Baycation Part 1

How often do you get to travel and take your home with you? Just think -- you get to sleep in your own bed the whole time, you don't have to pack because you already have everything you need, and you get to explore. Full time cruisers can do this whenever they want. Those of us with full time jobs that require us to go to an office get to do it in short spurts. This year, we left our home dock on Saturday, July 2 and returned eight days later.

The Chesapeake Bay is perfect for this type of trip because there are many destinations relatively close together. This was our trip:

• Saturday - Tuesday: Anchor in Swan Creek behind Rock Hall
• Tuesday - Thursday: Get a slip at Herrington Harbour South Marina (in between Deale and North Beach on the map)
• Thursday - Friday: Luck out with a slip in Ego Alley in Annapolis
• Friday - Saturday: Anchor behind Dobbins Island in the Magothy River (just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on the west side of the Bay)
  

The other great thing about the Bay is that lots of boating friends can come and go from the trip as it fits their schedule. It's like having house guests that bring their own house (and bed and sheets and towels and food). We had a core group of four boats in Swan Creek with another three that visited for part of the time.

The raft up taken from the bow of Wet Wille.

After watching fireworks in Baltimore and Middle River for the past few years, we wanted to try something different. We chose Swan Creek because we like the anchorage area and Rock Hall had fireworks scheduled for Sunday, July 3. We then chose to stay in Swan Creek for an extra couple days so we wouldn't have to deal with a Bay busy with boat traffic and price hikes at marinas for the holiday. We also got to enjoy a relatively empty anchorage basin for a couple of days.

Rock Hall put on an impressive fireworks show but the funniest statement about the display came from the 4-year-old in the group: "Mommy, why aren't the fireworks up in the sky?" This lucky little guy has always seen fireworks up close and personal, as in, lay down on the bow of your boat and watch them explode above you close and personal. We were close to the front of the Creek but still at the point where the fireworks were on the horizon and not directly above us.

The four ladies took the dinghy into town on Monday via the dinghy dock at Haven Harbor Marina. Town is about a half-mile away along a well-traveled road but the shoulder is sufficient for walking single or double-file. We did a little shopping but I have unfortunately seen a steady decline in the number of open businesses in Rock Hall. I wish there was more to do in town but we were really there for a relaxing raft up.

We did visit Waterman's Crab House for lunch. You simply must go to Waterman's if you visit Rock Hall. Just in case you need proof, they do serve more than just crabs:

The blackened tuna was cooked perfectly!

After four quiet days it was time for a trip down the bay to Herrington Harbour South. Watch for that post in a couple days.