Beach Week

Chincoteague, VA

July 14 - 21, 2012

Last year Buddy took me to Chincoteague for the first time and I wrote about how it took me back to an era of times gone by.  We returned this year and I was once again taken back, but this time to my childhood, when every year we made the trek to Ocean City and usually timed it when aunts & uncles and their families were there too.  A week at the beach with family, friends, sandy feet, lazy days, fishing, biking, eating, reading, no plans, no schedule.  This year we held a reunion or celebration of sorts with the Koolhofs, Straughans and Hughes families.  And what a time we did have!

Jester Wallace House

Cheers!

We left mid-morning Saturday only to hit Rt. 50 traffic near Annapolis.  Buddy was surprised.  Apparently he hasn't done Saturday-to-Saturday beach rentals.  No worries, we took our time and reached T's Corner 10 miles after Mike & Alice.  First things first - we met at the Chincoteague Inn for a lunch of fresh oysters.  While sitting there, we saw Eileen & Allan arriving at the town dock on their boat, coming in from Cape May. (Congrats to them for making their first circumnavigation of the Eastern Shore on their "new-to-them" 34' Pursuit.  They should write a blog on their trip!  FYI... dockage at the town dock in Chincoteague is $1.00/ft, including electric)  Vanessa arrived not long after.  The rest of the clan converged on our welcoming beach house - the Jester-Wallace (same as last year) and we all set off in a whirlwind for 2nd Saturdays on Main St., when the stores and galleries stay open late.  With so many of us it was hard to keep track of who was where, but funnily enough we found each other upstairs at Don's (go figure) enjoying icy cold beverages.  More fresh seafood for all!  (I see a theme here!)

Mophead & Nessa

The next day we beached it.  We lounged & swam while Buddy & Vanessa were surf fishing.  The ocean was as warm as I'd ever felt it.  The wind was out of control though, so I put my chair at the foot of the waves while enjoying my toes in the water and ___ in the sand!  Buddy caught a croaker but he was an inch too small. 

We enjoyed a special dinner that night as Mike and Alice surprised us with a 10 pound prime rib complete with fixings.  Sunday dinner with the fam, lots of wine, over sized baby dolls and a dimly lit attic make for great ghost stories!  Buddy was a huge hit with the younger crew with his over-active imagination and stories of Bethany and Shawanda.  pitter-patter-pitter-patter...

Chillaxing!

Pretty much the same for the next five lovely days.  Beach, food, beach, dinner, fishing, dinner, beach....  One day Allan took his boat 65 miles off shore to the canyon and we all reaped the rewards of mahi mahi three ways - baked, grilled & blackened!  (They earned it - 5' to 6' waves all the way out!)  We found steamed crabs $30 for 1/2 bushel and ate to our hearts content with enough left over for fantastic crabcakes.  We biked to the Blueberry Festival and indulged in freshly made blueberry pie and poundcake.  We cooked out.  We took the Sand Bar Shuttle where Tug enjoyed his first romp on the beach.   We played bingo at the fireman's carnival (and I won - TWICE! Thanks Mom-Mom!).  We went for ice cream.  We drove through the refuge looking for ponies.  We played rummy and told jokes on the porch.  We did what millions of Americans do every summer - we were a family at the beach.  And it felt so good.  I love faraway places and exotic cultures, but sometimes you just can't beat good old fashioned fun!

     

Wayward herd swam over too soon!

Allan & Tug onboard Solitaire

Sand Bar Shuttle

                

One Hot Summer Night

One Hot Summer Night

Fairlee Creek, MD
July 7th, 2012

We debated long & hard over going out this weekend with a forecast of 108 F, but eventually decided to go for it.  We had friends that would be there and what were we going to do at home anyway?  Once the decision was made, we set in to action packing and packing.  It never ceases to amaze me how much STUFF we need to take with us for a single night out.  We needed a cart, of course, groceries, water, beer, dog food, swim suites, towels, and the list goes on...  To my surprise & delight we added a last minute crew member, none other than Vahle, and we cast off and headed east. 

It was a warm cruise, but we had a great time crossing the bay before approaching the Fairlee Creek inlet, about an hour in total time, cruising at a comfortable 22 knots.  We had no trouble at the intlet, made our turn in to Fairlee and oh-my-goodness!  We had never seen so many boats!  Looks like everyone had the same idea.  We dodged the rafts, dinghtys, boats & swimmers and made our way to the Feretti, INXS, sitting like a beacon at the back of the creek. 

The gang had dinked over to Jelly Fish Joel's so, we tied up with the help of Where To, where we were promptly invited to lunch!  Gotta love boaters - so generous in welcoming a soggy bunch on board!  Delicious burgers, dogs & sausages, as well as a local (PA, I'm guessing) concoction of cucumbers in a sauce made from melted candy red hots.  As Buddy put it "very unique"!

Swimming was next for me, I couldn't get in soon enough with the triple digit temps.  I made a new friend in the water, 11 year old Cassandra, and we decided to test our agility by swimming around the entire boat raft!  By then the crew had returned, whereupon I was asked the dreaded question - "What happened to the blog?"  I was wondering if it would come up this summer, and there it was, hanging out there.  I didn't have an answer other than no pics (and laziness), so here we are...

We took Lexi dog to shore and saw that an entire area of the creek had been roped off.  After running in to some friends swimming in the shallows, we were informed that there were to be fireworks that night!  Hurray!  We put the dog below in the air (she finally figured that out), and set ashore for Jelly Fish Joel's.  Kooky drinks all around!  They serve tasty blender drinks - Mudslides, Rum Runners, Margaritas, etc. and you can add a dark rum floater on the top - if you dare!  We met up with some friends there with their daughter and grandson, took a dip in the water, sang along with the band and one of our bunch even met up with a young lady and decided to take a walk on the beach. 

             

Former Raven Michael McCrary was at the bar, having a great time, and very patient with fans.  He gracefully took pictures with everyone that asked, including an unmentioned member of our crew that just when the camera was about to snap, pulled out her Steeler coozie (to a bunch of boos!).  An hour later we made a few dinghy runs to get everyone back to the boats and once we had dinner started, realized we were down one crewmember - oops!  Hmmm, the one that met the lady, what to do?  We were about to send out a search group, but just at that moment we heard splashing - what could it be?  a dolphin?  a school of fish?  NO, a swimming Vahle!  All the way from Jelly Fish Joel's - and remember, we are WAY in the back of the creek!  (Too bad I don't have a picture of our olympic grade crew-member - quite a site!)

Buddy with his long hair

Dinner was delicious, and as always, we had too much food.  Steaks and shrimp, kabobs & corn-on-the-cob, even a trifle for dessert. We finished up just in time for fireworks - Amazing and right over our heads!  (I love it when they fake the ending a few times!).  Most of our group called it an early evening but it was still so warm and humid, I opted for a late night swim before Buddy & I snuggled on the bow to stargaze.

Painkiller at Bo Brooks

The next morning brought more hot temperatures and our friends All In & Premier Ride. They had been firework seeking since the 3rd of July running around the bay (Rock Hall, Sassafras, Chesapeake City & Wharton Creek). We had a nice chat hearing about their adventures on the bay while enjoying an unbelievable mango smoothy courtesy of Crystal.  Not long after Buddy and I quietly slipped out of the raft up and headed west again.  Once we reached the Key Bridge you could feel the wall of heat coming off the city.  Another hot one!  We tied up in the slip, had one more drink at the Tiki Bar - Buddy's first Painkiller, with the official Pussers Rum - and were homeward bound. Until next time...

April 15^th, 2012

Shakedown Cruise 

Captain Buddy*

And it begins!

Is it time to boat again already???  Feels like I was just writing these blogs and feeling melancholy over the coming winter….  Alas, Spring has sprung (more like summer) and here we go!  With the weather report claiming temps in the 80’s, Cap’t Buddy was all over getting down to the boat to assess winter’s harm.  Dirty on the outside, a little dusty on the inside, but otherwise, so far so good.  A quick once over, and we were wanting more.  It was time to get those engines fired up and see what the old gal could do.  A phone call to a couple of friends, and we had ourselves a shakedown cruise ‘n crew.  

The HarborShark performed stupendously.  She ran great – no smoke out this year, thanks to a little pre-season maintenance, and with the exception of a loose radio wire, all systems were a go.  The skies were blue, the temps up, the harbor crowded – one would think it was the middle of summer.  We even had the pleasure of our summertime boating friends, which made the illusion that much more convincing. 

Shakedown Cruise n' Crew*

Our friends are the ultimate socialites and brought along their “party-in-a-bag”.  It wasn’t long before we were munching on olives and fancy cheeses, chicken salad in lettuce cups and more while enjoying the beautiful city vistas.  After a ride out to the bridge and cruise around the harbor, we said farewell to our boating crew (see you again Memorial Day!), and headed back to the marina for round two. 

Congrats Billy & Anne!

The “All In” was gracious enough to extend an invitation for dinner at the Hard Yacht for his inaugural cruise.  A new cast boarded and off we headed toward Bear Creek.  This time we had newbie boaters with us, which is always fun!  The All In also gave a stellar performance as we drank in the early summer weather conditions.  We were joined by two other boats, Premiere Ride and Billy’s Boat.  We also saw a group of other BMC customers there – shout out to Billy the Pirate & Scotty – thanks for the fireball!  A great day to be out and the place was packed, but they accommodated our large group quickly even though we didn’t have reservations.  We had a tasty meal and a champagne toast to the happy couple that had gotten engaged Saturday.  That made three betrothed duos at the table.  So uplifting to be around all that young love!

As the sun was setting, we re-boarded and set out for home port.  A gorgeous evening and a fabulous start to the 2012 boating season.  Now I really hope the weather doesn’t turn and make us wait another month or so before we see these temps again.  That would be a cruel trick, Mother Nature!

Picture courtesy of Sara Ingram

*Pics by Molly McConnell

Festive December Boating

BALTIMORE INNER HARBOR
Saturday, December 3rd


I've been very remiss in my writing, even though I've had several great opportunities to blog.  I've taken two cruises - a 5 day Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda from Baltimore and an MSC cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas, where I could tell stories of big seas, seasickness, and new found friends.  We've also taken the boat out on several occasions for short periods of time.  I even miss it- I got used to being ever vigilant of good shots, good stories and good quotes).    Anyway...  last weekend we took a short jaunt to the harbor for the day and I thought this was a good opportunity to put it on paper (or at least in to words). 

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and so much to do all over the city that day- bands in harbor east, tubas in the harbor, the boat parade, the light show at the power plant, and I was ready to get in to the holiday spirit.  We had lots of friends that would be downtown too.  So I talked Buddy in to going to the city and staying on the boat before it was winterized (it wasn't very hard). 

When we got to the marina, Clark said he wanted to take his boat out so we unloaded, turned on the heat and headed over to F pier.  I immediately noticed something VERY attractive about Clark's boat (not that it isn't a beautiful vessel anyway), but the cockpit was WARM!  A HEATED COCKPIT!  I was in heaven since anyone that knows me knows I hate to be cold.  He fired up the engines, and off we went.  We cruised around the harbor and enjoyed seeing how crowded & festive the city was.  It was especially entertaining when we pulled up alongside the wall at the Inner Harbor.  There were over 100 santas walking from Tir Na Nog, in front of our boat and on in to Federal Hill.  (The annual Santa Stumble that benefits inner city schools).  We were cracking up - some of the santas were even themed!  There were viking santas, elvis santas, geeky santas, skinny santas, fat santas, even a jewish santa!  They were certainly spreading good cheer!
We decided that would be a great place to watch the boat parade and tied up in front of the old J. Pauls (didn't even know it was gone!).  Right away we had some friends hop on board, and just as the santas were drifting out of site, then what to our wandering eyes should appear?  But 200 tubas coming in near.  No kidding!  Tubas, tubas everywhere.  They played beautiful holiday music for an hour and then the tuba parade began again. 

Next up?  The Baltimore Parade of Lighted Boats, of course!  A few more firends came aboard to watch the boat parade, now in it's 24th year here in Baltimore and put on by the Fells Point Yacht Club.  Well over a dozen boats of all shapes and sizes were decorated in varying degrees to festively entertain.  My personal favorite was Santa's Sleigh, with the Choo Choo Train (and accompanying life-like horn) in a close second.  There were two aweome boats from BMC Lighthouse Point (that I know of) there to represent our marinas.  And the whole time I was toasty warm in the cockpit!! 

So after the fabulously festive day we had, we said so long to our guests and started the engines, made our way back across the harbor to the marina, where I finally had to step out in to the cold night's air.  A bonus boat ride in December - LOVE IT!

Beautiful Key Waden



Key Waden - Naples, FL September 10th, 2011



Shark Bait


 There was no boating in the Chesapeake for us this weekend.  We went to Naples, Florida to visit Buddy's mom & to celebrate my birthday weekend.  We have a 21 foot Key Largo we keep down there because it's just so perfect for that kind of boating.  We keep it near the entrance to 10,000 islands so the smaller, faster, more nimble boat is perfect for scooting around the islands and even going out in the gulf. 



Bridge to Marco Island

 We headed out Saturday morning to do a little fishing and catch some Florida rays, since the sun's strength is waning in Baltimore now.  We keep the boat in Goodland, the wayward step-child of Marco Island, in a hurricane rated boatel.  The service is great - you show up and they put your boat right in.  We loaded up with shrimp and ice and off we went.  The water was a little murky around the islands, so we didn't have a lot of luck fishing.  A few hits and lost bait, but not even a cat fish on the line!  So we moved on (which was my ultimate plan anyway) up the Marco River, under the two bridges to Marco Island, through the Pass, across the shoal and over to Key Waden!  I like to call it Hart-Miller South.  It's a barrier island that you can only get to by boat, with beautiful crystal clear waters and a white sandy beach.  The water drops off quickly, so you can bow in your boat and spend the day on the island, swimming in the warm gulf waters, laying on the beach, shelling the millions of differing shells, cooking out or doing nothing at all.  There are dozens of boats there on the weekends, so you have to get there early to get a spot on the beach.  


Key Waden

 We were lucky and got a perfect spot.  The neighbors were playing music.  Buddy threw out his line (he's been lucky there before) and I went for walk. 




BK fishing

  Again, as with earlier summer finds, the beach has changed dramatically since the last time we were there.  A small creek has formed allowing a pond to form on the interior of the island.  The water there was holding fish & minnows captive until the tide comes in again.  But there are still tons of shells to be found.  And it seems that the sea birds have found a home here too.  There were flocks and flocks of noisy pipers on the gulf side of the island.  If something spooked them they all flew at once to the other side in a beautiful, if raucous display.  I spent most of the day lounging at waters edge in the 87 degree waters of the gulf, watching Buddy toss his line and reel it in and toss and reel... a soothing routine like the waves coming in and going out . Such a relaxing day. 




Lounging in the gulf

We headed out around mid-day back toward Goodland to have lunch at one of our favorite places - Mile Marker 8.  It's someone's old house that's been converted to a restaurant.  We were greeted by Pirate the Parrot, who was not-so-patiently waiting in a golf cart for his owner to come out of the bar.  We talked the waitress in to bringing him in where he ate a cracker out of my hand and talked to us non-stop.  Just another typical day in Goodland...

Pirate the Parrot

A few years ago, Marco Island tried to buy up the land in Goodland to no avail, and I'm sure glad they didn't get their way.  Goodland to Marco Island is like Key West is to West Palm Beach.  It's old school, kitschy, politically incorrect, anything goes and I love it just the way it is.  And if you ever get a chance to visit, our favorite festival is the Mullet Festival that happens at Stan's Idle Hour the 3rd weekend in January, where you can learn to Buzzard Lope, watch a mullet tossing contest and enjoy a buzzard cocktail alongside the many cast and characters that make up Stan's.  Whitey Schmidt has even been known to make an appearance.   And don't forget to stop by the Island Woman Boutique for a kooky hat & sunglasses, it's a must!



House on Marco Island



Home in Goodland

Premier Ride's KC Crew

Boating season is winding down now so I’m not sure how many more blogs are in the works, but we’ll keep them coming as long as we can.  I had a special edition up my sleeve, but will be saving that for next week as Sara Ingram has quite a story that she has so graciously offered to share here.  I had asked on her facebook page when we would be boating together again, and this is the response I received.  Enjoy.

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GUEST BLOGGER – SARA INGRAM

Hard Yacht Café, Bear Creek

September 10^th, 2011 (two days after the Conowingo Dam opening)

"You ask, “when will we boat together again?” and I answer you this way:  “when you throw out common sense”.   I have to share the story and photos!!!

Last year we went to the playoff game in Kansas City, and to make a long story short we “worked” our way into the best suite in the stadium—50 yard line, double suite, 2 fire places, ex-players, etc. all there.  We invited our “friends” to Baltimore for the first regular season game.  They arrived Friday.  After confessing we didn’t know anyone in Kansas City, nor did anyone from Baltimore tell us to look them up, we enjoyed dinner at Ruth Chris and offered to take them boating the next day since Saturday was expected to be great weather.

KC Crew

We got a nice crew together (see pics!) and while waiting for a few late arrivals, our boat neighbors mentioned that they heard there was a lot of debris from the dam being opened.  They warned us to be careful since others had turned back after seeing an RV Trailer in the water.   With an adventurous crew ready, Premier Ride departed.

Even before the Key Bridge, there was a surprising amount of debris in the water.  As we crossed under the bridge and continued beyond Fort Carroll, we realized that this was no joke—we had two spotters plus the captain screaming “turn right!”, “go left!” , “uh…not sure which looks worse, better just put it in neutral!”.  We approached the John Brown, who was out on one of their three “Living History Cruises” of the year, with hundreds of people on board.  The ship cleared the way for us beautifully, but then we realized that it would fill back in after we went through and then there would be no John Brown for our return.  Moving at this pace, we knew we would miss the bikini contest at Riverwatch, so headed to the Hard Yacht Café instead.

Liberty Ship John Brown

Others must have had the same idea, because Hard Yacht was packed!!  Our Kansas City friends had their first Maryland Crab experience at Hard Yacht.  There was a great live performance by Mark Alan, and some of our ladies even became his tambourine dancers!  We were having a fabulous time, until all of the sudden a storm approached and down-poured.  I ran to the boat to cover the electronics and put up the canvas.  By the time I got just the windshield canvas up, you would have thought I’d gone for a swim fully clothed.  Almost as soon as it started, the rain stopped but the amount of water that fell was worth putting up the canvas, and got me a new Hard Yacht tank top!!



Fun at the Hard Yacht

We returned to BMC, stopped for a drink at Bo Brooks Tiki Bar, then went home to get ready for the Flip-Flop Festivus at Silo Point, benefiting the Life and Breath Foundation. 

Floating islands of debris

I tell you, I have never seen anything like it.  I tried to take some pictures, but was so worried about the boat that what I have just doesn’t do it justice.  YIKES!  Always an adventure on Premier Ride! LOL

Next time you DEFINITELY should come with us…and wear your life vest J"

Bittersweet Boating

Tilghman Island Marina
Labor Day Weekend, September 3-5, 2011

Every year we go to Tilghman for Labor Day weekend.  It's one of the boating bookends: Memorial Day anchored in St. Michael's and Labor Day at the Tilghman Island Marina.  One of my favorite weekends of the summer with some of my favorite people, and yet I hate looking forward to it because it means summer is coming to an end.  This year was no different (although I almost threw a wrench it by trying to coerce Buddy in to going to the Grand Prix - he was having none of that so we compromised.  I went to the Grand Prix Friday (great fun, by the way), he got to go to Tilghman and I got a cruise to Bermuda!  (I'm a pretty good negotiator.)

Heading for better weather

We headed out early Saturday morning with INXS and All In knowing we would be dodging storms.  As luck would have it, we were heading toward brighter skies, so that was a good thing.  We got lucky, and though we saw three storms on radar, didn't run in to any of them.  Instead we had a lovely cruise on a busy bay.  Two hours later we arrived in Tilghman to a welcoming committee of the crew that had come Friday night.  They were already fishing on the docks.  And we tied up and our blood pressure lowered and the stress melted away.


Fishing the docks



Harbor Shark at T.I.M.

 The weather cleared up and we had a beautiful leisurely day of pool time, chatting, reading, munching, chatting, fishing, eating, swimming, cocktails and chatting, even napping before it was time to gear up for sunset dinghy cruise.  Our group was 8 boats, which is a little difficult to organize, so half made it out and half did something else.  We had lovely colors but no sunset to speak of, but no mind.  We tied together and sang Kumbaya and watched the ospreys and seagulls until dark started to settle in and then headed in for the annual festivities of the birthday twins' celebration.  A smorgasbord of meats, salads, vegetables and desserts, all home made and brought off the boats.  MA's pudding shots are always a huge hit and this year (the first time since I've known him) we had a special treat from Buddy - Square Dance Calling!  We all lined up and he taught us square dance tips!  Being that it was around midnight at this point, none of us are quite ready for the Chesapeake Squares, but it sure was a pretty great time.


Sunset Dinghy Cruise



Tilghman Sunset*



Birthday Twins - Can you tell who's who???*

 We awoke Sunday to the disappointing news that there would be no Buddy Fest this year at Harrison's Chesapeake House.  Always the main event of the weekend and our Sunday activity.  This left us with an entire day to entertain ourselves.  Ha!  This crew???  No problem.  The girls went for a power walk, the boys went fishing.  The girls made brunch for all, the boys put out the crab pots in a small cove around the corner from the Narrows. I walked over to check how the guys were doing at fishing and saw Davy in a dinghy going to check on the crabbers, so MA and I hopped in and went with him.  In the cove, we found some of Chesapeake Bay's finest wildlife.  A herd of cows cooling off at water's edge.  Bulls, mamas and babies, all hanging out.  They were curious too, which kind of freaked us out when they started wading out to greet us.  Clark & Buddy had only caught about a dozen crabs and were ready to come in, which meant we weren't having crabs for lunch, so we did some dinking and then headed over to Bay 100 to meet the rest of the gang.  The Nawlins Shrimp (served with warm bread for dipping in the sauce- mmm) & Fried Oysters were delicious.



Wildlife on the Chesapeake!




Bay 100 Fun

 The sunset dinghy cruise that evening was a bit of a debacle.  Being dinghyless, we were on All In's, and Buddy didn't want to go to begin with, so he was grumpy.  We knew there wasn't going to be a sunset, but headed out anyway to be with the group.  We tied together just in time to watch the Carnival Pride cruise down the Chesapeake. When the dinghies started bumping and splashing water, we looked back to find we had drifted far off shore and the wind was picking up.  Two footers on the way in, poor Lexi shaking under my legs and me with water dripping from my head.  And from Buddy "This is why I didn't want to go" - in deadpan.  Kevin was ready to throw him overboard.

Tilghman Island Inn

Not having planned to make another dinner, several us decided to dine at the Tilghman Island Inn as a special treat that evening.  The place is a such a treasure.  On the web-site, it says this:  "A tonic for the soul, a feast for the senses, in one of the most picturesque and magical settings on the Chesapeake Bay".  And that's exactly how you feel while there.  We had drinks in the chic & cozy bar area (picture zebra striped carpet next to the fire place with a large standard poodle draped across the sofa). before being seated in the dining area.   The couple on Beach Music were married here seven years ago and are good friends with the owner, who stopped by to say hello.  We took our time enjoying the ambiance, the conversation with good friends and especially the fine cuisine.  Favorites at the table:  Oysters Choptank:  "Plump Mollusks in a Pernod Scented Champagne Cream Sauce in Puff Pastry" and Lavender Ice Cream (!).



Married 7 years ago at T.I.I.



Next to be married

We awoke in the morning to gray skies and the threat of heavy rain and storms.  Total bummer.  Beach Music was all ready to go.  HarborShark was getting antsy, Crown Jewels had her engines running.  Wow - not expected.  My mood changed to match the weather.  I knew this would be the last group boating outing of the summer and it's heartbreaking.  This is my summer family.  I won't see many of them again until next Spring, and to have to leave so suddenly made me very sad.  To quote The Verve, "it's a bittersweet symphony, this life..."

Thanks Ron & Nancy!

We couldn't leave before saying so long to our gracious hosts - Ron & Nancy, which is why we come every year to the Tilghman Island Marina.  They're a welcoming couple we love to hang with.  Nancy is a foster mom for Tomcat Solutions in Easton and always has kittens when we visit, and being a cat person, I love to help socialize them while I'm there.  We went up to the office to pay one by one, and one by one we pulled out.  Until next year Tilghman... 

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Note:  We were fortunate on the ride home that we didn't hit any storms but the boat traffic from the mass exodus of boats from the Grand Prix made for a bumpy ride.  Plus, the site in the city was like something out of a movie.  We were one boat going toward the harbor with hundreds heading out.

*Photos compliments of J.G.