The Chesapeake Bay touches six states – New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia – plus Washington, D.C. Over 18 million people live in the area, because it’s spectacular!
To learn more, click here (thanks, Wikipedia).
Rock Hall
Although Rock Hall was introduced in the last post, here’s the Crab Cakes from Sandy – DELICIOUS.
Introducing a new safety protocol – the Mount Gay Life Jacket!
Pirates be ware, Admiral Buttercup “aka Killer” is on Guard.
Osprey for the bird watchers.
Chester Town
One of our favorite spots in the Chesapeake. Incredible historic properties with great local restaurants. It’s fun to photograph the old brick buildings,
but, beware of those uneven sidewalks with shifty attack bricks – you know the kind, they “jump up” and make you “fall down”!
Here’s a Hydrangea for Mija.
This is for Commodore Greg Rocque – for the remodel plans, of course!
Custom House, 101 South Water Street, Chester Town; built in 1746.
One of Capt Rick’s favorite historic sites, situated at one of Maryland’s many active and trans-national ports, the three-story brick house consisted of a spacious warehouse on the first floor used as a Chestertown’s custom house; living quarters were located on the upper levels. Rear section added in 1771.
What is a custom house? Typically found at ports, it is where customs officials processed and collected duties and taxes on imported goods (including slaves). The original owner was Thomas Ringgold (1715-1772). Ringgold and his business partner Samuel Galloway III – reminds us of a certain wealthy family in southwest Florida – operated the largest slave trade operation in the Chesapeake Bay. Not cool.
The structure was restored and donated to Washington College in 1993 and is now used as a cultural education center. Now, that’s cool.
This classic MGB is for my little sister, Frances. I know, Scott Taylor’s sweet ride was butterscotch.
Oxford
There’s nothing like the shade of a mature tree, overlooking the waterway; right Ryan Mendoza?? When walking about, take the time to appreciate their beauty.
Stats: Oxford Population is shrinking, with only 611 perm residents as of 2020. As of that census, the median age in the town was 61.1 years. Only 8.1% of residents were under the age of 18 – in other words, it’s a retirement community, not a family town.
Watermen’s Mural – Hey Miss Morgan, do you see the boat with your name on it?
This tiny house is for Ynot!
Solomon’s, Maryland
We stopped, again, at Solomon’s. Sorry no pictures this time. Goodbye Maryland, it was a wonderful visit!
Tangier Island, Virginia
First, to get in the mood, click here to listen to Gravity – by John Mayer, found on the award winning album, “where the light is”
The first line of the song goes like this, “Gravity is working against me, and gravity wants to bring me down.”
Spoiler Alert – the following true story may be cringe worthy to some. Here we go.
Visualize a heavy current, with fixed docks; for non boaters that means it is a challenge to get on and off the boat as the tide continues to change. Thankfully, Tonto’s Reward docked first, so the Bernsteins were standing on the dock, poised to assist with the lines. I smoothly tossed a bow line to David B, who adeptly wrapped it around a piling. Unfortunately, we needed to bring the bow closer to the dock to safely tie up. So, I planned to quickly remove and relocate the bow line from the forward hawse pipe to one farther back. Tragically, I tripped on a hatch in the process, then, gravity did it’s thing – I fell, hard, on the deck of the boat.
Next thing I knew, the Tangier Volunteer Fire Department had arrived, to extract my wounded self from the boat, onto the fixed dock via an Emergency Evacuation Stair Chair Lift, similar to this:
It was NOT an easy task. The men carried the heavy chair down a long narrow dock, followed by a gravel path, before finally reaching a paved surface where they could transfer me to an ambulance gurney. It is possible the entire department showed up, including but not limited to Rob, Gary, Andy, Wes, and Lucas – with assistance from Inez and Jerry; a great opportunity to perform a rare drill!
As it turns out, the ambulance ride was less than a mile to the clinic. Good grief.
Quite the surprise for an island population of less than 400 people, the Riverside Tangier clinic is modern, spacious, and equipped with XRay equipment!
Ms. Inez Pruitt, PA-C, is phenomenal. Born in Tangier Island she is the primary medical officer of the Riverside Tangier David B Nichols Health Center. Pictured here with her father, waterman Capt Jerry Frank Pruitt, owner of Pruitt’s Boatyard.
Since they were not equipped to handle ortho surgery, with Capt Rick single handing Exhale for the first time ever (Sandy G, you would have been proud), off to Onancock we went!
Onancock, Virginia
We got real familiar with Onancock (prounounced oh-nan (like nancy)-cock (like rooster), a sleepy historic town with a full service hospital.
Prognosis: fractured tibia plateau. Yes, Mayer fans, gravity brought me down to my knees!
Remedy: Ortho surgery – realigning the bone and stabilizing with a plate, screws, and other hardware, plus a bone filler to lift my knee and help me walk again – scheduled tomorrow (Friday, Sept 5).
Next Steps: wait two more weeks for a “green flag” from the surgeon – hopefully by Sept 19. Meanwhile, Exhale is highly visible at the Onancock Wharf. So, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by. Visitor’s Welcomed!
Once we have approval to “go”, with the help of Tonto’s Reward, Exhale will traverse to Norfolk where this blogger will reluctantly get off the boat, destined to Fort Myers for PT – most likely beginning the week of Sept 22.
Moving Forward: Since the surgeon is requiring three months of non-weight bearing hobbling around, Capt Rick will be single handing the boat from Norfolk to Savannah, then from Savannah to Fort Myers.
Unique Boater’s Invitation – anyone interested in an adventure as co-captain of Exhale PLEASE reach out to Capt Rick. Short stints welcomed. Dates flexible, subject to Florida hurricane season. First Dibs belongs to Sideways, followed by Craig Adford.
Chesapeake Summer Recap:
We close with a recap of the many fabulous places we explored in the Chesapeake this summer, MOST for the first time. This map includes most of the stops – zoom in to see where we went.
In no particular order – Potomac River: Washington DC, Alexandria, Colonial Beach, St. Mary’s City; Rappahannock River: Urbana; Chesapeake Bay: Reedville, Deltaville, Rock Hall, Onancock, Tangier; Choptank River: Cambridge, Oxford; Eastern Bay: St. Michaels, Wye River; Chester River: Chester Town. Plus a few more stops I forgot to mention.
Boater’s Tip – in the past we may or may not have bemoaned these waterways; now we highly endorse the journey!! Just watch out for Gravity :-)
Celebrating Milestones: Birthday September 5, Susan Merritt (so very sorry to you and Jim for your loss); September 9, Connie B; September 15, Tony Rodriguez.
Delayed thanks to Libby McGuire, who hosted dinner my last night in Fort Myers, and who took me to the airport! Thanks Libby, you are the BEST neighbor. See you VERY soon.
Exhale on the Water 