Baltimore, MD and Johnstown, PA

August 4, 2019 - August 18, 2019

Back at the boat it was business as usual - boat projects.  While I was in Bethany Beach Bob worked diligently on installing the water maker in the compartment under the starboard settee.  This involved creating supports to hold the water maker in place.  Due to the curvature of the haul and the bottom of the compartment this was not an easy task.  He also created a mount for the control panel and installed all of the valves that will be used in running the water maker.  I was amazed at the amount of work he completed in that week.  We spent a couple of more days working on hooking up all of the hoses and running the wires for electricity.

Job well done!

On Friday afternoon (8/9/2019) I rented a car and left for Johnstown, PA.  I arrived at 8:00pm and Joe and Jessica weren’t due back from a dinner until 8:30pm.

They left the front door unlocked for me and
greeted me with these items on their front patio.

Jessica and Joe gave me the grand tour of their (new to them) house.  It is beautiful inside and out.  We enjoyed the patios and porches so much during the weekend. At night we had a fire in the fire pit and Joe cooked hamburgers on the grill.  I loved the guest suite on the third floor - couldn’t have been more comfortable.

The exterior is all field stone and the interior is filled with crown molding,
 glass doorknobs, built ins, hardwood floors,
and many period features plus it has been
nicely updated in the critical areas (kitchen and bathrooms). 

The landscaping is magnificent with flower beds and brick pathways.

I brought them the mail that had been delivered
to their apartment in Baltimore.  One of the
items was this cozy cat carrier modeled
by Joe and Violet.

On Saturday we drove to a nearby town for their antique festival.  There were vendor booths all through town.  We found some lovely items to buy, but it was  fun just browsing.

The courthouse square housed the bulk of the vendors
 with nearby parking lots also full of booths.

On Sunday we went to Bedford Springs for some spa treatments and a lovely lunch outside the main restaurant. On the way home we stopped at the incline for views of the city and some ice cream. 

I found this plaque in one of the gift shops at Bedford Springs.

This is a view from the top of the incline with the town in the foreground
 and the Allegheny  Mountains in the background.  If you look closely
you can even see two of the three rivers in Johnstown.

 Jess and I at the incline

 I’m so glad Jess and Joe have found such a lovely spot to settle for the next few years!

I got back to Baltimore before lunch on Monday.  It is always good to get home.  We had an easy week with boat projects as both of us were tired of working so much.  On Wednesday we attended a concert in Bristow, VA at the Jiffy Lube Amphitheater featuring the Doobie Brothers and Santana.  Although it was very hot the music was outstanding.  I have always loved both groups.  Santana had a fantastic visual feature with their show.

This colorful poster was displayed
at the entrance to the venue.

The Doobie Brothers performed first to
get the crowd ready for the feature act.

The venue can seat over 2000 people
with the bulk of them on the lawn.

The lyrics for one of the songs Santana performed
said "All you sinners, turn your lights on" and
the crowd responded with turning
on the lights of their cell phones.

On Saturday, one of the marina workers, Lee, threw a crab feast at our pool area to honor his birthday.  This party has turned into an annual event with Lee supplying the crabs and attendees bringing all the side dishes.  Delicious.  Bob and I didn’t stay long once the band started playing because it was so hot. We retreated to our air conditioned cabin as did most of our marina friends.  

It’s been a busy couple of weeks!

Thank you for reading my blog.

Our Haul Out - Baltimore - Bethany Beach

July 8, 2019 - August 3, 2019

Before our haul out we spent 5 days in Annapolis moored at Annapolis Landing Marina (the marina where we lived aboard before and where our canvas makers have their work shop).  We had a good time swimming in the pool, taking the dinghy into city dock (Annapolis), and relaxing.  Our canvas makers were able to install the dodger windows and the connector and measure for the side windows while we were there.  The canvas looks great.  The side enclosure windows will be delivered later.

On this hot day the sailors were in the water cooling off.

We spent the week of our haul out at a cottage at Hartges Marina while our boat was at Hartges Yacht Yard.  The work on the boat went smoothly as we weren't having any major work done just yearly maintenance. The work was actually completed a day earlier than expected.  At the cottage Bob and I worked on altering the starboard side water tank to allow our new water maker to fit in the compartment under the settee with it.  Bob did most of the work, but I helped with the less skilled tasks.  Mostly, I sewed during the week - cutting out several garments and and sewing a few (what fun!). On July 21 (the day we planned to leave for Baltimore) I drove up to Baltimore to help Joe and Jess load a u-haul truck to take many of the boxes they had packed to their new house while Bob single handed the boat from Galesville to Baltimore.  All went well for both of us that day.  Jess and Joe closed on the house on the 22nd and dropped off the boxes to their new house.  On the 22nd I was back at their apartment meeting the piano movers.  The movers really knew what they were doing!

 First they wrapped the piano body in a canvas cover, 

removed the legs and turned it on it’s side onto a dolly.

Next, they guided the piano out the door, down the ramps and into the truck.  

They had moved nine pianos that day. Impressive.

I had a week back at the marina in Baltimore before leaving for Bethany Beach.  Bob’s next big project was installing the water maker.  In preparation for the installation (which he did while I was at the beach) we revamped some of the plumbing under the head and galley sinks and ran water hoses into the water maker compartment.  As you can see this is a gargantuan project.

Bob planned out the plumbing and had lists of what
 parts were needed from Fawcett’s.

I was also able to attend my great niece’s graduation party at the Granary in Georgetown, MD.

Nancy, Laurie, and I got to catch up on our lives since the

 last time we were together last summer.

On Saturday, July 27th, I met Becky and Al at a seafood market in Glen Burnie for our trip to Bethany Beach.  The Bay Bridge traffic was backed up and it took us 2 hours to go about 8 miles.  We got to the house around 4.  The house was a perfect fit for our family (Becky’s four daughters, son-in laws, and ten grandchildren; me, my younger sister Laurie, my daughter, son-in-law and grand daughter; another grandmother, sister, and friends - 25 in all.) The house had eleven bedrooms with eleven bathrooms, two powder rooms, a huge kitchen, a huge dining room, a huge living space, a smaller living room, and several porches and balconies. It was a fabulous week which I will record in pictures.

It was so good to see Lili, Juan, and Rachel again.

We had great weather all week and spent most days on the beach.

Lili (my granddaughter) enjoying building
sand castles with her cousins.

The boy cousins enjoyed covering people in sand.
They gave Lili a mermaid tail.

All of the cousins in matching shirts!

One night we all went to Rehoboth to ride
the rides.  I took Bella and Lili around.

We enjoyed the crab feast sponsored by Becky and Al!

The jigsaw puzzle masters are at work.

One day the bravest among us went on a deep sea fishing trip.
Here are Bella and Rachel.

It was a wonderful week with family making memories that will last a life time!

Thank you for reading my blog.