August 31, 2012 - Beach Haven, NJ to New York, NY

Since we started our cruising life 12 years ago, we knew that the day we finally made it to NYC and passed the Statue of Liberty in the harbor would be a highlight.  Yesterday was not a disappointment.  We were pleased to share the experience with Bob Baer (who took the following collage) and John McVeigh (who put me up at his house in Philly Tuesday night after my return from Raleigh and then drove us back to Belmar NJ on Wednesday).  The weather was perfect, the seas were calm, and the views all the way up the harbor from New Jersey were magnificent. 

Last night, Bob's wife Sara and my Aunt Carol (both of whom live in the city) came over for drinks on the boat followed by a great dinner nearby.  Tonight Emily arrives, flying in under the light of a blue moon. Next week John and Kris will join us for a little city time and part of the journey up the Hudson River.   We'll be here in the city for a week, so I'm sure there will be a story or two for the next Boat's Notes.  

Last Sunday, we rented a car in Belmar and drove to Philly to celebrate Debi's birthday, where we were joined by John and Karen for a great brunch and some neighborhood walking/sightseeing.  We started to view the Liberty Bell but decided the line was too long.   Fortunately, I got to see the following in the Philadelphia airport that evening.

And really, would you rather see an old cracked bell, or a new bell made out of Legos with no crack.  And no lines!

Hope all is well in your worlds! 

August 23, 2012 - Cape May, NJ to Beach Haven, NJ

Today’s issue of Boat’s Notes is titled – The Silly and the Cool

First the silly.  Have you ever heard of a slow news day?  How about a day where there was NO NEWS WHATSOEVER.  What to do?  Head down to the dock and poke around.  The guy approached with a camera around his neck and a notebook in his hand – the quintessential hack reporter.  Him – “I just thought I’d come down and see if anything interesting was happening”  Me – “I think you’re in the wrong place.”   The next thing you know…….check out the attachment.

The cool.  Now 1/3 of you are going to say “why is that cool?”   1/3 of you are going to say – “that’s kind of cool” and the other 1/3 are going to say – “That’s as cool as the other side of the pillow.”   To those who care less, my apologies for taking up this space.

When I booked the marina in Belmar NJ, I thought it was KIND OF cool that we would be so close to Asbury Park, a few miles away.   AP is the home to the Stone Pony, the bar in which Bruce Springsteen became BRUCE – and the inspiration for the title of his first album – Greetings From Asbury Park New Jersey.   But don’t forget the name of his second album, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.  It turns out that E Street was/is in Belmar NJ – and that the band that would come to be known as the E Street Band rehearsed on E Street.

But wait….there’s more.  10^th Avenue Freezeout .   I always assumed 10^th Ave. was in New York City – the 10^th Ave. that’s known as Hell’s Gate.   But it turns out that the 10^th Ave. referred to in the song is 10^th Avenue in Belmar NJ.   And the band rehearsing on E Street was rehearsing near the intersection of E Street and 10^th Ave.

But wait, there’s more – the intersection of 10^th Ave. and E Street, the very epicenter of all things Bruce,  is about 4 blocks from our marina.  And if that was not enough – the last song I rehearsed with 10 Degrees Off before leaving in May for the boat was………….10^th Avenue Freeze Out.   Is that cool or what?

OK – back to the boat’s travels.  We really enjoyed Cape May -  beautiful beach town, an incredible density of Victorian homes.   John McVeigh (who was vacationing about 30 minutes up the shore) joined us there for a wonderful dinner and late night (yes, it ended with Bananagrams).  We were also joined by Cape May residents Ken and Sharon, who have been B&B guests of ours every January for the last seven years.  We turned the tables by visiting their house, a geodesic dome near the Delaware Bay.

Since then we have traveled most of the south-north distance of the Jersey shore – with a nice stop in Beach Haven about half way up.  We did most of the travels on the outside (the ocean) but made the mistake of doing 30 LONG miles on the inside (the ICW).   The channel was very shallow and very narrow, making travel stressful and slow.  We would not have done it if not for the false “local knowledge” of a dock hand in Beach Haven.  Anyway, the ocean travel was largely smooth and easy, past the skyline of Atlantic City and many many beaches.

Your next installment of Boat’s Notes will come from New York City – I expect there will be a story or two.

August 16, 2012 - St. Michael's, MD to Annapolis, MD to Baltimore, MD to Chesapeake City, MD to Cape May, NJ

Today is a milestone in our trip – we have left the Chesapeake Bay for the first time since the trip began.  We are on the C&D Canal at the top of the bay - it's about 15 miles long and connects the Bay to the Delaware River.  We have now completed the Bay  - about 200 miles north to south, plus the 200 miles of the round-trip up and down the Potomac, plus numerous side ventures in and out of rivers, bays, coves, etc.   Maybe we didn’t conquer it (it’s not exactly a John Smith sort of accomplishment), but it didn’t beat us either.  Debi just calculated that we’ve had 22 overnight guests in this span (since late May), plus a few day trippers.

Since we last spoke, we left Solomons (scene of the punctured fuel tank), spent a few days in a resort on the western shore (Herring Bay) where we relaxed, kayaked and watched Olympics.  Then to St. Michaels, the cute beyond cute historical resort town over on the eastern shore, where the money people of D.C. have their summer homes.  Bill and Gigi Barnes joined us there and for the trip across the Bay to Annapolis.  We stayed at the City Docks for three days – an area otherwise known as Ego Alley for all of the cruisers parading up and down the waters in front of the many waterfront bars and restaurants.  We had a ringside seat for that show – and on a beautiful weekend no less.  I enjoyed the Naval Academy beyond my expectations – beautiful architecture and interesting history/traditions/stories.

While in Annapolis we had to say good-bye to Bill and Gigi – but they left an important legacy, the word game, BananaGrams – which is now an integral boat tradition.

We had two hours of solitude before the next guest arrived, Andrea Solarz and Shelley and David Chavis.  All three were our first two-timers, having spent 4^th of July with us in D.C.  (though Andrea has yet to spend the night).  Shelley and David made it with us up to Baltimore, a nice ride into the beautiful downtown harbor.

We spent a full day biking through multiple Baltimore neighborhoods, looking at some possible new homes for David and Shelley, and ending up in Little Italy for dinner (for those of you who were there – it was the restaurant where a young lady named Sakima once worked – they actually remembered her).

Yesterday Debi and I went to the Visionary Arts Museum.  If you ever get to Baltimore, go DIRECTLY to this museum – it is unlike anything you have ever seen.  Jaw-dropping.  http://www.avam.org/ gives you a feel for it, but you won’t believe it until you see it.

Last night David and I walked from the boat to Camden Yards – it was my first trip there since it’s opening week 20 years ago.   The Orioles won and I got to go back to Sliders, a sports bar with a special history for a few people getting this email.

That brings us up to today and our 47 mile trip to Chesapeake City, a Victorian town with more than the usual number of galleries, B&B’s, etc.  A nice surprise.  And as I type, Debi is working the bar band hard.  As the lead singer announced, “It’s all Debi request night!”

p.s. - All of the above was written last night.  Today we completed the Canal, headed south down the Delaware River into the Delaware Bay and down to Cape May, NJ - about 60 miles which is a long day for us.  We're in our first state other than Maryland and Virginia in almost three months! 

Have you missed me? - Solomons, MD to St. Michael's, MD

Have you missed me? I guess it’s been 2-3 weeks, and as usual, they’ve been eventful.

We had a very nice week or so in Solomons MD, a fairly big boating community. Marcia joined us for a few days – we enjoyed some gardens, a great dinner, a maritime museum, and the local tiki bar (there's at least one in every port - but this was a good one).

On July 26 we headed back to Atlanta. Debi had meetings, but we both spent a good amount of time with my dad, who came down to look for a condo, having sold his house outside Chicago. He’s made an offer, but it’s not clear if it will work out at this point.

We enjoyed our stay in Atlanta - it was only weird to be home for about 24 hours - had a nice time at Manuel’s, caught a Braves game, and on Monday the 31st were preparing to head back to the boat when we got a phone call from the boatyard in Solomons MD. We had asked them to do some relatively minor and totally elective repairs. However, they managed to make it more than minor. When Debi got off the phone with them she walked in our office and said, “we have a problem.” Most of you know that Debi doesn’t find many things to be “a problem” (except maybe me playing music too loud). So I was almost relieved when she told me that the guys working on our boat had driven a screw, apparently a long one, through the hull and through ...our fuel tank. The clue was the pink diesel spewing out the side of the boat.

It could have been a lot worse. At first it looked like they would have to replace the tank, which means taking out the engines (with cranes) to get to it. But they decided to cut a hole in the hull and use some amazing liquid steel (developed by the space program) to patch the tank. We’ve been told by those who should know that this is a good repair, and it has a life-time guarantee.

Our only real loss (other than plane change fees since our return was delayed while work was completed) was the window which Deb and Mike Hughes had for boating with us - but we hope they will join us later. The boatyard was incredibly apologetic and accommodating, paying for a 90 minute shuttle from D.C. to Solomons, picking up our hotel tab, and lending us a truck until our boat was ready. Believe me, not all the boatyards we have dealt with have been this professional.

On the (blue) road again, we traveled up the western shore to Herring Bay – a nice resort marina, very nice facility. Watched a lot of Olympics in the captain’s lounge, and enjoyed the local café, bar, and pool.

Today we had a glassy ride over to the eastern shore and what some consider the ultimate Chesapeake Bay destination, St. Michaels. We explored a little of the historic town (lots of little shops, galleries, restaurants, B&Bs) and will do much more over the next couple of days. The marina itself is the first we’ve had on the bay with cable – so we are watching more Olympics now - I can't get enough.

Tomorrow, Bill and Gigi Barnes will arrive for several days. Debi and I will take a few days off from our body-building, inspired by the Olympics. I think you will agree that it has paid off..