The Chesapeake so far... (by Annie)

Long gap in blogging.  Some of this is due to connectivity issues (discovering that a hotspot has a data limit, my phone's screen breaking, and no wi-fi anywhere).  But some of that is due to the fact that this part of the trip is not quite as awe-inspiring as the first few months.  It is still fun of course, and we are still finding lots of hidden gems throughout the eastern seaboard, but it isn't quite as fresh and amazing as it was when we were starting out in Lake Huron.

After leaving New York, we hopped down the New Jersey coast, intermittently in the ocean or in the inter-coastal waterway.  New Jersey's beaches were gorgeous, and many an afternoon was spent playing in the waves and body-surfing (it was welcome relief from the HOT weather!).  This trip down the New Jersey shore culminated in arriving at Cape May.  Cape May was the last coastal town before we planned to cross the Delaware Bay and enter the C&D canal to reach the Chesapeake Bay.  We spent five days in Cape May waiting for the right weather to make that journey.  During that time, we walked to the beach almost daily, found about one hundred horseshoe crab shells, and learned more about the USCG since there is a large coast guard station there.  We anchored close to the station and heard drills every night and morning, as well as taps every evening at sundown.  We were boarded by the coast guard as well, for a safety check, which we passed - yay!  

Sunset in Cape May, NJ.

Live horseshoe crab in the shallows at Cape May.

Playing in big Atlantic waves.

We finally entered the Chesapeake on September 16th.  We spent a few days exploring some remote anchorages, and then ended up in Baltimore's inner harbor for 2 nights.  There are only two anchorage spots there and we got one of them!  We happened to be there on a day that they were celebrating Baltimore's maritime history, and they brought their tall-ship called "The Pride of Baltimore II" out into the harbor.  It even fired its cannons - very exciting.  While in Baltimore, we also got to connect with our friend Brian Jones and we met his wife Sarah as well - great to see/meet them!  We also visited the national aquarium, as well as the submarine USS Torsk and an old war-ship called the Constellation. 

The Pride of Baltimore II, inner harbor, Baltimore, MD. 

We have had the privilege to visit a few other friends in the last month.  We saw MLE Davis and met her partner in NYC.  She bopped around mid-town Manhattan with us for a day, also played some cards and got dinner.  Great to see MLE too - it has been nearly 2 decades.  We also took a weekend off of the boat and drove to Philadelphia to visit Rogge's cousin Jeannie and her family - this was great since we missed them at Inez this year.   The kids all re-connected easily, and Jeannie was nice enough to let us bring Daisy, who loved playing with their dog Winnie.  

We also went to the Liberty Bell while in Philadelphia - interesting reading about the history of this.  I always thought it was most symbolic of our independence from England, but it turns out that historically it was much more important in terms of the end of slavery.  It has been interesting to see these big important parts of our nation's history.  Initially, it was discouraging to think about issues with slavery and immigration (as we read about at Ellis island) and how racism and nationalism are on the rise again in America - do we really have to repeat this?  However, I decided ultimately to feel hopeful; our nation has faced fierce division by these issues before, and the general arc of our history is to become more progressive and inclusive over time.  THAT is what has made America great since 1776, and it is my hope that in the future, we will be able to say the same about our current era - that freedom, progressive values, and love will have triumphed after a dark period.

In less serious news, two big changes in September have been the appearance of salt and tides - these were not present up until this part of the trip.  The tides have added to complexity of timing for passages, how fast we can go, etc.  The salt has just made it harder to have a swim when you want one, since we don't always have enough fresh-water to rinse off with.  

Another big change - the Chesapeake has more sailors than motor boaters!  It is fun to be in the majority for once.  Also, there are a LOT more catamarans on the east coast, and many of these are really big.  We got to tour a 53' Outremer which has sailed across the Atlantic and to the cape of Africa.  It was an impressive boat, you could tell it was fast and sea-worthy.

Over the next few weeks, we will be in Annapolis and Washington DC.  We are looking forward to our eventual time in the Caribbean.  Rogge is getting ready for the Salty Dawg rally and I am getting ready for travel with the kids during that time.  The visit to the aquarium in Baltimore also got me really jazzed for snorkeling and visiting all of the beautiful reefs there.

Hopefully more posts from the kids soon...