Croton-on-Hudson to Kingston, New York

            We be Loopin’! We finally have the sense that we are actually doing the Loop. We had not previously visited all the places we passed and stopped at before, but along the Atlantic there is a certain air about seaside resorts that links them all. And since we’ve both lived along the coast all our lives, there is a familiarity about it.

We had an interesting ride through New York harbor up the Hudson River. Country bumpkins that we are, we gaped at the sights and sounds of the big city, but were happy to leave it behind and enter a whole ’nother world. The Hudson River Valley is indescribable so I will not try to put into words what we experienced chugging between the beautiful green hills, high rocky bluffs and postcard-perfect villages zig-zagging along the roads chiseled out of the hillsides.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, you won’t want to listen to mine, just enjoy the pictures. We have had a great time with Lois and Lorenzo, Bill and Mary Anne. Our Turn led the way, followed by Li’l David with Gilraker taking the rear guard. This is a great position for Gilraker because of Gary’s hearing loss. He can watch the two of them pull into slips and it often gives him an idea as to what the problems will be with current, etc., getting into a slip.

We stayed Sunday night at a beautiful spot on the east bank of the Hudson River, the Half Moon Bay Marina. The people were friendly, helpful and very capable. The dockmaster recommended a grocery/deli that had an amazing array of prepared foods as well as fresh produce and groceries. Lois even found her favorite dessert: baklava. The deli had a lot of Middle Eastern dishes, including dolmades and a lentil salad, which made Judy happy and things like chicken wings to suit Gary.

Lorenzo and Bill put their math skills (as well as two computer programs) to work trying to figure out the best time to leave in the morning in order to catch the assistance of the flood tide vs. the river current. The problem was never solved, since it would mean leaving at one p.m. and that would offset any helpful effect because we’d get to Kingston, our next stop, too late in the evening.

So we left at nine a.m. and battled the current. No problem. The weather was so beautiful and the scenery so magnificent that a bit more diesel fuel seemed insignificant. Till we arrived at Kingston! Diesel is over $5.00 per gallon! Gary plans to call and find out if it’s cheaper up ahead. We are staying at a town dock in a lovely town, but the lower cost of dock space will soon be offset by fuel prices.

Today we passed through some gorgeous country. We passed grand estates, including FDR’s boyhood home, Hyde Park. We could only see the turrets on the roof from the water, but had a better view of West Point. Today is Memorial Day and we saw huge flags flying from several of the bridges we passed under. It was the kind of sight that reminds us of how blessed we are to live in this “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.”

We plan to stay here another night and leave for Troy on Wednesday. Lorenzo’s stepmother has had a heart attack and they might be called home at any time. Troy would be a good place to leave his boat for a few days if he has to.

Tuesday will be a rest and recuperation day and a go-to-Wal-Mart and square-the-boat away day. Mary Anne is to be cook for the day and we’re looking forward to that!

Cape May, New Jersey, to New York City

            We had a nice time in Atlantic City. We were rafted to Our Turn’s starboard side so that Kilby could stand at his rail and bark down at us. He wanted so badly to make the leap, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Mary Anne told us he’d tried it once, fell in the drink and had to be rescued with a net. He is one of the cutest dogs you’ve ever seen, especially running around in his doggie life vest when they are getting underway.

            Mary Anne cooked our seafood alfredo and we all enjoyed dining aboard Our Turn. It is much more spacious than Gilraker’s back deck–or all of Gilraker put together for that matter. Our Turn is a 44-foot DeFever cruiser that has all the amenities for living aboard. Mary Anne and Bill are true Loopers. They sold their house to buy the boat and will sell it at the end of the Loop and buy a house. Bill is a retired electrical engineer and Mary Anne is a “quit” nurse. You can find their blog at ourturn4fun.blogspot.com.

            Atlantic City is interesting. The big things there, of course, are the casinos, which none of us ventured into. Even if we had the urge, the price of diesel has gone up so that we wouldn’t dare risk losing anything. Besides, we’re approaching the land of high marina charges. We had a great view from our back decks of light shows put on by the various casinos across the bay from us. One, that I never learned the name of, had a giant American flag flash across it. I’d fiddled with my camera so my pics didn’t turn out too good, unfortunately.

            We ladies took a cab down to the boardwalk on Friday morning. Mary Anne talked to a young lady in the marina office and came back loaded with information and a recommendation for a place to eat dinner. We took a cab to Caesar’s, which is a casino with a floor of restaurants, a floor of shops, and a water show every hour at the end nearest the boardwalk. One of the ceilings in the hallway is midnight blue covered in twinkling lights that look like stars. We window shopped, made a couple of purchases at the outlet shops and taxied back to the marina.

            The captains were all done with their equipment maintenance and tall tale sessions and were ready for dinner. We went to Angelo’s Fairmont Tavern, a quaint place consisting of several buildings cobbled together. After a short wait in the bar we were shown to a table in an upstairs “back room.” Needless to say, a good time was had by all—maybe Lois most of all. She found Angleo’s crab cakes to be some of the best she’d ever eaten! Kilby welcomed us back to the boats, we watched a bit of the light shows and headed to bed.

            The collective captains had decided to pull out of Atlantic City at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m. This just to catch a favorable current running up to the Big Apple! It’s hard for a sluggard like myself to understand such dedication, but I agreed to get up, put some clothes on and be ready to push off, even without coffee. Gary was a little worried about swinging our bow into Our Turn before he could get the rear in gear. As it turned out, with Lorenzo and Bill on Our Turn and the bow thruster going full blast, I wasn’t needed to lend a hand. I don’t think Gary wanted anyone to see me with my life jacket thrown on over my jammies anyway. I couldn’t see getting dressed up for any occasion at 5:30 a.m.

            We had a good run up to New York on the ocean. The weather was gorgeous, the water a little snarly at times, but made for good napping, although apparently I was the only one who took advantage of that. Lois and Mary Anne aren’t nappers.

            Mary Anne and Bill had met a fellow Looper on Mascot who knew a great place to anchor right in the middle of New York City. It is right off Ellis Island and we have a view of Lady Liberty’s back through the trees. It was a welcome relief to anchor and settle down as the captain gets snarly going through congested waterways. There were tankers to the left of us, warships to the right of us, and sailboats zigging and zagging everywhere else. Here in this anchorage you’d never know that the city and harbor are gearing up for fleet week and celebrating Memorial Day. Get out in the channel and it’s a whole different story!

            After consulting a computer program that gives current information, the captains decided we would pull out of NYC about 10 a.m. to catch the full effect of the tide going up the Hudson and become River Rats for the next phase of our journey.

It’s been a month since we left Holden Beach.

On the anniversary of the day we left Holden Beach, we pulled into Delaware Beach, DE. We left Baltimore early on Sunday morning and entered the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. We had a good time in Baltimore, but we had a narrow weather window to get on up toward Cape May, New Jersey, so we took advantage of it. We went up the canal to the beautiful village of Chesapeake City, MD. It is full of quaint little houses that have been lovingly and beautifully restored.

It was chilly and rainy, so we didn’t get much sightseeing done, but we were entertained by the live band playing in the restaurant next door. The marina we stayed in was nice, with floating docks. It didn’t have a lot of amenities, unless you count the ubiquitous plastic palms that seem to be sprouting up everywhere nowadays. We didn’t really need anything anyway—and it did have HOT showers. Lois fixed a dinner of barbecued chicken breasts, salad and corn on the cob. She had whipped up some from-scratch cornbread and sweet potato pudding, too. We may not have a lot of hot water, but we have plenty of good food.

Monday we ambled through Chesapeake City and ate lunch there. Lois had crab soup—again. Lorenzo had made a joke on his blog about the crabs creating a current to speed us on our way Sunday morning to keep them from being further decimated. Monday evening we had dinner on Gilraker’s back deck. You can’t beat Zatarain’s Rice and Black Beans cooked with smoked sausage, along with fresh steamed asparagus, salad and cornbread. I know this sounds like a cook’s tour, but we do eat well. Lois and I agree that someone else’s cooking always tastes better anyway and we sort of take turns playing hostess when we don’t eat out—which we do at every opportunity.

Gary continues to do more and more fantastic feats docking the boat. He hasn’t touched a rub rail in the last three marinas. We made the trip to Delaware City fairly quickly because we had a lot of help from the current as well as the crabs shooing us on along. We fueled up at the long, long dock there on the narrow canal. We were glad they had floating docks, the tide was over six feet. We hiked to a local eatery and stuffed on seafood, then got back on our boats and turned in early.

Lorenzo has some way of calculating how we can get an assist from the current as we travel. It’s not just the tide, it has something to do with a big rush of water having to get somewhere in a limited amount of time. I don’t understand it and neither does Captain Walker, but we had a big assist for most of our run up to Cape May, New Jersey, where we docked this afternoon about two p.m. The marina here is very nice and we are in a dock (sorry, we did touch the rub rail coming in) with five other Loopers. One has a gold Looper flag and the rest of us are still at it.

The four of us hiked up to a WaWa, which in our ignorance, we thought was a grocery store. It did have a few essentials, but not a big variety of things. We replenished our salad supply, bought a little fruit and other things and were glad that Lorenzo remembered to bring the hand cart. On the way back to the boats we stopped at a seafood market and stocked up for our next few meals. L&L bought some salmon filets and shrimp. Gary and I bought scallops and fake crab to make seafood alfredo.

Lorenzo grilled the salmon, basted with Italian dressing, and fixed grilled stir-fried vegetables. There was plenty of salad, cornbread and some sweet potatoes, so Lorenzo begged Mary Anne and Bill Osborne who are doing the Loop on Our Turn, along with their dog, Kilby, to come down and help us dispose of the groceries. They graciously agreed, not wanting to see the four of us eat enough for eight. We had a great time swapping stories after dinner on Li’l David’s back deck. Good conversation and laughter are great digestive aids.

Mary Anne and Bill are going to leave with us early tomorrow morning to run up to Atlantic City. The captains want us to have a little window shopping time and a chance to see the boardwalk there, but they also want to retain the option of making a fast getaway if they see us reaching for our credit cards.

The Osbornes’ AGLCA burgee was lost on their transit to Cape May and someone has reported finding it on the Cruisers’ Association website. Can you beat that?

In a final note on this blog I want to inform my children that they can call me crazy old woman if they want to, but they may not call me a wimp or a wuss. I had a COLD shower this morning—but a good HOT one tonight. I guess that does make me a crazy old woman. But I’m having a good time. Unfortunately, I’m not losing any weight. One guy we met at a marina told me he and his wife had lost 15 pounds each doing the loop, just from the extra activity. Unfortunately, I take a nap every time I throw a line out, so that doesn’t hold true for me.

We want to wish a happy birthday to our daughter-in-law Greta and hope our son gave her appropriate attention and presents on her big day! 

I also want to welcome my nephew, Charles Johnston, back to the good ol’ USA. Charles has been serving with a Naval Reserve Seabee Battalion in Kuwait for nine months or so. They returned to Gulfport, Mississippi, today and we are happy to have him home and very proud of his service to our country. Welcome home, Charles, and all your buddies!

Colonial Beach, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland

First, I need to tell you I made a mistake. (Neither the first nor the last, so don’t get excited.) Colonial Beach is not at the mouth of the Potomac where it empties into Chesapeake Bay. It’s actually up the Potomac from the Bay a-ways. The weather can still get downright snarly in the Potomac, and believe me, it was that way well before we got to Colonial Beach. It was cloudy when we left DC, but not bad until we got downriver from DC. Then the wind and tide beat up on us quite a bit. As we pulled up to the fuel dock at Colonial Beach it began to rain—cold rain. It got worse from there. Luckily we were snugged up, right across the dock from Li’l David. We waved at each other and battened down. It poured rain all night and most of the next day.

            Then, a gorgeous day! HOT showers! Lorenzo rented a golf cart and we toured the beautiful little town of Colonial Beach. We weren’t the only carters on the roads, either. As usual, Lois and I found the nearest Dollar General and loaded up on plastic goods and other necessities. We found an ice cream shop, and later, a sandwich shop where we loaded up in a different way. Along the way we were stopped by a grizzled native who asked if any among us had a cigarette. His truck was in the shop and he couldn’t get to the store. While Gary was fishing him out a couple, he allowed as how his wife needed a couple also. Gary didn’t like my suggestion to give him the whole pack and seemed to begrudge the poor man the two he did give him.

            We didn’t eat much on Sunday, the day we arrived in Colonial Beach, but Monday Lois cooked a big pot of chicken and rice, pinto beans and biscuits. The next night we had a pot of chili aboard Gilraker—along with cornbread baked in our “Grillerie.” Our appetites aren’t suffering a bit on this trip. We pulled out on Wednesday morning and finished our run down the Potomac and out into Chesapeake Bay. This time the Bay couldn’t have been more beautiful. About time after the beatings we’d taken earlier!

            Gary found a secret little cove off a creek off the Patuxent River and we anchored out that night. Turned out not to be so secret. By the time the sun set we were joined by several other boats. Lois “threw down” grilled pork chops and smoked sausage along with some green beans, salad and rolls. Wish you could have been there! We kicked back in the evening with coffee on the back deck and good talk with good friends.

            We pulled out bright and early the next morning and made it to Baltimore just in time to get a hand docking. Gary gave him an extra tip because he stayed a few minutes after closing time. We are presently in a great (albeit expensive) marina in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. We are docked right across from the National Aquarium, a mariner’s museum containing the sailing ship USS Constellation, a World War II sub, the USS Torsk, a Coast Guard cutter and a lightship.

There is almost constant activity on the waterfront across the harbor from our back deck. We can hear music most of the day and into the night at the open-air plaza. There is occasionally cannon fire as the British are repulsed and last night there were fireworks also. I can’t believe the fire sirens going off almost constantly. It’s an interesting place to be, but if you crave peace and quiet this might not be your favorite place. We have enjoyed our visit here, though, and everyone has been very friendly. The native Baltimoreans are proud of their beautiful city and we hope to take them up on their invitations to return. 

            Lois and I walked around the docks yesterday all the way over to the museum and shops located on the other side. There is all sorts of water traffic to be seen from our back deck. Amphibious duck boat/automobiles go by, along with water taxis, fishing boats and yachts. There was a huge yacht docked here when we came in, the Michaela Rose. They fueled up yesterday in preparation for a run to New York. They took on 7500 gallons of diesel fuel. The yacht is owned by a “prominent Dallas realtor.” I’m just glad someone can pay the fuel bill.

            I don’t know what we’re going to do when Lorenzo runs out of cousins. Everywhere we’ve gone a cousin has shown up to give us a ride, loan a car or something (well, not ALL cousins, one was a son, and at Crisfield we were taken care of by Gary’s family). Baltimore is no exception. Lorenzo’s cousin Thaddeus came today and took Lois, Lorenzo and me to Wal-Mart and the Lexington Street Market.

            He had a tiny car, which we loaded to the point of causing the muffler to drag. I offered to sit on the hood, but he wouldn’t let me. Every family should have at least one Thaddeus. He did us a great service and kept us entertained the entire trip. Besides, my hat’s off to anyone brave enough to drive in Baltimore. L&L have had several more cousins come by today, including Thaddeus’ mother Agnes, a real classy lady. It really is wonderful how our two families have gotten along and that has made a great trip even better.

            We ate at the Rusty Scupper our first night here. It’s sort of high-dollar for us, but the food was great. Lorenzo said the score so far is Lois 21, Crabs 0. He has a blog you can check out at www.lorenzodelois.com [NOTE: This is fixed… love your oldest & best looking son!]. I tried to link to his blog site, but being a lefty AND technically challenged, couldn’t get it to work. Stupid computer! You’ll get a lot more technical info at his blog, including updates on his two Detroit diesels, Portia and Starrie. Dad would be very proud to know that he has Detroits. I think that’s his one disappointment in Gilraker—her Cummins engine, although it’s certainly done a great job for us. I just wish we could figure out how to run it off fresh water.

            We plan to pull out tomorrow morning and head north again. Laundry’s done, provisions are loaded and we’ll get another HOT shower tonight! We do appreciate all the prayers. We’ve been in some aggravating weather, but nothing dangerous and have seen lots of interesting things and met interesting people. We miss our friends, but are making new ones along the way. It’s funny how we’ll see a boat somewhere, then pull into a marina, and there it will be.

            For all you complainers out there: be glad you’re getting a blog at all. I’m reading a very interesting book and it’s hard to put it down to satisfy your curiosity. I’ll eventually get around to updating, though. I’m really flattered at all the interest.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Colonial Beach, Virginia

Are we having fun yet? And an exposé of Baptist polygamy . . .

            Polygamy has a long and ugly history. The Bible reports on it while never condoning it.  In every case noted in the Bible it leads to family strife and dysfunction. Muslims have a long-standing history of practicing polygamy. They are allowed up to four wives, providing they can support each of them equally. (Of course, if they can’t, or don’t want to any longer, divorce is a simple matter also.) There has been a lot in the news lately about the “fundamentalist Mormons” and their practicing polygamy illegally. I want to report on a surreptitious practice among Baptists and other main-line protestant denominations. It has spread even among Catholics, Jews and other religious groups also. This insidious polygamy involves boats.

            Men who are otherwise hard-working, loving fathers and husbands, wimps, macho men, all types of men practice this little-recognized polygamy. It’s called: “love me, love my boat.” Other victims of this polygamy will have no trouble recognizing it and agreeing with my portrayal of it. It starts so innocently and grows to become an all-consuming loop.

            It usually begins with a small fishing boat, bought early in spring when the crappie are bedding. “Fresh fish for dinner!” is the cry. This type of boat often converts to a duck blind in the winter, confusing the naive wife and making it appear less offensive and even benign. This first stage of the polygamy may last for a short while or the polygamist may drag it out longer, slowly enveloping the wife into the practice before she is aware of what is happening.

A promotion at work often triggers the next phase. As part of celebrating the new job, the polygamist treats the “family” to a larger boat. In this manner the entire family is dragged into the despicable practice. Children are bribed to participate with promises of Saturdays spent water skiing, picnicking, going on family fishing trips and other family-friendly activities. Any promise may be used to lure the unsuspecting family into the polygamist web. Amid all this, church attendance is promoted and the boat is carefully kept stored until after dinner on that day, adding to the deception.

The poor wife is so elated that the often workaholic father is participating in family activities that she actually supports the practice. Too late she realizes that the boat has become the second, third, or even higher-numbered wife. It is at this point that multiple boats may enter the picture. There’s one for fishing, one for water skiing and “family activities” and possibly a small, innocent-looking little rowboat that will morph into a dinghy when the dreaded “cruiser” is purchased.

Alas the poor wife. By now she’s hooked and finds herself joining in, soothing her conscience by reminding herself that it’s “for the family.” Children brought up in this environment go on to practice this polygamy themselves, rationalizing by telling themselves and their own families that they only participate on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons and that it’s wholesome family time spent together. I write this as warning to you other naïve innocents out there: Beware, you too may be caught up in the web and find yourself in a gale “doing the Great Loop.”

We had a rainy time in DC, but spent the time profitably: napping, stashing, stowing, doing the Laundromat shuffle and fold, and sealing leaks. The best time to find and identify leaks is during a rainstorm. You can do it during a rough crossing, but then you run the risk of falling overboard, possibly delaying the crossing, soaked, hopefully pulled from the drink, and, after all this, the seals don’t hold up when applied to wet spots. The sun finally made its appearance on Saturday morning. Gary and I immediately asked the location of the closest unisex barber shop/salon and set out to find it.

It was in L’Enfant Plaza, about a half-mile walk from the marina. That wouldn’t have been bad, we needed the exercise, but Gary’s knees have gotten so bad I’ve almost talked him into seeing an orthopaedist when we go home. It was a slow walk with many stops. We finally found the salon, which turned out to be closed, as were most of the stores in the mall where it was located. It seemed strange to us, but this is DC. The offices occupying most of the building were closed, therefore the stores were also. Apparently tourists don’t shop in underground malls on weekends.

Gary called Edward and he gave instructions about how to catch the Metro and get to Ballston Commons Mall, where he knew there were several salons/barber shops certain to be open. We managed to get Metro tickets after telling an attendant we were from a town with two traffic lights and electronically challenged. We found a barber shop, got our respective hair cuts and went to Starbucks for some high-octane pick-me-up.

Ed & Becky picked us up there and took us to their old stomping grounds of Falls Church and to one of our favorite places, Mark’s Duck House. Mark’s is a dim sum Chinese restaurant. For blog readers who, like us, had never heard of such: dim sum is little things that the waiters/waitresses push around in little carts from table to table. You look over the cart and pick what you want. One of Gary’s favorite things is a whole little barbecued baby suckling pig done to a crisp on the outside. There are all sorts of dumplings and things that I could not name if I tried, but trust me, there have been very few things I’ve eaten there that aren’t tasty.

Unfortunately, when we backed out of our parking place a fellow hit Becky’s car in the rear bumper and our excursion to Target and the grocery store was cancelled. We went back to the marina, and since Ed & Becky couldn’t find a parking place, they let us out and wished me happy Mother’s Day.

I left Gary at the boat resting his knees and walked with Lois and Lorenzo to the Safeway to lay in supplies. As Lorenzo puts it, “This is a great reminder of why I don’t want to live here.” The GROCERY store had at least four security guards! I bought about 40 dollars worth of groceries, paid $84.00 for them and wheeled my buggy out the door, where the wheels locked electronically. Lorenzo and I had to LIFT the buggy to the taxi to put in the groceries, then LIFT it back over the curb. A security guard then came with a gizmo and unlocked the wheels.

When we got back to the marina there were people actually PARKED in the turning lane in front of the seafood market. I couldn’t believe it. Cars were sitting there, unoccupied while people picked up their orders at the market. It was insane. Wreckers and rollbacks were having a field day. It’s apparently some kind of weird game they play there: try to outwit the wrecker. To add insult to injury, the cab driver, who charged $8.25 to take the three of us and a few bags of groceries all of a mile to the marina, sputtered that he should have charged us for the time it took to retrieve our groceries from the trunk!

We ate our last crab cakes of the week on Saturday night and prepared to leave Capital Yacht Club. We’d had a capital time. No sightseeing, but it’s not fun in the rain anyway. Lorenzo and I agreed as to how we really didn’t want to go back to the Vietnam Memorial. It’s too gut-wrenching. And we hope the young people who are fighting this war we’re in now aren’t sent to die, then not allowed to finish the job they take pride in doing well.

We left early Sunday morning and our trip back down the Potomac was nice until we reached the junction of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. As usual, we had things that appeared battened down but weren’t. We took a lot of water over the bow, and into the leaks that inevitably escape detection. Maggie kept asking, “What’s the matter?” She also mutters a lot under her breath, which makes one suspicious of what she’s heard when.

By the time we reached Colonial Beach Marina it had started to rain and gotten pretty cold. We fueled up and tied up to a floating dock across from Li’l David. Just in time. (We definitely prefer floating docks. At the stationary kind the boat falls below or rises above the level of the dock. Fat people don’t jump well. Especially around docks.) The rain poured and the winds were gale-force most of the night. We were snug as bugs, watching our satellite TV and seeing the reports of tornadoes in a lot of the places we have family. Not the best Mother’s Day, but we’ve certainly been fortunate and know the Lord is looking out for us and our loved ones. I had Mother’s Day calls from all three of our boys.

We aren’t sure yet how long we’ll be here, but whenever we leave we plan to head in the direction of Baltimore. And Lois is cooking chicken and rice, pinto beans and biscuits for supper! Yummm!

Washington, DC

            It appears April showers have brought more showers than flowers to this fair city, at least for today. We chugged into the Capital Yacht Club late Tuesday afternoon. The captain backed Gilraker right into a sailboat slip with nary a touch of the rubrail on posts, pilings or docks! In addition, he avoided squashing our next-slip neighbor’s floating swimming pool. The ol’ boy’s getting good. Gilraker has her nose up amongst the real yachts around here, most of which tower over her and stick out way past her bow pulpit. Li’l David isn’t too far away, but was assigned to the face dock, there not being many transient slips available here.

            There’s a good reason for that, too. Our slip is usually occupied by a sailboat owned by someone named Mike. He’ll be back Sunday, so we’ll either have to move or move on. It seems many of the boats docked here are occupied by live-aboards. It’s about the cheapest way to live in DC, especially for people with government appointments who can’t count on their jobs being there for longer than four years. The fellow next to us with the floating pool works at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, a mere 376 steps away. He was quite friendly and offered us the use of his pool while we’re here. I thanked him, but said I wouldn’t subject the public to sight of me in a bathing suit.

            The pool is pretty neat. It’s like a  5 ½-foot deep kiddie pool with a float ring around the top. The rest is just like a big rubber bucket that hangs down into the pretty dirty Potomac water but is filled with filtered, chlorinated water. He has a PVC pipe ladder attached to his boat that hangs down in it. To clean it he uses a long piece of PVC with a cap on one end with a hole in it. He keeps a finger over the hole, places the open end of the pipe over whatever trash he wants to take out, then removes the finger. Shlooop! Up the pipe it goes and out of the pool. Neat.

            They have a beautiful clubhouse here with all the amenities and it’s right at the end of the dock. We aren’t parked in another zip code so the bikes have remained lashed to the top of the pilot house.

            Probably the greatest amenity is the proximity to a fish market. Lois took me down there to show me around as soon as we docked. There are barges tied to the pilings, probably some kind of tax dodge, and they are set up with stalls that have every kind of fish, mollusk, and crustacean you can think of displayed on ice. You can pick what you want and have it steamed or fried, or take it home and cook it yourself.

            A couple of the stalls have crab and/or clam chowder and a big kettle of cooked-in-husk corn. Our first dinner here consisted of a couple of pounds of giant shrimp steamed with Old Bay seasoning and a piece of the delicious corn. My hands were red and sticky from the Old Bay and my tummy was groaning, but I consoled myself that all that protein couldn’t fattening. Last night we had fried trout from one of the stalls, sweet potatoes cooked in Lois’s microwave and a pot of grits, topped off with a serving of coleslaw. Lorenzo brought Lois a surprise gift of a grocery bag full of Alaskan crab legs. She shared the crab legs, but Gary and Lorenzo only got a couple and I didn’t have any. Lois had a sharp knife in one hand!

            Yesterday there was a light rain off and on all day and even Maggie felt punk. Gary fixed leaks and Maggie and I napped. We are close to the downtown sights of DC, but I doubt we’ll do much sight-seeing today, either. It began to rain seriously during the night and looks to be set in for the day. That’s o.k. We’re lazy. And retired. It’s fun to sit on the back deck drinking coffee, dressed in our jammies and watch the government types in their suits, ties and umbrellas march down the dock to work in the morning.

            One couple has a little boy who appears to be about two with them. He has a kiddie pool on the front deck of their boat and a lot of toys hemmed in by their front railings. One young couple docked across from us has a boxer that they apparently leave in doggie day care while they’re at work. He is well-behaved and stuck his head in the curtain to greet us the first night we were here. His owner turned out to be an NC State grad, in forestry of all things, who got a second degree from Reformed Theological Seminary and does counseling at a juvenile detention facility. He told us they took a group of the kids to the Grand Canyon last year as part of the counseling and it really made an impact on them. I suppose it would: transfer from a manmade canyon like inner-city DC to a God-made canyon. What a mind-blower. I hope we get to talk to him some more.

            Ed and Becky are supposed to come down and join us tonight. Lorenzo, of course, has cousins in the area. I don’t think we’ve been anywhere yet that he didn’t have either a cousin or close friend. My eye was hurting last night and he phoned his cousin Donna B, a nurse, for advice on whether I needed to go to urgent care or not. I called and left a message for Dr. Ply per her advice. I’ve come to the conclusion it is muscle spasms due to using muscles the eye hasn’t used for awhile. It’s fine this morning and my vision is fine. I think the eye muscles just needed a good rest. There’s been a lot to look at. Dr. Ply called this morning and agreed with what I’d done, taking amoxicillin for sinus infection and Presdnisone drops to ease possible swelling.

            Thanks to all who’ve been praying for us. We missed another tornado last night by about 50 miles. The few problems we’ve had have been very minor and easily remedied. We aren’t sure exactly where we’ll go from here, except back down the Potomac to Chesapeake Bay, then turn to port and head on up toward Annapolis and the northern climes. 

Crisfield, Maryland, Blue Crab Capital

            Not to take anything from Southport and other crab capitals, but Crisfield IS the crab capital as far as we’re concerned. Someone in Gary’s family has made his living as a waterman on the Chesapeake since before the Revolution. Gary might not have continued that tradition, but it’s in his blood. It’s not in mine, but I love most anything that doesn’t involve a lot of work on my part. We were especially glad to see Crisfield after a rather snarly time on the Bay. We got here just as it was getting dark and the harbor has been a safe haven in some really windy weather. We’ll probably stay here till Sunday. If you stay two nights the third one is free, and even without that it would have been a bargain, as the rates here are very reasonable.

            Crisfield is where Gilraker’s hull was molded and folks in this area recognize an Evans hull when they see it. Yesterday a guy stopped by to chat and we found out he’s the one who built the swim platform last year that fit so perfectly when Gary attached it while the boat was out of the water last month. He liked the work Gary has done on the boat, extending the pilot house, building cabinets and other niceties. I have a few complaints, such as wishing we’d opted for a water heater, but otherwise, it’s as comfortable as one could expect in tight quarters. When we go to the fuel dock we’re thankful we don’t have any more weight on it than we do.

            An unexpected bonus in Crisfield is the loan of a Tahoe from Gary’s brother Ralph and his wife. Debbie is driving Ralph’s dilapidated pickup to work so we can use the Tahoe. It is greatly appreciated by all of us. Gary and Lorenzo went yesterday to find someone to alter a dinghy cover that didn’t fit and also to get a mechanic to fix the pump that lifts the deck above our engine. When the lift didn’t work it took Gary and me both to raise the thing so he could check the oil. Lois and I went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon and I gave her a tour of Crisfield. We were gone all of 15 minutes.

            Another bonus here was that by the time we got tied up at the dock on Wednesday evening we were all tired and hungry. We set off on foot to a nearby restaurant very close to closing time. As we got to the marina gate David Evans pulled up in a pickup and gave us a ride to the Alibi, right around the corner. They were closing and had a lone customer whom they had expected to be their last. We told them we’d take whatever was left in the kitchen. Turned out to be crab cakes to die for (Lois and I eat them nearly every time we eat out), prime rib, fried flounder and all the trimmings. They have what might very well be the world’s best onion rings. And they acted like we had come in at 6:30 instead of 8:45! This place needs no alibi!

            More of Gary’s family is expected to come by tonight and visit the short, short boat. Maggie’s chatter has picked up a lot. When the guys were here yesterday working on the deck lift she cracked them up. When she heard them laughing she joined in. She’s been a real conversation starter. Another good note is that I’m gradually finding better and better ways to stow and stash, and Gary has put up more eye hooks and bungee cords. We had Lorenzo and Lois over for a spaghetti dinner last night and there was plenty of room on the back deck to enjoy the sunset while we ate. It don’t get no better than this!

            Update: 5/4/08

            We stayed in Crisfield longer than expected due to reports of high winds on the Bay. The nicest thing about retirement is not having to keep to a schedule. If the weather is bad, or if we’re simply having too good a time to move on, that’s what we do—or not.

            The men got the things they needed for tinkering on Friday while Lois and I caught up on laundry, stashing and stowing. Friday evening Gary’s sister Janet, his brother BJ, his wife Jennifer and their two boys, Daniel and Anson came to join us. We all went back to the Alibi for dinner. Lois had crab cakes again. Lorenzo swears she’s growing claws. We tasted the newly-proclaimed Maryland State Dessert after dinner. It’s Smith Island Cake, a concoction of seven pancake-thin cake layers separated by different icings: orange, chocolate or others. We all tasted the orange and chocolate and applauded the state legislature for having made a wise decision.

On Saturday Lois and I took the car and went to Salisbury on a shopping expedition. Of course we got lost—or displaced, as I prefer to call it—and had to call Janet for directions to the mall. We looked for a place to call from that Janet would be familiar with and pulled into the police station parking lot. She had a bad moment when I told her we were in Salisbury at the police station and needed directions. We finally found the mall where we mostly window shopped and then one of our favorite places, Family Dollar. We’ve found Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar General to be treasure troves for things to use on boats.

            Saturday night Lorenzo and Lois threw down with a big pot of chicken and rice cooked with ham hocks. With salad, green beans and rolls, you couldn’t get better in a five-star restaurant. Sitting on the back deck with friends watching the sun set and the boats rocking is just as good as it sounds. Add an after-dinner cup of coffee and you’d never want to be anywhere else!

            Sunday we attended church in Pocomoke with Ralph and Debbie. We all enjoyed the church a lot, great music and really good sermon, and then we had dinner together at Ruby Tuesday’s in Pocomoke. After an expedition to Wal-Mart we returned to the marina for naps and more stowing and stashing. Remember, all of us had had some sort of physical disability shortly before we left Holden Beach. I had planned to have everything on board stashed away a week before we left. What with not being able to lift or bend and Gary popping his rib, Lorenzo and Lois both having flu, we ended up tossing everything aboard in garbage bags and shoving off. For someone who dislikes work, it’s been steady stashing, stowing and rearranging. And when we hit snarly weather a lot of it is to be done all over again.

            About 6:30 Janet showed up with a chicken casserole and her two shih tzus, Bear and Bella. They were wearing their best leashes and dress-up clothes. Bella was wearing a print casual dress with matching underslip and Bear sported a handsome color-coordinated neckerchief. They had a great time exploring the boat. “Uncle” Gary calls them the Ewoks.

            The executive decision by the captains is that if the weather report holds like it is we will leave here Tuesday morning and head for the Potomac. We plan to see Ed & Becky and Lorenzo’s cousin while we’re there. And who knows what other amazing adventures await us.

            Update 4/5/08

            Well, the laundry is caught up, folded, stashed, stowed and the marina is finally quiet. Gilraker sounded like a party barge tonight. Janet and her friend Brenda came aboard about 6:30 with a Cinco de Mayo feast: Spanish rice, black bean and tortilla casserole, enchiladas and lots of other stuff. L&L came down from Li’l David and we threw down. Then Gary’s sister Linda came from Salisbury and the sea stories started. I know the guy in the next boat will be glad for us to leave. He recently had open heart surgery and lives on his boat. It’s hard not to get raucous when a bunch of Walkers start telling stories on each other. L&L added their share to the merriment too. The decision has been made that we will sally forth tomorrow and face the Bay. We hope to be in Washington before too long—unless we opt to stay somewhere else. Crisfield has been a great place to wait out the weather. Lois and I are soon going to have to hit the clothes racks in the dollar store looking for stretch pants. It’s bad, folks. Bad.