ANNAPOLIS - SETTLED IN

He Said:  Hello from Annapolis.  We have really been enjoying our 3 plus weeks here in Maryland. Once you settle down in a marina like we have done, your life becomes normal - other than the fact you are living on a boat.  We try to hang on the boat thru the week and enjoy our weekends like we have always done in Phoenix.  

 

Most of our boat list is finished other than our windlass which is still giving us a headache.  This is our anchor system which is run automatically with, of course, a motor and a foot pedal.  We can still use it if we had to, but you have to put the anchor in and out of the water by hand - not so easy if it sets really well on the bottom.  And of course it is very important that it settles and holds.  We hope to have it fixed within a week from now.

 

Our game plan is to head south on October 1.  We are only paid at this marina thru Sept. 30.  Our spot is rented for the big boat show so we have no choice but to head out.  We will probably spend 1 or 2 weeks finishing up the Chesapeake Bay.  We have about 150 miles remaining until we reach Norfolk, Va.  We will be back to following weather and water conditions when we leave here.  The Chesapeake is not the ocean, but the locals claim it is known to be plenty nasty if weather kicks up.

 

I have been lucky to find a cool little bar about a 5 minute walk from the boat here in Eastport where they put on about any ballgame you request.  I have found a handful of Buckeye Fans (yes we are everywhere) that I met up with the last 2 weeks to watch the games. It was fun although neither was exactly a barn-burner - especially last Saturday’s game against Florida A&M.  It was 54-0 at halftime.  Our starting QB, Braxton Miller, has not played the past 3 games.  Should be fun seeing how we do against Wisconsin this Saturday and Northwestern the following week.  We should be just fine, but we will see.

 

I think one of our highlights of our stay here in Annapolis was this past Saturday.  I took the dingy boat over to my fave little bar called Davis’ Pub for the game at noon our time.   I headed back to the boat about 3:30 to get ready for our little concert about 50 feet from the boat.  This puts not-having-to-drive into a class of its own - we barely had to walk.  The concert started at 5 and went to 9.  The weather could have been better, but the evening was wonderful.  We had our little beach chairs in the front row sitting maybe 10 feet from the stage and of course, Michael Utley.  The opening act was also terrific - all original music about his travels and music from his heart.  It also had a Buffett sound the music had a twist of the SE part of the country - mostly Georgia, Florida and Alabama.  Then came Utley’s Band with a young man doing lots of JB music.  They sounded just like the Coral Reefer Band - helps having a guy in the band who has played with JB for only 40 years. I had a chance to get a mug shot and talk to Utley before they took the stage.  I probably will never have a chance to meet JB, but I had to know if he really is as good a dude as I hoped.  Utley said he’s every bit of it; that’s all I needed to hear.

 

Michael Utley doing his sound check

Jack and Michael Utley before the concert

Mike Frinzi and the band.  Doyle Grisham (left), Mike Frinzi and Michael Utley (middle)

Not too much else happening so we will reach out probably before we leave here in the next week.  One of the things I forgot to mention is we try to evaluate every part of our trip and it is very interesting.  What is really cool is that Tuesday will be our 4 months living on the boat, and what a different life style.  The fact that the first 3 months were almost a bonus is great.  We originally were going to begin our trip right here in Annapolis, so all of the NE part of the country sort of feels like a bonus.  We are very much looking forward to the South.  Hopefully it will be as cool as we hope!!

 

Take Care, Jack

 

She Said:  We haven’t written in awhile because we haven’t really done anything noteworthy.  Living aboard MTB while she’s tied-up is like living on a floating condo.  Our life is pretty normal – except without a car.  That means we’re doing a lot of walking and learning the bus schedule.  Without a car doing things takes a lot longer – it takes an entire day to run errands.

 

The longer we’re here, the more we like the area.  We can walk to almost everything we need (except a full blown grocery store).  Jack has found his new Teakwoods – although on a much smaller scale.  There are lots of people to talk to, the food’s good, and the drink prices are cheap.  He can even take the dinghy there.  The name of the places is Davis’ and it’s been around 100 years.  It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  The Crab Pretzel is fabulous!  We’re only going to be here another week and there are still restaurants we want to try and few we want to revisit.

 

We’re making great progress on our “to-do” list.  I’ve recovered the cushions on the back patio, and it looks so much better.  The front 3 windows are being replaced today.  The only thing that’s still outstanding is the windlass (electronics for the anchor).  They think it’s the control panel and we’re just waiting on the part.  We can anchor without the windlass, but it would be an entirely manual process.  Dropping (and raising) the anchor is my job so I really want it fixed.  Keep your fingers crossed!

 

We had a really fun night out Saturday.  It was finally the night of the Coral Reefer benefit concert.  The venue was small (the stage was actually in the water) and there were only 550 tickets sold.  Our beach chairs were front row!  The opening act was a singer/songwriter with a Jimmy Buffett flavor – his name is Jim Morris.  The food was endless (and good) and the Painkillers were flowing.  The main act was John Flinzi with Michael Utley and Doyle Grisham (Coral Reefers).  They did a few Buffett songs and were really good.  Jack got to meet Michael Utley, so he was in heaven.  I can’t remember a night when we had so much fun!

 

Michael Utley sound check

Singer/Songwriter Jim Morris

The entire band.  The stage is literally in the water.

My girlfriend, Susan, was supposed to come for a visit but it didn’t work out.  Her trip was postponed until October and we’ll be gone when she gets here.  I’m really bummed, but I hope she’ll meet up with somewhere else along the way.

 

We were fortunate to only experience a few hot and humid days while in Annapolis.  It’s now officially fall and the temps here have definitely cooled down – it’s been downright cold a few nights.  I still have a hard time believing that summer’s over.  In many ways it feels like we never experienced summer.  We never ran the A/C for more than a few hours on a few days.  I hardly ever got a chance to wear sleeveless tops, and I only got in the water once.  On the flipside, how can I complain about weather where we don’t need the heat or A/C and sleep with the windows open every night.  With 20/20 hindsight I guess it was a near perfect summer.  

 

As much as we’ve enjoyed Annapolis, it’s time to start planning our departure.  We’ve got a plan that will take us a week to 10 days to get to Norfolk – if the weather cooperates.  If there are no hurricanes forecasted for late October, we will hit the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW) around October 15.  That’s the trip that we set out to take, so we’re really excited about that.  Whenever anyone talks about the ICW they talk about running aground – it’s not IF we go aground, it’s WHEN we go aground.  I can't start thinking about that already.