Back In Annapolis

We had originally planned a few days at Solomons and then we would go on to St. Michaels on the eastern shore, but we enjoyed Solomons so much we stretched it to a week and bypassed St. Michaels and went straight to Annapolis. Solomons is really laid back and I guess that was the attraction. The Holiday Inn has a marina and for $2.00 each day we had use of their dinghy dock, a place to dispose of trash and we could bring Ariel in to one of their docks for water. Right next to the entrance drive for the Holiday Inn is a strip mall with a grocery store and laundromat. Everything is actually close by and there are several restaurants. We arrived in Annapolis on Fathers Day and what a site with so many boats out enjoying a wonderful day. We anchored off the U.S. Naval Academy. It was initially a little choppy with so many boats out but as expected it quieted down as soon as the sun set. It was a beautiful night with the familiar lights from the City of Annapolis. We were awakened to the sound of the Midshipmen out for their very early morning exercise. On Monday morning we moved into Spa Creek, a place very familiar to us having spent five weeks here in the fall. This time we took a mooring for 30 days so we could safely be away from Ariel without too much concern.

On From Washington

We are now in the Solomons after our week in Washington. Our last visit to the Solomons was during a heavy downpour so we didn't get to go ashore. This time we plan to stay a few days. Our time in Washington was interesting. We had some severe thunderstorms, followed later in the week by a heat wave with temperatures at 98 and the humidity near 100%. Our highlights were the WWII Memorial as we mentioned, the Holocaust Museum (exceptional), and the Botanical Gardens. The only exhibit we paid for was the Spy Museum and for us it was a big disappointment. We kept cool by visiting the art galleys and museums during the afternoon heat. Our return trip down the Potomac was delayed two hours waiting for the morning fog to lift. This ruined our plans to stop at different places on the way down. The river was littered with debris from the storms. This was mostly small branches, but also some very large logs which could cause some damage. By late the first day we got ahead the the debris and didn't see any on the second day. It was a long trip up and back down the river but well worth the effort.

Enjoying Washington

We are visiting the sites at a casual pace and trying to see things we had never seen before. We won't take you through our entire itinerary but we were very impressed by the World War II Memorial. It is new since we were last here and it was a high priority for us. It is really well thought out . While there was a lot of controversy about the location there could not have been a better spot. It looks like it was always meant to be there. The designers were absolutely brilliant.

Heather, Linda's sister Lois's granddaughter and daughter of Alan and his wife Renee works for an architectural firm on K Street just a couple blocks away from the White House. It was most convenient to met her for lunch since she does not live in the city and it was a short walk for us. We had not seen Heather in several years so it was nice to catch up.

Later this month her boyfriend is being deployed to Iraq.

The area is being hit this week by severe storms. We time our excursions to be sure we are back on the boat when they arrive. We have seen strong winds and have had tornado watches. This weekend they are expected to have the first heat wave for the year which is three consecutive days over ninety degrees, in this case it is expected to be 94.

The National Mall

We spent Sunday on the Mall. This has been the scene of so many historic protest and rallies over the years. Today it was the site for a celebration of Israel's 60th birthday, organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.