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City Mooring Field

“One must travel, to learn.” —Mark Twain

Annapolis has been home to the United States Naval Academy since 1845. It was established under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft and is the second oldest of the United States’ five service academies, and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Today we went to the academy to watch the color parade held at Worden Field. The Color Parade is the oldest parade at the U.S. Naval Academy, a tradition that began in 1867.
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City Mooring Field

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Blue Angels performance was this afternoon and the harbor was packed with hundreds of boats of all sizes, kayaks, canoes, paddle boarders and dinghies. Every boat was overflowing with spectators enjoying the beautiful day.

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City Mooring Field

“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” –Arthur Rubinstein

Commissioning Week in Annapolis is a week long celebration of the graduation and commissioning of new Naval officers. The week is filled with all kinds of activities, some for the public and many more for the graduates and their families. The one that seems to really draw a crowd is the performances by the Blue Angels. Today was just the practice session and it definitely drew a large crowd…on shore and on the water. It was a prefect day to enjoy watching the boats and the planes. The entertainment started early as boats arrived to get a good spot for the show and the parade of boats lasted until dark.
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City Mooring Field

“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” –John Burroughs

We spent our first day in Annapolis exploring on foot. The weather was clearing, but not completely, so we decided to stay in the historic area. We wandered down the main streets where most of the buildings are over 200 years old. It’s a beautifully laid out city where almost all the roads end at the water. It’s fun to look down Main Street from St. Anne’s Church and see the water and boats…even though it’s filled with cars these days. I’m sure the view was more spectacular a few hundred years ago.
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City Mooring Field

“If we were meant to stay in one place we’d have roots instead of feet.” –Rachel Wolchin

We woke to another cold wet day, more of a fog, which meant Stan had to drive from the flybridge so he could use the radar. The Chesapeake becomes considerably narrower when you approach Annapolis with a lot to see along the shorelines and lighthouses in the bay, but our weather today made these treasures hard to see. It’s a beautiful area and I’m glad we’ve been through this area before on sunny days.
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Lewis Creek – Anchorage 

“Just another day in Paradise where every hour is happy.” —Unknown

When it rains all day and is also cold, what do you do for entertainment…read, watch TV, sleep, cook, go to the mall? When you’re on a boat, anchored in a little cove, your options are a little more limited. We seem to be stuck in what I’d call Texas March weather…damp, grey, drizzly, foggy and a little on the cold side. We do get the occasional day of sunshine thrown in just to keep our hopes up. It’s kind of like the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray wakes up to the same day over and over. Every day seems to be the same this cruising season.
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Lewis Creek – Anchorage 

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” —William Arthur Ward

Today we said good-bye to our new Monk friends and moved up the Bay towards Solomons. The weather couldn’t have been better…the water was flat, the sky bright blue and we even got to wear shorts part of the day. It was a wonderful day on the Chesapeake.
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Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina

“It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.” —Mae Jemison

We’ve been off the grid a little this past week. We were enjoying the Monk Rendezvous held in Deltaville. It was a lot of fun to visit with people who have the exact boat and understand just how much we love our Monk. The two and a half days were filled with discussions from modifications made on the boats, insurance, engine maintenance, care of the teak, use of electronics, favorite apps and many of other topics, social time, happy hours and dinners, but one of the most enjoyable parts for me was the trawler crawl. During that time we were able to check out the other boats and see how everyone has made their boat a little unique. It was a time to visit with the other owners and see what they liked the best about their boat. The get together was about exchanging ideas, meeting other Monk owners and making new friends. Many we hope to see again on the water.
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The Monks are gathering…seven are here already and ten more will come in today. This is going to be fun.

Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina

“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Christopher McCandless

We spent a quiet day hanging around the marina, except for one short trip to Stingray Point to check out the lighthouse. It’s an exact full-scale replica of the original Stingray Point screwpile lighthouse built in 1853 that stood watch over the shoal at Stingray Point, which separates the Rappahannock and Piankatank Rivers. The light remained in service until 1965, when it was replaced with a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation.
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