September 30, 2009

National Aquarium

Wednesday 9-30-09

Still at Inner Harbor East Marina.
Went to the National Aquarium today.  Took in the entire circuit--the aquarium, the dolphin show and the 4D Immersion Theater.
The dolphin show was pretty typical.


The aquarium had shark and stingray exhibits, jellyfish, Atlantic reef etc.
They also had some tropical rain forest exhibits.  It was an enjoyable tour until the hunderts of school buses showed up with hunderts of screaming elementary school children whose screams were only exceeded by the few adult chaperons accompanying them.

But the most unique experience was the 4D theater.  We had been to 3D theaters before, but never an "Immersion" theater. You really experience the happenings of the movie.  Thunder shakes your seat.  When the dolphin splashes or the whale breeches..................you get wet.  When the rats run loose on the floor, you feel them scurrying around through your feet.  When the snake strikes, you feel it hit your body.  (That one just about made me jump out of my seat.)  The underwater bubbles looked so real that I took off my 3D glasses to check..................they were real bubbles.  An interesting time.


Later, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Lots of memorabilia.  Like a mini trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.



Baltimore's Inner Harbor has several ships (in addition to the Constellation we toured yesterday.)  This Coast Guard ship was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 



USS Constellation


Took the tour through the USS Constellation. 


As we went below, each deck has it's own purpose.  The first lower deck held the cannons.



The next lower deck was the bedroom for the crew



The deck below that held the 25,000 gallons of drinking water.  (Our boat holds 25 gallons.)

Back in the captains quarters, we found his "seat of ease"  (no holding tank--just direct discharge)




If you've ever wondered where the term "poop deck" comes from.............................................

Baltimore 3


Tuesday 9-29-09


Hawkeye Mike got an early start out of Ferry Point Marina to avoid the continuing windy conditions.  They arrived about 10 am today.  So now we are three.

Before we left the city docks, Pam and I rode our bicycles up to the top of Federal Hill.  Baltimore's Inner Harbor is really a nice place.










You can see us at the city docks - three Rosboroughs.



Later on, we moved over to the Inner Harbor East Marina.  Frank had discovered that for a short time, they offer FREE docking Tuesday thru Thursday.  All we had to pay was for electric.  For the three nights, the total charge was $24.00.   And, it's a very nice marina, still close enough to walk to the aquarium, etc.  Which is what we plan to do tomorrow.





September 29, 2009

Baltimore 2

Still Monday


We took a slip at the city marina,  Not too expensive ($35) and right in the heart of the inner harbor.





We checked in with the harbormaster, and the went walking around town.  Ended up  walking all the way over to Fells Point.    Quite a hike.


There are several old ships to tour--including the USS Constellation.  (Our boat is in the background)  



There's also a submarine we might tour.





Lots of little dragons were getting puffed around here by the sea in the autumn mist.





As I mentioned earlier, it was very windy today.  We're meeting a couple of other Rosboroughs here.  Frank and Pat on "Grey Goose" keep their boat on the C&D canal in Delaware.  They made reservations for all three of us at the Inner Harbor East Marina for Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  That marina has a special this week, and are letting us stay at a VERY reduced rendezvous price.  Anyway, with the weather forecast no better for tomorrow, they decided to make one long miserable trip all the way down here today.  They arrived about 5 pm.



 


They had to come all the way directly into the wind and waves, with water crashing over the cabin top.  They had a new leak in the windshield and the interior got soaked.  Frank suffered a nasty cut on the head from getting it banged against the boat in the waves. 
It's good to see them again.  We expect to see Hawkeye arrive tomorrow, hopefully with an easier journey.


T

Baltimore 1


Monday 9-28-09


Made our way up the Patapsco River towards Baltimore.  It was very windy today (NOAA was right this time.)  But we didn't have far to go.  Baltimore is the third largest seaport in the US--behind New York and Norfolk.  Lots of ships on the way in.  Saw one unloading tractors, and others unloading cars. 







Just after you go under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, there's a buoy marking the spot where he was held captive on a prison barge while Ft. McHenry was under siege.  He could see the bombs bursting in air from here.





And a little further up the river is the fort where the flag is still there.  The number of stars on the flag is anatomically correct for 1812.







There's several marinas in the harbor, and a few recreational boats as well as the commercial ships.





The Inner Harbor is the location of a lot of the "attractions"









T









September 28, 2009

Chestertown to Stony Creek

Sunday, 9-27-09

It rained all night, but quit about 9:30 this morning.  We walked the streets of Chestertown to look at all the old homes etc.  Ate an early lunch at Play it Again Sam's. 
We were listening to the unpredictable NOAA weather people again, and they said that Monday and Tuesday would be very windy.  Southwest winds (right up the bay) at 15-20 with higher gusts.  We are meeting two other boats like ours in Baltimore on Tuesday, so we wanted to get across the bay before the big blow.  Not too bad today other than dodging a little rain.





On the way out the Chester River, we passed a little marina with a boat bar.  The boat under the tent in this photo serves as their bar.  Back in the old days, I think I might have seen boat bars before--but they were sailboats.




As we came out the river, just north of Kent Island, there was a small helicopter buzzing around some boats.  I couldn't tell what was going on, but soon, he headed for us.  Naturally, I loosened my belt, and got into position to moon them.




As they came closer, I could see what the deal was.  You can read it on the side of their float.



They fly around, taking photos of boats, and then sell them to the boat owners.  I'm not sure if they'll publish mine online or not, butt ........it should be a good one.

The people we're meeting in Baltimore are two of the boats that went to the Lake Champlain Rendezvous.  "Grey Goose" from Delaware, and "Hawkeye" from Virginia.  I hope they are not discouraged by the NOAA forecast. 
We were expecting west winds 10 to 15 overnight, so we went a ways up Stony Creek to be sure we were sheltered.  Here's a photo of the sunrise Monday morning.



The overnight winds were 0.0 gusting to 0.25.

We may go on into Baltimore today to tour the harbor, and maybe tie up at the city docks.

T



September 26, 2009

Chestertown

Saturday, 9-26-09
This morning early, we were awakened by the sounds of the locals setting their crab traps all around our boat.  Within 20' of us.  They made the rounds checking their traps but I never saw them pull any crabs out.  So maybe my chicken necks might work if I try them somewhere there's crabs.



Left the Wye River about 9:30, and headed north.  There's a wildlife preserve along the Wye, and on our way out, we saw about 20 eagles.

Just before we went through Kent Island Narrows, we heard an excited voice on the VHF calling the Coast Guard saying they saw an overturned boat about a mile south of Kent Island.  (We were about 2 miles south of Kent Island.)  Could not see anything with the binocs, but soon a non excited voice (probably a waterman) said on the VHF..............."got 'em in my boat."  The Coast Guard (in Baltimore) could not hear the calm guy--only the excited guy.  Turns out it was a 15' fishing boat with two people onboard. The boat had overturned and sunk.  Eventually, the message was relayed to the CG that everyone was out of the water and accounted for.  Always something going on.

At Kent Island, they built a new high bridge, but left the drawbridge to serve local traffic.






















The Chester River is a lot like the Ohio or Cumberland--especially as you go up about 20 miles.  Except the boats we see here are different from those on the Midwest rivers.



















I made a reservation to stay at the Chestertown Marina tonight.  Unfortunately, it started raining about an hour after we arrived, and is forecast to rain until we depart tomorrow.  We did get a chance to go to a waterfront park next to the marina to watch a cardboard boat race. Each boat carried two people.  They gave awards not only to the winner, but also they gave a "Titanic" award to the boat that had the most spectacular sinking.  Wondered if the boat at Kent Island was on the way to the cardboard boat regatta.

I had planned on riding our bikes through town, but that may not happen.  We did take on 50 gallons of gas, 20 gallons of water, and two hot showers.
Commodities we needed.

T

St Mikes to Wye River


Friday 9-25-09

Awoke to the sound of rain this morning.  Listened to NOAA weather to hear "small craft warnings", winds 15 to 20--the usual scare tactics.

We grabbed our rain coats and headed back into St. Michaels in the dinghy.   Didn't take the bikes today, because Pam wanted to "shop." 
"Shop" is a form of torture to the male of the species. (me)  "Shopping is where you go in each and every store, look at things you have no intention of ever purchasing.........touch everything, pick up some items, turn it over, shake it, put it back, and slowly go to the next item.  Then eventually on to the next store.  I stopped following her inside, and stayed on the sidewalk watching the hunderts of antique Bentleys go by.  Finally found out that the Concours d'Elegance auto show is in St Mikes this weekend.  So there might be some here from Naples.




We at lunch at the Crab Claw restaurant.  I'm doing my part to reduce the crab population in the bay.  Today it was crab fluff.  (Nothing like orange fluff.)

So about 1:30, we took the dinghy back out to the boat, and made ready for travelling through the "small craft warnings."  Put the dinghy on the roof, batten down the hatches and all that other nautical stuff.  By now, the rain had stopped, and the clouds were starting to break up.  We motored down Broad Creek and over through Knapp's Narrows.  The bridge tender saw us coming and raised the drawbridge without me ringing my bicycle bell.  (Actually, it must have been a different bridge tender than when we came through earlier in the week.  We fit under the bridge without it being raised.)  As you may be able to see in the photo, our tax dollars are being wasted at NOAA.  It was a nice day, and certainly not a day to stay off the water.





I told Pam we should anchor in the river tonight.  She said "why"?  I said yes.
So we're now anchored up the Wye River. 

There's hunderts of jellyfish in the water here.  I think they're called sea nettles.  Most are about 3" diameter, and I understand they sting.  We're not swimming.





I've tried "chicken-necking", but had no luck.  That's where you take a line, put a chicken neck in a slip knot, and let it down on the bottom.  When a crab grabs the chicken neck, you raise it to the surface, then dip the crab out with a net.  Pam wouldn't let me bring a bunch of chicken necks, so I substituted Gulp shrimp.  I caught a crab on Gulp shrimp while fishing for redfish in the Florida Panhandle.  A plastic shrimp looks as much like a chicken neck as it does a shrimp.

I purchased a fishing license for the bay.  A non resident annual license costs $15.  Less than a resident license in Indiana.  An out of state yearly license in Kentucky was $50 when I quite buying one.  Of course, I haven't caught any fish here yet, so this may be a case of getting what you pay for.
T
   

September 24, 2009

St Mike's

Thursday 924-09

Left Cambridge and headed back out the Choptank River.  All along, we heard the Navy on the VHF radio hail various boats that had wandered into an area where they were conducting an exercise using live ammunition.  The Navy would call a vessel they'd seen on radar at a certain longitude and latitude, and order them to change their course to a certain bearing in order to stay out of the live fire area.  As you would expect, there were several................"you talking to me??" responses on the radio.

St Michaels is a beautiful (but expensive area.)  We wanted to go to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, but didn't want to pay the $100.00 docking fee to spend the night at a marina.  So I checked the chart, and found that Broad Creek off the Choptank goes up towards the south side of St Mikes.  San Domingo Creek off Broad Creek goes even closer.  So we motored all the way up to the "back door" of St Mikes, and took our bikes in the dinghy to a dock that some watermen use.  From there, it was a short ride to the museum.


















It's a good thing I had installed a bell on my bike.  One long and one short signal, to get the bridge tender to raise the bridge. 


















While we were at the museum, I did find out that when crabs mate, the female only mates once, but the male finds as many females as possible.  (whoo hoo !)  The female lays anywhere between 800,000 to 8,000,000 eggs.  Of course not all make it to the dinner table, but I knew there had to be a lot of those things.

Enjoyed the museum.  Saw more model ships.  (Son-in-law Chad wanted to know if there was a lint display at the Naval Museum.  And if so, did I make a contribution.)

While we were at the museum, one of the old dudes in our tour group stumbled going up some steps.  Don't know all the details, but they took him off in an ambulance.



















Not sure if they are always here, but today we saw 6 antique Bentleys.  Thought maybe they were visiting up here from Naples, FL.

T

September 23, 2009

More Cambridge

Still Wednesday

Rode our bikes into town again this afternoon.  As we were about the farthest distance from the boat, a pedal fell off my bike.  Limped on back home.

A skipjack came in and tied up at the resturant next to us.  They're having skipjack races on Sunday.




We really enjoy our small boat.
But just in case we forget how small we really are, all we need do is look out the back door


Next week, we're meeting up with two other Rosboroughs in Baltimore.  (Rondezvous)
I hope one of these 50' DeFevers is there and feels like a giant.

We ate dinner on the other side of the bridge.  You can see our boat in the background.




T










Cambridge

Wednesday 9-23-09

Awoke this morning to voices just outside our front hatch.  I thought I had anchored in a remote location.  Poked my head out to see we were fogged in.  There was a working crab boat just in front of us running his line.

The cruising guides say the Cambridge is an interesting town, but we weren't ready for a marina ($$) just yet.  We thought perhaps we could find a spot to anchor and take the dinghy ashore.  So we motored up the Cambridge Creek.
Along the way we saw what must be where they got the idea for those half-hull models.

















The drawbridge was up, so we went right on through.



















Didn't know they were working on it.  We got to the end of the short creek, turned around to head back out.  You guessed it................it was down, and the bridgetender said stand by while we finish working on it.  Turned out to be not too long.

We saw three other trawlers tied to the wall in front of the county office building.  An old sign on the wall said dock at your own risk.  So we did.

Not room for a larger boat, but we fit.


































Some guy in the parking lot on the shore next to us asked if we felt "dwarfed".  At least he didn't say we looked "CUTE !"

Think we'll stay the night.  We rode our bicycles into town to explore.

Here's the view from the drawbridge.  We're just "ducky"


















T

September 22, 2009

La Trappe Creek


Tuesday 9-22-09

Left Annapolis about 9:30 this morning and went up the Severn River to check out the USN.





We then crossed the bay, and through Poplar Island Narrows as well as Knapp's Narrows., and into the Choptank River.  The drawbridge in Knapp's Narrows has a vertical clearance of 12' so we fit under without having it raised.  (I had to lower my VHF antenna.)

The water on the Eastern Shore is much cleaner than the Western side.  It's green instead of brown.  There are crab pots everywhere throughout the bay.  Hunderts and hunderts of them.  Even more than down by Key West.  I would imagine that these crabs must be very prolific at procreation since it seems each and every one of them will eventually stumble into a crab trap--judging by the sheer number of traps in the water.

This afternoon, we went up the Tred Avon River to Oxford.  Then up the La Trappe Creek, where we're anchored for the night.  











Tomorrow, we hope to get ashore to explore Cambridge.