great experience that not many folks get to do.
We are grateful to Erin & The Ravens Security Staff who allowed us access.
Erin also gave us a ride back to the marina.

On the ride back, we learned that Erin lived just south of the marina, so she was very familiar with the area.
Erin recommended a Tiki Bar on the water, and said that one of her favorite restaurants, Little Havana, was very close to the marina.

We walked to The Tiki Bar – it looked like a very cool place, but rain clouds were gettin’ dark again, radar showed a big storm coming, so we passed on the outdoor Tiki Bar for now.

About 5 minutes away from the Tiki Bar, we arrived to the dry safety at Little Havana.
The ambiance was cool, and the food was good.

Jun 21 – Thu
After the very fun Sports Day on Wednesday, Thursday was Patriotic History Day.

We started the day at The Baltimore World Trade Center.
We did not know it, but there is a World Trade Center at every Port City in the World.
there are over 90 centers in the USA and over 200 in the world.
The Baltimore World Trade Center had several sites honoring The New York World Trade Centers.

The views at the top were as expected, incredible, similar to our experience at the Sears tower (Willis Tower) in Chicago. We can’t wait to get to New York.

> You could also see some of the historic museum boats for walk thru tours

Next Stop on the history tour was The Star Spangled Banner Flag House.
You may ask – what is this house ?
Well, let me tell you !
The Star Spangled Banner House, is the house where the flag was sewn which prompted Francis Scott Key to write our current National Anthem (originally a poem entitled ” The Defence of Fort McHenry”).

Timeline – Sequence of Events to the creation of The Star Spangled Banner.
> The flag was made in 6 weeks during July-August 1813, by flagmaker Mary Pickersgill.
> This is the building where the flag was sewn.

> Two flags were commissioned by Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, when the British were attempting to reclaim The American Colonies.
> There was a smaller “Storm Flag” for inclement weather & a larger Grand Garrison Flag to be raised on a 90 foot flag pole for special occasions.
> The size of the Fort McHenry Garrison Flag was 30 feet by 42 feet.
> The flag has fifteen stars and fifteen stripes.
> Each star is about two feet in diameter, each stripe about 24 inches wide.
> Todays modern military garrison flags measure a standard 20 x 38 feet.
> The first Flag Act of June 14, 1777, created the original United States flag of thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. The Star-Spangled Banner has fifteen stars and fifteen stripes as provided for in the second Flag Act approved by Congress on January 13, 1794. The additional stars and stripes represent Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792) joining the Union
> In August of 1814 The British attacked and captured Washington DC and burned most of the buildings related to the American Independence (including the White House).
> Baltimore & Fort McHenry, only 30 miles away from Washington, prepped for attack, & the flag was made for Fort McHenry in preparation of this battle.
> The British arrived at Baltimore in September 1814.
> At 6:30 AM on September 13, 1814, the British began a 25-hour bombardment of the Fort McHenry. Rockets whistled through the air and burst into flame wherever they struck. Mortars fired 10 and 13 inch bombshells that exploded overhead in showers of fiery shrapnel. Major Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry and its defending force of one thousand troops, ordered his men to return fire, but their guns couldn’t initially reach the enemy’s ships. When British ships advanced on the afternoon of the 13th, however, American gunners badly damaged them, forcing them to pull back out of range. All through the night, Armistead’s men continued to hold the fort, refusing to surrender. That night, the additional British attacks also failed, and by dawn they had given up hope of taking the city.
> As dawn arrived and the smoke cleared above Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, The Grand Garrison Flag was raised, signaling American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore; the sight inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem entitled – The Defence of Fort McHenry, which led to the “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Ok, now on to Francis Scott Key
> Before departing Washington after setting it on fire, the British soldiers had arrested a man named Dr. William Beanes. They imprisoned him on a British warship headed to Baltimore.
> Friends of Dr. Beanes asked Georgetown lawyer Francis Scott Key & US Government agent John S. Skinner, to help secure the release of the civilian prisoner. Francis Scott Key & Skinner were successful in his release; however, the British feared that Key and Skinner would divulge their plans for attacking Baltimore, and so they detained the two men aboard a truce ship for the duration of the battle. Thus Francis Scott Key became an eyewitness to the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a British Ship.
> When he saw the American flag soaring above the fort the morning of September 14, 1814, , Key knew that Fort McHenry had not surrendered. Moved by the sight, he began to compose a poem on the back of a letter he was carrying. On September 16, Key and his companions were taken back to Baltimore and released.
> The next day he showed the poem to his wife’s brother-in-law, Judge Joseph Nicholson, who had commanded a volunteer company at Fort McHenry. Nicholson responded enthusiastically and urged Key to have the poem printed. First titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” the published poem included instructions that it be sung to the 18th-century British melody “Anacreon in Heaven” — a tune Key had in mind when he penned his poem. Copies of the song were distributed to every man at the fort and around Baltimore. The first documented public performance of the words and music together took place at the Holliday Street Theatre in Baltimore on October 19, 1814. A music store subsequently published the words and music under the title “The Star-Spangled Banner.

More about The Fort McHenry Flag
> Since the famed battle , the flag was preserved by the Armistead family for years as a memento of the battle.
> First loaned to the Smithsonian Institution in 1907; converted to permanent gift in 1912.
> It is currently on exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington DC since 1964 (oops, we did not go to the museum while in DC, turn the boat around).
> A major, multi-year conservation effort to save the delicate flag was launched in 1998.
> Plans for new permanent exhibition gallery are now underway at the Smithsonian.

That’s all for the Flag, Francis Scott Key, and The Star Spangled Banner.

Next stop was the B&O Railroad Museum.

The B&O Railroad Quick History (I promise quicker than the Star Spangled Banner)
> America’s 1st railroad, opened in 1830.
> Prompted by the desire to connect the thriving city of Baltimore to the newly opened Erie Canal system (1820) & the commerce of the Great Lakes.
> Chartered in 1827 by a group of Baltimore businessmen, construction began in 1828, and opened in May, 1830.
> The museum is located in the old B&O Mount Clare Station built in 1829, the oldest railroad complex in the United States.

The museum has a very large circular building called The Roundhouse.
The Roundhouse has about 22 railroad tracks entering into a circular pivot table, and was used as a repair station for lighter passenger car train cabins. The Roundhouse is now used to tell a chronological story about the evolution of the railroad, steam engines, cabin cars, & contribution of the railroad to the civil war & technology.

 

> B&O tour guide Bob led us through a little historical timeline as we walked thru the evolution of the Railroad System & the Steam Powered Locomotive.
> Horses were the first source of power, but the successful trial run of Peter Cooper’s Tom Thumb Locomotive in Aug, 1830, brought the change from horses to the steam locomotives.

> The next evolution was a more efficient horizontal steam tank & power linkage

> Bob explained how the railroad system also contributed to civil engineering feats like the 1st major railroad viaduct, The Carrollton Viaduct on the outskirts of Baltimore.

> The evolution of the train cars – in previous coal cars the coal had to be loaded & unloaded by shovel. Then came the Hopper car, which could unload via the drop door under the hopper.

> Bob spoke of the Civil War, and how the B&O Railroad belonged to the Union, and the Confederates thought that if they could disable the RR that they could win the war. The owner of the B&O Railroad was friends with President Lincoln, and asked Lincoln for protection. There was actually a division of the Union Army that was responsible for protecting the railroad.

> After the Civil War, Bob led us thru the design of the Steam Locomotive as it evolved thru WWI – Standardization of the RR Systems & Cars between all producers, communication improvements between conductor & brakemen, improved safety, improved ability to climb grades.

> For much of its history, the B&O had been collecting locomotives and other artifacts from its history for public relations purposes. This collection was stored in various places, until the railroad decided to centralize it in a permanent home. The Mt. Clare location was chosen, and the new museum opened on July 4, 1953.

> The museum ended up outliving the B&O Railroad, and was kept intact by both the Chessie System and CSX Corporations. In 1990, CSX deeded the property & collection of trains to the newly formed museum and provided it with a $5 million endowment. In 1999 the museum became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

> BTW – The B&O stands for Baltimore & Ohio, the end points of the initial railroad !

Well, that’s it from Baltimore.
It was really a very cool city, and much more interesting than I expected.

Next Stops ;
> Chesapeake City Maryland – 2 days
> Cape May New Jersey – 2 days
> Atlantic City New Jersey – 2 days
> Manasquan New Jersey – 1 day
> New York City – 4 days

 

Hey Blog Followers,
This post will be really really LONG !
If you are in a hurry read it later, or just look at the pictures.

Cliffs Notes – some of our favorite things below in Red.
Tuesday June 12 = 1st day in Annapolis
Wednesday June 13 = 1st Day in Washington DC – Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, The White House, WWII Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery.
Thursday June 14 = 2nd Day in Washington DC – Lunch at the Exclusive Capitol Hill Club, visiting Capitol Hill, Library of Congress, Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park.
Friday June 15 = Annapolis Naval Academy
Saturday June 16 = Just sittin’ at Ego Alley and watching Boats & People.

Jun 12 – Tue
Well, we just arrived in Annapolis today, and so far I must say – WOW !
We have only seen the city for about 4 hours and we already love it.
Annapolis looks like a mix of St. Augustine, Savannah, Charleston with many restaurants, bars, pubs, art galleries, theatres, music venues, churches, domed city buildings, brick lined streets, town circles, and lots of cool 1800 vintage houses.
All within walking distance from the marina.
AND – It is home to The Annapolis Naval Academy.

We arrived about 12:30pm.
We got tied up & checked in.
We had the ceremonial safe arrival beer toast.
We washed the outside of the boat & cleaned the inside.
We (when I say we, I mean I) took a nap.
We showered up.
We went into town.

History
Annapolis is the capital of Maryland (it became the 2nd capitol after St Mary’s in 1694) and has a current population of about only 40,000 (surprisingly small to me).
Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 25 miles south of Baltimore and about 30 miles east of Washington, D.C.

The history of Annapolis dates back to 1649, when an English community of Puritans, seeking religious freedom, nestled into a spot on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay and called their new town Providence.
This small settlement grew, eventually becoming named Anne Arundel’s Towne, after the wife of Lord Baltimore. By the late 1600’s, Anne Arundel’s towne housed most of the 25,000 residents in Maryland, and in 1694, Governor Sir Francis Nicholson chose it as the capital of Maryland because of its central location.
Nicholson renamed this new capital Annapolis in honor of Princess Anne, who became Queen of England 1702. He directed that the city be built following a grand baroque street plan, similar to the great capitals of Europe. The highest town circle revolved around the capitol building. The second-highest circle featured an Anglican church. Residential areas, merchant districts and schools sprouted up around these centers.
In the 1700’s, Annapolis led the political, cultural and economic activities of all the Colonies. Construction of what is now the Annapolis State House began in 1772. The state house has since hosted numerous monumental events, including General George Washington’s resignation from the Continental Army in 1783. Present-day visitors can step inside the Old Senate Chamber, where this event occurred.
Toward the end of the Revolutionary War, the city temporarily served as The Nations Capital to the newly forming American government when the Continental Congress met in Annapolis from November 26, 1783 to June 3, 1784. (Note – the Nations Capitol has actually been in 7 other cities besides Washington DC).
Congress also ratified the Treaty of Paris here on January 14, 1784, which ended the American Revolution.
Since the 1800’s & after the Civil War, steamboats began bringing visitors to Annapolis to lounge on the beaches and the waterfront location of the City Dock encouraging the growth of resorts, beachfront shops and yacht clubs, and establishing Annapolis as an elite summer destination.
At the turn of the 19th century, water trades such as oyster packing, boat building and sail-making became the city’s chief industries. Waterfront villages took root throughout the county, and the shipping ports bolstered their workforce.
Today, Annapolis is rapidly becoming a center for high-tech industrial development as well. The city’s location in the high-tech corridor between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. helps attract and retain technology companies and services. New companies concentrate primarily in the areas of fiber optics, telecommunications, computer-related technologies, Internet-based services, regional data centers, medical equipment and supplies distribution, and environmental concerns.
The main technical industries in the city are the production of radar electronic equipment and underwater military devices, as well as research and development, and communications. Annapolis is a port of entry and a farm produce shipping center for nearby agricultural areas.

Enough History for now !

We went into town on our first Annapolis walk about 6pm.
The city looks very European with traffic circles, somewhat narrow brick-lined streets, lots of street-side cafes, and the buildings/businesses all conjoined together.

The choices for dinner were endless.
We ended up tonight at a place called Stan & Joes.
We sat at the bar, and had a wonderful dinner as we picked the brains of the waitress Hanna & bartender Phil, for things to see while in Annapolis.

After dinner, we walked back to the boat thru the historic residential district.
The historic district had a hilly terrain, very narrow 1800 vintage houses, conjoined colorful houses, and brick-lined sidewalks.

At the end of the residential area, we re-entered the marina area. There are about 8 marinas right here in Spa Creek near what is known as the Ego Alley area, where folks come to show off their boats & look at other people’s boats.
There are another 10 marinas in nearby Back Creek, just south of Spa Creek Bay.
We saw a relay race of paddle boarders in process in one of the harbors.

When we returned to our Annapolis Yacht Basin Marina, we saw a very large boat with a HELICOPTER !

The bay we are in is beautiful, with views of many moored sailboats & also views of The Naval Academy, across Annapolis Bay.

It was a great 1st night in Annapolis, and we can’t wait to see the rest of the city this weekend.

For the next 2 days, we will drive to Washington DC and learn a lot about our Nations Capital. Both Jonell & I have never been to DC, we are really looking forward to it.

Jun 13 – Wed
Wednesday was one of the highly anticipated days that we have been looking forward to since we left on The Loop – It was the 1st visit ever, for both me & Jonell in Washington DC !

We rented a car to visit DC, rather than boating 3 days up/back on the Potomac River.

With the coaching of our Looper friends Lab Partners (Beth & Rip), our plan was not to drive in to DC, but to drive the rental car to a metro station just outside of DC (the New Carrollton Station) , and take the Metro into DC.

We are currently planning on 2 days in DC, with more than 18 places on our itinerary.
Today we were able to visit 7 historic, well-known places.
1. The Washington Monument
2. The National WWII War Memorial
3. The Lincoln Memorial
4. The National Mall Reflecting Pool
5. The Vietnam Memorial
6. The White House
7. Arlington National Cemetery
8. The US Marine War Memorial – Iwo Jima Memorial

1. The Washington Monument
> The Washington Monument was built to commemorate George Washington, the first President of the United States.
> Located due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial.
> The monument is made of marble, granite, and bluestone.
> It is the world’s tallest stone structure and tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7 inches.
> Construction of the monument began in 1848, was halted from 1854 to 1877 due to lack of funds and the intervention of the American Civil War, and officially opened October 9, 1888.
> A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet or 27% up, shows where construction was halted and later resumed with marble from a different source.
Unfortunately, the monument was closed for repairs to the elevator system, so we could only see the outside.

2. The National WWII War Memorial
> The National World War II Memorial was dedicated relatively recently, on May 29th, 2004.
> This was the first national memorial made to remember World War II, the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces at that time, and the more than 400,000 soldiers who died in the war.
> The memorial is located in the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
> It was proposed in 1987, when a World War II veteran Roger Durbin approached Representative Marcy Kaptur from Ohio, to ask if a World War II memorial could be constructed. Kaptur introduced the World War II Memorial Act to the House of Representatives as HR 3742 on December 10, 1987.
> It took two and a half years to build.
> It is the size of a football field, and contains arches, pillars, a wall of stars, fountains, a pool, and many inscriptions.
> The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, arranged in a semicircle &  two 43-foot arches on opposite sides.
> Each pillar is inscribed with the name of one of the U.S. states.
> The northern arch is inscribed with “Atlantic”, the southern arch with “Pacific.”
> As one approaches from the Pacific arch, the pictoral scenes begin with soon-to-be servicemen getting physical exams, taking the oath, being issued military gear, the combat scenes, burying the dead, & ending in a homecoming scene.
> On the Atlantic arch side, there is a similar progression, but with scenes generally more typical of the events in the European theatre. Some scenes take place in England, depicting the preparations for air and sea assaults.
> The last scene is of a handshake between the American and Russian armies when the western and eastern fronts met in Germany.
> The monument also includes a semi-circular Freedom Wall with about 4000 Gold Stars, with each star representing one hundred service personnel killed or missing in action, totally over 400,000 people, second to only the 600,000 Americans killed in the Civil War.

3. The Lincoln Memorial
> It took more than 50 years to get a memorial built for Lincoln –  He was assassinated in 1865, but the memorial did not open until 1922.
> It has 36 columns representing the states in the union at the time of Lincoln’s death.
> Daniel Chester French designed the statue of America’s 16th President — which was produced by a family of Tuscan marble carvers known as the Piccirilli Brothers.
> The statue is composed of 28 blocks of white marble.
> The north & south walls contain 2 of Lincoln’s most famous speeches; Lincoln’s  inaugural speech is inscribed on the North wall, and the Gettysburg address is on the South Wall.
> The Memorial Steps – There are 87 steps from the Reflecting Pool to Lincoln’s statue inside the Memorial. The number 87 is for ‘four scores’ and ‘7’ , from Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address.
> Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, was delivered on the steps of the memorial on August 28, 1963, and an inscription is present on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
> From 1959 to 2008 – the Lincoln Memorial was shown on the back of the US one cent penny & Lincoln’s portrait bust on the front.
Trivia – what is currently on the back side of the penny ?
* 1909-1958: The words ONE CENT between two wheat ears
* 1959-2008: The Lincoln Memorial
* 2009: Various images from Lincoln’s life
* 2010-: The Union Shield
> The memorial also appears on the back of the U.S. five dollar bill.

4. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
> The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of many reflecting pools in Washington, D.C.
> It is located in between the Lincoln Memorial & the Washington Monument.
> Part of the iconic image of Washington – It is lined by walking paths and shade trees on both sides.
> It dramatically reflects the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall’s trees, and/or the sky.
> My searches for what the reflecting pool symbolizes or why it was built really came up with nothing other than the visual effects linked to the Lincoln & Washington Monuments.

5. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
>  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built without government funds – Jan C. Scruggs, a wounded Vietnam War vet, starting with $2,800 of his own money to form the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in 1979. Many politicians expressed their support, and the U.S. Congress passed legislation reserving three acres in the northwest corner of the National Mall for a future monument. All donations, however, came from the private sector. Bob Hope and other celebrities lended a hand with fundraising, and by 1981 some 275,000 Americans, along with corporations, foundations, veterans groups, civic organizations and labor unions, had given $8.4 million to the project.
> A college student won the memorial’s design contest – The guidelines stipulated that the memorial should contain the names of every American who died in Vietnam or remained missing in action, make no political statement about the war, be in harmony with its surroundings and be contemplative in character. Over 1,400 submissions came in to be judged anonymously by a panel of eight artists and designers. In the end, the panel passed over every professional architect in favor of a 21-year-old Yale University student Maya Lin, who had created her design for a class.
> All of the names on the wall have been read out loud five times – As part of the wall’s 30th anniversary celebration in 2012, all 58,282 names were read out loud just prior to Veterans Day. Volunteers started reading the names on a Wednesday afternoon (except for breaks from midnight to 5 a.m. each day), they didn’t finish until the following Saturday night. Every name was similarly read out loud in 2007, 2002, 1992, and 1982.
> As of Memorial Day 2017, there are 58,318 names on the wall with a few more added each year.
> The walls are sunken into the ground, with the earth behind them, symbolically, this is described as a “wound that is closed and healing”
> One wall points toward the Washington Monument, the other in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial.
> The earliest date of eligibility for a name to be included on the memorial is November 1, 1955, which corresponds to President Eisenhower deploying the military assistance. The last date of eligibility is May 15, 1975.
> The names on the wall are listed in chronological order by date of death.
> At the entrance, there are books inside weather-proof enclosures which list the names alphabetically, and then tell you what section on the wall you should look for your loved one.
> There is debate on the 1st person recorded as being killed in action in Vietnam. Google shows Richard B. Fitzgibbon, but the docent guide gave us a long story advising us that is not an accurate statement. He told us the 1st two men were Dale Buis & Chester Ovnard.
> Jonell & I also spent some time looking for my only real rememberance to the Vietnam War. When I was about 15 years old, I wore a POW bracelet for about 3-4 years, with the name of a soldier from Warren Michigan named Michael J. O’Conner. The bracelet was given to me by my Uncle & Aunt – Wayne & Betty Murphree , who were president & secretary of the Warren Jaycees, and actively involved in the return of missing POWs.
After about 10 minutes of looking for his name in the book, we finally figured out that his name would not be on the wall, because he eventually made it home after being released from the POW camps.
> The visit to the wall was a somewhat chilling/somber event.

6. The White House
We visited the White House Visitors Center and read a bunch of interesting facts regarding the White House History.
> 1792 – George Washington selects the location of the White House.
> 1800 – John Adams becomes the 1st president to live in the White House.
> 1819 – British troops set fire to the WH, 1st Lady Dolly Madison rescues a portrait of George Washington, & it is ultimately returned to the renovated WH as the only object from the original 1800 residence.
> 1833 – The WH receives running water.
> 1861 – The Civil War begins, union troops occupy the WH to protect Lincoln, and the WH remains open to the public throughout the war.
> 1863 – Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation in the WH.
> 1865 – 600 mourners attend the funeral service for Lincoln in the East room of the WH.
> 1865 – President Johnson pardons all confederate troops.
> 1878 – 1st Easter egg Roll at the WH.
> 1894 – The WH receives electricity.
> 1902/1909 – President T. Roosevelt leads an extensive renovation of the WH, including a new temporary working area known today as The West Wing.
> 1909 – President Taft makes the West Wing permanent & adds the Oval Office.
> 1921 – Warren G. Harding reopens the WH after being closed during WWI.
> 1923 – Radio comes to the WH.
> 1948/1952 – President Truman initiates a complete renovation of the crumbling WH, gutting the interior, and leaving only the exterior walls intact. The interior is rebuilt to be historically accurate.
> 1956 – 1st televised press conference by President Eisenhower.

As expected, security was very high and the photos of The White House are limited to those taken at some distance away.

Interior tours are available, but you must apply 3 months ahead of time for security clearances.

7. Arlington National Cemetery
Maybe you are thinking, boy this is a long post (you should try writing it !)
We’ll try to keep this section about Arlington shorter.
We saw a lot of memorable things, but the most interesting for us were;
> The enormous number of tombstones (over 400,000) on the beautiful 624 acre site.
> The Kennedy Grave sites – John F. Kennedy & Jacqueline
> The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & changing of the guard
> Monuments to the Space Shuttle Heroes

The enormous number of tombstones (over 400,000) on the beautiful 624 acre site.

> The Kennedy Grave sites and eternal flame – John F. Kennedy & Jacqueline

> The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & changing of the guard
Video – Changing of the Guard = https://youtu.be/y2IOLFz1EYk

> Monuments to the Space Shuttle Heroes (Challenger-1986) & (Columbia-2003)

Ok, I know you really wanted some interesting facts about Arlington, here are a couple:
> One of the soldiers buried at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier was identified 14 years after he was buried – The World War I, World War II and Korean War soldiers buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are unknown, but the identity of the Vietnam soldier is known but not released.
> Arlington National Cemetery is on lands once owned by Robert E. Lee – after Virginia seceded from the union, the property was overrun by federal troops. When Mary Anna Lee couldn’t pay a $92.70 property tax in person, the federal government snatched it, selling it to a tax commissioner for government use.
> The cemetery didn’t gain a national reputation until after the burial of President John F. Kennedy – After his assassination in 1963, President Kennedy’s body was expected to be buried at the Kennedy family plot near Brookline, Mass. But after First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy stated her husband belonged to the people, a burial plot in Arlington Cemetery just below General Lee’s old mansion was prepared.

8. The US Marine Corps War Memorial ( Iwo-Jima Memorial)
Just outside of Arlington is the Iwo-Jima Memorial.

On February 19, 1945 about 70,000 marines invaded the small Pacific Island of Iwo Jima which was under control of the Japanese army. The island was a strategic objective due to its airfield which was used for kamikaze attacks. By capturing the island, the Allied Forces would not only prevent attacks from the island but it would also give them a base from where the Japanese mainland could be reached by the B-29.

One of the first objectives in the attack was capturing Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the island. On February 23, 1945 at around 10:30 am,  a small American flag was raised atop the mountain. Later that day, a much larger flag was raised by five Marines and a Navy corpsman. The flag raising was witnessed by news photographer Joe Rosenthal whose pulitzer prize winning picture of the flag raising would become a symbol of the war in the Pacific.

The very long, very tiring 1st day at DC was over, it was time to return to the marina in Annapolis.

When we got home from the very long day at Washington DC, we were entertained by a very chaotic sail boat race in the harbor next to our marina. Sailboats were coming into the finish line and there were several near misses of contact between boats & boats almost hitting the docks. The videos we caught don’t really show the full amount of the chaos, it was scary & funny to watch at the same time.
Sailboat Videos ;
> Video 1 = https://youtu.be/dTMrZKkX1Ag
> Video 2 = https://youtu.be/k4FTqWCQFks

Jun 14 – Thu
On Thursday we again drove the rental car to New Carrollton and took the Metro into DC.

Today was a special day thanks to Looper Pal Beth Tyler from Lab Partners.
Beth has a DC lawyer friend who was able to get us on the guest list at The Capitol Hill Club in Washington DC.

The Capitol Hill Club (also known as The National Republican Club of Capitol Hill) is a private social club for Republicans. It was established in 1951 by former New Jersey Congressman James C. Auchincloss & 100 other members. It is now “one of the most popular” exclusive gathering spots in Washington for lawmakers, government officials and other members of the political establishment.

Nellie & I arrived about 11:15am for the 11:30 Lunch Buffet.
We were seated and met waiter “Robert” who was very social.
I asked Robert who the most famous person was that he served ?
He said that there were many, but that current Vice President Mike Pence used to come most every day. Robert also said that he considers Speaker Paul Ryan as a friend.
We discussed our background a little and talked about The Loop.
Robert seemed enamored by the thought of The Loop, and discussed it with all his co-workers in the kitchen. He actually made us feel special.

The club was very swank and had paintings of many past Republican presidents all over the walls. The Grill was in the basement of the club, the Dining Room was on the 2nd floor. Nellie & I had dressed up a little and ate lunch in the 2nd floor Dining Room (Jackets Required).

While we were walking through the club, we saw a sign for The Annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, to be played later in the evening at Nationals Baseball Park. So that became our night-time plan.

After lunch, we walked over to The US Capitol Building.
We took some photos of Jonell on the Capitol Steps, then went on a 90 minute tour.

During the tour, docent Robert walked us into the Capitol Dome.
Robert showed us the beautiful mural at the top of the dome, and explained that the mural represents George Washington being welcomed into heaven. The mural is called The Apotheosis of Washington.
The center of the mural shows Washington with his knees draped in cloth, and he is surrounded by 15 women. 13 of the women represent the original 13 colonies, the other two represent Victory & Liberty.
On the outer perimeter of the mural are six scenes, each representing a national concept: “War,” “Science,” “Marine,” “Commerce,” “Mechanics,” and “Agriculture”

Just below the Washington mural, on the outer perimeter of the walls is another mural which shows the evolution of the country, starting with Columbus and the Indians & ending with the Wright Brothers.

After The Dome, we went into the National Statuary Hall (or Hall of Statues).
National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. Also known as the Old Hall of the House, it actually was the meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 50 years (1807–1857), where many debates occurred. After new chambers were built, the room was repurposed as a statuary hall. Each state is allowed 2 statues, but there are only 24 on display at any one time, the rest are in storage. All statues must be Bronze or Marble.
The statues from Michigan include ; Lewis Cass in the Hall of Statues & Gerald R. Ford in The Rotunda (we did not get photos of these statues).
BTW – Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of Michigan from 1813 until 1831. He is also the person of whom Cass Tech High School in Detroit is named after (where yours truly attended from 1973-1976).

After the Statuary Hall, as we were walking to the Library of Congress, we noticed the entrance to an interesting office.

After The Capitol Building, we had short stops to see The Library of Congress & The US Supreme Court. We were on a tight schedule to get to the baseball game, so we did not spend much time at either of these 2 places.

To end the day, we went to The Nationals Baseball Park, to watch the 57th Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. This was a very special game because it was the 1 year anniversary of the shooting of US Representative Steve Scalise, shot last year during a practice game. Steve Scalise played in spite of still currently using a cane, and as the gods would have it – STEVE SCALISE made the first defensive out of the game, cleanly picking up a grounder and throwing out the 1st batter of the game.
Seconds later, the Republicans on the field mobbed Scalise at second base, engulfing the majority whip in a group hug.
He was removed from the game to a standing ovation shortly after that play.
It was a chilling event !

BTW – Michigan was represented by Rep-Daniel Kildee (D), Rep Jack Bergman (R), Rep John Moolenaar  (R), Fred Upton (R), and Mike Bishop (R).
All the players wore uniforms of their home teams.

After the game on the way out, we said hi to an old friend !

It was a very fun 2nd day in Washington DC.
On the way home we got a quick shot of the Jefferson Memorial (no place nearby to park).

Jun 15 – Fri
By Friday we had seen enough of Washington DC and all the WALKING !
Washington DC was a great city, but after 2 long days of walking our legs off, now it was time to focus again on our current port of Annapolis Maryland.

One of the most significant places in Annapolis, is The Annapolis Naval Academy.
Established in October 1845 (note how old – it was established before the civil war in 1861) , under the Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States’ five service academies (The oldest is West Pointe, which we will also visit in upstate New York in July) . The academy educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The entire campus (known to insiders as “the Yard”) is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments.
Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for a 5 year active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,200 “plebes” (an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word plebeian or “commoner”) enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate. Graduates are usually commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country.
The Naval Academy is located right on the waterfront, where the Severn River meets Chesapeake Bay.

We started our visit by signing up for a guided tour.
While we were waiting for the tour to start, we strolled thru the museum.
There were many displays of famous Naval Academy Grads, and a lot of focus of graduates who went on to become astronauts. The Naval Academy has graduated 54 astronauts. There was a dedication to Alan Shepherd (the first American to travel into space, and in 1971 he walked on the Moon) & The Space Shuttles Challenger & Columbia (Michael Smith & William McCool)

There were many many famous grads from the Naval Academy, here is a list of some ;
Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Roger Staubach, Alan Shepherd, David Robinson.
The Academy has graduated ;  1 President of the United States, 3 Cabinet Members, 19 Ambassadors, 24 Members of Congress, 5 State Governors, 5 Secretaries of the Navy, 5 Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 9 Commandants of the Marine Corps, 2 Nobel Prize Winners, 73 Medal of Honor Recipients, 54 Astronauts, 49 Rhodes Scholars.
I admit that it is a slightly better school than Wayne State University !

The tour began about 11:30am, we were greeted by tour guide Mel, who gave us a little more history about the school and then took us on a 90 minute walking tour.
The tour prelude included facts like ;
> After the Academy, all graduates must serve 5 years minimum in the Navy or Marines.
> Even pro athletes like Roger Staubach & David Robinson had to do this.
> There are 4500 students & 600 faculty – for a very intimate 8:1 student/teacher ratio.
> The Academy is also big on sports & fitness, there are 33 sports available, 2nd to only Ohio St & Stanford.
> The Academy is very selective, accepting only about 1200 of 17,000 applicants yearly.

The tour began at Dahlgren Hall – Initially used for armory training, now used as an activities center. It is a very large hall.

We walked past a post with many flags, Mel commented that “each flag on the post represented a victory over Army during last years sporting season”.

Next stop was The Buchanan House – It is the home of the Academy’s superintendent who lives on the 2nd & 3rd floors. Mel said that “the 1st floor is used only for entertainment, and that The Buchanan House is 2nd to only the White House for number of entertainment events per year”.

We strolled past some torpedoes – Mel said that “there are only 5 of this type left in the world, it is similar to what was used on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor”.

The next stop was at the Naval Academy Chapel – Built in 1904, The Naval Academy Chapel is a focal point of the Academy and the city of Annapolis. One row of the pews is  adorned with a flower & candle, is never used & is dedicated to the men/women who still have “Not Returned from Assignment”, the phrase used in place of lost-at-sea.

Below the Chapel is located The Crypt of John Paul Jones.
John Paul Jones has been lauded since 1775 as the Father of the US Navy. His influence and leadership were foundational in the establishment of the Navy and in many ways the success of our War of Independence. Mel said that “John Paul Jones never lost a battle during his entire career”.
Originally buried in France where he died in 1792, the remains of John Paul Jones were relocated into the crypt beneath the Naval Academy in 1906, in a ceremony presided over by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Our next stop was Bancroft Hall – The largest single dormitory in the world, housing the entire brigade of over 4000 midshipmen. Everyone stays in Bancroft Hall, there are no fraternities or sororities allowed.
Central to the Hall is the Rotunda, with a large domed roof & a wing on both sides.

Off to the side in the wings of the building were other museum type areas commemorating some of the most prominent grads, showing photos at graduation day vs current.

Looking forward from the Rotunda, we could see the doorway to Memorial Hall. This hall contains the honor roll of 2,660 Naval Academy alumni who have died in military operations. Unfortunately, there was an event in the Hall and we could not enter on this day.
Also seen from the doorway is the famous flag of “Don’t Give Up the Ship”
The mere five words stitched on a flag in 1813 produced one of the most enduring symbols in United States history, and have become a stirring, unofficial motto of the U.S. Navy.
The words on the flag originally came from Captain James Lawrence, a friend and colleague of Admiral Oliver Perry. Captain Lawrence was mortally wounded as he commanded the frigate USS Chesapeake in early June 1813. The flag and words came to prominence during the War of 1812 on September 10, 1813, in Lake Erie when Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry raised the hand-sewn flag in honor of his comrade Captain Lawrence to the loud cheers of the crew, and then executed a stunning defeat of the Royal Navy.

The tour ended after Bancroft Hall.
The only disappointment was that we came at the off-time of the school semester, and were not able to witness the famed Noon Formation, which normally occurs daily in the courtyard of Bancroft Hall. The students below are visiting High School students.

After The Naval Academy, we had some lunch, went to the Verizon store, and then came back to the boat for a pre-arranged 5pm social event with our Looper Pals – Pete & Pat Rollins from the vessel Resolute.

 

Jun 16 – Sat
Saturday was a very low-key day, we were both wiped out after the weekday events.
We returned the rental car, did some laundry, and had a few soda pops while we sat out on the dock at Ego Alley, and watched boats go by.

It was a very relaxing day, but may have been the most fun day of the week for me. We spent about 4-5 hours in the afternoon at a place called “Ego Alley”. Ego Alley is a cove off of the main Severn River combined with a large town square. The main attraction is the Public Boat Docks. Land people come to gawk at all the boats, boat people come to do a run up/down the cove and show off, there are tour boats departing, wedding parties taking photos, and this weekend there was even a Corvette show.
It was a bevy of activity.

We spent 4-5 hours sittin’ under the shade tree, watching the bevy of activity surrounding us.

After a very enjoyable / restful afternoon at Ego Alley, we came back to the boat, took a shower, and went to dinner at a place on Ego Alley called “Pusser’s”.
Pusser’s is a restaurant that is actually part of a large luxury hotel called The Annapolis Waterfront Hotel.

Our 45 minute wait for a table outside was rewarded with a wonderful table RIGHT ON THE EGO ALLEY WATERFRONT.
While eating dinner, we were able to watch boats come & go, and also watch some tour sailboats return and dock right in front of us. It was boating heaven with a rotating boat show while we ate.

It was an active week in Annapolis & Washington DC.
But the week was marked with a very somber event back home in Michigan – the passing of Jonell’s cousin Steven Smith.
Steven had experienced some significant health events in past years, but seemed well over it & very healthy.
He passed out while at work and was unable to be revived.

The event became one of those – what should we do moments ?
We discussed the thought to return home, or for Jonell to fly home.
We decided to mourn from afar & stare at the photo below, and remember Steve in life & not death.
He was definitely a “live everyday of life to the fullest” type guy.
We pray for his new wife Lisa of less than 1 year (shown in the pink top below), his children, parents, nephew and our great boating buddies – Jonell’s cousin Anita & husband Rich.
This photo was taken at our Bon-Voyage Party for The Loop on July 15th, 2017.
Steven passed on June 13th, 2018 at the age of 51.

 

 

Jun 10 Sun
On Sunday we were planning to move from Solomons Island to the St. Michaels Marina.
Our planned departure was for 8:30am, with a 7:30am wake up time.
At about 6am I was awakened, when I heard the cabin fan go off !
I checked the lights & refrigerator, all of our power was out !
After about 10-15 minutes of “oh-crap”, we discovered that the power was off to the entire marina. No doubt, the storms from the previous night had something to do with the power outage.
We took some very early showers, and bumped up our departure time to 7:30am.

The ride to St. Michaels was a 54 mile ride on the open water of Chesapeake Bay.
The wind/wave forecast from 3-4 days ago suggested very rough waters. But the forecast changed to very calm waters after the storm. To our benefit, the new updated forecast was correct, the ride to St. Michaels was very smooth with no rain. We were blessed by the man above again. It was especially good to have some smooth waters on the Chesapeake for the Nofferts only Looping ride with us. It was a wonderful travel day !

We arrived in St. Michaels to smiles & laughter.
After tie up, we cracked the ceremonial beers in honor of another safe arrival, now in port #95, the St. Michaels Marina.

After gettin’ settled in, we went to lunch at the Foxy’s Harbor Grill.
There are several restaurants right on the water at the marina, Foxy’s is one of them.
We just split some sandwiches & appetizers as a temporary fix before a larger planned dinner.

After the snack at Foxy’s, we rented one of the St. Michaels Marina GEM Golf Carts, and went on a 2 hour tour of the town.

The Harbormaster Mike had told us about a place called The Inn at Perry Cabin.
After cruising the city, we drove the cart about 2 miles to the outskirts of St. Michaels, and arrived at the Inn – a very fancy resort, with a very fancy hotel, bar, and beautiful waterfront lounge area.

After drinks at the beautiful Inn at the Perry Cabin, we returned to the boat, got showered up, and headed to dinner at The St. Michaels Crab & Steak House. Along the way to the restaurant, we found the display of a very famous Tow Rope (Tow Line ?).

For dinner, Dave & I had the St. Michaels famous Steamed Blue Crab !
Neither of us have had much steamed crab eating experience (we have eaten a lot of prepared crab meals).
We had crab opening lessons from waitress Connie, and proceeded to pull the treasure from the sealed marine crypt.

The crab was good, but for me it was still not worth the effort for the limited bounty harvested or the price. We did also split a New York Strip Steak – it was a lot easier to eat and more filling !

I apologize to all you Crab Lovers.

Jun 11 – Mon
Monday was get-away day for the Nofferts.
Luckily their flight was not until about 5pm, so their departure from St. Michaels to Baltimore in the taxi was not until 2pm.

So we planned to use the very rainy morning 1/2 day to see the St. Michaels Museum.
We ended up finding out that the museum was closed on Mondays, but 1 phone call later, docent & local tour guide Kate, opened the museum only for us !

Kate gave us about 90 minutes of St. Michaels history, and an extensive discussion of the history and connections to St. Michaels, of Frederick Douglass.

One of the interesting things Kate told us about was a series of 2 attacks the British attempted on the local colonists of St. Michaels.  After 500 locals put up a good battle towards the 1000 British soldiers, the British decided that the fight was not worth the rewards and left the area.
What the British did not know, was that the area that they were battling for was mostly fields & farms & not the main area of town with significant ship building activities.
St. Michaels is divided into 2 large sections separated by the St. Michaels Harbor.
Because the British left without significant battle, St. Michaels still calls themselves today  ” The Town that Fooled the British”

The other interesting stories were all about Frederick Douglass, and how after escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. In his time, he was described by abolitionists as a living counter-example to slaveholders’ arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been a slave.  Frederick Douglass wrote 3 autobiographies during his lifetime, as he aged and gained perspective throughout his life.
> Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845)
> My Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
> Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881)

After the St. Michaels Museum, we went for a walk to The Lyon Distilling Company.
We visited the distillery because Dave’s mother Hanna’s maiden name was Lyon.
So Dave purchased some souveniers with the family maiden name, and we had a few free samplers of the Lyon Liquid product.

We returned to the boat, watched a little golf pre-tournament hype for the upcoming US Open, and Dave & Deb got packed.

The Noffert visit with us came to a sad ending, after a wonderful and sometimes rainy 4 day visit.

Next stop = An exciting 1 week stay in Annapolis Maryland !

 

Jun 6 – Wed
Since our stay at Beaufort NC , where we dropped off the Hinmans on May 27th, we have had a very fast paced Looper Life
> Oriental North Carolina = 1 night / 28 miles
> Belhaven North Carolina = 1 night / 52 miles
> Columbia North Carolina = 1 night / 55 miles
> Elizabeth City North Carolina = 2 nights / 36 miles
> Portsmouth Virgina = 1 night / 50 miles
> Hampton Virginia = 1 night / 20 miles
> Deltaville Virginia = 1 night / 47 miles in Cheasapeake Bay
> Solomons Island Maryland = 4 nights / 68  miles in Cheasapeake Bay

The last ride into the Solomons was the most difficult, being a long 68 miles of fairly rough water on the Cheasapeake Bay.
But due to the high 68 miles we had to travel (7-8 hours at our normal speed of 10mph), we temporarily abandoned our fuel economy strategy and went 20mph for about 2 hours to cover more ground.
It was a fairly rough ride, but we made it into Solomons about 1:30-2:00pm, after a 7:30am departure.

In spite of thinking that our canvas issues were over, while we were traveling 20mph into a 15-20 mph headwind, we noticed the zipper on the port side panel was coming loose from the canvas top. We safety pinned the zipper to prevent any further damage.

After our arrival at Zahniser’s Yachting Center, Nellie washed the boat of the heavy salt coating & Mike sewed canvas.
Nellie used the Salt-Away product recommended by Looper pals Donna Mae & Craic – It worked great !
Mike used a needle, marine thread, and a finger thimble – it worked ok.

Zahniser’s is a very nice marina, with an on-site ships store, on-site restaurant, a nice pool, and free loaner bikes. The town is supposed to be very nice, & we will see in the next few days with friends Dave & Deb Noffert (arriving Friday).

By 7:30pm , we were both bushed, but went to dinner at the marina based restaurant Zahniser’s Dry Dock Restaurant. It is a very classy restaurant & the food was great.
We watched sailing teams come in from some type of racing event in the bay.
Zahniser’s is heavily occupied with sailboats, and there is a sailing school on-site.

By the time we finished dinner, we were both finished.
Bed time was an early 9pm.

Jun 7 – Thu
Thursday was another work day.
Mike replaced the engine oil cooler on the starboard engine.
Nellie washed sheets & cleaned in preparation of the arrival of Dave & Debbie Noffert.
We both went grocery shopping to stock up on some healthy Noffert snacks (vs unhealthy Murphree snacks).

While we were traveling to & from the grocery store in the marina shuttle van, we met another couple from the marina,  – Mahlon & Linda Stauffer, from just north of Baltimore.
We hit off the conversation so well in the shuttle van, that we invited them on the boat for some extended socialization. They are sail boaters who live on the further-most point of the Chesapeake Bay, just north of Baltimore & just south of the New York state line.

About 3pm we were united with our great Looper pals on the vessel Odyssey, Bud & Sue Hansen.
We had not seen Bud & Sue since the Dog River Marina in Mobile Alabama in November of 2017.
We have kept in touch with them the entire time since November, but were not able to re-connect until now. They had cut across Florida thru Lake Okeechobee, we had went down to Key West.
They arrived at Solomons about 3pm while we were visiting with Mahlon & Linda. We made our initial greetings with hugs and we let them get checked in and settled in.

Bud & Sue came over to our boat about 5pm.
We reminisced about all of our past endeavors, mutual Looping friends, family, and future plans.

We initially met Bud & Sue in 2014 when we were only dreaming of The Loop.
Jonell & I had driven down to Rogersville Alabama for our 1st Looper rendezvous in October of 2014 (Rendevous = a week long series of tutorials about the Loop).
Bud & Sue began their original Loop in 2014/2015, but had to abandon the trip due to family issues. So they bought a new boat and had restarted their 2nd Loop last year.
After not seeing them since 2014, Jonell & Sue were doing laundry way back in Green Turtle Bay Marina in Kentucky last September 2017. After a few minutes of staring at each other they both remembered that we had originally met in 2014, and that Jonell & I had spent a few hours with them on their 1st boat “When I’m 64” in Rogersville Alabama.
It was wonderful to be united with them, they are sweetheart people with a hilarious sense of humor & a great sense of adventure.

We had a late dinner with Bud & Sue.
I had Guinness in honor of FCA worker pal Pat Gibbons !

Jun 8 – Fri
Today was finally FUN DAY, no more work !
It was the arrival day for The Nofferts – Dave & Debbie.
I have known Dave since 1971 when we met at Nolan Junior High School in Detroit.
Our friendship grew as we grew, going together on the rough public busses down to Cass Tech High School in Detroit, and then to Wayne State University.
I was Dave & Deb’s Best Man at their wedding, Dave was Best Man for me & Nellie !
Dave has become a very successful dentist, and has built his own dental practice in Imlay City Michigan , where he owns his own building and has a staff of about 12 people.

Noffert Dental
2034 Almont Ave
Imlay City, Mi, 48444

Dave & Deb arrived about 11am on Friday.
We did the usual check-in process, into the Gettin’ Looped Hotel.
Then we completed the mandatory photos & guest log book signing.

About 1pm, we headed into the Solomons Island town, and walked the main drag.
Bud & Sue from Odyssey joined us for a nice walk & lunch.
We started along the Solomons Island Riverwalk (correct, no apostrophe in Solomons).

We had lunch at The Pier Restaurant.

We strolled by some Churches, Art Galleries, Gift Shops, and Restaurants.
Solomons Gallery (shown below), had some really cool Metal Art. The guy can put any photo you take on a metal substrate. It looked very cool (sorry, did not get a photo).

Our next stop was in search of the Infamous Solomons Island Tiki Bar.
We found the place, but it was a ghost town, everything was dirty, dusty, and looked liked nothing had been going on there for a long time.
It was strange because we had some previous Loopers & some blog followers tell us that this was the “happening place”, and that we should not miss it.
It was also strange because we found dusty magazines & flyers dated April of 2018.

When we left The Tiki Bar, we met a local guy named Tom.
Tom confirmed that there was no zombie apocalypse event here, but that the owner had died last year, and that the place did not re-open, and the land was up for sale.
Tom also told us that as recent as this time last year, on Opening Day (around Memorial Day) there would be 10,000 people coming to the spring opening of The Tiki Bar. He said there was so many people and so much traffic that it would fill the bay with boats, and shut down the road.

I went on-line to research Tom’s claims, here are some photos from 2017.
Looks like we missed a darn good time.

After the big let-down at The Tiki Bar, and after several hours of walking in some hot/humid temps, it was time for , as Fred Flintstone would say ” Everybody into the Pool”.

We went back to the Zahniser’s Yachting Center Pool.
We had a wonderful afternoon sittin’ by the pool, having some soda pops, and enjoying the company of Dave/Deb & Bud/Sue.
Unfortunately the team photographer was on vacation and did not get those snappy bathing suit photos.
The Zahniser Yacht Club Pool & pool-side bar , and weather, was very nice !

After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed off to dinner at a place recommended by several locals, and a little hard to get into on a Friday night.
It was a place called The Island Hideaway, yes hidden off of the main drag, but in a very nice setting on the Back Creek Bay.
We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table but it was worth it, the view was great and the food was awesome.

We got back to the Zahniser’s Yacht Club about 10pm, it was a long fun day, but time for lights out.

Jun 9 – Sat
On Saturday we had a big day planned.
We started with a 40 minute taxi ride from Solomons Island to Historic St. Mary’s City. A very social taxi driver Sharon, provided the transportation there & back.

St. Mary’s City is a former colonial town that was Maryland’s first colonial settlement and capital. It is now a large, state-run historic area with; reconstruction of the original colonial settlement, a living history area and museum complex, and is most commonly referred to as Historic St. Mary’s City.
It is also home to St. Mary’s College which has a beautiful campus.

Historic St. Mary’s, is historic because ;
> It is composed of 800 acres of beautiful landscape, wrapped in waterways, and placed on top of the best preserved English colonial archaeological site in North America.
> It has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark since 1969 and is one of Southern Maryland’s leading tourism attractions.
> The museum commemorates the fourth permanent English settlement in North America, & Maryland’s initial city capital for sixty-one years (the current capital is Annapolis).
> St. Mary’s is considered the birthplace of religious freedom in America, with the earliest North American colonial settlement ever established with the specific mandate of being a haven for both Catholic and Protestant Christian faiths.
> The first legislator of African descent in North America (Mathias de Sousa, 1642)
> The first woman to petition for the right to vote in English America (Margaret Brent, 1648).

It was a lot like our Greenfield Village in Michigan, with a 1600’s town essentially re-created using facts from archeology, science, and history.

Some of the specific tours we went on were ;
> Archeological Dig – An Active Dig of the Old St. Mary’s City
In 1634 St. Mary’s City was established. For 61 years, this first city in Maryland served as the colony’s capital. When the seat of government was moved to Annapolis, the town was virtually abandoned and left to crumble into the soil. For over 300 years, the fragile remains of the town lay concealed beneath fields of tobacco, corn and wheat. Agriculture protected the archaeological treasure and preserved an unparalleled resource for the study of early America. The National Park Service has recognized St. Mary’s City as “probably the most intact 17th-century English town surviving in our nation.
St. Mary’s City offers a rare opportunity for researchers to coax information about the Maryland colony and people’s lives from a priceless archaeological records.
We listened to archeology specialist & team leader Travis & watched as several college students from universities around the country searched to uncover The Leonard Calvert House, which is believed below this piece of land on the historic property.
The goal will be to eventually use archeology, science, & history to recreate The Calvert House.

> Printing Press
Excavations in 1992 discovered a site containing a large quantity of lead type. Written documents and archaeological excavations indicate that this was where the first printing press was established in the English southern colonies, owned & operated by a man named William Nuthead, in the 1680-1690 time period. The Print House has been reconstructed and furnished as accurately as possible, as a living history exhibit.

> Brick Chapel
A Brick Chapel dating back to 1667 has been accurately reconstructed on its original foundation. The exhibit helps tell the significant story of early Maryland, the birthplace of religious freedom in America. Many early English settlers fled religious persecution, but colonial Maryland mandated religious freedom,  far in advance of the laws and practices in other new world colonies.

In 1997, the Historic St. Mary’s City Foundation initiated the Chapel Campaign with a goal of raising funds to rebuild the 1667 Brick Chapel. Individuals, foundations, corporations, small businesses, social, religious, and civic groups from throughout Maryland and the nation have participated in The Chapel Campaign. The contributions made so far are a strong beginning for the project, but the reality is that additional gifts are still needed in order to complete and furnish the building.

> The St. Mary’s Lead Coffins
Within the Chapel, below a glass floor, were 3 artifacts of Lead Coffins.
The coffins held members of the Cecil Calvert family (Lord Baltimore) and represent the only physical remains of Maryland’s founding family ever recovered. The exhibition contains the coffins in the exact arrangement as they were discovered in the foundation of the Jesuit Chapel, the oldest brick building in Maryland.
In 1990, the three rare seventeenth-century lead coffins were found inside the ruins of the chapel. Recovering the unique information the coffins held and excavation of other graves in the chapel cemetery, have enabled the museum to make a major contribution to the existing knowledge about life and death in the colonial Chesapeake.

> The Maryland Dove Sailing Ship
The Maryland Dove is an accurate re-creation/replica of the Dove, an early 17th-century English trading ship, one of two ships which made up the first expedition from England to colonial Maryland. The modern Dove was designed by the naval architect and naval historian William A. Baker.

> The General Store
There was also another historically re-created general store, where the story goes that the British would bring store supplies once per year, and the general store would dole out the supplies over the year at very high prices.

 

After about 3 hours at The Historic St. Mary’s City, it started to rain very hard, and we retreated into the taxi and back to Solomons Island.
We had a late lunch / early dinner at The CD Café back on Solomons Island.
The food was awesome.

After Linner (lunch/dinner), we went back to the boat and played euchre into the night as we watched the storms encircle us.

The night ended watching The Crown on Netflicks, one of me & Nellies new favorite shows (Thx Brenda & Joe).

Next Stop = St. Michaels Maryland !
This will be the Noffert’s only Looping ride with us, on their short 4 day stay.

This may be the shortest blog post we have had.
If you are busy, skip this one, more good ones coming soon.

We went 50 miles in 6 hours from Hampton Virginia to Deltaville Virginia.
It was our first voyage into the lower Chesapeake Bay.
The water started out nice with only 1-2 foot waves, and then got very calm as we passed a light house.
Lucky 1st Day on the Chesapeake !

There were a lot of cargo ships in main channel going north/south.

We arrived at Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville about 2pm.
It appeared to be a very nice marina, it had a nice pool, but we did not see much of the marina, and did not see any of the town.

I had been wanting to complete the upper body rub/wax job that I had started a few weeks ago.
This task took up most of the afternoon & early evening.

After the wax job, I worked on the upcoming routes;
> from Deltaville Virginia to Solomons Island Maryland.
> from Solomons Island to St Michaels Maryland.

While I worked on the boat, Nellie went shopping, and by 8pm we were both whipped by the long day.

We ate a left over burrito & sandwiches for dinner, & chilled out watching some more of the Netflicks series, The Crown.

Next Stop
68 miles tomorrow from Deltaville to Solomons Island Maryland
> We will spend 4 nights at Solomons.
> We will be reunited with Looper pals Odyssey (Bud & Sue Hansen), who we have not seen since December.
> We will welcome Dave & Debbie Noffert, for a long weekend in The Solomon’s & St. Michaels.

June 4 – Mon

Hey folks,
The past week has been quite fatiguing, yes even Loopers get tired !

Since we last saw the Hinman’s in Beaufort (BoFert) NC on may 28th, we have covered over 250 miles in 7 ports in 7 days (Beaufort-Oriental-Belhaven-Columbia-Elizabetrh City-Portsmouth-Hampton).

We are hustling for a few reasons
> We spent more time than planned in several ports including ; Fort Lauderdale, St Augustine, Savannah, Beaufort SC, etc.
> We need to get to Solomons Island Virginia by June 6th, 2 days in advance of the arrival of my Junior High School Pal, Dave Noffert & Admiral Debbie.
> We still need to stay on a track for being home by Labor Day for our son Daniel’s wedding.

Todays ride from Portsmouth Virginia to The Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton Virginia, had us pass thru Norfolk.
Setting our ports every 30-50 miles just worked out that we stayed in Portsmouth & Hampton, and not Norfolk, maybe a tactical error.

But we did pass thru downtown Norfolk and saw a few cool sights.
We saw the downtown waterfront with ferris wheel, lots of commercial ships, and LOTS of Naval Ships.

REALLY COOL ! 
While traveling thru Norfolk, we heard a lot of VHF Radio chatter between The Warship #77 & The Coast Guard.

The Warship #77 was planning on heading out to the Atlantic Ocean for unknown objectives.

I have since found out that Warship #77, is the USS George H.W. Bush stationed at Naval Station Norfolk.

The radio chatter we heard was The Warship #77 calling The Coast Guard for an escort into the Atlantic.
Turn your volume up high to hear the VHF Radio interaction between the Warship #77 & the Coast Guard = https://youtu.be/9Jsqjbpqbo8

About 30 minutes after we heard the radio chatter, we saw 6 coast guard boats pass by us with gunmen stationed in the bow of the coast guard boats. We got video at the last minute as most of the boats had passed = https://youtu.be/xX8FDpxJflw

Another 30 minutes later, we actually passed The Warship #77 with the 6 Coast Guard Boats creating a perimiter around the warship. We passed far to the port side of the Naval actions. About another 45 minutes after we passed, the Warship finally departed. We could just barely see it at that point.

After all the Naval excitement, we entered the very southernmost tip of Cheasapeake Bay and made our way to The Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton Virginia.
The Salt Ponds Marina is pretty nice, having floating docks, a nice pool, nice views, and another good price of $65/night, vs the $85/night we had paid 1 stop earlier in Portsmouth.

We only had 1 night in Hampton, but we had arrived fairly early at noon, and accomplisehd a lot.

Nellie got 2 loads of laundry done & we had 2 of our flybridge Isenglass zippers repaired by Wendy Walton from Rhaynie Day Canvas, on-site at the marina. As you have read on previous posts, we have had the threads of several of the canvass panels come loose during the trip. I have been able to hand-sew a couple of the zippers to canvas, but was not really looking forward to hand-sewing about 3 feet of zipper into two different panels of Isenglass. The Isenglass is very thick and would be difficult to sew.
Having Wendy’s service on-site was great, we got same day service, and at an increadible price of $25 (I gave her $50). 

We were also able to see a little bit of the town, taking an uber to a place on the bay called, The Deadrise Fish House.
Nellie had Fish Tacos & I had a LARGE Shrimp & Scallops Burrito.

After The Deadrise, we walked around the park a little.

We found an interesting monument marking the zero-mile location of the Cheasapeake to Cincinnati Railroad.

The night ended with a couple Yeti Juices & a Birthday call to my brother Kenny.
Today is Kenny’s 52nd birthday !

Jonell & I called to give the “Murphree Rendition of Happy Birthday to You”, I believe that many of you readers have experienced this musical treat.

It sounded like his birthday had been celebrated over the weekend at a Tiger game.
Today/tonight was a normal work day for Kenny & Monday night sports night with the boys at his house.

Love you Brother !
Happy B’Day.

Next Stop = Deltaville Virginia !

 

June 3 – Sun
Today we traveled 51 miles from Elizabeth City North Carolina to Portsmouth Virginia.
In addition to crossing the state line into Virginia, it was a special day that we had anticipated for quite some time – It was The Dismal Swamp Day !

The Dismal Swamp is a 22 mile long man-made canal which connects Elizabeth City & the Albemarle area of North Carolina to Virginia & all of the ports in the Chesapeake Bay.

The history of the canal is as follows ;
> It is the oldest man-made canal in the United States, opened in 1805 !
> In the Colonial period, water transportation was the lifeblood of North Carolina & Virginia.
> The landlocked sounds were entirely dependent upon poor overland tracks or shipment along the treacherous Carolina coast to reach markets through Norfolk, Virginia.
> In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Great Dismal Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina.
> As the first president, Washington agreed with Virginia Governor Patrick Henry that canals were the easiest answer for an efficient means of internal transportation and urged their creation and improvement.
> In 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company was created.
> Work was started in 1793.
> The canal was dug completely by hand; most of the labor was done by slaves hired from nearby landowners.
> It took approximately 12 years of back-breaking construction to complete the 22-mile long waterway.
> The Dismal Swamp Canal opened in 1805.
> The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently operates and maintains the canal.
> The Dismal Swamp Canal is one of two inland routes connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound (the other being the Virginia Cut).
> About 2,000 recreational boaters transit the canal each year as they pass through the Intracoastal Waterway (this year including Gettin’ Looped).
> The canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark.
> The historic canal is now recognized as part of the Underground Railroad and along with the Great Dismal Swamp, is noted as a former sanctuary for runaway slaves seeking freedom.
> The canal was closed October 2016 to boating traffic after Hurricane Matthew caused a flash flood in Chesapeake VA. The runoff from this storm filled the canal with silt and sand, making it impassable.
> The necessary dredging for navigation on the canal was completed November 2017 to a depth of approximately five feet, and reopened for a short time before closing again, due to being inundated with duckweed (note , Loopers could not travel this route last year)
> The duckweed clogs the intakes on power boats, quickly causing them to overheat. The Elizabeth River runs almost parallel to the canal, and was not affected by the 2016 flash flood, being much wider and much deeper than the canal. The ICW has remained open during all of this via the Elizabeth River and the North Landing River.

Ok, enough of the history lesson, here is our Dismal Swamp Story.
The day started nice, with No Rain and light winds for take off.
As soon as we left Pelican Marina, we had the Elizabeth City Swing Bridge to pass thru.
It was important that we get thru the bridge by 8am, to make an 11:00am lock opening at the South Mills Lock.

The 2 locks we would go thru today (South Mills & Deep Creek) only open at 8:30am, 11:00am, 1:30pm, & 3:30pm.

The start of the ride approaching the Dismal Swamp Canal was great – with deep water (9-12ft), speeds of 8-10mph, and pretty views.

We arrived at the South Mills Lock & Bridge about 10:15am (45 minutes early) , and had to tie up to the mooring post while waiting for the bridge tender & lock master (the same guy operates both the lock and bridge, driving 5 minutes from one to the other).

After the South Mills Lock & Bridge, we entered The Dismal Swamp Canal 22 mile  strait-away (man-made by slaves in the late 1700s / early 1800s) !

About half way into the canal, we passed The Dismal Swamp Canal Visitors Center.
We had planned to visit the center, but the canal water depths went down to 5-6ft, with LOTS of debris, and we had to slow our speed to only 5-6 mph (from previous 8-10mph).
At 5-6mph, we were at risk to meet the 3:30pm last lock opening for the day.

After passing the Visitors Center, the Canal got a whole lot tighter on width, shallower on depth, and had a LOT more debris. We heard/felt at least 4 heavy knocks on the underbody of the boat. So far, no lingering abnormal vibrations.

There was also a somewhat pretty water flower display attempting to block the path.

We saw an old house labeled as ” The ICW superintendents House”
Now I understand why the ICW is not maintained so well.

We passed the state line from North Carolina into Virginia.

There were several road side parks, the Dismal Swamp Canal runs right along highway-17.

Prior to reaching lock #2, the Deep Creek Lock & Bridge, we encountered yet another major rain storm, with very hard rain. = https://youtu.be/hGN7SzjANDQ

Luckily, the rain storm lessened to a sprinkle as we reached the Deep Creek Lock.
At least one of us stayed dry in the flybridge !

After the Deep Creek Lock & Bridge, we saw an interesting ICW sign. We had not seen anything like this , anywhere else on the ICW.

Finally we arrived in Portsmouth.
We did not research much about Portsmouth, we will be here only 1 night.
But from the photos, it appears to be like many port towns, heavy into commercial water traffic & Naval Ships.

It has been a long day !
As Porky Pig said ” a that, a that, a that’s all folks”
Nitie Nite.

Next Stop = The Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton Virginia.

 

Jun 1 – Fri
Hey Folks,

Today we reached Port #90 on our trip. We expect to visit about 120 ports before we return to our home of Miller Marina in Lake St Clair Michigan.

Todays move was from the Alligator River Marina to the Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City North Carolina.

The travels today had a very nice benefit, no rain !
It was the first time this week that we had no rain, maybe Alberto’s effects have finally passed.

As we approached Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River, we noticed a very large white structure/building. I have since learned from new friend Morris King, that this structure was the TCOM Blimp Base.
The TCOM Blimp Base (or Weeksville Dirigible Hangar) is an airship manufacturing, storage and test facility originally built by the US Navy in 1941 for servicing airships conducting anti-submarine patrols of the US coast and harbors. It is located on the former Naval Air Station Weeksville in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

We arrived at the Pelican Marina about 12:30pm and got checked in.
Pelican is not much to look at but does have good power, water, wifi, nice views, and the best part – OMG, only $35/night (by far the cheapest dockage we have had on the entire Loop). For comparison, when we were at Bahia-Mar in Fort Lauderdale we paid $240/night.

Prior to going into town , I spoke with Lisa at the visitors center.
She gave us some tips on new restaurants in town (Hoppin’ Johnz & The Ghost Harbor Microbrew). She also told us how lucky we were that it was Summer Splash Weekend with art festivals & music. There was supposed to be a band called Billy Plough & Los Gringos playin’ at some arts place in town, so dinner and music sounded like a good night.

Elizabeth City is a town of about 18,000 but actually seemed smaller than previous Belhaven. Founded in 1794, Elizabeth City prospered early on from the Dismal Swamp Canal as a mercantile city, before later shifting into a varied industrial and commercial focus. The Dismal Swamp connects Elizabeth City to all the ports in the Chesapeake Bay. Elizabeth City claims to be host to the largest US Coast Guard base in the nation.

We started our exploration of Elizabeth City with dinner at the Hoppin’  Johnz. restaurant. We ate outside on the patio of the Historic Pailin’s Alley (they even have a sign that says it’s famous). Not sure what Pailin’s Alley is famous for, and on this night Hoppin’ Johnz was not yet hoppin !

Based on the discussion with visitors center rep Lisa, after dinner we began the search for the big music venue with the band Bobby Plough & Los Gringos. I could not remember exactly where Lisa had said the event would be, so our mission was to explore the town & find Bobby Plough.

We walked thru the downtown area and saw remnants of old department stores, antique shops, hotels, churches, park type settings – but no Bobby Plough !

We walked the waterfront area expecting a big band shell – but no Bobby Plough.

We walked to the Museum of the Albemarle – but no Bobby Plough.

At this point we were gettin’ hot & fatigued and started walking back to one of the pubs, when we passed a building that looked like an art studio, called Arts of Albemarle. I had remembered now, that Lisa had said something about an art building. There were a lot of people inside, but it looked like just an art studio, not a music venue.
We took a chance, went inside, and asked at the front desk about any music happening tonight. The guy behind the desk said ” oh yea, we have Bobby Plough & Los Gringos playing tonight upstairs in the theatre”.
Success !
We got some drinks, went upstairs to the theatre, and the show started at 7pm.

Bobby Plough & Los Gringos were pretty good, but after all the anxiety of finding them, the performance was a little bit of a let-down.

But there was a high note to the night !
While we were on our long walk searching for Bobby Plough, we made eye contact and said a passing hello to a couple of locals on the street.
Once inside of the Arts of the Albemarle, we again ran into the same couple and had a short chat.
So when we later entered the theatre and searched for some open seats, we ended up sitting with them and shortly became friends with Morris & Norma King.
Originally from Maryland, and recently retired, Morris & Norma relocated to a very remote piece of land along the ICW, just south of Elizabeth City.
So remote that Norma said “it was time for a night out in the city”.

We had a long discussion about the Loop, we exchanged our background stories, talked about fishing, bears in NC, the dismal swamp, boats, and more. Morris is also an avid fisherman and boater, and has a wealth of history/knowledge on the east coast.

We hit it off so well with Morris & Norma, that they offered to give us a ride back to the boat. So we followed their friendliness with an invitation onto Gettin’ Looped.
We had a lot of discussions about our future ride up the east coast, Annapolis, & Washington DC.
It was a special night, making new friends, just on the whim of saying hello.

Jun 2 – Sat
On Saturday we got a few errands done, and had a little fun.

The day started with a bike ride over the bridge into downtown Elizabeth City.
We went to an early morning flea market & then had breakfast at The Flour Girls Café & Bakery.

While we were having breakfast, a couple of folks sat at the table next to us and asked “y’all traveling thru ?”
I said ” how did you know”
He said “you look like boaters, you have a boating shirt on, and a floppy hat”.
After the initial comical introduction, we made introductions with Paul & Joyce Wheeler (no relation to our friends Earl & Diane), who live in Elizabeth City right on the ICW, north of our marina. We will pass by their house tomorrow morning.
We talked about the Loop, the local waterways, and upcoming bridges & locks along the Dismal Canal.

After breakfast, and visiting with Paul & Joyce, we went to the MOA (Museum of the Albemarle). The museum celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and is a place devoted to how the Albemarle Area & Elizabeth City fit into the history of the USA.
It is a very large , very cool museum, and is also free of charge !

There were many interesting exhibits, but some of the most interesting or most relative to Elizabeth City include ;
> The Shad Boat – a traditional fishing boat which was proclaimed the Official State Boat of North Carolina in 1987, nearly one hundred years after George Washington Creef of Roanoke Island built the first shad boat in North Carolina in the early 1880s.

> The contributions of Elizabeth City & The Blimp, in combating German U-Boats off of the Outer Banks. Remember earlier in the blog, the large white building for Blimps.
Read at least slide 2 below which says – prior to implementing the blimp for surveillance in WWII, in March 1942 the German U-boats were sinking one US Ship per day near the Outer Banks. The blimp helped to put an end to that.
Read the captions in the slides below.

> A timeline of Elizabeth City, and its evolution since founding in 1794. 
There were 30 different placards, describing what was going on in this area since its origin; Native Indians, Spanish/English Explorers, Pirates, Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, Civil Rights, the New Economy, & Tourism Today.
But the most directly related to Elizabeth City included the following 4 placards –
1. The origins of the Albemarle Area – going back 10,000 years.


2. The creation of a connecting waterway from North Carolina to Virginia in the late 1700’s – essentially part of the current Atlantic ICW today.

3. The Wright Brother’s 1st Flight in nearby Kitty Hawk

4. a Coast Guard placard – showing how Elizabeth City has evolved into the largest Coast Guard station in the USA.

After the Museum of Albemarle, we went for a stroll in the park, walked down to the boat launch, and watched folks launch their boats for about 90 minutes. Surprisingly, all launches went very well, there was no comedy today. There was even one Big Boy, who had a successful launch.

In mid afternoon, we rode the bikes back to the boat, called a taxi for grocery shopping, and watched some golf & NASCAR in the confines of the air-conditioned Gettin’ Looped (it was 90f & humid today, but we are not complaining).

For din-din, the weather was threatening , so we went to a place right next to the marina called Paradise – Taste of Heaven. The meal was not heavenly but was pretty good.

The best part of the meal was after we had just been seated, we were reunited with our Looper pals from the vessel Unruly – Gary & Angie Karges, out of Novelty Ohio near Cleveland.
Gary saw us being seated and invited us to join him & Angie for dinner.
It was our first real dinner together with Unruly.
The last time we had socialized with them was on the aft deck of Gettin’ Looped in Fort Lauderdale at Bahia-Mar with Dave & Carol Vrabel.

 

 

So it was a pretty awesome 2 day stay in Elizabeth City.
A cool city with more east coast history.

Tomorrow Sunday June 3rd
> We will cross over from North Carolina to Virginia.
> We will stay at the Ocean Marine Yacht Club in Portsmouth Virginia.
> It will be an exciting day that we have anticipated for a while, as we will travel thru The Great Dismal Swamp Canal (more on that subject in the next post).
> It will be our niece Geena Sinagoga’s HS Graduation Party (yea Geena!).

 

Ok Blog followers,

I think the last few posts have been a little bit “boring” ?

But on our current fast paced trek north into the Chesapeake Bay, we have had many one night stands in some pretty small towns.

By the time we do all of our tasks after docking & then prepping for the next day, there is not much time for exploring, and the towns have been pretty small.

This post will be a little more of the same, maybe a little boring.
More interesting posts are coming in Solomon’s Island, St Michaels, Annapolis, Washington DC, and Baltimore.

BTW – we are also doing the blog to make a hard-cover book of our trip when we return, that is why we are so diligent about making a least 1 post in each town.

Todays trip, from Belhaven to the Alligator River Marina in Columbia North Carolina, started out very nice and ended with another “Alberto” induced rain storm.

We left the Belhaven Marina about 8am, in clear weather & calm seas.
We passed several nice pieces of waterfront real estate, on very remote pieces of land, just outside of Belhaven.

Then the ride became both very cool & very boring at the same time.
Most of the 52 mile ride was down a VERY STRAIT & VERY LONG CANAL.
The Pungo River in Belhaven is connected to the Alligator River in Columbia by a man-made 21 mile long canal.

The 21 mile ride up the canal was cool & boring at the same time.
We saw deer & gators (too slow to get the camera for photos).
The shore side vegetation started looking almost jungle or rain forest like.

Further down the canal, we were attacked by huge half-dollar sized horse-flies !
Nellie up took arms, brandishing the electronic bug zapper given to us by Dave Vrabel & Carol Perotta.
It works very well.
After a short while of killing off several horse-flies, the smell of burnt horse-fly wings was in the air, and the attack dissipated.

After we exited the canal and entered the Alligator River, we were hit with yet another major rain storm. The storm lasted about 45 minutes and was pretty hard rain. The rain cooperated and stopped about 30 minutes before we needed to dock at the Alligator River Marina in Columbia.

The Alligator River Marina is really a gas station, convenience store, & restaurant – with a few boat slips.
The docks & facilities are pretty good & clean.
It was the only marina option & worked fine for a 1 night stay to break up what would have been a 90 mile trip between Belhaven & Elizabeth City.

The Alligator River Marina is on an east/west highway 64 , which leads to the famed North Carolina Outer Banks (Cape Hatteras, Nags Head, Kitty Hawk), about 30 miles east of the marina.

The combination of  more rain all afternoon, travel fatigue, and laziness resulted in the Murph’s staying on the boat for the evening, and fore-going the explorations for this day.

Our exotic dinner was supplied by the Alligator River Restaurant, the choices were endless !

Next Stop
> 2 nights, Friday & Saturday (yea), in Elizabeth City North Carolina, about 30 miles north of Columbia.
> This will be our staging area for our trip thru the Famed Dismal Swamp on Sunday !

Hopefully some more exciting blog posts to come !

 

 

May 30 – Wed
We continue our trek north through North Carolina with today’s move from Oriental to Belhaven North Carolina.

Due to storm Alberto ,the weather forecasts a few days ago projected rain all week and we have had a lot of rain, and expected to be traveling in rain today as we traveled 49 miles from Oriental to Belhaven.

But the ride today was awesome.
It was very cloudy, but dry with low wind, and calm waters.
The dark clouds & storms were in our sight, but all behind us.
The entire 49 miles today was in deep water, the lowest we saw was 9 ft, and it was an effortless, peaceful ride.

Along the ride we traveled thru some waters in which the tannins made the color dark brown/gold, like Tahquamenon Falls in  Michigan.

We also went thru a section of water in which we saw hundreds of jelly fish, about 6″ in diameter. The pictures did not show the jellyfish well and are not attached.

We arrived at the Belhaven Marina about 1:30pm.
The marina is very small, but again the folks are incredibly friendly.

The town of Belhaven has about 1500 people, & Belhaven’s claims to fame are ;
> Formerly known as Jack’s Neck, then Bellport, and now Belhaven (beautiful harbor) the official name since 1899.
> Belhaven is the hometown of singer Little Eva, whose song “The Loco-Motion” was a #1 hit in 1962.
> It is also the home of Super Bowl XLV champion and Oakland Raider C. J. Wilson.
> In 1928, Belhaven was thrust into the national spotlight when it became the final link to complete the inland route of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, connecting Beaufort to Boston, making it an ocean seaport.
> It is home to Spoon River Artworks & Market.
Spoon River is a farm-to-fork style restaurant with a goal to source as much of the menu from the state of North Carolina as possible.

Spoon River was recommended to us by Looper friends Lab Partners (Beth & Rip), and as soon as we got tied up today the harbor master Craig said “do you want Belhaven’s best tonight ?”
I said ” well it depends, what is Belhaven’s best ? ”
He said ” why, it’s the award-winning Spoon River Restaurant”.
So that became the dinner plan for tonight.

After some nice showers, we headed into Belhaven.
It was another small quaint town. In spite of higher population than Oriental (1500 vs 1000), it seemed smaller than Oriental based on what we saw. It probably did not help that we did not walk through town until about 6pm.

The Spoon River Artworks & Market was as advertised, a great meal with very nice ambiance. It almost seemed a little out of place in the small town.
The Entrees were $30-40, but the taste was awesome.
We ordered the Mahi-Mahi & the Pork Chop and shared each.
Both were really good, but the Mahi kicked butt over the Chop.
We also had the Shrimp Egg Rolls as appetizer. With the 3 sauces supplied, they were scrumptious.
What I liked the best at the Spoon River were the generous portions of food, we walked out of there stuffed.
Many fancy restaurants give you the little dollop of food with the fancy drizzle of sauce, and charge you $35 dollars for the artwork.

It was another quick glimpse of a cute small town.
There will be several more “quick – 1 day glimpses” as we make our way up to Solomons Island Maryland, where we will bed down for 4 days on June 6th, and welcome my great pal from junior high school Dave Noffert & his lovely bride Debbie.

Next Stop = 1 night in Columbia North Carolina at the Alligator River Marina.