Our Great Loop Adventure

On a gorgeous Sunday, May 4th, we left Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, VA. As we continued on the Elizabeth River we saw numerous naval vessels on the Norfolk side as well as piers for cargo ships. On the James River we first were passed by a large Coast Guard vessel. Then a naval destroyer was coming in from sea from Persian Gulf deployment. We were monitoring channel 14 so we were able to listen in on the conversation between the naval vessel and the 2 tugs which would guide in to its wharf. Tony moved out of the channel to give the tugs and the destroyer plenty of room to maneuver. The crew in dress whites were standing at attention on the deck and the ship was being escorted by a fire boat spraying water. It was an amazing site. That brought tears to both of our eyes. Definitely a highlight of our adventure. By 10:00am we were officially in Chesapeake Bay. Our first destination was Yorktown on the York River. We were attached to a mooring ball by 1:45. We took the dinghy to the dock and after paying our fee, we went to the Yorktown Colonial Historical Park. This is the site of the famous Battle of Yorktown, the last battle of the Revolutionary War. Also, the site where Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington. There is a very large monument, which you can see from the water, marking the victory. We saw a movie and took a 40 minute guided tour of parts of the battle site and the guide walked us through the battle and surrender. The beach front was also very busy due to the beautiful weather and a local art fair. The winds kicked up during the night, but we were secure on the mooring ball. Monday brought a very lumpy ride on the Chesapeake to Deltaville. The first slip we tried to go stern in because of the short finger dock. However, the winds were against us and the fairway was quite narrow. After two attempts, Sharon told the harbormaster we just couldn't get into that slip. the second slip was on the inside of the fuel dock but put us into a very narrow slip with a long dock. After squeezing in, we talked to the boat yard manager about our maintenance work and he said a tech would be there first thing Tuesday morning. We had a hard rain during the night. Sure enough Wednesday morning the tech arrived, did an oil change, and fixed the sump pump switch for the head sink and shower. The courtesy van was not operational, but the harbor master, who was originally from Michigan, loaned us his van to go grocery shopping, stop at West Marine, and also stop at the Dozier Publishing Office for our last cruising guide. On Wednesday, May 7th, we cautiously left our skinny slip and went back to the Chesapeake. The bay was calm even though it was overcast. We crossed from Virginia into Maryland around 12:10.We entered the Potomac River where the skies began to look really threatening. Off the Potomac is the St. Mary's River. We entered a wonderful anchorage at St. Mary's City. We anchored there along with four other boats. The campus of St. Mary's College is located here. It is the Honors College for the University of Maryland. Our cocktail hour entertainment was a sailing class from the college. It was overcast with fog as we pulled up anchor early on Thursday. We made our way back up the St. Mary's river into the Potomac back to the Chesapeake Bay. Again the winds were calm. At 2:20 as we were coming into the Choptank River, we were again approached by the Coast Guard asking about an inspection. But when we showed them the papers from the previous inspection in the St. John's River, they did not board us. The Choptank River was very significant because it is the setting for Michener's Book, CHESAPEAKE. We took a picture of the spot in the river where Devon's Island would be, the fictional island in the book. We were pumped out, fueled and docked at Brewers Marina in Oxford, MD at 4:30. It had been a long day. But our reward was yet to come. We had dinner at the Robert Morris Inn. This is the place where James Michener came for crab cakes and declared they were the best on the Chesapeake. We had the same entree, which was delicious. This was a very exciting destination for Tony. Friday dawned with a fairly dense fog. We made our way back to the Chesapeake dodging fishing boats as we moved our way up the bay. We were docked in Annapolis, MD by 1:45. We are right downtown. We both wanted to come to his city and we were not disappointed. First we could see a Starbucks from the boat. We took a trolley tour of the city. We were treated to many old historical homes, exterior views of the Naval Academy, the Maryland State House, and historic St. Anne's Church.
The Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use and the only state capitol ever to serve as a U.S. capitol. After the tour, we walked Main Street which has many shops and restaurants. We also went inside St. Anne's Church. Sharon now wants to move to Annapolis. But unfortunately we would only be able to afford a two bedroom and bath condo in the historic district. Most of the homes in the historic district are over a million dollars. Saturday was overcast but no thunderstorms which were forecast. We spent the morning touring the Naval Academy. We started at the visitor's center with a short film. Our first stop was Dahlgren Hall, which is a large hall that has a public restaurant, but today it was set up for a formal event. We then went to Bancroft Hall. This is the largest dormitory in the U.S. housing all 4,600 cadets. We went into the main entrance and saw Memorial Hall, which is dedicated to many famous seamen and marines as well as all the graduates of the academy, who have given their lives for their country. Our next stop was the chapel. It is a beautiful church, which has both Catholic and Protestant services. Many weddings are held there for graduates of the Naval Academy. The crypt of John Paul Jones is under the church. His sarcophagus is very ornate. Sorry, no pictures due to the lighting. The Naval Academy was another highlight of our adventure. We then went to another Starbucks. It is housed in what was the wine cellar of the Maryland Inn. Off the wine cellar is a tunnel connected to the capital building, which was used to evacuate the legislators during times of war and later as part of the underground railroad. Annapolis was truly a wonderful time.