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| Morning in Spa…aah Creek with Elle & I |
Whenever the possibility arises that allows spending any length of time in one location we're happy to stop and enjoy the opportunity. This season has been relatively mild with only one weather front that kept
Simple Life in Atlantic Highlands, NJ for over a week. As a result this enabled us to spend 10 days in Spa..."aah" Creek, Annapolis.
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| Evening visitors in Spa Creek's anchorage |
Historic homes, taverns and of course the Naval Academy draw us back year after year. It's especially pleasant during early Fall when the leaves are just beginning to change color and temperatures are still in the mid seventies. During the week Spa Creek is peaceful actually, beyond peaceful. Kayakers and SUP's (stand up paddle boarders) along with numerous south bound cruisers are the most popular water sport enthusiasts enjoying the creek.
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| Elaine with Marin (photo from May 2014) |
Spa Creek is a great place to catch up with other like minded friends who also happen to be traveling the same route. While anchored there we caught up with friends Elaine and Lawrence from
Elle and I whom we met during our first year of cruising. Both are enthusiastic sailors who have been living aboard for three years. Lawrence has been making quite a name for himself among the cruising fleet as a master mixologist of Irish Coffees. He actually coats the rims with sugar, flambés, and tops with freshly whipped cream made by his "lovely wife" Elaine. The anticipation is almost as enjoyable as the drink! Especially when the weather is cool and damp.
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| Lawrence making Irish Coffee |
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| Joe on the Washington Mall |
This season Joe and I planned a side trip to Washington, DC. We'd taken a similar trip two years ago and visited the entire Washington Mall. This year we planned to visit the Holocaust Museum and the Air and Space Museum. Both were relatively easy to negotiate from Annapolis by hopping on a shuttle from Annapolis to the Metro at Carrolton Station and getting off at the Smithsonian stop at the Mall. Round trip fares for two cost a reasonable $50.00. Since the museums were free it was a fairly inexpensive and thought provoking excursion.
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| The Spirit of St. Louis |
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| Early Space Capsule |
The Air and Space Museum was spectacular. Both Joe and I grew up during the early space launch era. Black and white and early color TV's couldn't capture the true size perspective of these tiny space capsules. Seeing the cramped space and the capsule's smallness up close was a fascinating experience. Upon further inspection, probably not a suitable career choice for a person like me prone to claustrophobia. I also enjoyed examining the structural component of the capsule design. It seemed to be borrowed from a bee hive! Sort of a metal scaled down chicken wire pattern embedded with an ablative material designed to shed upon atmospheric entry.
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| One of the Saturn 5 Rockets |
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| Noon formation is very formal |
No trip to Annapolis is complete without a visit to the US Naval Academy. Each weekday the Brigade of Midshipmen gather for noon formation in front of Bancroft Hall. For Midshipmen it's an everyday occurrence. For us, a visual treat!
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| Navy midshipmen not so formal! |
As lovely as Spa Creek was, early mornings were beginning to have a nip in the air. Autumn was on her way. Our last day in Annapolis was bittersweet. Once again a feeling of leaving home and a tinge of wistfulness. It was time to move on. Joe suggested the need to mark our time spent here, sort of putting the period at the end of the sentence. The solution? Dinghying to Davis Pub on the Eastport side of Spa Creek for what else? Lunch and Chesapeake Bay's delectable crab cakes! A perfect ending to an enjoyable stay.
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