Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Cloudy and rainy most of the week, (heavy at times), some sunshine during the weekend.
Highlights: Clouds and rain have dominated the weather for the past week or so, keeping us close to the boat and tied to the dock.  Mostly we've spent the days reading, catching up on emails and TV shows, doing chores, and tackling some minor boat projects.  Our inflatable SUPs (stand-up paddleboards) arrived mid-week, and we took advantage of a break in the weather on both Saturday and Sunday to try them out near the marina.  First time out we were both pretty shaky, and Amy got wet a couple of times, but we quickly got the hang of it, and on Sunday, we were comfortable enough to venture up the creek and check out the area.  They'll be stored in special brackets off the side of the boat most of the time, but are easy to deflate and store when we're travelling.  Our other primary focus has been trying to line up a boat yard to get work done on our boat, including replacing the cracked front window.  Washburns (here in Solomons) has agreed to do most of the work, and we're on their schedule for late August, but they have declined to take on the window, so now we're stuck with the choice of finding another boat yard here in the Chesapeake area, or getting it done in Fort Lauderdale this fall on our way back south to the Virgin Islands.  Decision coming soon!

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  65 (over 2 days)
Weather:  Rainy all day (heavy at times), mid-70s
Highlights: Spent the past 3 days with Chris and Ellen Czeh, close friends that we've known since high school and volley ball days.  They arrived Thursday morning, we left the dock around 11AM, then motor-sailed in very light winds up the bay and Choptank River to San Domingo Creek.  The creek and anchorage are on the back side of St. Michaels, with a free dock nearby where you can land your dinghy and then walk a few blocks into the downtown area.  St. Michaels is a small historic town with picturesque homes, shops and churches.  The locals were very friendly, greeting us as we wandered around, and in one instance, inviting us into their gardens.  The waterfront area includes a couple of marinas and boatyards, several B&Bs, a maritime museum, and a small park area.  Our original plan was to spend 2 nights at anchor while we explored St. Michaels but the weather reports were calling for significant rain on Saturday, so we cut our visit to just Friday morning.  We returned to the boat around noon, raised anchor, motor-sailed south with slightly better winds, and were back to the marina by late afternoon.  We broke out the dominos game before dinner, then Chris and Ellen treated us to a very nice meal at the Ruddy Duck.  Rains came as forecasted early Saturday morning, so after breakfast, we packed our guests off with promises of another trip soon, maybe in the USVIs this winter.  Amy and I relaxed and binge-watched House of Cards for the rest of the day, grateful for good times with lovely friends, and a sound boat and safe harbor to shelter from the storm.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, breezy, high-80s
Highlights: Pumped out the holding tanks, filled the water tanks, did a couple loads of laundry, and Amy went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for our upcoming trip over to St. Michaels tomorrow with Chris and Ellen Czeh.  Bruce from Washburns boatyard came over in the afternoon to look at the fiberglass repair job, and also to scope out the process for replacing the broken front window.  Did a lot of humming and shaking his head, but couldn't commit to taking on the job yet - guess he'll need to consult with Eric (the boatyard owner) before a final decision.  Dinner tonight of stir-fried beef, then we walked downtown to get our exercise and an ice cream cone for desert.  Back to the boat to watch a couple more episodes of House of Cards before turning in for the night.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy, low-90s
Highlights: Slept in this morning, played some backgammon, then walked over to the Calvert Maritime Museum and wandered through some of their exhibits.  Also watched the otters get fed - very entertaining.  For lunch, we took Eugene over to Ledo's Pizza, then back to the boat to pack him up and send him off.  Was great spending time with him, and hopefully won't be another 6 months before we connect again.  Leftovers for dinner tonight, along with a couple of episodes of House of Cards.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy, mid-80s
Highlights: Eugene drove down from DC to spend a couple of days with us.  I've know him since White Oak Jr High days (almost 50 years - wow!), and we see each other a couple of times each year.  Last time together was Thanksgiving, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  Went out to dinner at the Lighthouse restaurant (good food and service, but very pricey, then back to the boat where we played backgammon and cribbage until late.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly cloudy, calm, mid-80s
Highlights: Spent most of the day today just vegging out in front of the TV up at the lounge.  Watched the morning talk shows first, then the men's Wimbledon final, and finally the World Cup finals.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  13
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy,low-80s
Highlights: Started early this morning by pulling the hoses totally out of the head (port-side), then flushed out all the calcium deposits.  Got everything connected back together, and was very pleased to find all working properly, and no leaks.  Will need to repeat the process soon with the starboard head, but that can wait for another week or two.  Mike and Kathy Rose (friends from Elm Grove Circle days) came over to the boat around 4PM, and we took the boat about 5 miles up the Patuxent to St. Leonards Creek, dropped anchor, and cooked steaks and cut vegetables on the grill for dinner.  Really enjoyable afternoon and evening, but we had to raise anchor at 7:30 in order to make it back to the marina before night-fall.  Tied up to the dock just as it was getting dark.  Walked downtown for an ice cream treat, then  back to the marina around 10PM, said our good-byes, and tumbled into bed .

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy, high-70s
Highlights: Changed out the joker valves in the heads today, which wasn't a fun job, but wasn't too challenging.  Tested both heads after the job was done, and seemed to be working fine.  Port head water flow seemed slow, but I attributed it to the fact that the new valve was probably stiffer.  However, later in the day, head was totally blocked with no water flowing.  Took the hoses back off, and discovered all kinds of calcium deposits had broken loose and were clogging up the hose.  Didn't have time to totally disconnect all the hoses, so packed it all back up and will finish the job tomorrow.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, breezy, high-80s
Highlights: Bit of clean-up and organizing today (mostly Amy with the pantries).  Went to the pool before dinner - swam some laps, caught some sun, and read a bit before back to the boat for dinner (black beans ard rice, peach cobbler for desert).  For a change of pace, decided to start watching Season 2 of House of Cards tonight.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, calm, mid-80s
Highlights: Lazy day today, didn't do much of anything, but after dinner walked into town (south end), checked out the houses, stores, boardwalk, etc, then got some ice cream on the way back to the boat.  Started season 2 of GOT tonight for entertainment.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, calm, mid-80s
Highlights: Slow, lazy day on and off the boat.  Slept in, then walked over to the marina lounge and watched the world cup matches while catching up on emails and news.  More reading and napping before dinner of leftovers, then watched episodes 5 and 6 of GOT before turning in for the night.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Hot and muggy (low-90s), partly cloudy, showers late afternoon
Highlights: Today was chores day.  Washed the outside of the boat down, filled the water tanks, emptied the holding tanks, and got the cabins put back together.  Amy tooked the marina courtesy car over to Weiss for provisions, then napped and read during the afternoon.  Walked up to Boomerangs for dinner (ribs and burgers), then got an ice cream from 7-Eleven on our way back to the boat.  Watched GOT episodes 3 and 4 before bedtime.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  33
Weather:  Mostly sunny, light breeze, high-80s
Highlights: Allan needed to get back to the office by early afternoon, so we raised anchor just before 6AM and motor-sailed in very light winds down the rivers and back up the bay to Solomons.  Pulled up to the dock at 11:30 where Amy was waiting to catch the lines, and saw everyone off shortly after.  Quick washdown and clean-up of the boat, then naps and reading for rest of afternoon.  Leftovers for dinner, then watched the 1st 2 episodes of "Game of Thrones" before crashing for the night.

​Current Location:  Horseshoe Bend Anchorage, St. Marys River, MD
Miles Traveled:  33
Weather:  Mostly sunny, light breeze, low-90s
Highlights: Had breakfast, then left marina around 9AM, headed for St. Marys.  Saw sting rays, schools of fish, a couple of dolphins, several ospreys, and beautiful scenery along the way.  Took the boat around Point No Point lighthouse for some good pictures, and also sailed past the lighthouse at Point Lookout.  Not much wind, but did get about an hour of pure sailing in before the wind died down completely.  Motor-sailed up the Potomoac and St. Marys Rivers, and dropped anchor around 2PM in front of the college.  Played bridge during the heat of the day, then late afternoon took the dinghy into the college docks and walked around historic St. Marys City.  Strolled through the cemetery, the Anglican Church, the Old State House, and down to the Dove (among other sites), then back to the boat around 6PM for steaks, corn-on-the cob, salad, rolls, and chocolate bits for desert.  Bridge until after 11, then off to bed.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, light breeze, low-90s
Highlights: Had a full breakfast, then Jenn arrived with Cooper to pick up Amy.  Cooper didn't want to make the leap from dock to boat, so Terry lifted him up over the side and then Jenn coaxed him down into the cabin.  He was pretty nervous about the new surroundings, but settled down pretty quickly.  Jenn and Mom left  with Cooper around 11 to spend the next few days together, and Dad, Mike, and Terry walked over to the Calvert Marine Museum.  Got a guided tour of the lighthouse, then self-guided around the museum to see artifacts, ship models (and some actual working boats), collections of tools, instruments, and outboard motors, and live critters such as otters, sting rays, and lots of fish.  Back to the boat around dinner time (spaghetti with rolls and desert), then played another round of dominoes (Dad's ninja powers were still working).  Allan arrived around 11 after the Nats/Red Sox game, and we turned in shortly after.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, calm, mid-90s
Highlights: Mike arrived around noon after playing an early round of golf, and Dad arrived around 4 after a long day driving down from Toronto.  Mike and Terry went up to Citgo to get the propane tank filled, then Amy took Mike's car and picked up groceries for the week.  Dinner of rotisserie chicken, pasta salad, rolls, baked beans, with strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Played dominoes after dinner (Dad brought his Canadian ninja skills and kicked everyone's butts), then everyone turned in for a good night's sleep.

​Current Location:  Spring Cove Marina (Solomons, MD)
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, calm, mid-90s
Highlights: First official day in our summer home, so strolled the grounds, checked out the pool and marina store, and met a few of our neighbors.  Visitors coming tomorrow afternoon, so scrubbed the boat down, washed windows, did laundry, and cleaned up the cabins.  Dad will be in the owner's cabin, so moved everything over to the aft port cabin.