Baycation Part 2

This whole Baycation idea started when we realized that there were some pretty cool places that some of our boating friends had not yet visited. They are places that are a little further away so we like to plan a longer stay to make the trip worthwhile. So, three boats left Swan Creek early Tuesday morning to head to Herrington Harbour South (HHS) for two nights. Looking back through the blog I realized that Doug and I have not visited HHS since 2010 so we were definitely looking forward to the trip. We docked our first boat there for a couple years so we knew everyone was in for a treat.

HHS is a well protected marina as you can tell from the entryway.

We lucked out with 3 back-to-back spots along B pier. We couldn't have been any closer to the pool and Mango's on the Bay.

View from our boat to the pool. The umbrellas that you see are in the pool area.

The marina features a large pool, a private beach area, a restaurant and bar, and an eco-friendly atmosphere. It was hot, hot, hot while we were there. We spent a lot of time at the pool. The pool was busy even midweek because locals purchase memberships. However, there was adult swim time every hour for those that want a little quiet pool time.

Swim lessons are available at the pool. Our friends took advantage of the opportunity to get a single lesson for their four-year-old. He's great in the water but it was fun to watch him gain a few new skills.

Outside area of Mango's. It is attached to the pool.

We visited Mango's for dinner the first night. Quick tip: Bottles of wine are half-price on Tuesday nights. It's on the pricey side but the meals were fantastic. And when you have six adults and one child, you can order three different desserts and everyone can share and be happy.

The second night we grilled out. You aren't allowed to grill on the docks, but there are numerous charcoal grills and picnic tables available. The convenience/wine store across the street has charcoal. Plus, you can't beat a kitchen with this view.

That's our little propane grill beside the charcoal grill. We all wanted to cook something different.

We remember when the store across the street was a tiny deli. I didn't get a chance to check it out but Doug said it has really grown. They serve hot and cold food and have a large beer, wine, and spirits selection.

While HHS has a lot to offer, there isn't a town to visit while you are there. I did go for a run Wednesday morning to North Beach. It is two miles away along a road with little to no shoulder for pedestrians. But if you're willing to be careful it is a cute town with a short boardwalk.

 

This looks like to perfect place to watch a sunrise.

Cute name but also a little scary.

Lastly, being that HHS is an eco-friendly marina, there is always lots of wildlife.

I didn't catch any photos of the numerous orioles I spotted. And Doug saw a pod of 30 dolphins when he went out fishing early one morning.

Our next stop, Annapolis, will be posted soon.

No Pests Here

When we lived in a house on land, we would often wake up to the remains of a dismembered cricket that the cats had left for us on the kitchen floor. Baltimore Kittens (aka rats) would freely roam the alleys of the city without a fear in the world. During the 2010 Baltimore Snowpocalypse, a couple mice met their demise at the paws of my cat, Latte. The poor things had probably sought shelter from the storm and instead caused me to scream when I was surprised by one of them on the bathroom floor at midnight.

But the worst critter story was a spider that kept me out of the basement for days. I went downstairs to clean out the cat's litter and instead found a spider capable of carrying off a small child. This thing was mean and furry and I didn't care if it was "more scared of me than I was of him." I was not going back in the basement until it was gone. (Note: I'm a huge animals rights advocate but a spider entering my home is a capital offense.) Small problem -- Doug was out of town, hence the reason I didn't go into the basement for days. When Doug did return, we fogged the basement and sat outside with the cats for a few hours while the fog worked its magic. When Doug went back inside he found the spider. AND IT WAS STILL MOVING! I'm telling you this was some crazy escaped science experiment. Luckily, it was moving slow and Doug was able to do away with the heinous creature.

How does all of this relate to living on a boat? Well, I can count on one hand the number of critters we've had to deal with since moving aboard. There have been a couple dead stinkbugs attached to the canvas. I recently saved a dragonfly from Latte's curiosity. And just the other night Doug had to revive his spider demolition skills. But our critter count has drastically declined since living on the water. I guess you could count the barnacles as a pest but they don't jump out and startle me during normal everyday activities.

I know I have probably just jinxed myself. Other boaters have posted tips on preventing and getting rid of pests. Maybe the combination of my urban environment and this year's extra cold winter have produced the perfect balance of nature and an unfavorable living environment for pests. Or perhaps we've just been lucky. Whatever the cause, I love this fringe benefit of life on the water.

For those of you with pest issues (and for my future reference which I'm sure I will need at some point), here are a few posts from the handy Boat Galley on pests:

How to Get Rid of Ants
How to Store Food on a Boat, Part 3: Avoiding Critters
Preparing the Galley to Leave the Boat

Save the Ducklings!

Quack quack! Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep... (you get the picture).

It's baby duckling season and mama duck was right outside our boat but we couldn't see her ducklings. We could hear them but they weren't with mama.

Doug found these three little guys:

But they were in a bit of a predicament. They had managed to climb up into a dinghy on the end of the dock but they couldn't get back out.

Doug got in the dinghy to try to help them but they wanted nothing to do with the oar that could lift them to freedom.

At this point, mama duck is squawking and I'm simultaneously taking photos while keeping an eye on mama duck. Time for Plan B -- use the oar to push down on the half-deflated side of the dinghy and let them escape on their own.

Reunited!

Superhero to ducks -- just another service we offer to our marina neighborhood.

I had another fun duckling sighting a couple days ago (unfortunately sans camera). A mama duck was sitting with 19 ducklings. You read that right, 19! I counted twice to make sure. Is it even possible for one duck to have 19 babies? Or is there a stronger chance they were adopted after another mama duck passed on? Either way she had her hands... uhm, wings... full.

The Most Wonderful of Days

I saw the most glorious sight today:



Running water! As much as I want!

After 106 days of rationed water the pipes are back in service. (We had a couple super cold November days that limited access but it was officially turned off for the season in December.) I found out the good news as I was walking to the marina office with a bag of shower supplies that I planned to leave in a locker while I went for a run. I returned my bag to the boat knowing that a long, hot shower was waiting on board.

I texted Doug with the good news, went for my run (half-marathon training does not wait for running water), and then hooked up the hose to fill the tank. I've already taken advantage of the situation by washing a load of towels on the boat. After four months without being used, I was a little wary of the washer and figured towels were the easiest items to replace if necessary. Never fear -- the towels are now clean and fluffy.

Unfortunately, this winter was not so kind to everyone. Of the 12 docks only 5 currently have water (lucky us!). I'm sure the fabulous marina staff will be working hard to fix any and all leaks in order to get everyone up and running as soon as possible.

The good news doesn't stop there -- we are using reverse cycle heat again! (For you land-lubbers, that's basically my central HVAC.) We've been using electric heat since mid-December and I forgot how luxuriously warm the regular heat can be.

Even the ducks are enjoying this change in the weather. Personally, I think they are taking this mating/courting dance a bit far. Seriously guys, since when is it cool to stand on the highest thing in the marina?

This last picture was on top of our boat. I could hear them splut-splut-splutting on top of the canvas.

Ah well, Milton may have written about Paradise Lost. I'm most interested in Paradise Re-Found.

A Subdued Fairlee Creek

Fairlee Creek is typically a hotbed of excitement -- from beached boats, to boats drifting into other raft-ups, to quiet clam bakes with a group of friends. This past weekend was a bit more serene than usual. Don't get me wrong, Jellyfish Joels was open, the drinks were flowing, the band was playing, and there were friendly cornhole competitions, there just wasn't any real craziness. Where was everyone? We did hear whispers of a Bumper Bash and it's possible people ventured over there. It doesn't really matter to us - anchoring out for the night is a great way to escape from the city and avoid housework. Sure, we can work on the boat anytime, but that would be rude when we have guests. 

We anchored on a single hook - something we hadn't done in a while. When we raft-up with a group we always set a couple stern anchors so we don't spin and get our bow anchors twisted. This past weekend was just us with a couple friends on board and we didn't want to fight with the stern anchor on Sunday. The bottom in Fairlee is soft and silty so it took two attempts before we felt the anchor had truly caught but then we were set for the evening.

We did see a Sharknado:

And THREE bald eagles in the same tree:

Look for the white heads and you'll see them.

We frequently see bald eagles in Fairlee Creek and I recommend that anyone looking for them checks this dead tree first. It is located across the basin from the marina and is a favorite spot for them.

Flag Day, Wildlife, and Safety

As the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, Baltimore takes Flag Day very seriously. There were events at Fort McHenry all day and fireworks at night. We were treated to a spectacular display visible from our boat:

We may be in the middle of the city, but we still have local wildlife. Two geese families visited us this morning.

Toddler goslings

Teenage goslings

Quick public service announcement: In this time of fun and sun, please be careful, especially around propane and gas. A majestic sailing vessel burned down to its hull recently but you don't have to be on a boat for tragedy to strike.

Have a safe and happy Father's Day! We are off to Rock Hall for the night.

Labor Day and a National Treasure

Labor Day - the unofficial end of summer. School is back in session, the days are markedly shorter, the weather starts to cool, and every boater I know makes every effort to take advantage of the long weekend. This particular Labor Day weekend was hampered by the threat of bad weather. While it seemed that fewer boats were out, the weather didn't stop us. We left Friday evening and spent the night docked at a friend's shore house on Seneca Creek. We had the best of both worlds - an evening on the boat and a real shower in the morning. Thank you Nancy, Tom, and Linda for your hospitality.

Saturday was the start of our raft up in Sue Creek. Five boats visited at different times during the day and three boats spent the night. But the real treat of the day was this guy:

We are very lucky to have bald eagles that nest on the Bay. We've seen them in both Fairlee and Sue Creeks. I apologize that the picture is little blurry; I had to zoom in a bit to have an effective photo on the blog.

We had a severe thunderstorm warning but the storm skirted around us. All in all, a pleasant day and evening.

Three more boats joined the group for Sunday evening. A wind storm picked up late afternoon and the raft up in front of us broke loose.

They were originally facing toward us.

At first it seemed like they were more interested in grilling their dinner than fixing the problem. Their bow anchors were still holding so our boats weren't in danger. After assessing the situation, they were really smart. They slowly broke off into singles or doubles and then reset their anchors at a different spot.

I don't believe I've ever seen two connected boats connect to another raft up before. But it worked. Good for them.

There was one small problem with the wind storm. When it hit, our stern anchor was the only one holding a group of five boats. As soon as the other group broke loose, we added two more stern anchors in order to secure our group. As has been proven before, Sue Creek takes a strong hold of anchors. When the time came to go home, we pulled our dinghy out towards our anchor and tried to pull it up. Normally we can just get straight above the anchor and pull it up with a small amount of effort - no luck that day. It looked like we were going to have to use our boat to pull it loose again. We left the dinghy attached to the anchor line, got a ride back in another dinghy, and broke free from the raft up. To the "dismay" of the rest of our friends, this anchor retrieval was not as "entertaining" as the weekend before July 4th. It came right up and we were on our way.

One last story to tell - I had another first on the boat. I captained the boat as we pulled up to the fuel dock. Not only was I at the helm but there wasn't a dockhand in sight. It was just the two of us. With good coaching from Doug, it was a complete success. I'm continuing to learn.

Floating Wetlands in Baltimore

The recent news has been full of Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. We've seen Litter Cleanup and Rebounding Crab Populations. Now, a local middle school is joining the fight. They have installed 50 floating wetlands in front of the World Trade Center in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The roots of the plants will provide food for the fish that live in the Harbor. As stated in the article: “They’ll help clean the water, but we have a large body of water here, so more than anything they’re really an educational opportunity.” That may be true, but here's the way I see it -- Every little bit counts. Thanks kids!

Dramatic Crab Populations

"The number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay has tripled over the last five years to the highest total in nearly two decades. The dramatic rebound was caused by restrictions on catching female crabs imposed by Virginia and Maryland in 2008, according to Maryland fisheries scientists."

Wonderful, wonderful news! You can read the whole article on the Bay Daily.

Seeing news like this makes me hope that even more restaurants will choose to serve local crabs. Click here to see my recent posting about the True Blue initiative.

I'm so happy to see that efforts to save the Bay are working. However, the Chesapeake Bay recently received a D plus rating so we still have a ways to go.

Manatees!

No, not in the Chesapeake Bay (although Chessie is proof that it can happen).

Doug and I went to visit friends in Tampa, FL over New Year's. About a week before we were scheduled to leave, I came across a random article on Yahoo about the top snorkeling sites in the world. Always a glutton for the punishment of reading about trips I cannot afford to take, I happily clicked on the link. The tenth location listed was snorkeling with manatees in the hot springs of Crystal River, FL.

Wait! Florida?!? Hmm....help me Mapquest. How far is Crystal River from Tampa? Only one hour? How can I make this happen?

I started researching and discovered that the best time to see the manatees is between November and March. The Gulf of Mexico gets too cold for them so hundreds of them move into the warmer water of this river.

As my friends know, I'm a bit of an animal lover. So, I wanted to find a reputable place for my excursion. This time it was TripAdvisor to the rescue. There are many places that offer snorkeling with manatee trips in the Crystal River. After reading many reviews and calling around, I booked a trip for three of us with RiverVentures.

We were on the 6:15am tour. If you plan to do this, take the earliest tour you can find. It may seem crazy to get on a boat and look for wildlife when the sun hasn't come up, but this is the best time to see and interact with the manatees. Plus the sun had come up by the time we reached our anchor spot.

We were given wetsuits at the dive shop, watched a short video about the rules and regulations about interacting with manatees, then set off for the boats. Our captain, Mike, was awesome! First off, he is a marine biologist so he knows and cares a lot about the animals. Second, he speaks many languages. We had a German couple on our boat and he was able to (minimally but effectively) communiate with them. Third, he was a friendly guy.

Florida was hit with a bit of a cold spell while we were there - it was December after all. So, it was only 41 degrees outside when we got in the water around 7am. But the water was 72 degrees! I was a little cold but quickly forgot when I saw my first manatee.

Snorkelers have to stay at the top of the water and let the manatees come to them. The first few I saw just nonchalantly swam underneath me. It wasn't long before we all got a chance to get up close and personal with a few playful manatees. When you touch them they will often roll over for a belly rub. One even nudged my husband to play when he wasn't paying it enough attention. And I got my Christmas wish - a manatee kiss. I had a manatee face within inches of my own face. We must have seen forty manatees on our trip including one that decided to make our anchor line into a chew toy.

This was the best wild animal interaction I have ever had and I highly recommend it to everyone. I also highly recommend RiverVentures. The reviews on TripAdvisor are right. They are great. Many thanks to our captain for taking so many photos of our group's interaction. We went home with a disc with over 200 photos (many seen along the side of this post).

32 Boats and 4 Nights of Fireworks

We spent Friday through Monday of Independence Day weekend in Sue Creek. The first night was just us, nice and relaxing and there were a few fireworks shows in the distance. By Saturday afternoon the wild rumpus had begun. We were in one of two side-by-side large raft ups. As each group added more boats it because obvious that were going to have to join together to make room for everyone. The final count that I heard was 32 boats! I apologize that this picture is so small, we had to take the zodiac quite a ways back to get all of the boats in the picture.How often do you see a 37 foot boat rafted up stern to stern? Many of these boats did not stay the night but it was an interesting sight while it lasted and a couple of us pledged our brand allegiance to the crowd (the white flag is ours):I think we had the hit, surprise dessert when we made bananas foster for everyone. While we make this at home, we were a little apprehensive about lighting the 151 on fire on the boat, but as I pointed out the little grill already has flame. Another plus -- We discovered that our freezer is cold enough to keep ice cream at the right consistency. As I've said before, with a little planning, you can do amazing meals on the boat.

The family on the property in front of us was having one heck of a party. I've been told that this is a private residence. How cool would it be to have a permanent slip and slide into the water?Not only do they have a slip and slide, but they put on a private fireworks show before the Sue Creek show Saturday night. They were so close that we could see the people lighting the fireworks. We were also so close that our boats were covered in firework residue. Lastly, we were close enough to see the remains of the boxes upon boxes of fireworks that they set off. The Sue Creek fireworks were fabulous. We were close and the weather was perfect. As I posted on my Facebook page a few days later, I love being on a boat for fireworks. I especially love all of the airhorns at the end of the show. It always give me a thrill.

The weather was so nice that we didn't need AC that evening. The weather was not so nice at 4am when the thunderstorm rolled through. A bit of a rude awakening but no harm done. We got the boat closed in and settled back down for the rest of the night.

I know you'll be shocked to learn that Sunday was more fun in the sun. I think everyone took a ride in our blow up kayak. It's really a workout if you aren't used to it.

Sunday night - more fireworks and an unsuccessful attempt to take the kayak down the slip and slide. Boys will be boys.

Monday morning - go home. :( We left so we could enjoy the Baltimore fireworks and pool back at our home marina with friends in the neighborhood. The fireworks in Sue Creek were better than Baltimore but was nice to get home and sleep in our own bed.

Here are a few last pictures from the weekend:

I have decided that they should use this house to film the next Corona commercial. Doesn't it look like the commercial with the Christmas palm tree?The egrets all have babies and their nests are so cool.
Finally, I love how many birds congregate on this lighthouse near Hart Miller Island.
No boating this weekend. Instead we had dinner with friends, parties, and cookouts. Can't wait to get back on the water!

My apologies for taking so long to write this post. Shorter work weeks are great but also hectic.

Hard Yacht Cafe

I'm very happy to say that the boat is FINALLY back in the water. We were able to pick her up on Good Friday. It was a rainy day but the water was calm. This little guy was swimming right next to our boat and I like to think that he was our welcoming committee. The weather yesterday was gorgeous - perfect for a lunch cruise. So, 7 of us set off for the Hard Yacht Cafe on Bear Creek. When we arrived, we pulled up to the fuel dock and sent our friends in to get a table. This is going to be a tough year for fuel prices so we decided to completely fill up while prices are still in the $4 range. Doug is smiling here because Hard Yacht's fuel dock had gas for only $4.19. Has anyone seen anything cheaper? Our friends started to wonder if we had left them. I guess we should have warned them that 200 gallons takes a while. I sure hope it lasts a good long time. Then again, this is still cheaper than having kids and sending them to college.

As gas continues to go up in price, we think we may be making more trips to Hard Yacht this year because it's so close. Granted, a trip via car from our house would only take 10-15 minutes, but it's always more fun to take the boat. And, because it's so close a couple of friends were able to drive over and join us for a short while. Thanks for coming Billy, Rob, Dave and Jo!

The Chesapeake Bay is wonderful because it's so large. There are so many places to go and visit. However, it's also small enough that you never know who you will run into. As we were (finally) walking into the restaurant, we saw a Regal boat that looked very familiar. We were so happy to see Jim and Kathy (and their adorable dog, Rascal). Jim is an experienced captain but they were in a tight spot and we were happy to help them get on their way. Here they are pulling out of the marina: Hard Yacht has great outdoor seating (thanks for getting such a great table guys) and everyone in our group seemed happy with their food choices. Yuengling in the only worthwhile beer on tap but they make fantastic spicy bloody marys and orange crushes. They serve their drinks in plastic cups so our engineer friend, Sara, kept us entertained with her towering creations. The flag on the top of this creation says "Our Lady of the Brackish Water." Doug and I joke that we are very religious and go to Our Lady of the Brackish Water every weekend during the warmer months. We always have communion (aka tasty adult beverages) and frequently are baptised (aka swimming in the bay).

Hard Yacht also has live music. The guy playing this weekend was fun - sorry I don't remember his name. The songs by Blind Melon, Barenaked Ladies, and Violent Femmes were hits for our group. Not sure "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas is the best choice for acoustic guitar, but he sure tried.

All in all, it was a great day on the water and we are looking forward to many more trips in the future. Thanks for lunch Mike, Bonnie, Sara, Sean, and Greg!

Eco-Lifestyle Marina

Lately I've been reading that the blue crab population is up in the Chesapeake Bay. This is good news all around. Restaurants are happy. Blue crab eaters are happy. Most importantly, it means the bay is healthier.

Herrington Harbour South markets itself as an eco-lifestyle marina resort. I tell you what, it is certainly blue crab friendly. We saw many good sized blue crabs around the docks. Kids were running around with nets trying to catch them. Some families even caught enough to cook them up for dinner. While I love a good crab smothered in old bay, I can't stand being the one to cook them. So, I just took pictures of the one hanging out on the dock ladder by our boat:

The reflection of the ladder rungs makes it seem like the crab is floating. He's really just hanging out on the rung right below the water line. I wonder if he remembered to put on sun screen before sitting in the sun so long.