Tom-Kat Trawler: Week 3 - Solomons, Maryland

A road trip to Annapolis was on the agenda for the start of week 3 in the Solomons. Bob and I have been to this great city many times for October Boat Shows, but this will be Katie’s first time. We opted to take the Annapolis Trolley Tour of town, mainly because the trolley was air-conditioned and it was another very hot day in Maryland, plus we could see more in less time!

Looking down Annapolis’s Main Street.

World War II Scenic Overlook.

Katie and Mom at Scenic Overlook.

After lunch at Pussers on “Ego Alley” (a strip of waterway in downtown that boaters will cruise through to be noticed!), we did a little shopping and then saw the new Indiana Jones movie.

On Tuesday we picked up my glasses with new, non-scratched lenses. Wow, I can see again! We stopped off at the Patuxent Naval Air Museum, which is a free museum and “is the only Navy Museum dedicated to telling the scientific and technological story of the US Naval Aviation research, development, testing and evaluation”. Believe it or not, this is early aircraft radar. Image bolting that to your boat mast. The museum has many aircraft on display in a field next to the museum building. Katie discovered another Tomcat, an F14.

What a surprise when we returned to our slip at Spring Cove to find “Our Time” and Silver Foxes” docked next to TOM-KAT. We also had an email from “Lamb Chop” and they’re docked at Beacon Marina. Time for another get together, this time at the Captain’s Table.

We lowered the dinghy on Wednesday and toured the creeks and bays around the Solomons area. Katie mentioned that she thought the Coast Guard was following us. Sure enough, an inflatable with 3 very cute, young men approached our dinghy and asked when we were last boarded by the Coast Guard….NEVER! They were very pleasant and courteous. They inspected our life jackets to make sure they were all Coast Guard approved, and then they checked the dinghy’s registration and Bob’s picture ID. Thankfully, we had everything on board and we passed with flying colors. I snapped a photo of the coasties as they approached another boat right after us. We teased Katie that the guys only stopped our dinghy because she was sitting in the bow! Another dinghy was in the same area with a dog in the bow and 2 adults and they didn’t inspect that dinghy!!

Later in the day we toured the Calvert Museum, which is just a short walk from the marina. The museum is home to live exhibits of river otters, rays and skates, plus exhibits on the history of the Patuxent River and the prehistoric undersea world in the area. Katie with prehistoric dinosaur leg. Katie scared by recreated extinct Giant White Shark. Katie attempting to lift the Drum Point Lighthouse

On Thursday, we left the Solomons and Spring Cove Marina and cruised up the Patuxent River to St Leonard’s Creek and anchored just NE of Vera’s White Sands Beach Club. Katie drove for a while and did a fine job.

The dinghy came down again and we cruised to a small creek off St Leonard’s to see if we could find Ian & Melissa’s house from the water. Behind all those trees, we think is their house, along with pets, Beefcake and Max!

We motored toward Vera’s to meet Ian and Melissa for dinner and took this photo of Vera’s house. Vera has been an institution on the Bay for many years. Vera (age 90+) passed away a few years ago, but the new owners have given the place a new lease on life, with an upgraded marina, a beach bar and a remodeled restaurant. Vera had decorated the restaurant with South Seas treasures from her many international voyages and many of those decorations still remain. Katie with an early painting of the renowned Vera.