Summer in Baltimore

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, August 24

Another sunny day greeted me as I got up and cleaned the boat in preparation for Maggie's return from her weekend in central Pennsylvania.  With Maggie expected to return home from visiting her daughter at around 11 AM, most of my morning was spent cleaning up the mess in the boat that had accumulated during the past three days. 

I also made chili in the crockpot for our lunch—this time, I made a version of Mexican chili which includes corn (mostly because I couldn’t find the other normal ingredients I normally use in chili).

When Maggie arrived we compared our experiences over the past three days which led right into Happy Hour.  Before we knew it, the day was shot and with no real accomplishments except for a clean boat.

Tuesday, August 25

Today was our day to drive to Annapolis for another one of Maggie’s doctors appointments—this one involved a bone density scan.  Lately, our outings seem to revolve around doctors appointments—a sign of our age I guess.

We made our usual stops at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, Diehl’s Produce, and (the Gucci) Giant for some groceries.  We stopped for lunch at Italian Market, one of our favorite restaurants in Annapolis.  They are setup well for following the health guidelines of the pandemic--tables are six feet apart and all waiters and cooks wear face masks and latex gloves.  We feel safe there.  Not all restaurants are open for "dine in" business yet.  (Maryland has done an excellent job in controlling the spread of the coronavirus and still there are hundreds of new cases almost every day.)

These red x’s on the sidewalk were six feet apart
outside a home store.  They are part of
a lingering sign of the restrictions
from earlier in the pandemic. 

Just before we left Annapolis, my iPad went into Silent Mode--it could have been from handling it while trying out some new iPad cases.  (I did buy a new iPad case at Best Buy--a padded sleeve type.)  In any event, it took 40 minutes to figure out how to turn off the Silent Mode.  I finally had to look it up online.

Wednesday, August 26

This morning was cool (70's) and the humidity was low--the weather was very pleasant!  I took advantage of the nice weather by starting to refinish the teak frame around our companionway.  Of course, Lola deposited plenty of her hair on the newly refinished teak as she came in from her outside time.  (Oh well, I will be adding at least four more coats of Cetol, lightly sanding between coats.)

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One of the things we accomplished today was to take measurements for the bale that we need to cover the anchor when stored on the anchor roller--it must be 3-1/2" wide and at least 4-1/2" deep.  After researching a lot of different manufacturers, I purchased a Ronstan-brand bail through Amazon late in the evening. It was one of the few that was constructed from Type 316 stainless steel--many of the others were 304 stainless steel (which doesn't cut it in salt water environments).  Since I'm an Amazon Prime member, 2-day delivery was free--it will arrive sometime on Friday.

Thursday, August 27

Today was another planned day in Annapolis.  We had to leave early but I still lightly sanded the companionway frame and applied the second coat of Cetol--I know it won't be disturbed during today.

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After Maggie’s doctor’s appointment in Glen Burnie, we drove to Annapolis.  At Home Depot, we picked up a 6-inch long 5/16-inch diameter (carbon steel) hex bolt and nuts to use as a jack to increase the opening in the bail.  From there we went out for lunch at Carroll’s Creek Cafe, probably our favorite restaurant in Annapolis.  We ate lunch outside on the deck overlooking Annapolis harbor.

Then, it was onto Fawcetts to get 5/16” diameter stainless steel fasteners for fastening the bail to the bow casting.  (Of course, Maggie found some new boat shoes she couldn’t resist.)  From there we drove to Annapolis Seafood and picked up some salmon and mussels for a tasty lunch sometime over this coming weekend.

Fish at Annapolis Seafood.  (I don't know
why I think dead fish are pretty. This
image was captured with
my iPhone.)

We stopped at (the Gucci) Giant for cat food and other grocery items we needed before heading back to our boat.  We got back to the boat at 4 PM.

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Stay tuned for the installation of the new bail over our anchor rollers...

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