Galesville, MD to Baltimore, MD

July 3, 2020 - July 16, 2020

I made it back to Galesville on Friday afternoon after a long, but uneventful drive home from Tennessee.  It was the fourth of July weekend and since we were in Galesville not much was going on and we spent the weekend relaxing, reading and doing a few boat chores.  Our transmission was supposed to be installed on Monday morning, but apparently it had not arrived at the yacht yard on Thursday as expected.  As it turned out it wasn’t installed until Wednesday which pushed our trip back to Baltimore to Thursday.  

Even though the transmission shifting was a little stiff and probably meant replacing the transmission cable at some point we left for Baltimore on Thursday morning.  It was a great day out on the water.  When the bay is playing nice it is one of the best places for boating.  We arrived at our slip in Anchorage Marina in mid afternoon.  Roy, one of our boat neighbors, helped us dock and it went smoothly.  Finally, we were at our summer destination!  

Now the boat projects begin - some big ones and some small ones. Mostly I’m the assistant and Bob is the foreman on these projects. Here is a list of the ones I can remember:

• replaced the plastic fittings with bronze fittings on the intake hose for the air conditioner. I really don’t like plumbing projects! 
• hooked up a new inlet hose to the strainer for the air conditioner
• cleaned the duck poo out of the dinghy (twice), hauled it out of the water, cleaned the bottom, and stowed the dinghy on the bow
• tried to remove the bent stanchion we are replacing, but couldn’t.  It is now being treated with PB Blaster to loosen it
• pulled the mattress out of the quarter berth to assess the level of the platform (turned out it was level and Bob will not have to reinforce the frame)

I also attended some doctor’s appointments.  I visited my primary care doctor to have her inspect a lump on my left thigh.  She recommended that I have an ultra sound, which I did a couple days later (still waiting to talk to my doctor about the results).  I went to my dentist for a cleaning and advice about what to do for my chipped wisdom tooth (I will have it extracted in a couple of weeks).

It is great to have my sewing machine back on board and I have been using it to make masks and complete some garments I had cut out before we left for the Bahamas.  It’s been a busy two weeks!

I've enjoyed using my Olympus shockproof and waterproof camera, too.  Here are some photos taken from the stern of s/v Rainy Days:

a beautiful sunset

The colors reflected in the water
were more vibrant than the colors in the sky.

I was captivated by the reflection of
the boats in the calm water.

Take care and wear a mask and social distance! We all have to do our part to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Thank you for reading my blog. 

Galesville, MD to Crossville, TN

June 23, 2020 - July 3, 2020

Since we were going to be at the yacht yard for at least another week we decided to get started on some of our bigger summer projects.  We were docked by a large wide pier so it made sense to get all of our caves cleaned and waterproofed while we were there.  We started with the connector (between the dodger and bimini) and the dodger windows.  After cleaning and rinsing to remove all of the salt deposits I brushed the water proofing on the small areas and used a roller for the bigger areas of canvas.  It took three full days to complete the project and because of a rain delay on Tuesday I worked for six hours out in the hot sun on Wednesday to complete the project before I had to prepare to drive to Crossville, TN to spend a week with my son and his family.  Before the pandemic My daughter Rachel and Jessica were supposed to join us as well, but as happened to many plans those were scrapped.

I captured this sunset at the marina
with my new Olympus shockproof
and waterproof camera.

This shot was taken off the stern
as a sailboat was returning to the marina.

Thursday was spent doing laundry, packing, buying supplies, and attending a get together of friends at Anchorage Marina (we observed safe protocols). I left Hartges at 4:00 am on Friday and arrived at the resort in Tennessee at 3:00 pm. It was a grueling day of travel, but I was excited to see my son and his family after a year separation.  They drove from Houston, TX and it took them 13 hours.

On Saturday my grandson and I got up before everyone else and took a walk around our section of the resort, spent some time at the pool, and did a little fishing in the pond where each cast produced a blue gill.

"Canon Ball!"

Our pool fun didn't last long since
the morning was overcast and chilly.

Acen was proud of his first catch of the trip.

The small pond was home to
some lovely water lilies.

That night we had a little birthday party for Brandy (my sons wife) and Brandy, Karl, and Acen went to a movie at the beach while I went to bed early.

On Saturday, after some fishing, we packed some sandwiches, etc. and drove to Ozone Falls State Park.  We ate our picnic lunch and hiked to the top of the falls.

Acen and his dad exploring
the stream at the top of the falls.

The water gurgled over the rocks
at the top of the falls.

Next we walked to the entrance to the bottom of the falls and hiked - no rock climbed - to the bottom.  The falls was 110 feet high with a large pool at the bottom.  There didn’t appear to be an outlet for the water, but there probably wasn’t enough water in the creek at this time of year for it to tumble over the rocks and continue down the mountain.  People were swimming in the pool of water and Karby and Acen ventured to the edge of the pool to explore.

It was a little to chilly for swimming
in this pool.

On Monday morning Brandy and I went shopping for a dress she could wear to the funeral of her grandfather which she wanted to attend.  She would drive to Ohio later in the afternoon for the service on Tuesday. I hadn’t been shopping at all since the start of the pandemic and enjoyed searching through the racks for an appropriate dress.  The store was going out of business with heavy discounts on all merchandise which made it even more fun!

We spent most of Monday afternoon at the fishing pier near the beach.  I explored the beach area and found out about the boat rentals there.  Tuesday was definitely the sunniest day so far and we didn’t get back to the condo until around 5:00 pm where I made pizza for dinner. Brandy was back with us on Wednesday so we rented kayaks and a giant paddle type boat to paddle around the lake and then spent the afternoon at the beach.  On Thursday we visited the downtown of the little town of Crossville, explored the Military Memorial Museum, had a snack at the coffee shop, and explored one of the gift shops.  Afterwards we rented a pontoon boat at the marina for a couple of hours and puttered around the lake fishing, eating lunch, and swimming briefly.

Acen is holding a Sharp's Rifle.
Do you know what they call someone
who shoots a Sharp's Rifle?

Acen behind a WWII machine gun.

This is a model of a "B 29" bomber.
My dad flew in one like it during WWII.

On Friday I got up early again and was on the road back to Galesville by 4:00 am.  It was such a blessing to spend time with my son and his family. but as always it is good to be home. Too bad the pandemic caused my two older daughters to cancel there plans to spend the time with us as well. 

Stay safe and healthy!

Thank you for reading my blog.