Rock Hall, MD to Beach Haven NJ

Leaving Rock Hall, we traveled up the last 35 miles or so of the Chesapeake Bay. Our plan was to stay at the free dock in Chespeake City before going through the C&D canal. We passed this barge on the way.





Nearing the beginning of the canal, we passed by the Turkey Point Lighthouse, shown here.



This is the entrance to the canal.





Arriving in Chesapeake City early, (about noon) we decided instead to go through the canal today since the weather was good and anchor behind Reedy Island at the most inland part of the Delaware Bay. That would make our run down the bay so much shorter.




It is interesting to see the osprey nests and where they build them. Here is one on a pretty narrow pole across the water. A good blow would surely knock it down !




As planned we anchored behind Reedy Island for the night. We rafted on to Beth and Darrell's boat and had dinner with them that night. Planning to leave early the next morning, like 5 AM to catch the outgoing tide on the Delaware Bay, we were in bed early. We also hoped for none to little wind since this body of water can get choppy. We were'nt totally prepared for this fog though! Here we were in the morning, with visibility about 100 feet. With radar and the GPS we traveled slowly. One thing in our favor was that all big boat traffic had been stopped on both the Bay and the canal.
It was chilly going down with the fog and we were dressed in long pants and sweatshirts. Arriving in Cape May, it was HOT ! And BUSY---it was the week-end and everyone was out enjoying the water. The Cape May Harbor and was buzzing with boats of every size--I wondered if they knew what "no wake" meant.
The Marina we stayed at (Utch's) was very nice and we were given a welcome package with wine, biscotti, soap and information on the area. The showers were super clean and private, so we were already feeling pretty good about this place.
That evening, we went next door to the Lobster House for dinner--this was said to be one of the top 10 restaurants on the East Coast and had been privately owned for 70+ years. We agreed with it being a top 10--the service, food and prices were all A1. There was a large formal dining room, an outdoor area where you could order your food, pick it up and sit outside to eat or take out, and a very large seafood market where you could buy most of the kinds of foods served at the restaurant--seafood, breads, desserts, etc. The building housing all these parts and parking lot stretched about 1 block. We went back before we left Cape May and bought some of their seafood and stewed tomatoes which were very good.
The next day it was still very HOT- in the 90's, and it did hit 100 for a short time. We had elected to walk to the historic district in the morning and we're glad we did it then. We took a tour of the town covering their beautiful Victorian homes, the beaches and Cape May lighthouse. No pictures to show as neither Bob or I wanted to carry any more than we had to when it was so warm ! We had lunch at another soda fountain which was like an old 5&10 store. Amazing that this town of about 3500 people could be so busy and big---tourism is their primary industry other than fishing--but it is, and always has been known as the seaside resort of the east coast. Many, Many condo's but the city has a strict building code because the whole place has been registered as a National Historic District. Despite the heat, it was a nice, interesting day.

Leaving Cape May on Monday, we began our trek up the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway. Because it was still very hot, we decided to stay in a marina, so we could get electric and air conditioning. And, considering the traffic there is on week-ends, we found it quite pleasant with little traffic. The fisherman here though find that the best fishing is in the center of the channel and we can't go far out of it because it is really shallow. We have brought up a little mud now and then.


The next day, we left early (probably too early as it was low tide and pretty muddy again) and resumed our ICW journey. We knew that there would be delays waiting for several of the bridge to lift around Atlantic City. However, when we got to Margate, south of Atlantic City, the bridge tender asked if we were continuing on to the next bridge---when we said yes, he said he'd check for us but he thought the next bridge was closed for maintenance. Sure enough it was. So we back tracked a few miles and went out the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to the Atlantic. It actually was pretty nice and a whole lot cooler for the next 10 miles or so. And we did get some nice views of Atlantic City.

Here are views of the casinos from the water. The narrow building on the far left, had TRUMP on it. We weren't too impressed..





Closer to the inlet, we passed the Taj Mahal, Trump's other casino which was definitely more opulent.



This shrimper met us on the way into the channel.






Harrah's Resort and Casino.....








Sunbathers on the opposite side of the channel from the casinos..









The Absecon Lighthouse...now overtaken by all the casinos..






Re-entering the ICW, there was a contrast in scenery with the flat green marshes. We planned to stay at a marina again because of the heat. Tomorrow we definitely will anchor out. That's the plan for the next couple of nights until we get to New York City on the weeke-end

St. Michael's to Rock Hall

Leaving the anchorage near St. Michaels, we first went through Knapp Narrows to go into the Chesapeake. (We were leaving the Choptank River).









Leaving the Chesapeake again, we entered East Bay where we went through Kent Narrows. Just north of the Narrows, off in the distance, you could see this development....just a few condo's ! We are really close to Annapolis and the west coast...the Bay bridge crosses here.





Leaving the Narrows, look closely on the right side of the picture. Here is a duck hunting blind....behind it is a boat harbor...to the left were many,many condos and looking in the background is the Bay bridge from the west coast of the Chesapeake bringing all the people from Annapolis, Washington DC and Baltimore. This duck blind just didn't seem to fit.....




We arrived in Rock Hall where we were going to meet Darrell and Beth who we would travel with from here to NYC. Here they come...in spite of the small craft warnings which had been issued for the Bay !!! (They came across from Annapolis)






We decided to explore the town the next day...it was a 1/4 mile walk into the center of town so we decided to stop in this coffee shop for a break. Not many shops were open during the week. But, in spite of that, this is a nice town. Only one flashing stop and go light.





Looking out the back door of the coffee shop, we discovered the Oyster Court with many small buildings with a variety of merchandise for sale. It was just really charming and a nice quiet place to browse....(we were the only ones there !).

Here's another view of the buildings...............

This one was really neat.............note the sign above. "Hubby Day Care" !!!

Here is Bob and Darrell---they were watching TV and when we went to get them, they said, " Are you through already?...aren't there more shops you want to check out? !!!!

The shops and restaurants in this town are all artistically decorated like this restaurant...........They were all nice for browsing---at least the ones that were open !

Durding's Store was closed on Wednesday so we had to go back on Thursday to check it out..it was said to be an authentic soda fountain/drug store. It was, and had been maintained amazingly well. There was the old fashioned metal ceiling, the old wood floor, original wooden booths, and soda fountain counter along with the old pharmacy drawers, etc. Of course, we had to sample the offerings....note what the rest of us had versus Beth's !!! Such willpower !!!



Here is the old fashioned phone booth in the corner..sign said to deposit a nickel to make a phone call.

One of the old pharmacy cupboards....

Tomorrow, we'll leave early to go to Chesapeake City where we will wait to traverse the C&D Canal down Delaware Bay to Cape May.

Tangier Island to St. Michael's

Leaving Crisfield, we traveled up Tangier Sound, heading for Choptank River on the East side of the Chesapeake. We planned to visit Cambridge, Oxford and St. Michael's. We passed through the Hooper Island Pass and I expected to see that lighthouse there, but it was not. So, I thought I just missed it. Going on, we did pass this Sharp's Island Lighthouse entering the Choptank River, but I sure wondered how I could have missed the other one............. That night, we anchored in LaTrappe Creek just off the Choptank. It was a really nice anchorage, quiet with just a couple houses around us. It was amazing to me that we could be so close to Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington DC and still find this rural, quiet area. These osprey were on the buoy as we entered the anchorage......
The next day we traveled about 5-6 miles to Cambridge where we planned to stay in a marina because of the impending heavy winds forecast. We passed this catamarran and crabber on our way.
We enjoyed our stay in Cambridge and it was an easy town to walk around...colonial homes with beautiful yards and huge trees with branches that overhung the sidewalks so that we walked in the shade. Several of the older, large homes had been turned into B&B's or apartments, but they were still beautiful. We passed several churches and decided to go to the Episcopal church in the morning. The weather forecaster was right and we did have a big blow that afternoon with some rain which washed the salt off the boat !
We arrived at the church a little early the next day, but visited with a man who had at one time worked at Cargill. He invited us to go to breakfast with them after church. This church was founded in about 1680 but the present church was built in 1886--fires had destroyed the first two. It is a beautiful church with stained glass Tiffany windows. The service began and as is customary in many churches, after the prayer, there was the "sharing of the peace". We have been used to greeting people sitting in our immediate area in all the church services we have attended. Not here---EVERYONE greets each other...and this takes a while ! And, during this greeting, many knew we had started in Minnesota and also invited us to breakfast ! This was undoubtedly, the friendliest church we have ever attended ! I guess it goes with the town.......because we enjoyed the flavor of it..
Leaving Cambridge, we decided to forego Oxford and head for St. Michael's. But instead of going in to the marina, we were going to go in the back way--anchor in San Domingo Creek off the Broad River. We can take the dinghy in to shore and walk 3 blocks to the main street of St. Michael's. Arriving in the afternoon, we just anchored and decided to enjoy the quiet of this area which had colonial homes set apart on several acres each. We also had been told not to go into St. Michael's on the week-end as that's when all the people from the west coast go there. Here is one of the homes at this spot.

Next morning, we left Bellissimo at anchor and headed into St. Michael's...
We found this was really a neat way to go there---we walked down a street of smaller homes. We passed this huge magnolia tree in a church yard with HUGE blossoms--they smelled so good.
Here is a view of main street in St. Michael's---pretty quiet at 9am. Shops in older homes and buildings...........History is that the townspeople here outsmarted the British. The British planned to invade the town on August 10,1813 and the townspeople who had been forewarned, hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and in the tops of the trees, and tricked the British by causing them to overshoot their cannons and miss the town. Only one house was struck by a cannonball and that house still stands and is still a private residence.

We decided to visit the Chesapeake Maritime Museum and after touring it for 4 hours, we're glad we did. It covered 12 aces. Not only did it show boats, but covered the whole history of the Chesapeake including the oystering (aystering according to the locals), duck hunting and lighthouses. Here is a picture of one of the boats and the Hooper Island Lighthouse....Here it was.....!....it had been moved after it was decommissoned by the Coast Guard !
It was amazing to learn of all the different kinds of boats....each designed for clamming, oystering, crabbing, bugboats, buyboats, etc, etc,etc. The log boat design which was original from the Native Americans was adopted and fine tuned with sails, first used for oystering, then used in recreation and racing. They still have these log boat races on the Bay and they certainly appear to be adrenalin raising! There is no motor so they have to be towed out and without much of a keel, can turn over pretty easily. So the ballast are people hiking up springboards on the side...some pretty high. The movie showed one overturning and it is quite a feat to re-assemble with the boards, etc.
It was surprising to me to learn just how big clamming, crabbing, and oystering is an industry. They are everywhere....I'll definitely have to read "Chesapeake" as Bob has. Here is Hooper Strait Lighthouse...the bay has many of this type. Others include Drum Point and Thomas Point among the better known ones. This type of screw pile lighthouse was adopted from the British..
This sign I thought was interesting so I thought I should show it here for our sailing friends !!!
These boats with the pilot houses are called buyboats....I don't know why..

And this is a skipjack, used for oyster dredging. I understand that waterman who use this type of harvesting now can only use sail power rather than mechanical power in order to conserve the oysters.
We walked up to the top of the lighthouse....here is the Fresnel lens used in this one...
A view of the restoration shed in the museum. There were many, many different types of boats in various states which are constantly be restored here. One of the shops on the main street............. On the way back to the dinghy, we passed this home and garden. Many, many homes had roses of many kinds including climbing roses. It was a nice day.............

Tangier Island

Leaving Portsmouth, we traveled up the west coast of the Chesapeake to Deltaville. We spent the night there and having good weather we decided to cross to Tangier Island on the east coast of the Bay. The island is only 3 miles long and 1 mile wide and is pretty isolated--major shopping is done at towns on the mainland. The only industry on the island is crabbing and oyster harvesting although according to one of the locals, oystering has now been outlawed in the Bay. The waterway into the marina is lined with crab houses where the waterman keep their boats and separate the crabs to get them ready to ship to market. They are "waterman" rather than "fisherman" because they make their living on the water. A closer view of the town from the water....tour boats come here from both the east and west sides of the Bay twice daily. That's when the shops and restaurants open...when the tour boats come. After 5 or so, there is only 1 shop open...an ice cream store. There were a few gift shops and about 5 restaurants.

A closer look at the crab house and kind of boat used. The boats are about 40 feet long.

Here is a waterman sorting his crabs...these are Maryland blue crabs and they are now shedding their shells...it's soft shell crab season.
Leaving Parks marina, these signs advertize the restaurants...

Main street....note that they use golf carts here. Very few cars here---I think we saw three including the police car. Life is pretty laid back here...thought this was kind of a neat sign.

View of the street to the north end of the island...streets are just wide enough for one car.
Porch of the History Museum had these interesting checkerboad tables and pieces. Oyster shells are painted...
The yards here are fenced in and many, many had their dead buried in the yard..

This sign explains why.....
According to this sign, this island was discovered in 1608. Historical records are not verified about when it was actually settled, but the Crockett family is one of the originals. Interestingly, most of the current residents (now about 600, once was 1100) are decendents of the two original families....very common names here are Crockett, Pruitt, Parks, Dize. They have their own dialect which is described as Elizabethan cockney or maybe Cornish. It was more prevalent when they were talking with each other. Speaking with strangers, they tended to speak more slowly. We had the opportunity to listen to 3 local women while we were in the museum.

The History Museum was interesting. In one incident, the island had the opportunity to be the setting for a love story film starring Paul Newman. The council voted it down because the story had cursing, sex and drinking in it. I think it was "Time in a Bottle". No amount of persuasion could change their minds even though there was a nice financial incentive. The locals also feared that this would bring too many people who would have bad influence on their young girls.

This island is dry...no liquor sold anywhere. Here is their fire department. Many of the newer homes are modular or double wide which must be an interesting site being transported first across the bay and then down these streets !
Finally, despite this Verizon sign on the house (the one on the right in back)who we assumed to be a dealer, we had no cell phone or internet coverage. It's my understanding the locals use satellite TV,etc.