We boat got up at around 6:00 and collected dirty clothing in preparation for a trip to Janine’s favorite place – the Laundromat. That facility here is in the same area as the showers so we were able to cover two area of prime importance at once. With all of the heat we are experiencing, showers are vital. We usually do sponge baths or on deck showers with a water bag, however, if showers are available, we much prefer that.
The showers went quickly but the clothes cleaning process was a 2 hour ordeal. I took my computer along so that I could log in the blog stuff. I sat in front of the marina office and watched the early morning runners puffing and sweating the way around the water front. Also, I watched the residents of the huge boats that were moored at the docks come and go through the large iron security gates that protects them from us commoners. I even saw several executive looking folks with their white shirts and brief cases leave and head into the city. I assume that they are live-aboards.
At about 8:30, Janine came out with her big bag of clean duds and we headed back to the boat. We threw the laundry onto the bunk and headed for Lenny’s Deli for breakfast. We were amazed how few tourists were out on the waterfront this morning. We figured that the many of those who crowded the Inner Harbor area the day before were here from Boston to see the Red Socks play the Orioles. The ball park is quite close to the Inner Harbor and a lot of the folks we saw had on Boston baseball shirts with the name of their favorite player bannered across the back. (The Orioles won!)
At Lenny’s, I had a waffle and sausage with coffee and Janine had a three egg omelet with bacon and cheese. We are getting spoiled. From there, we went back to our old friend, Barnes and Noble, to send forth our daily blob or blog, however you view it. It was already up near 90 degrees when we got back to the boat. We were eager to get underway so that we could get some air moving through the boat and across our bodies. We got rolling at about 11:00 and made a quick circuit around the harbor taking pictures of the various things that adorned our home for the past two nights.
On the way out of the harbor, we pulled up to the marina fuel dock to buy some ice and turn in our keycard. We all but had a minor crisis there when the poor employee at the Dock Masters Office did not have the authorization or the keys to give back my $25.00 deposit for the keycard. She said that her boss, who was the keeper of the keys, had left. I asked when she would be back and she had no idea. She attempted to contact the boss to no avail and finally went to another office and they loaned her and her office (the Dock Masters Office) the $25.00 to be repaid when the Dock Masters Office boss returned. I was grateful and we got underway.
Out in the harbor, the wind was beginning to pick up a bit, however, it was on our nose so we motored. Although it was a bit hazy, we were able to get pictures of points if interest including a number of Navy vessels that were moored here. We passed under the Key bridge and headed out into the Bay proper as the wind continued to build. Our course turned a bit and we decided to attempt to sail, however, gave up that plan when we realized that our slow progress would take us into our destination well after dark so we dropped the sails and motored on. The waves were probably about 2 feet and the chop was continuous. We saw only a couple of pleasure boats out as we crossed the bay toward the eastern shore. Our goal was to return to the little cove in the Queenstown River where we found the beach with shade. As we turned a bit toward the north heading up the Chester River, we picked up a favorable breeze, raised the sails and had a delightful sail for about an hour. We pulled into our little cove at about 5:30.
We hurriedly put the trolling motor on the dinghy, got into our bathing suits and headed for the beach and cool water. It turned out that after about three 100 degree days, the water wasn’t all that cool but it was cooler than the air and quite refreshing.
Back in the boat after about an hour or so, we grilled some butterfly pork chops that Tim Cotterman had marinated in Italian dressing, made some mashed potatoes and an apple dessert. While we waited for the chops to get done, we had a glass of Rex Goliath 47 Pound Rooster Merlot and some Tillamook cheese on crackers. We were really hungry since we had not eaten lunch. (Not that we both would have missed a meal.)
At bed time, it was still oppressively hot in the boat but the time had come for sleep. We rigged up the fan and the Wind Scoop over the hatch, left the back hatch open and crawled into bed.
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