Eastern Shore

Having been delayed in Solomons we trimmed our eastern shore exploration to the Choptank area. Our first visit was to Oxford, where Ted and Alice keep Windsong. They are wrapped up in the final, no matter how well planned, hectic preparations. They took time out to show us around Oxford. Ted's sister and her husband have a beautiful home on the waterfront. They graciously welcomed us into their home. A special treat was to spend a day fishing for rockfish. Ted and his sister own a wooden hulled fishing boat. Originally built as a work boat, it was soon converted to recreational use. We didn't catch any fish, but we sure enjoyed the day. After leaving Oxford we went to St. Michaels arriving at the back door to save a long trip around. We have been there before by car on a couple occasions and enjoyed seeing it again. After leaving St. Michaels we went on up the Choptank to Cambridge. There is a small basin in town and we had it to ourselves for the few days we stayed there. Cambridge is pretty good size so we got in plenty of walking.

Ted and Alice

Ariel off Oxford

There are dozens upon dozens of places to anchor in the Choptank and all of the creeks and rivers that flow into it. We will spend the next few days sampling a few of these. We will return to Oxford on Saturday and weather permitting Ariel and Windsong will begin the trip south on Monday.

Rain, Rain And More Rain

We never expected to still be in Solomons at this late date. We went into Spring Cove marina for one night to facilitate a survey of our boat the following morning. The survey, which is an in depth inspection of the boat structure and safety by a professional was required because we are changing insurance carriers. Our plans this winter will take us to the Western Caribbean which was not covered by our current policy. The survey found only two very minor deficiencies which we corrected the same day. After the survey we returned to anchor in Back Creek with a forecast of several days of bad weather. Our next planned stop is Oxford, Maryland on the Chesapeake's eastern shore and due northeast from Solomons. The winds were forecast to be from the northeast for the next week. It has been just downright cold and rainy and breezy. It has rained almost continuously for days with daily high temperatures barely breaking 50. We have made only a couple of excursions off the boat, one to visit Peter and Jane Bugg off Kinvara, dock mates from our marina in Rhode Island, and another just to go ashore for a cup of tea to stretch our legs. John and Linda Piper on Sea Life are anchored nearby, also pinned down, for them due to high seas. They have been anxious to get to the Norfolk area. We will be traveling again with Ted and Alice aboard Windsong. They keep their boat in Oxford when not traveling, hence Oxford being our next destination. We are looking forward to getting together to work on cruise plans.
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More Friends Come To Solomons

After leaving the marina we stayed relatively close to Solomons Island. We planned to meet Don and Janet Leech, friends from Pittsburgh when they came to Maryland for the boat show and then on to Solomons. We also expected John and Linda Piper aboard Sea Life, also mutual friends of Don and Janet to arrive the same weekend. John and Linda are on their way south having started in Sandusky, Ohio in late August. We returned from Smith Creek, just behind Point Lookout at the entrance to the Potomac River on Friday to find Sea Life quietly anchored in Back Creek. Many years ago when we lived in Ohio and sailed on Lake Erie in our previous boat, we took many weekend and vacation cruises with John and Linda. We have been looking forward to sharing a few days in the same anchorage with them for a long time now. Don and Janet arrived a day sooner than expected and we were happy to see them. They sail out of Sandusky, Ohio and take extended summer cruises on the Great Lakes. We really enjoyed hearing about their trip this past summer from Lake Erie to the North Channel and then on to Lake Michigan. They were very kind to run us around shopping for a few needed items.

John and Linda Piper, Don and Janet Leech

We Are Back in Cruising Mode

We left Spring Cove Marina in Solomons on October 1, after four months. This summer was our time to visit family and friends and to complete a few boat projects.

Late last May we were still in the Dismal Swamp sitting out an all day rain event, when we received word that Linda's mother Elizabeth, aged 88, passed away. At the time she was in a nursing home recovering from hip surgery and plans were being made for more permanent arrangements, so it actually came as a surprise. We had already made arrangements with a marina on Solomons Island for the summer so we checked with them to be sure we could arrive a few days earlier than planned. We were still two days away but the weather was not cooperating. We moved the next day to Hampton in a light drizzle, but were then pinned down there for a day because of high winds and seas on the Chesapeake Bay. The following day the wind clocked around enough that we decided we could probably get some sails up to help pound through the waves. It worked as planned and we arrived at our new summer home late in the afternoon to be greeted by Linda's sister Dale and her husband Steve. They were driving up from Florida and we had made arrangements for them to pick us up on their way to Penn Yan in upstate New York. On the return trip they dropped us at BWI airport as we already had tickets to fly to Cleveland to retrieve our car from storage.
Having made reservations at Spring Cove Marina, site unseen, we have been extremely pleased. It was perfect for a long term stay. They have a large tree covered park like area with several picnic tables and charcoal grills, which we especially liked.
Our summer was a mix of many boat projects, getting Ariel ready for another couple years on the go, interspersed with visits to family and friends. In June we spent a week vacationing with our three children and their families in a large Victorian house we rented in Grand Haven, Michigan. It was a real treat to have everyone together. There was a pool, which is all that was needed to keep our four grandchildren happy. The vacation home was located within a couple blocks from the downtown area with it’s shops and restaurants and also just a few blocks from the very active waterfront. It was touch and go that Pamela would be able to travel to our gathering so late in her pregnancy. Just a few weeks later, on July 23, their second daughter, Claire Parker Supelak was born.

In mid June we returned to upstate New York to visit family. We stayed with Norm's mom which has become our adopted land home base. We moved all of our belongings from our shipping container to a garage owned by Norm's mother. With the passing of Linda's mother, the future of the property on which the container is has become uncertain.

We were at the marina for four months, actually slightly longer and were anxious to get back to traveling. We made one last trip to visit our families, which took us to New York, Ohio and Michigan. We spent a couple days with each of our children and grandchildren. We stayed with Norm's mom a few days while she recovered from a needed surgery. She recovered quickly and she and Norm's brother Bill brought us back to Ariel and then spent the weekend. We had a wonderful weekend which included a day in Washington DC. Bill had never been to Washington. He did a tour in Viet Nam with the 173rd Airborne, and as difficult for him as it was, he visited the Viet Nam Memorial.

Just before leaving Spring Cove Marina, we had a surprise visit from Harry and Barbara Cochran, church friends from Franklin, MA. They travel around the country in a 5th wheel RV and we enjoyed exchanging experiences with them. There is so much commonality between the RV community and the cruising community. Our paths have come close to crossing several times in the past couple years so it was very nice to finally connect.

Claire Parker Supelak

Norm's Mom and brother Bill

Harry and Barbara Cochran