Red Pearl

I discovered a bit of Lawrence in Maryland!

We are settled into a great little marina in Annapolis for a couple of weeks. We are on a dock that has several social “live-aboards” and we are enjoying docktails on a regular basis. We have had a wonderful time overall. But we are facing a few boat problems! One of our engines won’t start, so we are trying to find some help to fix it so we can stay on our schedule (I know, you aren’t supposed to have a schedule on a boat!).

We did take time away from boat repairs to explore Annapolis. The city has a great downtown with cute shops and resturants. We got lucky with our timing and it was the end of “Plebe Summer” at the Naval Acadamy and we got to see hundreds of Midshipmen in their dress whites and their families around downtown. We took a great tour of the Naval Acadamy Campus as well.

A highlight of the tour was the Chapel. It had multiple images from the Bible of different water or ship references in stained glass.

Next we went to Gettysburg, PA and hired a tour guide to take us through the Battle of Gettysburg. We spent 3 hours (yes like Gilligan, a 3-hour tour) driving around the major sites of the battle. It was fascinating and sobering.

Our next historical visit was Fort McHenry. Site of a major battle of the War of 1812 and the inspiration for the writing of the Star Spangeled Banner by Francis Scott Key. The Park Ranger shared a very moving story of the writing of the poem.

We finished out our adventures with Happy Hour at a crab house (Maryland is known for it’s blue crab!). We got a dozen crabs for $2 a crab! They were fantastic!

If all goes well, we are heading North this weekend and we will keep you all updated!