2023-06-18 Derek visiting - Solomons and Annapolis

 We had two nice days sailing north on the Chesapeake with good south winds.  

Derek at the helm - its been 9 years since he was on What If, nice to have him on Charm, if only for a little while.

We stopped for the night only at Little Bay, and then sailed north again up to The Solomons.

We walked to town and had lunch, got groceries, and visited Rita's for a cool treat.  Then it was off to the Calvert Museum.  As we were going in we happened across a fellow checking on the nests of a birdhouse on museum grounds.  This birdhouse, with wood boxes, and plastic gourd nests are for the Purple Martins.   

Interesting fellow to talk with about the Purple Martins, and see the nests.

All the nests had fresh hatchlings, some still had partial open eggs, so only a day old at most, probably younger

After our bird education, we went inside the museum.  It is a really nice little museum, with a variety of displays.

Actual sized reproduction of Megaladon Shark 

Calvert museum have two otters, very fun to watch

Nice outdoor boardwalk with information on local flora and fauna

Display inside museum

Finishing up the visit, nice sunny day

Next day we again had a very nice sail up to Annapolis.  This is a working vacation for Derek, since he is able to work remotely, and has been able to keep up with work in the mornings and evenings, leaving most the afternoons open for fun stuff.  He did have to spend most of our first day in Annapolis on the computer working, so we just relaxed on board, watched the other boats, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Next day we headed to Masons, for the world famous Lobster Rolls.  Last time we ate at Masons, we were with Ed and Cathy from What If, and we were in Annapolis looking at Charm to purchase.

Very yummy

After lunch, it was of to the Annapolis Naval Academy for a walk around the campus and visit to the museum.

Impressive buildings on the campus.

I neglected to take any photos inside the museum, but you can see many online and at the Naval Academy museum website.    Lots of interesting information.  Favorites were learning about how the phrase "going to the head" came about, and what a seat of ease was, and viewing the many many model ships in the museum.

Of course after a hard day of walking and museums, you need ice cream, so stopped at the Red Bean coffeehouse and ice cream - it did not disappoint.

Enjoying a yummy treat - Red Bean Ice cream - worth a stop for sure if your in Annapolis

The next day happened to be Annapolis Juneteenth celebration with a parade, festivities, and fireworks.

We went in to see the parade with Ed and Cathy (What If).

Most all the groups were very small - liked the little guy here with the drums, almost bigger than him.

One of the largest groups was the Bald Boss Community - They are a group that "Supports men, women and children living with all forms of alopecia and help empower them to rock their BALD crown with confidence like a BOSS."

Big group of three wheelers in the parade

Interesting parade, but it was time for food again so we went off to Derek's pick of "The Big Cheese", deli.   It was an excellent pick, with some truly incredible sandwiches - another recommended spot if you are in Annapolis.

We finished the day by taking the dinghy to the end of the creek where we are moored to catch the fireworks show.

In the dink, watching the show

Very decent show - thought this was a cool photo

Derek left at 10:30, after the show, and caught an Uber up to Baltimore, as his flight was for 6:00 a.m. the next morning, and it made sense to get a hotel close to the airport for the night, versus trying to find a ride at 4:00 a.m. from Annapolis.   

We had a great visit, and sad to see him leave.    

We will move today, off the mooring, and do some laundry, and figure out our next plan.