Howdy Pardner!

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Yep, we did feel like we'd been riding a bull today as we left Fairview Marina and made our way up the Chesapeake Bay to the C&D Canal.  I should have known there was going to be a problem with the wind when my hat blew off before we got out of the bay...and we had to circle around with the boat and hook it in. (Thankfully it wasn’t my favorite hat, Ann!)

The wind and water got better once we found ourselves between two closer bodies of land and the wind provided a nice push on speed to around 10 MPH.  We were headed for Chesapeake City for the night…but couldn’t find a vacant slip.  Or rather, couldn’t find a marina that would respond to our inquiry by phone.  So we ended up traveling a couple of extra hours and stayed at Summit North Marina on the C&D.  We ended up traveling about 7 hours for our first day out rather than the 5 hrs we’d anticipated. 

The marina office at Summit North Marina seems like a mile-long trek...but I didn't measure it.  I took Maggie our for a walk that evening and saw a young guy fishing off the dock.  I chatted a short while with him to find out that he hadn't caught anything yet.  On the way back we were in the process of walking past him when I heard him cry out, "I got one!!"  We walked back to get a look and congratulate him on his catch...and I asked if he'd mind if we took a picture of him and his catch.  He was pleased to oblige:

Turns out it was a yellow perch...and he said it wasn't much good for eating, but it was his biggest fish that day.  Oh, and it was pouring rain!  Now that's devotion!

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Not having far to travel today, we were in our spot along the floating dock by lunch time.  We met two couples doing the Loop…and met with the dock master at 3PM for an update on weather conditions across the Delaware Bay (he does this every day for those interested in the topic.  

Using a NOAA service, he showed maps indicating wind force and wave height.  At 4 that day the trip looked very do-able. 

Thursday, July 7, 2022

It was another story at 5AM this morning!  Three of us were planning to take off this morning…but ended up going back to bed after seeing 10-15 winds (and rising).  We called the marina at Cape May and cancelled for today…but are hoping for good weather tomorrow.

Delaware City is an interesting place full of history and historical buildings/houses.  Maggie and I have done some nice walks!  We found out pretty quickly that the majority of the stores in the “shopping area” by the Bay are only open about 3 days a week.  We can see the public library and the community park that surrounds it from our boat…and there’s a nice walking trail that runs along the waterway and off into a grassy area.

Speaking of Maggie, today’s her birthday!  She was born on the 7th day of the 7th month in 2017.  Easy to remember!  She’s 5 today.  Now for some photos from Delaware City...

Friday, July 8, 2022

Whoopy!! The weather looked great and we left, as did about 5 other boats,, for the trip across Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ.  We were trying to keep an eye on a boat we'd gotten to know, Esperanza with Wayne, Hope, and Ginger the Dog aboard.  The trip was easy, but long.  We traveled over 60 miles and it took us 7 hrs.  Needless to say we were pooped when we finally got into our slip at Utsch's Marina.  A walk about with Maggie...supper...and to bed!

By the way, Maggie has decided to sit up with us when we're cruising.  One of the features we liked most about this boat is the bench seat at the helm.  Wayne and I fit there perfectly...and Maggie has moved there, too.  On our first day out when we were crossing the choppy Chesapeake Bay, she was in my lap with her head underneath my arm and her body shaking.  Fortunately, she's more comfortable every time we go out now.

 

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Today has been rainy off and on.  Mostly on.  Hope and I decided we needed a grocery run and a look around town.  I was trying to return an item to a "UPS store"...and it turns out that the only pharmacy in town, a CVS, would handle the return if you presented the box with a label already on it.  We decided to walk to CVS and then get an Uber to and from the grocery store which was in a small town next to Cape May, Rio Grande.  There printing self-serve wasn't working for me so that was a lost cause..  I'll hang on to it until we reach a larger town.  Did I mention it was raining on us the whole time we were out?

So, anyway, we'd gotten a good morning walk in...seen some beautiful historic homes, stepped into a consignment shop and a hardware store.  Instead of calling Uber we decided to walk back to the local grocery, shop, and then call Uber.  Worked like a charm and we came home with more than we could probably store in the boats.  I attribute that to the fact that we didn't get home until about 2 and were shopping in a hungry state. ;-)

We had hoped to leave tomorrow, Sunday, but the weather and waves are looking nasty...so we've booked another night and will hopefully leave on Monday.  As an aside, we'll be headed to Atlantic City, NJ, and will be "running on the outside"...i.e, the Atlantic Ocean.  Today, while Hope and I were out exploring Cape May, the guys were trying to find a marina to stay in there.  Turns out Atlantic City is having a fishing tourney all next week and TheWaynes were coming up with nothing available.  This Wayne kept trying and finally landed 2 slips for our boats in Little Egg Harbor for a couple of nights...with the provision that we'll only stay one if the weather is such that we can leave on Tuesday.  

Anyway, we'll have another day to spend here in Cape May now that the "necessaries" have been covered.  I'll hope for good weather so I can get pictures of this little town.  Today the town was PACKED with people who had come for the weekend to go to the beach and had been rained out!