October 14, 2019 - October 20, 2019
Monday was a day to clear the boat of all of the items we needed to take to storage before our trip and finish up some last minute projects. I repaired a Rainy Days burgee that we had used the last time we were in the Bahamas and did some cleaning in the cabin and in the cockpit. We did some provisioning and stowed all the purchases.
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| One of our last meals in Canton was at the Claddagh Pub. |
I had a cardiology appointment on Tuesday morning and afterwards we completed all of our final errands in Annapolis including purchasing a whole pizza from Italian Market to pack up and store in the fridge for the times we are having pizza withdrawal symptoms. That evening the friend and neighbor group we socialized with over the summer had a going away party in the boater’s lounge. Since we are all going south to different destinations and at different times we wanted a chance to say good by to each other.
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| Our happy group of cruisers enjoying the last party of the season. |
I had an echo cardiogram scheduled for early Wednesday morning and another doctor’s appointment later in the day. Bob opted to stay home and I drove to Annapolis on my own. All went well with both my medical visits. It was pouring down rain by the time I got home and continued raining for the rest of the day. I did some last minute laundry in preparation for leaving.
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| On Thursday morning the dinghy had about three inches of water in it which I bailed out. |
Thursday was our scheduled day of departure, but there were gale force wind warnings and we decided (wisely) to postpone our trip until Friday. It was reported that 53 mph wind gusts were recorded on the Bay Bridge so we’re glad we stayed put.
Friday was chilly (high of 64) but sunny with winds out of the NNW. We had an eight hour trip across the bay to St. Michael’s and were anchored for the night at 3:30 pm. It was great to be back out on the water again. Bob grilled some steaks and I cooked corn on the cob for our first dinner in the cockpit. Lola spent the whole day in the cockpit with us, but seemed to be confused about what was going on. That night the outside temperature went down to 46 so I was glad I put an extra blanket on our bed. Lola joined us in the v-berth to sleep and share the warmth.
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| The first sunset of many on our trip south. |
Bob took the chill off the morning by lighting our propane fireplace, but we spent most of the morning in the cockpit where the sun warmed up the space inside our enclosure nicely. Before lunch we took the dinghy into town to touch base with the C&C rendezvous group. We walked down Talbot Street stopped in a few shops and ate lunch at The Galley.
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| Some amusing coasters in one of the shops we visited |
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| A witchy mermaid decoration |
Back with the C&C group we talked about our adventures since our last meeting in 2018. I made some crab mac-n-cheese to share with the group after our tour of the Lyon Distillery. The tour was informative, but the tasting was more fun. The craft distillery produces several varieties of rum, vodka, gin, and agave. Distilling is quite an involved process. After the tour Bob and I headed back to the boat to watch the Penn State Game; they beat Michigan 28 to 21. It was an exciting game with lots of cheering from the crowd who were all wearing white (a famous white out). Quite impressive!
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| Some shiny distillery equipment |
On Sunday it poured rain all day. To get into town we had to don our foul weather gear, bail out the dinghy and motor through the rain. We ate lunch at the Crab Claw and just as we were finishing the C&C group came in. We sat with them while they had lunch and helped teach the Canadians how to pick crabs.
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| The happy group of C&C sailors eating crabs! |
Back at the boat we hung up our foul weather gear to dry and settled in for a quite evening.
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