Captain's Choice blog: Annapolis Part 1 and May stats

We got all of our work done that needed to be done on Tuesday at the marina so we were free to head out Wednesday for Annapolis, 25 miles away and back to the west shore of the Chesapeake. It was a little dreary when we first headed out but the sun came out and it was a beautiful boating day on a flat Chesapeake Bay. We landed at the mooring balls in Spa Creek right alongside Last Call and Aqua-Fennatic. Their dinghy's were gone so we knew they were out exploring. The anchorage is very picturesque with townhomes, pretty landscaping and the mooring balls are filled with boats. Kayaks, paddle boarders, canoes abound, even yoga on paddle boards. All of the streets in Annapolis have dinghy docks at the end of them, a very boater friendly city.
We met up with Last Call and Aqua-Fennatic at Chick & Ruth's Delly, great food and great prices. The diner is advertised as having "greasy-spoon breakfasts & pilled-high sandwiches in a kitschy environment." They also recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. Fun place!
Our looper buddies were gracious enough to hold off going to Washington D.C. until Thursday so we could go with them. They had gotten "the skinny" on the bus and attractions so that necessitated a meeting Wednesday night on Last Call to come up with a game plan.

Up early Thursday to an absolutely perfect day to catch the commuter bus at 7:11 a.m. which got us to D.C. around 8:45. The bus is $10 roundtrip per person and is a great deal when you see the traffic...none of us would have been interested in driving...just crazy. We ended up witnessing one car accident and a vehicle fire on the way home. Lots to visit and see and one day isn't enough time as we walked over 10 miles and over 23,000 steps. By the end of the day we were all tired. Our walk took us to the Library of Congress, US Capital, many buildings along Pennsylvania Ave., the White House, Washington Monument, Vietnam, WW II, Korean War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. It was beautiful to see and very fitting to be there Memorial Day week to honor those that have lost their lives. Once again we are reminded to thank all that are or have fought for our freedom, Freedom is not free.
Mark and I will be in Annapolis for about a week and we are planning to make the trip back to D.C. Monday to take in some of the things that we missed this time.

We said our good-byes to Aqua-Fennatic and Last Call Friday a.m. before they headed out. One of the best parts of the loop is meeting others and then running into them again somewhere along the waterways. They are going to get ahead of us but I know we will end up staying in touch.
Mark and I headed over to the Naval Academy and spent hours touring the campus and museum. Another 10k+ walking around town, we are certainly getting our exercise while here.

A little breezy Saturday and overcast but a great day to explore Spa Creek by dinghy, along with all the other people dinghying around. With it being the weekend the creek is jammed with people in their kayaks and paddle boards. Then a walk through town where Mark looked at boats on Ego Alley and I went in the shops.

A beautiful day Sunday, sunny and 86 degrees enabled us to take a walk to Eastport, just over the Spa Creek Bridge. Some more marinas and the Annapolis Maritime Museum, which is much smaller than the other ones we visited and this museum focused on oystering. From the museum you could see all the sailboats out on the bay enjoying a Sunday sail.

                           May Stats     Loop to Date
Days looping                  31                  383
Travel days                     14                  172
Miles traveled               475                6835