October 31, 2007 - Norfolk, VA

Our trip this morning was a chance to view the US Navy up close. As we turned south on the Elizabeth River we passed along the Norfolk Naval Base. Do these aircraft carriers ever make us feel small. It was interesting to hear the radio communications - 'This is Warship 74 ........'.








As we headed past all of these ships, we also found out that the portion of the ICW through the Dismal Swamp had closed yesterday due to low water from the drought in this area. We were disappointed as the write ups on the Dismal Swamp sounded anything but dismal!

This meant we had to replan this portion of our trip to take the Virginia Cut, deeper but potentially not as interesting.




When we decided to regroup, we also decided to make it a short day and we headed into the Norfolk Yacht Club. Here Monarch sits at the end of the dock enjoying a beautiful view of the Lafayette River.

We took the chance to really give the boat a good scrubbing and got rid of all that salt that had accumulated over the past weeks. Even though we had tried to rinse the boat with fresh water as often as possible, it does not match a soap and water bath.


From what we have been able to learn so far, the clubhouse here has just undergone a large renovation effort. The main clubhouse (pictured) holds the Main Dining Room, Grille and Deck restaurants and many meeting rooms. We plan to try out their dining room and have dinner ashore tonight.

Adjacent to this building is the Fitness Center with excercise facilities, squash courts and both an indoor and outdoor pool. Nearby are the tennis courts.


Now this is a Junior Sailing program! We counted over 30 Flying Juniors and ....











.....0ver 40 Optomists. As we write this, the junior sailors are out on the water.

After washing the boat, we decided to go for a long, brisk walk to get the blood pumping. We toured the adjacent waterfront neighborhood, with homes and yards in a style reminiscent of our old neighborhood of Grosse Pointe. There is also the Hermitage museum and garden, which had been the Sloane (the GM founder) mansion, noted for its beautiful grounds and art collection. It reminded us of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford home on Lake St. Clair.

October 30, 2007 - Norfolk, VA

The weather today definitely made up for yesterday. The Bay was calm and the temperatures climbed into the high 60's. We were back on the flybridge for the first time in days. The winds were forecast to come from the wrong direction for the anchorage we had selected, so we decided to continue on to Norfolk. It seemed like everyone heading south for the winter converged from all over the Bay at this point. We saw 8 sailboats and a couple of powerboats as we entered the shipping lanes here. We also had freighters, fishing boats and warships.






We are anchored in Willoughby Bay for the night. A nice anchorage with built in entertainment -

- as behind us is the Norfolk Airbase and we are watching all sorts of planes and helicopters take off and land.

October 29, 2007 - Cardinal, VA

Today was an interesting day on the Bay. We had following seas of 4-6 feet. For most of the day, seas were on the starboard aft quarter, which at first pushed Monarch around and made steering difficult. So, we picked up the speed to around 11 knots which helped smooth the ride, as we were traveling at a pace closer to the wave speed. That was one of the reasons we like Monarch, as she can run at higher speeds than most trawlers when we need to escape weather. Luckily, we had planned a short day and did not have to put up with this too long.





As we got to calmer waters on our way into the East River and Mobjack Bay, we continued to see 'crabbers' working their traps. We have seen and had to dodge a fair number of the bouys marking the traps, but not as many as we would have if we had been traveling here during the summer months.











This is looking off of our stern as we are tied up at Zimmerman Marine. To execute this small inlet, we had to enter at close to high tide. Even then, the yard manager, Steve, came out in a skiff to guide us in.

This made for a very nice view during the evening hours, which we enjoyed over dinner aboard with Marty's cousin Chuck and his wife Cynthia. They live in Williamsburg, less than an hour away by car.






Off the bow of Monarch is the boatyard. The reason we stopped here was to get quotes for the work we want done on the boat. Besides being one of the most respected yards on the Chesapeake for repair work, they also build boats here. They are currently building a down east style powerboat in both 36 & 46 foot lengths. We saw a 36 at the docks, and in one of the buildings we saw a 46 in process. We also saw a 60-70 foot wood sailboat they built about 10 years ago. It was absolutely stunning both inside and outside.

When we awoke this morning, it was 40 degrees out. It made for a beautiful setting but reminded us that we need to get on our way south.

October 27, 2007 - Mill Creek, VA

Today we awoke to gentle rain on the deck. We lifted anchor in Canoe Neck Creek during a squall and got underway. The trip down the last part of the Potomac River was in the continuing rain. It seems like the drought in this area was ending in one fell swoop.

When we returned to the Chesapeake Bay at Smith Point, we were greeted by confused seas. The winds had been from the South through the night and were now out of the West but the swells continued out of the South. Some of the swells reached at least 6 foot. Monarch is once again salt-encrusted. We had a few cupboards unload themselves, but the only casualty was one plastic wine glass. We only had a short time on the Bay as we headed into Mill Creek. This is just off of the Great Wicomico River and required diligence from both of us to find the winding entrance. It was well worth the effort as we were treated to beautiful cruise up the creek to our anchorage.

The secure anchorage we selected for this evening is just to the left of this dock. It is protected through 360 degrees, which is preferable, particularly as tomorrow has predictions for 5 footers in the Chesapeake.

We had 10 feet of water minimum as we came up the creek to anchor in this cove. There is a large Krogen trawler some distance southwest of us, but other than that we are alone. Not a bad way to spend our 28th anniversary!

With a rough day on the Bay predicted, we are going to take tomorrow off to relax. We plan to launch the dinghy and do some exploring up the creek.

October 26, 2007 - Canoe Neck Creek, MD

Today was another day that we appreciated the pilothouse on Monarch. It was cool and rainy all day, but we were warm and dry inside the boat. Areas around Washington, D.C. were supposed to get over 3 inches of rain.

We were still able to appreciate the sights along the river. This is historic Fort Washington, just
downriver from the capital.






Even in bad weather, Mt. Vernon is a beautiful spot. There is a dock on the river available to the public for daytime docking, to view the house and grounds. This was George and Martha Washington's home.









There were many large homes along the Virginia shoreline, just south of the Capital.












We liked this home, as they also had a big boat. (It may look small in this picture but it is probably 70 foot in length.)

Tonight in the pouring rain (too bad for the photographer to venture out!), we are securely anchored in Canoe Neck Creek, about 75 miles south of Washington, D.C. just off the Potomac River. We are protected through 360 degrees, as the cove is well sheltered. A few homes and farms dot the shore, but we have the anchorage to ourselves.

October 24 - 25, 2007, Washington DC

Wednesday, October 24th found Monarch in Washington, DC. We are docked at the Capital Yacht Club. We learned that Senators and Congresspeople are members here! The club is located just before the bridge at the Tidal Basin; from the flybridge we can see the Washington Monument. If we were farther out the dock we would also be able to see the Jefferson Memorial. We arrived early Wednesday afternoon and quickly gave the boat a washdown to remove the Chesapeake salt coating she had acquired over the previous days. Then we were in to the showers to get ready for an evening on the town with Marty's college roommate and her husband, Janet and Jim Sass. Spanish Tapas and a fine night were enhanced by their local knowledge!
Thursday morning dawned cool and damp. A good time to get some of the those chores done in the engine room. At noon, we finally decided the weather was not going to break so we got out the foul weather gear and started our walking tour. The first place we stopped was the best local fish market right next door to the docks. What a great place. The stores are on floating barges, moored next to the parking lot.






We ended up stopping here on at the end of the day (5 hours and some sore feet later) to get fresh sushi grade tuna and shrimp. They had just about any seafood you could imagine, and the marketing skills that we have seen at Detroit's Eastern Market. "Step right up - what can we get you today? We have the best chowder in town!" We had the tuna tonight, encrusted with white and black sesame seeds, pan-seared, with Wasabi oriental horseradish!











While we waited to see if the weather would improve, we went to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum. This is Jerry's favorite stop along the Mall. We also visited the newest museum of the Smithsonian family, the Native American Museum, a spacious and wonderfully done tribute, including an extensive native attire display and an extraordinary arrowhead collection.





Marty with Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. We also saw George Washington's military uniform, and Jackie Kennedy's inaugural gown. What a great peek at history.















The weather did not improve, but back outdoors we went. This is Marty in front of the Capital Building, dressed for anything.











The White House - we didn't stop to see if George would let us in after we were thrown out of our anchorage earlier on the trip, when he came to St. Michaels.










This is the Washington Monument, as seen from the new World War II Memorial. Even though the weather was cool, damp and overcast, we were both awestruck as we wandered around the various monuments and memorials. No matter how many times we visit D.C., we have renewed feelings of pride and patriotism.













The Jefferson Memorial, across the Tidal Basin.













The Lincoln Memorial, one of Jerry's favorites.













Ol' Abe overlooking the rest of the Mall from inside the Memorial. Today's politicians should aspire to his integrity and selflessness.
















The new World War II Memorial. One side is dedicated to the campaign in the Atlantic and Europe.











The other side is dedicated to the Pacific theater.













We saw families that were bringing the parents and grandparents who had fought in the war, to see this exhibit. It is surprising that it took so long for this memorial to be established. We saw one wheel-chair bound elderly gentleman, his wife and daughter, who told us he had been in the war. We expressed our thanks for his contribution.












The Korean Memorial.












The Vietnam Memorial. Always an impressive site honoring and listing the over 53,000 Americans who were lost in that 16-year conflict.

Name after name, for what seems like infinity.

Even though it was not the greatest weather to be outside, it was an impressive walk around our Nation's capital.

October 23, 2007 - Mattawoman Creek

Once again, we were up with the commercial fleet as we departed the Solomons. On days when we have gotten an early start, we have been treated to some spectacular sunrises.

As we headed south on the Chesapeake toward the Potomac, we cut through a 4 foot chop. As a result, Monarch now has a heavy coat of salt all over her exterior. Guess she gets a bath tomorrow when we get to the Capital Yacht Club in Washington, DC.



We were surprised by the substantial width of the Potomac in its first 75 miles. With shallow waters along the shores, we cruised in the middle of the river which felt like the freighter channel in Lake St. Clair. Tomorrow the river should narrow down and provide better sight seeing opportunities.







We are at anchor in Mattawoman Creek. We have this anchorage all to ourselves. The creek is located right across the river from Quantico, Virginia. We hear planes taking off every so often, as Quantico is the training base for the Marines and CIA. We are on our best behavior!

This small marina is on the opposite shore. There have been a few bass boats roaring along the creek - they must have 'local knowledge' as our charts are showing under 5 feet of water in that part of the creek.


On the other adjacent shore, is Bullitt Neck. As we have travelled this part of the country, we have found many land formations named after body parts - there are alot of necks, noses, chins and elbows around here.

October 22, 2007 - Solomons, MD

Our travels today took us from the eastern shore of the Chesapeake to Solomons, on the western shore.

We crossed the 1000 nautical mile milestone on our trip today. It will be interesting to see how many miles we cover each year.

Solomons is recognized as one of the boating capitals of the Chesapeake. There are hundreds of interesting boats in this area. We walked the docks this evening, and wish we could spend more time here to to explore, but that will have to wait for a future visit.

We are docked at Washburn Boat Yard. They are recognized as 'the trawler' spot on the Chesapeake. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon with the owner going over the work we want to have done next summer. We were both impressed with his knowledge and approach to our issues. And he loved Monarch's style, taking photos to show his wife!

This trawler sits off of our bow this evening. They have us docked in the haul out well, just for our quote and overnight.

We feel like we are back at MacRay Harbor as the jets from the Patuxent Air Base have been flying over all evening.

Tomorrow we begin our trip up the Potomac River to our nation's capital.

October 21, 2007 - Casson Point, MD

Today, we continued our travels down the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. We are in a secluded anchorage on Hudson Creek, just off of the Small Choptank River.

We had a beautiful, sunny travel day with temps in the mid-70's. We have been very fortunate to have good weather for the first portion of our trip.





We thought we would be sharing the anchorage with a sailboat but he just pulled up his anchor and left.

Looks like we will have this beautiful spot all to ourselves tonight.

October 17 - 20, 2007 - St. Michaels, MD

SORRY for no 'blog' updates for the past few days. We took a little break from our cruising schedule to spend time in St. Michaels, MD on the Miles River with our friends, John and Carol Nyland. John and I were roommates at MSU and go back to high school days. I was the best man in their wedding over 30 years ago.

We had been hoping to anchor in front of their home but had trouble locating it from the water. As we travelled back and forth along the shore with the binoculars trying to find them, John came running down the dock waving an MSU flag. A true Spartan......

Soon John and Carol were in their small Whaler heading out to greet us. With more wind predicted than we liked, we headed for the harbor in St. Michaels to anchor for our stay.

We dropped the hook off of the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. This is one of many buildings on the site. It backdrops the beautiful Matthews cruiser whichc has been restored by the museum. We toured the museum and were impressed by the projects to restore old boats and to keep the heritage to the Bay alive.

When Monarch comes to town, they throw a parade. In this case it was a Presidential motorcade, as President Bush helicoptered in to announce legislation to help protect the Chesapeake Bay, and more importantly, to have lunch at VP Cheney's cottage here. We were all set to have a ringside seat to the happenings but it was not to be. When we got up in the morning, the boat had swung and was partially in the channel - so we lifted the anchor and moved about 25 feet forward so as to avoid a possible ticket and unsafe situation. We no sooner had the anchor down and the Coast Guard was there to tell us we had to move as we were violating the 500 yard security zone (we were probably less than 100 yards away). It appears that if we had not lifted the anchor we would not have had to move, as we were moored before the security zone was established. But then we probably couldn't have come and gone from the boat as we planned. So, we moved in front of John's house and anchored for the day. When the security zone was lifted later that afternoon we came back and anchored in our old spot.

This resort was off our stern and for those officianados of fine films, you will recognize it as the location that The Wedding Crashers was filmed.

John and Carol were gracious hosts. Not only did they taxi us all over the countryside getting marine supplies, groceries, going to the post office, fine dining at local establishments, etc - they also took us around the area to see the sites. Here John, Carol and Marty are on the ferry between Oxford and Bellevue. This area is resplendant with many beautifully restored historic homes.

We so appreciated seeing John and Carol, and look forward to stops here in future years.