Dinner that night, thanks to this great supermarket, was filet mignon, asparagus and a salad consisting of red leaf lettuce, walnuts, craisins and gorgonzola cheese—is this really boating?????
Saturday, April 29 In port
We used the morning to get caught up on some things and then headed to the Calvert Marine Museum . It's a beautiful museum, rich in the history of the Chesapeake and the Patuxent Rivers . One of only eight accredited museums in Maryland , the Calvert Marine Museum is housed in what was formerly the Solomons High School built in 1925. There are several displays about the sea life in this area and they have several seahorses on display. I took some pictures—I hope that you can see the seahorses—they're actually very small—only 4-5 inches but they're pretty interesting to watch.
The Museum also has a section devoted to the marine exploration of the nearby Calvert Cliffs dating back to the Miocene period (between 5 and 23 million years ago). Here they have a huge number of shark and whale remains which have been painstakingly preserved by local fossil experts. We watched as one of the local scientists sifted through broken shells, sand and other debris looking for shark and whale teeth and bones.
This area was once also very famous for its oysters and there's quite a bit of information about the business of oyster harvesting and how, through certain diseases that ate the submerged aquatic vegetation, that business is now completely defunct. The J.C. Lore & Sons Oyster House was one of the largest and most successful packing companies in Southern Maryland . Founded in 1888 and run by three generations of the Lore family, it employed hundreds of local residents and thrived until its demise in 1978. Its building is now preserved as part of the Museum and was designated a National Historic landmark in 2001.
Connected to this museum is the Drum Point Lighthouse, once a major lighthouse in this area and now, since being decommissioned in the 1960's, is on the National Historic Register. This lighthouse was originally built on six screwpiles drilled right into the mud beneath the water's surface. In its beginning, you needed to climb a ladder, from the water, to enter the lighthouse. This lighthouse is now preserved on land, and we climbed the three stories to the top.
Given its high school beginnings, the Museum carries on the tradition of the buildings and grounds with a variety of exhibits and activities. The Museum offers workshops on the building of wooden boats and we were able to see some of the students and teachers at work. Very interesting.
We saw some more of the area, went back to the supermarket for some fresh fish and had another great meal on board—grilled catfish, red bliss potatoes and a Caesar salad!!!!!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
At port
Today's weather is beautiful—brisk yet sunny. We've split up some chores—I'm cleaning the boat and Jean's paying her bills. YUCK!!!!! Today, we're heading back on the bikes for a more lengthy ride to town. There's a Chesapeake Biological Research Laboratory in town which we want to visit. We're both finding that we really like Maryland . The people here are very friendly and the towns are very quaint. It's easy to enjoy this part of the journey.
We're back from our bike ride and have enjoyed the afternoon and the exercise greatly. The Research Laboratory was small but very interesting with some helpful information about the local waters. It's the oldest, permanent state-supported marine biological laboratory in continuous use on the East Coast and was established in 1922. This Laboratory is located in Solomons House, which once belonged to Isaac Solomons, the namesake of the town. It's situated at the very point of land where you leave the Patuxent River to come up Back Creek—its spot is just magnificent.
We biked all around and eventually stopped at the Key Lime Pie store. How many towns do you know, other than Key West , that have their own Key Lime Pie store?????? To my surprise, they had no Key Lime Pie (too late in the day) but they did have some Peanut Butter Pie. I said “No thanks” and off we went. Can you believe it???? I think this whole Weight Watchers thing has changed me forever—but—oops. I forgot to tell you that I did give in and buy some chocolate covered raisins at Woodburn's. I'm only human!!!!!! Jean, also human, bought some English made stilton cheese laced with apricots—oh my—she said it didn't even taste like cheese!!!!!!
We made another stop at Woodburn's to get a fresh-from-the-oven home-made meatloaf!!!!!!! This supermarket is unbelievable!!!!! The meatloaf was dinner accompanied by asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes!!!! This couldn't possibly be boating. Aren't we supposed to be starving—foraging for some non-poisonous berries from some nearby bushes?????
Monday, May 1, 2006
at port
It's now Monday morning and we've been here since Thursday—much longer than planned. Jean's decided, since we're here, to have the boat's oil changed. It's now noon and between the oil change, the pump hose repair and the choppy seas (Small Craft Warnings) we've decided to stay just one more day. The skies are a beautiful blue and the temperatures are in the high sixties but the winds are very heavy and very strong. Thus, we will leave tomorrow morning for St Michaels'.
Jean's busy right now working with the mechanic to learn everything that she can about changing the fuel filters and oil on this boat. I finished working on part of the quilt that I'm making while onboard and am just now finishing up on this section of the website. Before the end of the day, I'm sure that we'll find our way to Woodburn's one more time!!!!! |
