September 29, 30 and October 1, 2017

On Friday, September 29th we headed from Baltimore to Annapolis.

Annapolis, Maryland’s capital city, has more 18th-century brick buildings than any other town in America, but here the past is seamlessly joined to the present as old brick streets meets fresh concrete foundations. The Historic District (downtown) is full of shops, bars and restaurants nestled along old streets radiating downhill from either Church Circle or State Circle. We stayed in this picturesque city two nights site seeing, window shopping, finding great restaurants and enjoying the evening bar scene.

Sunday, October 1 – Yesterday we crossed to the Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay to the quaint town of St. Michael’s, Maryland. We encountered many sailboats heading in the opposite direction as we made our way up the Miles River.  We’re thinking St. Michael’s must have held one of its annual weekend regattas.  It can be a bit nerve racking to yield the way to 50+ boats under sail all tacking at different times while we are heading in the opposing direction in a river! Especially in a 53 ft boat!

We arrived at Higgins Yacht Yard (great people!) without pissing off any sailboaters which is more than I can say for a couple other yachts heading in our direction. Radio traffic was…. colorful at times. After settling in at the dock we headed out on foot to explore this popular boaters destination.

Town Dock Restaurant was a little slow when we stopped by but it was easy to believe the locals, who we sat with at the outdoor bar when they said the place is hopping on weekends or any day in the summer, with it’s courtesy docks, large inviting pool, and outdoor patio and bar! Our next stop, Foxy’s, named after a popular hangout in Jost Van Dyke in the BVI, was livelier on this beautiful afternoon with it’s burgers and casual fare on a waterfront dock. Both places had a definite beach/island feel! We visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum then dinner at the Crab Claw on the harbor, which has been serving seafood and hard crab since the 1960s, was a must and did not disappoint.

Monday, Oct 2 – Before leaving today we went to Carpenter Street Saloon for an awesome breakfast! Pumpkin pancakes, yum! And I don’t eat pancakes! They are open 8 am to 2 am daily! Ouch for management and/or owners! Leaving, or maybe I should say rolling out of Carpenter Street Saloon, we crossed the street to the grocery store for a little fresh produce and beer provisioning. My research reported it to be a great place to shop. We walked in the door and we’re greeted with a “Going out of Business” sign, “selected items 50% off.” Oooo this could be good…but it turned out not to be for a boat fully provisioned with non-perishables for four months. Only “Winter” squashes looked eatable in the produce department, and my “cellar” is already full of them. Next, beer isle….see pic of Steve below, loading our cart with 50% off beer….not.

So our grocery trip was a bust, the rest of our stay in St. Michael’s was terrific! We leave at 11:30 am for Solomons Island.