Melt Down……..
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (10/14-10/16) were spent at the Eastport Yacht Center getting a new VacuFlush head system installed. Hmmm, a new head in our head. And, yes, it did cost about as much as it would to remodel an entire bath in our home. But, hey, no more loud noises or smelly odors when flushed. It’s, bigger, quieter, has a soft close seat and, now, fresh as a daisy.
On Sunday (10/13) I had a bit of a melt-down. Michael came back from waking the dogs to find me sitting on the sofa crying. What’s wrong he says. I miss my friends and family, I say. Boo-hoo, sniff, sniff. Sometimes, for me, this trip can be an emotional roller-coaster. On the upside I appreciate that we are on an amazing journey. It’s wonderful, we are totaling enjoying it and are excited about our future plans. On the downside I really miss my friends and family. On Sunday I was really missing you all! Boo-hoo, sniff, sniff.
Anyway, because of weather we ended up staying in Eastport through Friday (10/19). On Friday morning our friend from San Diego, Bill Butler, called. Bill with his wife Susan and their three kids now live in Buzzard’s Bay, Mass. Bill is a Merchant Mariner and is captain of a ship that has been stationed in Baltimore for the past four years. He called and said wanted to drive down and treat us to dinner. We had a lovely dinner together at the Boatyard Restaurant then walked to Davis’ Pub for a drink. We returned to our boat for more conversation, storytelling, and lots and lots of laughing. What a fun time and I got a great “friend fix”. I feel a little better now!
On Saturday (10/19) morning we left Eastport, MD. Since we’re about two months behind the “looper tribe” (you remember that emergency open heart surgery thing that delayed us?) and there’s no way to make it around the loop this go-round. It’s getting too cold and some marinas and fuel stops are starting to close for the season. So, we’ll have to be happy with being “half looped”. We will start to head back south now then next year we’ll start again. First stop on our southerly journey – back across the Chesapeake Bay to Saint Michael’s, MD. The trip from Eastport to Saint Michael’s was easy-peasy. It was just over three hours on a glorious day with flat seas and temperatures in the low 60’s. See photos of sights along the way below:
We arrived at Parrott’s Point anchorage about 1:00, unleashed Scout-About, jumped in and made the very short ride across the cove to the public dinghy dock. Within walking distance, we found a vibrant, charming town teeming with people. We were told that this weekend the town was hosting “Fall into Saint Michael” so lots of activities and lots of folks enjoying the town and the beautiful day. We walked about the town, stuck our noses in a few shops then had lunch at Crab Claw on their waterfront deck overlooking our boat. Photos of view from the anchorage and sights in town below:
Later in the afternoon while Michael was walking the dogs a lady stopped him to see if he knew that the Annual Jack Russel Dog Race had been cancelled tomorrow. She said it was expected to rain so the dog race had to be cancelled. Darn, I think Snooki would have loved to meet up with the Jack Russel’s and, even at her advanced age, she does love to run.
We had a lovely quiet and calm night at anchorage with just two other boats (sailboats). Sunday (10/20) morning we decided to leave the anchorage because of the coming rain – it’s better for the dogs. Miles River Yacht Club is about a mile away and has space available for us so around 8:00 we made the 20-minute commute. When we docked it was raining with temperatures in the mid-50’s so we made breakfast aboard, bundled up and watched the rain from inside. Continued to rain all day which is too bad because Saint Michael’s looks like a very interesting town to explore by foot and on Scout-About. We had a late lunch at the Yacht Club and chatted with a lovely couple, Ed and Nancy, who are new members then back to the boat to keep dry. Will keep you posted as we continue to head south.
12 thoughts on “Melt Down……..”
We miss you too!!!
Big hugs,
Pam
Awwww, Thanks.
Big hugs back at you.
Your friends think of you a lot and love reading your adventures!
Oh, you’re so sweet. Thank you so much!
Hugs.
10/20/19
Hi Buddy, how well I remember those bouts of homesickness when Fred and I took Tapatai on our first adventure. Upon recollection, Fred’s remedy, being a guy (no offense) was to offer an evening out for a particularly nice dinner complete with margaritas and then a game of Cribbage afterwards. It did help, although not so much with the Cribbage score.
In defense of boaters it’s difficult to plan a “meet up” because you don’t know exactly where you’ll ever be at a given time.
Fred would have been thrilled to have a new head installed when I would have been thrilled to see a friend from my “old days”. Anyhoo, I get what you mean.
Watching the news certainly shows extreme weather patterns for the East coast. We just have fire to worry about out here.
Your blogs are great, thank you for keeping us in “the loop” rather than being “half looped”. Haha. Your pictures are terrific also.
Oh, and please ask Mike how did a marine toilet get named a head?
-p
PS: you could fly out here and get a friend fix! You know you have a place to stay!
Hey, glad to hear from you. I know, It’s kind of bittersweet – happy and sad at the same time – sometimes.
I asked Michael why it’s called a head. He said I don’t know “google” it. I did and this is what I found:
A toilet on a ship is called a “head”, for reasons that go back to the days of sail. With nothing but wind power, a sailing vessel cannot travel directly into the wind. The one location that is always downwind is the head or bow end. Yada, Yada, Yada. As Doc would say “Butts to the wind!” I can’t believe how many times I’ve been able to use the term “Butts to the wind” since Doc told me about those horses. Ha Ha.
We’ll probably stay in one place for a few weeks once we get further south so maybe you can come for a visit. We may make a short trip to SD the first of the year so will let you know for sure. Would love to see you. Hugs.
I think you need to a Friends Edition . . Hey everyone, please send Sharon a picture of you with the Bythewood’s and we’ll be “aboard” with them when Sharon assembles the photos.
Hi Penny,
Great idea. Thanks for the cute photo you sent. Do you know what year it was taken and was it at our house for Christmas holidays?
It was Thanksgiving at your house – pretty sure it was 2015.
Yeah, I think you’re right. At first I thought it might have been at the Bernice house. And…I remembered we were remodeling Bernice and had friends over for dinner and the kitchen faucet came off and shot water right in my face and all over you guys.,,,the things you remember! Then that prompted me to remember when Fred helped Michael pour our concrete counter-tops and Fred came in the house black from head to foot. We cracked up laughing and he didn’t know why until he looked in the mirror. What fun times we’ve had together!!!!!
Did the witch arrive in that Batcar, then go into that Church?
There surely are a lot of picturesque lighthouses in Chesapeake Bay.
Your photos are terrific and we always stop whatever we are doing to read your blog.
I don’t know where you plan to winter over, but if you are near Sanibel Island, Florida, we have friends who want to meet you. We are looking forward to your coming to the Northwest to visit sometime. So many things to do. So many friends who want to see you both, Snooky, and Duke! We’ll be starting winter cruising in November!
Hey Barbara,
That’s too funny and would make a great story! Thanks for your kind words….
We don’t know yet where we will winter but will spend some time in Florida and would love to meet your friends. We definitely would like to come to the Northwest to do some boating with you guys. Have fun, send photos and keep us posted as you start your winter cruising.