Our departure from the exotic Grog Island was under clear skies but with thunderstorms lurking on the horizon. We beetled out of there by 5:45 and dashed (at a steaming 6 mph) toward Solomons Island hoping to get there before the lightening started. The motor sail up the Chesapeake turned out to be a very good one. We had some good wind for a while, our pace picked up and the breeze felt good in the 90 degree sunny day. It is always a struggle in our planning when the forecast says chance of thiunderstorms for 5 days in a row. Do we sit tight or try to beat them to the next anchorage? Our strategy lately has been to try to beat them unless they really seem imminent.
After arriving at Solomons Island we landed at a perfect anchorage and got everything secure as the big black clouds started to move in. We beat them! And then, as Christopher likes to explete, “KA-POW!” A great rip roaring thunderstorm came through. The site at a busy anchorage after a thunderstorm is all these guys sitting in their dinghies bailing them out – only to have them fill in again as the next wave comes through.
It was a pleasant surprise to meet up with two other boats we had met in our travels and thought that they would have been long gone from our range. Bird on a Wire is a boat from New Brunswick with wonderful family of 4 – parents and two daughters aboard (in picture above). We had a bit of a visit with them and found out about their adventures over the winter. We also met up with Kismet – a boat from Sodus Bay NY which is where we bought Tiffany Rose. I actually met Jim and Laurie there when we were all working in the boat yard getting the boats ready for the water after the winter last April. It has been great to bump into them along the way and swap stories of the ups and downs of cruising the waterway.
With the weather looking rather crummy for travel we decided to get a few things done here like change the oil, shopping and the all time favourite, get a blood test for Christopher. This meant getting a local doctor appointment at a clinic within walking distance. We were lucky to book one for the next day. Before getting to the doctor we realized that Christopher’s ear was discharging ooogy stuff. What timing! We were able to include a check-up for his ears at the same time. Turns out they are not too bad but the Doc gave us a prescription in case it flares up.
It was a pleasant surprise to meet up with two other boats we had met in our travels and thought that they would have been long gone from our range. Bird on a Wire is a boat from New Brunswick with wonderful family of 4 – parents and two daughters aboard (in picture above). We had a bit of a visit with them and found out about their adventures over the winter. We also met up with Kismet – a boat from Sodus Bay NY which is where we bought Tiffany Rose. I actually met Jim and Laurie there when we were all working in the boat yard getting the boats ready for the water after the winter last April. It has been great to bump into them along the way and swap stories of the ups and downs of cruising the waterway.
With the weather looking rather crummy for travel we decided to get a few things done here like change the oil, shopping and the all time favourite, get a blood test for Christopher. This meant getting a local doctor appointment at a clinic within walking distance. We were lucky to book one for the next day. Before getting to the doctor we realized that Christopher’s ear was discharging ooogy stuff. What timing! We were able to include a check-up for his ears at the same time. Turns out they are not too bad but the Doc gave us a prescription in case it flares up.
Having got this no-fun business out of the way we were free to explore the area on a rainy day. Along the lovely riverwalk here we met up with some local folks and Christopher got to know their large and friendly dogs. We also went to the Calvert Museum that we visited in the fall and were equally impressed this time around. It is hard to take it all in at one visit at a great museum like this one.
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