Sunday, August 9, 2020

Summer in Baltimore

August 2, 2020 - August 9, 2020 


 It was a quiet week on s/v Rainy days. 

 On Monday we took a trip to Annapolis, mostly for Bob’s doctor appointment in the afternoon. We also had pizza lunch at Italian Market which as always was delicious. We stopped at a farm market for our weeks worth of fruits and vegetables and at Giant for the rest of our grocery needs. It turned out to be a very long day and the rain started before we got back to Baltimore. After stowing all of the groceries we started happy hour and finished up the left over pizza (yum).

 Hurricane Isaias was in full swing when we woke up on Tuesday. Thankfully the rain and high winds was short-lived and by 2:00 pm the skies were clear. Taking advantage of the break in the weather we finished the job of replacing the stanchion on the starboard side of the boat and restrung the life lines. It’s always nice to have the boat back together after a project like this. Bob had started some crock pot lasagna in the morning and we ate the delicious meal in the early afternoon. 

 The WiFi here at Anchorage is sadly unreliable causing lots of frustration. So on Wednesday we had a Gig-Stream antennae and modem installed. We are very pleased with the service so far. 

 Thursday started with another trip to Annapolis to do some errands, have lunch at Lemon Grass Too (which was delicious), and have my cracked wisdom tooth pulled by an oral surgeon (fun times). I opted for novocaine instead of anesthesia. After the area was completely numb it took the surgeon about five minutes to extract the tooth. Needless to say removing a wisdom tooth is still a stressful experience and even though the pain was well controlled with Ibuprofen I was wiped out for the rest of the day. 

One afternoon I captured this photo 
walking up to the lounge after a short rain fall.
Rainbows always seem to give me hope.


 The big event of Friday was having lunch with the group of lady live aboard cruisers. We always make sure we can eat outside at the restaurant we choose and this time we had lunch outside by the pool of the Perdy Hotel in Fell’s Point. It is an elegant and expensive hotel with beautiful courtyards and gathering spaces. Since I was still eating only soft foods I had an order of fries (not very nutritious,, but delicious). 

Saturday morning started with a CATastrophe. I was in the cabin fixing breakfast and Bob was in the cockpit watching Lola. When I brought the breakfast out to the cockpit I noticed that Lola was not within eyesight so I walked around the boat and the dock to see if I could find her. We started clapping and calling her and every once in awhile we would hear her little cry. We couldn’t figure out where it was coming from until Lola’s voice got stronger. We finally located her laying on top of one of the floats under the dock. Nothing we did for the next hour helped to coax her off the float. Finally, we called the dock master to remove one of the planks in the dock and Lola scampered out. She ran int to cabin where she got a bath under protest. We were all exhausted after that experience. 


 Wear your mask, social distance and stay safe! 


 Thank you for reading my blog.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Baltimore, MD to Bethany Beach, DE


July 17, 2020 - August 1, 2020


On Friday I went to lunch with three other lady live aboard boaters I have been friends with for several years.  It’s great to have some girl time and catch up on each other’s lives.  We ate at Atwater, a bread and sandwich shop in Canton.  The manner in which this restaurant handled Covid-19 was to provide outdoor tables for carry out orders.  That worked for us!


I spent time the following week getting caught up on boat chores, boat projects, and preparing for my trip to Bethany Beach. I also took my sewing machine to Glory Bees for it’s yearly maintenance and my completed quilt top to be quilted.  Surprisingly, the machine would be done in a week, but the quilt will take eight weeks!


 Each summer Becky (my sister) and I get together with all of her four daughters, husbands and grandchildren and two of my daughters, husbands and one grand daughter to enjoy the sun, surf, and fun at Bethany Beach. This year we were somewhat reluctant to get together, but decided since each of the participants had been diligent about following all of the suggested protocols for the coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak we would be safe as long as we continued the protocols and stayed away from shops and restaurants. Laurie and Nancy, my two other sisters, did not come to Bethany because of covid concerns and we missed having all of us together.


Jessica and Joe picked me up for the trip to the beach at 7:30 am on Saturday, July 25.  The traffic was lighter than we expected so we decided to stop in Rehoboth for cheese steaks at “Gus and Gus’s” on the boardwalk.  They have the best cheese steaks in the world and it’s a place Jessica remembers from her childhood.  We got to Bethany Beach around 2:00 pm only to find that the house would not be ready until 4:00 pm.  We parked in the shade in back of the house and napped a bit and later took a walk down to the ocean.  Thankfully, everyone was required to wear a mask on the boardwalk and the main streets and almost everyone complied.  We returned to the house just as the cleaners were finishing and started unpacking and settling in.  It wasn’t long until everyone was there.  What a joyful reunion! the fifteen adults and nine children fit comfortably in the eleven bedroom (each with a bathroom) house.  I always provide dinner on the first night and ordered pizza and salad from Grottos.  


Rain was predicted for several of the days that week, but we only had a big thunder storm one night and a drizzling rain on Friday.  The weather was hot most days and the ocean was calm enough for lots of swimming.  My granddaughter, Lili, overcame her fear of going all the way in the ocean during the week!  The grand children were all in and out of the ocean (supervised of course), building sand castles, and digging holes all day.  Each night a different family provided a delicious meal and the adults did puzzles and played games until late at night.  What a great week.  We have already booked our week for next year! 


The following pictures were taken on our last evening in Bethany.  Unfortunately my daughter Jessica and her husband Joe were not there and my camera died before I could get back to the house to get a photo of them.  



Here I am with my granddaughter Lilli,
My daughter, Rachel and Juan.

Al with his four daughters -
Allison, Amelia, Jennifer, and Wendy
  
The Hartle family + Wendy-
Allison, Ryan, Ronan, Muave


The Pavlanko family-
Vladimere, Jennifer,
Bella, Mateo, Luca

The Contreras family -
Jorge, Ofelia, Amelia,
Rosa, Alfredo, Maxi

We couldn't keep the children out of the water!


Wrangling the group for the annual photo
Wrangling the group for our annual group photo


The tide waits for no one.


We cleaned up the house and left for home at 10:00 am.  The good byes were tearful and we all suffered family separation sadness when we leave.


Wear a mask, social distance, and stay safe! Thank you for reading my blog