Mary and I just wrapped up our visit to Madison.  Will and Lindsey let us stay in their new house with them for our ten day stay.  We really appreciated it.

It was so good to be able to visit with family and friends.  We got to see almost everyone on our list. All the visits were way too short and we’ll certainly miss everyone until next year when we return, although later in the year next time.  Even for mid to late May it was too damn cold!

All our medical commitments were completed including Mary’s unscheduled tooth extraction the day before.  Living on a boat does wonders for lowering your blood pressure.  Can’t say the same for our weight!  We gotta quit eating!  We headed south and stopped in Rockford for lunch with Gary and Marcia (oops, more food). We bypassed St. Louis and were able to miss most of the rush hour traffic. Our goal was Cuba, Missouri and a dinner stop at Missouri Hick, our favorite BBQ. As usual the food was excellent. The diet will start tomorrow.

The following morning was beautiful, clear and relatively cool. We had been handed a brochure telling of the “World’s Largest Rocking Chair” which was close by on Historic Route 66. There was no missing it as we rounded the bend at Fanning, Missouri. It is enormous as Mary shows.

After rejoining I-44 we headed for Springfield where we planned to take “backroads” to Tulsa in order to avoid paying tolls (we more than supported the toll roads on the trip from Maryland to Wisconsin). After stopping for fuel in Granby, MO. we noticed there were a lot of trees down. Rounding a curve we encountered the devastation from the F4 tornado that ripped through Oklahoma and southern Missouri on May 10th. Nineteen days later it was still a mess. This is a blog entry from a very lucky family that had they left home as planned would have had a very different outcome to their day.

We arrived in Tulsa before rush hour and met the kids at home for dinner. The next night the family headed to Bartlesville and a night at Kiddie Park. This is sort of a famous little park in northern Oklahoma and the kids love it.

Since we’re still dieting I limited myself to just this one sample of a gourmet “Frito Pie”.

For the next week, Mary and I would take care of the grandkids as my kids worked and Grammie got ready to move to her new house. The weather in Oklahoma is always a treat. The second day after we arrived a “downdraft (micro burst)” tore up several buildings and downed many trees, signs and utility poles no more than a half mile away. A day later another storm with monster hail caused major damage just north of kid’s home.

We really enjoyed spending time with Jake, Laurin and Maggie, although I think it’s safe to say that if we ever see anything on the Disney Channel again it will be too soon. We visited the Tulsa Zoo and although I have always joked that it’s the only zoo I’ve visited that has no animals, the kids always enjoy it. To support my position the following picture says it all. It was a common sign seen everywhere.

The week went quickly and we sadly said our goodbyes. Time was growing short and we were running out of miles on the rental car so we started the next morning on our trip back east. Of course the night before leaving we were treated once again to a pretty vicious storm.

Dad added a whole bunch of cute pictures of me.  Check them out!

Our first stop on our summer tour was Rockford, Illinois.  After traveling 853 miles in a day and a half we pulled into Gary and Marcia’s driveway. Last time we saw them was about two months ago as they we preparing to leave Marathon for Rockford. It was great to see them again and we soon started to catch up on past news.  Mark and Dottie came over for dinner and brought Johnny Jump Up the grasshopper with them.  We had a great time. Before rum …

and after rum …

On Sunday we headed for Madison and a long awaited burger at the Oakcrest, our favorite neighborhood tavern.  

It’s gotta be some sort of record for us.  Solomons, Maryland to Wauseon, Ohio in only nine hours.  We’ve dropped the hook at a Super 8 for the night. The boat’s on the hard at Washburn’s in Solomons and we picked up a nice POS Nissan Sentra from Enterprise.  After almost a year at 7 mph it’s amazing how fast the miles go by in a car on the Interstates.

Before we left, I managed to get two coats of bottom paint applied, the dripless shaft seal installed and the hull compounded, buffed and one coat of wax put on.  We look forward to visiting friends and family in the next month.

When this area needs rain, we show up.  Last fall it rained for almost a week while we were anchored in Mill Creek.  This visit is no different.  I postponed the second coat of bottom paint Sunday because of impending storms.  We weren’t disappointed.  Sunday evening it cooled down and a steady rain followed. Sustained 30 mph winds with gusts to 50 whipped through the trees.  As we watched the Spurs beat up on the Hornets a familiar sound jolted us from our seats.  The unmistakable sound of a giant tree breaking and beginning its fall.  We looked into the darkness but could see no damage. Hmmmm….

The game ending in a Spurs victory, it was time to take Goliath for a walk.  Luckily there was a lull in the rain.  As we walked in the darkness the sky to the south was lit in huge flashes of greens and blues.  The electrical hums and pops identified the source of the flashes as the substation nearby.  Soon all was dark.

Still raining the next morning I explored the area for the source of the sounds from the night before. The tide had risen over the docks and much of the normally dry shoreline was under water.  To the north was the tree responsible for the sounds the night before.  It lay across the neighboring dock.  This was the same tree that was the hunting perch for local osprey and bald eagles.  What a shame.

(sorry about the fuzzy focus, water on the lens) Actually it turned out that my trusty Sony DSC70 finally gave up the ghost after almost 10 years of use.  Auto focus is kaput!

Overall we got almost 3″ of rain overnight and it’s supposed to rain all day.

Arriving in Solomons mid afternoon, Tom and Lisa dropped the hook while I took a slip at Calvert Marina. Mary had landed in Baltimore earlier and was on her way to the boat.  I went to Captain Smith’s Seafood Market to pick up dinner and upon my return, there she was!  A month and a day after she left to help her sister, she was back.  The next day, Tom and Lisa left for Annapolis.  After spending the last month with them it was difficult to see them go.  

We took it easy for several days and on Tuesday the 6th the boat was hauled at Washburn’s Boatyard for some maintenance.  Mary’s cousin Cheryl was gracious in allowing us to stay with her while the boat was on the hard.

As it seems to be the norm while we are in Solomons, it turns cold and rains.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get the bottom painted and the boat waxed in between showers.  On Friday we will depart “by land” for Wisconsin for a month long trip to visit doctors, family and friends.

The trip up the Chesapeake from Norfolk can be a chore of fighting the wind, waves and crab traps.  On May 1st we had the wind and waves behind us and only the traps to contend with.  With the headsail full and trimmed perfectly (for once) Marylee raced along, surfing the now 5′+ waves.  Our destination was to be the Great Wicomoco River, home to several of Tom and Lisa’s friends from previous trips.  The trip was uneventful and for once Marylee arrived with Symmetry.  Under sail we can keep up with the faster catamaran.  

The wind was blowing at 20 knots plus when we arrived at the marina near Horn Harbor.  Symmetry chose to dock first.  I circled as I waited for my turn.  Wind would be blowing on the beam as I docked and it appeared they wanted me to dock stern to.  No way!  I slipped in bow in with a lot of help.  

We had dinner that night with Tom and Cathy proud owners of an O’day 39 and their neighbor Max, proud owner of an O’Day 40!  Of course, we all had to check out each others boats.  We stayed an extra day as the wind did not let up.

On the 3rd we set out for Solomons, our adopted home away from home.

Tied securely to the town dock we waited for the weather to improve to head north into the Chesapeake. Portsmouth is a beautiful town with plenty of history.  Home to the Norfolk Naval Shipyards, the city is founded on the ship building industry.  Not far from our dock is the site of the Gosport Shipyard, established in 1767.  It is here that the Union in the Civil War, gave up the shipyard to the Confederates. They scuttled the USS Merrimac which would later be rebuilt as the ironclad,  CSS Virginia and would drastically change naval warfare after it took on the USS Monitor in the Battle of Hampton Roads.

We stayed for four nights, visiting museums and taking in the sights of Portsmouth as well as Norfolk. While in Norfolk it seemed appropriate to visit the battleship USS Wisconsin.  What a sight!

The first USS Wisconsin (BB-9) was commissioned in 1901 and served in World War I.  Later it would become a training ship but was scrapped in 1922.  The second Wisconsin (BB-64) was commissioned during the second World War.  It served in the Pacific earning five Battle Stars.  It earned one more in Korea and saw it’s last action in Desert Storm in Iraq, coordinating the first Tomahawk missile attacks.

One of the last of the Iowa class of battleships, it now rests in Norfolk awaiting refit to open as a museum of another era of naval vessels gone by.

Another unique piece of history was berthed just downstream.  The NS Savannah was undergoing it’s final refit.  As I kid I remembered building a model of the first nuclear powered merchant ship.  Follow the link for more details.

To position ourselves for our return to the Chesapeake, we moved to the Old Point Comfort anchorage on the Hampton Roads side of the James River.  As I was taking in the sights of Norfolk, I was approached by an USCG inflatable.  Three young Coasties boarded the Marylee and conducted a safety inspection.  We passed with flying colors but in reflection I realized they never asked for identification.  Go figure!

Getting out of Spooner Creek (near Beaufort, NC) was pretty straight forward … wait for high tide!  This allowed a nice leisurely morning, full breakfast, some cleanup and a chance to read and relax.  High tide was around noon and not knowing exactly how much we draw meant I wasn’t going to take any chances.

Today would be a push to make up for the late start.  An easy run would mean a stop at Cedar Creek just before the Nuese River, but nothing has been easy.  Stopping for fuel earlier meant we could press on as far as light permitted.  Passing Oriental in the distance we headed for Broad Creek.  It didn’t look as protected as it actually was.  I slipped into the anchorage about twenty minutes after Symmetry and managed to hook up in the mud on the second try.  As the sun set, the anchorage became calm and quiet.  I fell asleep to the sounds of whippoorwills in the pine forests.

Dawn on Broad Creek came with a light creeping fog that burned away as the sun rose on another day. Today would be a long trek with our destination being the Little Alligator River, just before Albemarle Sound.

The day would be a motor sail while in open water but over 20 miles would be in the “lovely” Alligator River / Pungo River Canal.  This is essentially a straight shot all the way.  Luckily there was very little traffic going south so basically stick it in the middle and run on autopilot.  I have related several tales in the past of encounters with thoughtless power boaters.  Today would deal up a classic.  About halfway through the canal we met a southbound trawler.  Generally trawlers are considerate and slow down to reduce their wakes.  These folks were clueless!  Motoring at a perfect speed to produce a nice tall and steep wake they closed in on me.  I tried to reach them on the vhf but as usual with these types they must have had the radio off.  Just as I prepared to take on their wake a woman appeared.  She smiled and waved, totally clueless as to the results of their stupidity.  As I turned to climb the wake, I returned her wave less three fingers and a thumb.

The rest of the canal was uneventful and generally boring only punctuated by a sighting of an alligator swimming near the bow.  Pretty cool!  We exited the canal and motor sailed north on the Alligator River to the swing bridge.  Just after the bridge we turned into the Little Alligator River for the night. Desolation would make for a good nights sleep.

The routine has become, I leave first.  Symmetry motors faster than Marylee and to keep them from putting too much distance between us I weigh anchor first.  The sound of the chain rattling in the windlass tells them it’s time to go.  Today we transited another of the twists around shoals in the ICW. No problems and we headed out into the Sound.  The wind picked up to 20 knots and we zipped through the chop with full headsails.  We passed Coinjock and headed into Currituck Sound.  As it always seems to happen, whenever the channel narrows you meet someone going the other way.  As you approach Virginia the Sound tapers to a twisting river or canal, the Virginia ICW.  Here is where I met the first of many barges.  This one was heading south at a very brisk speed for a barge.  There were two southbound sailboats hugging the red side, the barge in the middle and me, hugging the greens.  The depth had been around 12 feet but the further I pushed towards the greens it diminished to 7′.  Outside the channel it was four feet!  I radioed to the barge asking for a little room.  He wasn’t budging from his path so I positioned to take his wake.  He displaced so much water that despite my turn towards him, it pushed me out of the channel.  As the depth dropped to 5′ 6″ I applied full throttle and headed for his stern.  I jumped the wake and headed for deeper water.  My heart rate became normal a half hour later.

Our intentions had been to stop at the town dock in Great Bridge.  When we got there all spaces were taken.  Norfolk wasn’t too far away so we pushed on.  We cleared the lock and headed for the last of the bridges on our route north.  Soon the shipyards of the Norfolk area were visible and our trip through the ICW was finished.  Mile 0 at last.