Final Days in Baltimore and Trip to Annapolis

October 2, 2018 - October 27, 2018

We were in a  holding pattern concerning our departure for Charleston, SC where we will stay from 12/1/18 to 3/31/19.  I continued my physical therapy and dealt with insurance issues.  Our latest run in with Allstate has caused us to rethink our plan to negotiate on our own.  We have enlisted the help of a law firm.  

One of our neighbors in the marina left for their winter berth last week and had a short haul to clean the barnacles off their props.  When Bob saw the extensive growth on their props he decided to hire a diver to clean our prop before we leave.  Divers are busy this time of year and we couldn’t get an appointment until 10/24/18.  Our new departure date will be Thursday 10/25/18.

The fun part of this delay is that I have been able to spend more time with Jess - sewing and going out to lunch on the last two Saturdays.  She is managing a huge concert for Peabody involving over 500 performers.  It is the Bernstein Mass which Leonard Bernstein created for the opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971. The performers are from Baltimore City Schools, Morgan State University, New Psalmist Baptist Church Choir, and Peabody Conservatory.  This concert is a gargantuan task and I am looking forward to attending it on 10/26/18.

We left Baltimore on 10/24/18 at 8:00 AM.  The weather was cool, but with our full cockpit enclosure we were well protected from the elements.  We arrived in Annapolis in time for lunch at Pip’s dogs on Dock Street. I always have the Almost Chicago Dog that is loaded with all kinds of yummy condiments.  We are in Annapolis for the C&C rendezvous which is a gathering of C&C boat owners in the area.

I researched public transportation from Annapolis to Baltimore so I could attend the "Mass" and found a commuter bus that would leave Church Circle (within walking distance of City Dock) at 3:17 on Friday afternoon.  On Friday C&C boats and their owners began to fill up the slips at City Dock.  We met up with many of them and the planned cover dish for the evening was moved from the dock to our boat because of the predicted N’oreaster that was moving into the area.  So while I was in Baltimore at the Bernstein Mass Bob was hosting 12-15 people for a cover dish dinner on our boat.  With the full enclosure everyone was well protected from the rain.

s/v Rainy Days cockpit full of C&C owners

My bus trip went smoothly and I met Joe (my son-in-law) at the Brew House for dinner before leaving for the "Mass" that Jessica had produced for Peabody Conservatory.  It was held in the New Psalmist Baptist Church which has a seating capacity of 4000 and the house was almost full. I really didn’t know what to expect, but the impact of the Mass was incredible.  With the multitude of performers and genres (from marching bands to opera) and the powerful message of the music I was overwhelmed and inspired.  The work to produce such a spectacular show was incredible.  I am very proud of Jessica to say the least. 

It was such a thought provoking and inspiring performance,
I'm so glad I could attend.

After the show I spent the night at Jess and Joe’s and returned to Annapolis via light rail and Uber by 11:00 on Saturday.

The rendezvous was in full swing with pain killers flowing.  I spent the afternoon and evening on one of the boats making friends with all of the C&C owners.  Great times.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Hurricane Season in Baltimore, part 2

September 10, 2018 - October 1, 2018

In the past few weeks Bob and I have spent countless hours dealing with the fallout from my accident in which I was sitting at a red light and was slammed into by a pick up truck.  I have been going to physical therapy twice a week and Bob has been dealing with issues concerning the damage to our car.  Here are the particulars:

• After several days the insurance company of the truck driver (Allstate) determined that the accident was not my fault and they would accept responsibility
• It took several more days to get an initial estimate on the damage and repairs
• After a week the car was towed to Koon’s Toyota in Annapolis for repair.
• By the end of the next week Koon’s determined that the car was a total loss due to structural damage
• During this time period I was informed by GEICO (our insurance company) that they would be paying my medical expenses under PIP (whatever that means). This entailed several hours of filling out paperwork and talking with insurance agents.
• When I took out my Sailrite sewing machine (that was stored in the back of our car) several pieces fell off and when I used it to repair a friend’s canvas it made all kinds of terrible noises. This caused another round of phone calls to Allstate and Sailrite to determine what to do to get the machine repaired.  We took the machine to UPS and had it packed and shipped to Sailrite for repair. 
• I took pictures of the machine which I sent to Allstate along with the repair estimate given to me by Sailrite.  I payed for the repairs out of pocket as I needed the machine to complete projects before our departure for Charleston. Sail rite repaired my machine in one day and sent it back to me immediately.  I still haven’t heard from Allstate about paying for the repairs.
• Bob is still in negotiation with Allstate to determine the evaluation of our car.  They want to pay us trade in value and we want replacement value.  It just doesn’t seem fair that we should be penalized $3000 for sitting at a red light and getting slammed into by a truck.  We will see what happens.
• Bob researched and found a Toyota Prius that was the same model as our old Prius but 2 years younger at the Koon’s Toyota in Westminster which we made arrangements to buy.  We still haven’t been paid for our totaled car but we got a loan and picked up the car last Thursday relieving Allstate of the expense of a rental car.

 We are very happy with our new (to us) car.

• Who knows what the outcome of all this will be, but I get the feeling that we will be royally screwed by Allstate no matter what we do.
• I am still being treated by a physical therapist to correct the damage to my neck and upper back.  I am recovering slowly.

Another incident that occurred to rock our world was hurricane Florence hitting the Carolinas early on September 14th.  New Bern, NC (where we were planning to spend the winter months) took a direct hit.  The damage to the marinas and the town was colossal.  After much discussion we decided to cancel our marina reservation in New Bern and make a reservation in Charleston, SC.  We can only hope that no more hurricanes will hit the area this season.  

Bob and I have been working to complete the few remaining projects and provision for the trip south.  A major project which I finally completed was the 

Androsia Batik quilt that I started when we were in the Bahamas.  After having it machine quilted by a local quilter I sewed on the binding and here it is!

I think it was worth the effort to have this quilt which will not only keep us warm,
but also remind us of our time in the Bahamas.

Here is the quilt tucked into our bed in the V-berth.

Our plan is to leave our marina on October 18 as the work to replace our dock will begin on October 19.  We still have several doctor’s appointments to attend and provisioning to complete by then.  

I have been able to spend lots of time with Jessica since she got back from Aspen and have met up with my sister Laurie.  Seeing the rest of my family will have to wait until my next trip back to the area.

My next blog post should chronicle the final dealings with Allstate, our last preparations, and our first few days of our seasonal migration south.

Thank you for reading my blog.