Hard Yacht Cafe

There is a biker bar on the water. Who knew?

Doug and I ventured to Hard Yacht Cafe on Bear Creek on Sunday. We had heard that this was a fun place to go for lunch. We were surprised to find the fun Harley theme.

We called ahead and found that they have awesome fuel prices. We were down to about half in each tank and have a few longer trips coming up. At $2.99/gallon we simply had to top off once we got there.

It looks like the area right up next to the restaurant can get pretty tight with boats. We saw at least once picture with cigarette boats blocking each other in. However, it seems like a cool place to get stuck, so I don't think anyone would complain. We chose to dock along the floating pier since we knew we couldn't stay long.

There is an inside bar - which of course no one was using in the beautiful weekend weather. The bar extends outside yet is protected by a roof and three walls. It then extends onto an outdoor deck area with a spot for a band. We arrived around 1 pm and had no trouble snagging a great table under cover. By the time we left the tables were filling up.

The food was delicious and filling. I recommend the Fisherman's Grilled Cheese - cheese, shrimp, and crab - simple and yummy. We had asked for a recommendation from the guy at the fuel dock and Doug took his advice - Mark Alan's Fave Burger - a burger topped with crab dip and cheddar cheese. Not my style but he enjoyed it.

A single guitar player started at 1. The music was just the right volume for the space. Doug and I could hold a conversation or focus on the music. And the singer (Mark Jacob) was fun.

If you are looking for a quick in-and-out (why would you look for a place like that on the water?), this isn't the place for you. We received menus quickly, ordered at our own pace, and received our food in a timely fashion. After that, the service dwindled. Then again, it was a gorgeous day and they weren't trying to push us out to seat other people.

Overall, it was a fun stop and we plan to go again.

Just Desserts Weekend

Desserts, desserts, desserts, and then more desserts. Saturday and Sunday we rafted up with friends for a Just Desserts weekend. The plan was to have everyone bring tasty, sugary, calorie-filled treats to share across the boats -- I just kept telling myself that calories don't count on the boat. One of our friends is a pastry chef so many of us purchased pre-made desserts because we could never compete with his tasty creations. There were cookies and cakes and tarts and frozen yummies and jello shots (yes, they do to count as a dessert!). We even had some healthy fruit in a watermelon fish: We rafted up directly across from the restaurant at Parkside Marina. It's a quick hour run from Baltimore.
This area of the Chesapeake Bay is pretty clean, however, the Bay does have a natural brownish color to it. Admittedly light colored bathing suits don't stay the same color for long and the silty bottom here doesn't help matters. However, this a very protected area and you can pull up close to shore. It's a good spot for swimming. If you have dogs they can swim to shore to "do their business." Basically, if you're anchored here, the only "dangers" are "alligator log" and random water balloon attacks (fyi - the bar faucet on the Regal 3760 is the perfect size for water balloons):







We had planned to watch the Middle River Dinghy Poker Run but they must have stayed in other parts of Middle River. While I was disappointed to not see the Poker Run, I can't complain about a two propane tank weekend and fun times with friends on eight other boats.