October 30-31                 Oxford, Maryland

We departed Baltimore’s Inner Harbor later than planned due to sloth—we slept late.  Nonetheless, we planned to reach Oxford before five o’clock.  The wind was placid and the day was sunny.  By the time we exited the Patapsco River and entered the bay, we were experiencing a definite change in wind velocity.  We soon were being strongly buffeted by waves.  Our vision also was impaired by constant spray over the deck and into the windshield.  After passing Annapolis, the strong winds almost seemed to stop any forward motion.

At four-thirty, we were still an hour away from our destination and battling the waves.  We called our marina to let them know we would be late and while David was getting docking instructions, he abruptly laid down the phone, and quickly reversed the gears.  Almost in an instant, we had come upon a long wall of poles standing erect in the water.  This signified a very shallow area.  Since our GPS and our guidebook had not shown such a barrier, we were very surprised when it materialized.  Because of the waves and the spray, we had not seen it until we were almost too close.  In another few seconds, we would have been grounded. 

We finally reached our marina in Oxford and were met by the kind woman who had waited past closing time to help us dock.  Unfortunately, she had no understanding of docking procedures and repeatedly let the lines go slack allowing the boat to drift away.  Finally, David “lassoed” a pier and brought us in so that he could jump on the dock and tighten the lines.  The sun had set and the evening was cold before we finally relaxed to a delicious repast of nachos and wine. 

I was exhausted from the trials of the day and took a lovely nap on the sofa while David immersed himself in sports.  I awakened to learn that Baylor had won over Texas in Austin, the Texas Rangers had defeated the San Francisco giants in game three of the World Series, and TCU was leading UNLV (they later won).

We spent a quiet Halloween in Oxford, which began with brunch on the boat, followed by a short bike ride through the town.  Oxford is home to less than six hundred year round residents but is a picture perfect Chesapeake village.  The homes are predominately early twentieth century two-story cottages in pristine condition.  Mansions line the waterfront but the homes within the town are modest.  Several stately small churches, a village market, several real estate brokers, and a quaint bookstore lined the main street.  Oxford has seven marinas and is noted for its sailing regatta.  There was very limited shopping.  We spent the evening watching the Texas Rangers lose the third game of the World Series.

October 26-29                   Baltimore, Maryland

We decided to return to Baltimore for a few days and visit with our good friends, Andrea and George.  They would be coming from Fort Worth to see George’s son, a physician at Johns Hopkins University and Medical Center. We expected to meet them on October 28 but the threat of rain prompted us to leave early. Although there was considerable cloudiness, the day was warm and the wind was negligible.  We made a quick trip and were again fortunate to have a slip at the Inner Harbor. 

We needed to do some re-stocking so we decided to walk to the Cross Street Market, about five blocks from the harbor in the historic Federal Hill area.  Occupying a long building that covers the area between two main streets, the Cross Street Market had a diverse display of individual stalls with meats, produce, vegetables, fruits, flowers, and sundry items. There were also a number of places serving cooked foods, to take out or eat there.  The prices were much better than the Food Fresh store on the opposite side of the harbor and the food appeared to be fresher. Our bags were heavy and we opted to ride the free bus back to the marina.  David steamed the mussels and made a delicious stock from the broth for cippino.  He added fresh fish and shrimp to the mussels, stirred them into the broth, and within minutes, we had an outstanding seafood meal that would rival anything in the city.

On Thursday, Andrea and George came to visit.  Andrea is always a delight and we were pleased to see George for the first time in many years.  After a tour of the boat, we went to Phillips Seafood Restaurant, a popular place on the waterfront.  We were seated outside and had the opportunity to enjoy the pleasant weather as well as the company of two long-time friends. George regaled us with stories from his medical practice years. After lunch, George graciously asked us to go with them in their car for a short tour of the Fells Point and Canton area.  We were surprised to see the large number of cobblestone streets and lovely old buildings in those areas.  As elsewhere in Baltimore, we saw no graffiti or litter.  Impressive! 

After the departure of our guests, I walked several blocks into the Federal Hill area to a delightful bookstore, The Book Escape.  It was a warren of small rooms filled with new, old, and rare books in mostly unpainted wooden shelves from floor to ceiling.  A small reading area furnished with a fireplace, old chairs and sofas seemed like a perfect place to spend some time.  After browsing the shelves, I found several books that needed to go home with me—one that I plan to give to Dave for Christmas and another on the Cone sisters whose remarkable art collection form the nucleus of the Impressionist galleries of the Baltimore Art Museum.

We had a problem with one of the air-conditioners and were told that a repairperson could come on Friday; this meant that we would stay a day longer than planned in Baltimore.  This gave us an opportunity to call Timberly, the daughter of our neighbor,  and invite her and her family to visit us on the boat.  They came that evening and their precocious daughter, Jocelyn, a seven-year old “monkey,” who climbed into and out of the bunk beds with amazing agility, charmed and entertained us.  Jocelyn had painted whiskers on her face in preparation for the Halloween weekend.

October 25                   Annapolis, Maryland

After a long journey on the “red eye” from California, a layover in New York before flying to DC, and a taxi ride with Maleek for our return, we arrived at the marina.  The Bottom Line was in fine shape.  We had no unpleasant surprises waiting for us.  David was delighted that his new toy, a radar system, had arrived.  A functioning radar would keep us from colliding with other boats in the fog.

October 12-15 Baltimore, St. Michaels, Annapolis, Maryland

We wanted to meet Stephanie, Lynn, Cindy, Sharon, and Pinki (The Sisters) in Baltimore at the city docks within the Inner Harbor.  We had stayed there two years previously when we chartered a boat and cruised the Chesapeake.  It is the perfect location for touring the city, restaurants, and enjoying the fantastic ambiance of the waterfront  Since the city marina does not take advance reservations, we left on Wednesday to insure that we would get a good place.  Our trip to Baltimore was picture-perfect—sunshine, gorgeous blue water, a light breeze, and interesting boat traffic.  We were successful in getting a slip at the city docks and were once again dazzled by the Baltimore skyline and the harbor front neighborhoods.  There are few places we have seen that are as beautiful as the Baltimore harbor area at night with the lighted buildings reflected in the water.       

Baltimore has recently begun a free shuttle that provides limited service in the downtown area.  We took advantage of it to go to the grocery store one more time to stock for the girls’ visit.  It’s always interesting and fun to utilize public transportation to see the city and meet the people.  We were very impressed with Baltimore.  It appears to be a clean and safe city with friendly and helpful people.  We are planning to return this year before going south.  David and I love to walk in the areas near the harbor.  There is a large Barnes and Noble bookstore housed in an old power plant that had been renovated with considerable style.  The huge smokestacks were still in place in the interior and had been coated with copper plates.  It was a great example of utilizing old buildings for new uses.

The girls arrived on Friday at noon.  They promptly had a glass of wine and went to the bridge to enjoy the sunny day and the great view of Baltimore.  They seemed to be awed by the whole experience—the trip, the view, the boat.  We ate lunch on the boat and they promptly left to explore the city.  They returned tired and ready to crash.  We ate dinner on the boat, talked, laughed, and had a great time visiting.

We left Baltimore on Saturday for a trip across the bay to St. Michaels.  The wind rapidly increased in velocity when we left the Patapsco River and entered the bay.  Pinki had not taken Dramamine and promptly became very ill.  She stayed prone on the bridge until we docked and continued to look a little “green” for the remainder of the day.  Those of us who were not sea sick went to The Crab Shack for delicious seafood and then took a long walk through the historic district.  The girls found some good shops and brought back to the boat sacks of sweaters, hats, and other items.  David made his delicious fish recipe from the fresh “butter” fish that we had found in a market.  It was outstanding and he received numerous accolades from our guests.

Sunday was calm and sunny as we cruised to Annapolis.  It was good to see Pinki in great spirits and enjoying the journey.  We docked at The Yacht Basin marina and had a front row seat watching boats of all kinds cruising up and down the river.  There were some megayachts in our marina on the way to Florida with crews of six to nine people.  It was all very beautiful and interesting.  Annapolis offered some good shopping and the girls contributed significantly to the local economy. David and I attended the Powerboat Show and he had another opportunity to gain information about radar systems.  I quickly became bored, returned to the boat and spent two hours washing off the salt from the spray of the waves.  Dinner was at the Annapolis Yacht Club and again we were fortunate to have a place on the deck to enjoy the great weather and the boating scene.  The following day, the girls had a final foray through Annapolis, ate lunch, and then left with Maleek, our favorite taxi person, for the airport. They were missed immediately! We spent the rest of the day packing and preparing to leave the boat for almost a week while we were in California. David had business in Oakland and that gave us an opportunity to visit Suzanne and see her new home. The boat remained in Annapolis at the Yacht Basin marina.

October 7-12                          North Beach, Maryland

We arrived at National Airport at noon, acquired the rental car, and headed for the marina.  We had several stops along the way for needed hardware supplies, food, and a delicious seafood lunch in a small Maryland village.  We were pleased that the weather was warm and pleasant.  Fall foliage was barely visible and numerous flowers were still blooming.

David had called to have the boat cleaned on the day of our arrival.  The cleaning crew met us with the bad news that the aft freezer was unplugged and everything within it had spoiled.  They had just finished cleaning it when we arrived.  We were disappointed that our beautiful and expensive prime steaks had ruined but we were very grateful that the mess was gone before we arrived.

We tried to complete our unfinished projects but the October 15 tax deadline interfered.  David was constantly on the phone or the computer.  We were also trying to stock the boat for “Stephanie’s Birthday Bash” while we had the use of the rental car.  This necessitated numerous trips to grocery stores and wine shops.

On Sunday, October 9, we returned the car to Annapolis and spent some time at the Sailboat Show.  David was intent on learning about radar electronics for our boat and talked to every representative that he could find. It was amazing to see Ego Alley covered with floating docks and numerous vendor booths.

Since the downtown area was packed with people, we took advantage of our reciprocal membership to the Annapolis Yacht Club, a beautiful facility that bordered the city harbor.  The staff was gracious and accommodating.  We had a lovely lunch on the deck and watched the passing parade of boats through the draw bridge over Spa Creek.  We returned to the marina by taxi and liked the driver so well that we made arrangements to call him the following week for Stephanie and her friends.