Stats for June 2, 2019

Origin: Solomons Island

Destination: Annapolis Mooring Field

Distance: 51.2 miles

Speed: 8 mph

Time on the Move: 6 hours and 25 minutes

We had a long, busy stretch to get to Annapolis, partly because we were arriving on a weekend. It is very obvious to us which travel days are weekends and which are weekdays.

As we neared the harbor, there was a sailing school out and about, zipping all around like crazy, which is actually pretty stressful to avoid. Sailboats under sail have the right of way and quite often their path is unclear—maybe because of shifting winds, or maybe because they are tacking. Regardless, as soon as we think we have enough distance to get around one, they always seem to change direction to head right across our line or even head right towards us. I digress, but watch the video and you’ll see.

We caught the mooring ball pretty easily which was a good feeling because you’re kind of in a fishbowl in that harbor. There are about 40 mooring balls in the harbor and they are first come, first served, so you just pull up and find an empty one and tie up. The other moored boats like watching their new neighbors to see if they know how to catch a mooring ball (Great boating mantra: sometimes you watch the show and sometimes you are the show…). There are also lots of restaurants and a town square that overlook the mooring field, so all of those people are excited to watch the boats, too. Luckily, we caught the ball and felt like champs. Immediately we arranged for the pumpout boat to pay us a visit so we could cross that glorious chore off our list. The harbormaster came by to collect the mooring fee and we headed off to the dinghy dock to explore Annapolis.

Right away I was surprised by how many people were out and about, how many restaurants there were, and how fun Annapolis seemed!! We wandered through town, checking out the other boats that are essentially tied up right along the main strip, with live music pouring out of the restaurants, and hundreds of people milling around. It started to sprinkle after a bit so we headed to dinner at an Italian Restaurant and then went back to the boat, excited about what Annapolis had to offer!!

The next day we headed to the Naval Academy to tour the grounds. We started off watching a quick overview movie about the academy and then left on our own walking tour. The whole place had a formal feeling of grandeur and greatness throughout the campus, both because of the look of the surroundings and the attitude of the students (who were actually out of school and on summer assignments). We learned that students attend free of charge in exchange for 5 years of military service (they might even actually get paid?!). The training students receive puts them in the position to be officers with the Navy or the Marines when they graduate. It looked like such an awesome place to go to school with so many specializations in areas that would benefit them in the future. There was also a big emphasis on sports, and we learned the Naval Academy is one of the colleges with offering the most sports options to students. I guess it makes sense!!

After walking around the campus we headed for lunch at Moe’s where they had a Monday special going on. Woo hoo Mexican food!! We wandered around the town again and found ourselves in a comic book shop where all the kids picked out a new book. Colin found a new Dog Man book which made him happy and Hayley picked out a babysitters club book that has been redone in comic book style. I love that she reads the same books I did when I was a kid!! Tobin chose an actual comic book from some show on tv and everyone was happy.

We headed down to one of the restaurants overlooking the mooring field to listen to live music and enjoy happy hour and our new books! Win win right there!! Plus, we had a great view of the boats cruising the channel. It was a great plan!!

After a little relaxing we headed to the playground across the street for the kiddies to burn off some energy. This was a great playground that is used by a school during the day, though it seems more like a city park. There was a big brick wall PERFECT for playing wall ball which is the kids’ favorite game from their school. They could have stayed there all night, and they pretty much did. At least until I offered up ice cream and a movie before bed.

We swung by some mega yachts that came into the harbor on our way back to INNTW and then started studying up for Washington DC with the 2nd Night at the Museum movie which is set at the American Museum of Natural History.

We loved our time in Annapolis! It was such a fun town with restaurants and shops all centered around the water. This would be a great place to stay if we had more time, but…we don’t. So on we go to new adventures. Thanks for reading and following along!