Wednesday, 10/1/08 Day 242
We did almost nothing today. We did a lot of school. A storm came. Mom didn't feel good. This evening we played Jenga. I am about to go read Brisingr. It is a good book. I am on page 612 of 755. Bye Bye.
Thursday, 10/2/08 Day 243
Today was pretty good. We started pretty early, in the cold. The wind, current, and waves were against us, so it was as rough as offshore. We went down the Chesapeake Bay to the Sassafras River, MD. Once we entered the river, it was no longer rough and was a nice sail.
We anchored at the mouth of Back Creek, a tributary to the Sassafras River. We dinghied in to the Mt. Harmon Tobacco Plantation to check it our and try to take a tour. We had some fun on our way to the manor house by running through the forest trails. We accidentally lost Dad. I got scratched up by thorn bushes. We ambushed Mom, but we were found out.
We took a tour of the manor house. There were a lot of antiques. Our long-winded tour guide gave us a huge explanation and story for every piece and thought I interrupted a lot. I think that she just wouldn't shut up! It got boring.
I really liked the Prize House. There, they pressed two 400 lb. barrels of tobacco into one, using a machine. It was pretty cool.
We got back to the boat and sailed an hour up to Georgetown, MD. It is pretty. I finished by book, Brisingr, during the sail. That was a good book.
For dinner, we had leftovers made into Asian Peanut Pork with carrots, celery, squash L, and pasta. It was good. We were going to watch the Vice Presidential Debate on CNN.com, but things got ... wild. Whatever, tomorrow will be better.
Friday, 10/3/08 Day 244
Today was great! We had a great quick day of school, ending completely by lunchtime. After lunch, we were all eager to get off the boat and go dinghy exploring!
It is very scenic here on the Sassafras. There are lots of herons, waterfowl, gulls, other birds like kingfishers, and people even there are bald eagles and deer. There is also some fall color! There are a lot of "creeks" off the river. Only about half of them are truly creeks. The other half are long, very shallow coves.
We explored Mill Creek today. It is a real creek that winds all the way into a little dam that controls the water flow from a higher lake. We saw frogs, schools of baitfish, a turtle or two, dragonflies, butterflies, other insects and bugs, plus herons, egrets, gulls, ducks, geese, kingfishers, and other small birds. The landscape was beautiful. There are hills covered with dense forests and the occasional house.
We got out to explore at the dam. We got out to explore at the dam. We kind of ignored the No Trespassing signs and went to explore the deserted forest. At first, Mom and Dad stayed behind. Josh and I found walking sticks and explored. We found this huge dead tree that had fallen, creating a bridge to a high branch on a huge tree. I got up it about half-way. At the end, it was about 20-25 ft. off the ground. That's pretty dang high.
Soon after I got off the fallen tree, Mom and Dad ambushed us while we were dueling. It was Dad versus Josh and me. Dad had the high ground. He killed Josh. I broke his sword down to nothing with mine. It ended in a draw. I showed Mom and Dad the fallen tree. They convinced me to go all the way to the top. Mom got some great pics! As we went back to the boat, Dad saved my life. I was hurtling down a hill, but got out of control and was going straight for a huge, broken log whose end was a giant spike. Dad caught me before I hit, thank the Lord!
As we were climbing across some rocks into the dinghy, we saw about 2 ½ feet of a snake slithering through the rocks. It was a cottonmouth water moccasin, we think! Those are really poisonous! It was a good 5 in. in diameter! Judging by that, it was probably 5 - 6 ft. long! Mom was very scared of it. It slithered into the rocks and we didn't know where it went. As Mom was getting in the dinghy, I shouted, "There it is!" and pointed. She got so scared that she almost fell into the water! I burst out laughing, but everyone else looked unhappy.
We stopped at a marina to drop off trash and pop into a marine store. Then we went home. We ate supper and watched a movie. That was the worst part of the day. We were going to watch this awesome new movie we just got, but it wouldn't play. We have to return it. Instead, we watched Shiloh, a movie I don't like very much. But the vote was 3 to 1. After the movie, Josh and I got into a fight and everybody went to bed with hard feelings. The day was great, nonetheless.
Saturday, 10/4/08 Day 245
Our plan today was to do school this morning and, like yesterday, go dinghy exploring u the Sassafras River in the afternoon. But halfway through school, Dad decided that we should go dinghy exploring right then and leave around lunchtime for a creek down the bay, for a number of reasons. So, we stopped school and went exploring. We went into a good bunch of creeks and landed twice, but never for long. Our exploration wasn't half as exciting as yesterday.
We left and sailed for the rest of the day for Bodkin Creek. I did school for almost the whole time. We got to Bodkin Creek around sunset. Nobody wanted to cook or do dishes, so we dinghied to Props, a restaurant up the creek. The food was crummy and expensive. None of us had a good meal.
We are going to the Magothy River tomorrow. I think it will be something like the Sassafras River. There seem to be a lot of tributary creeks to dinghy explore. I can't wait!
Sunday, 10/5/08 Day 245
This morning started good. It eventually got worse, but then better. This morning, Lance Brasher, the partner Daddy works with who supports Dad and lives vicariously through him, and his daughter Bridget came to see us. They live up the nearby Severn River and drove to us at Bodkin Creek in their speedboat. They brought Entenmann's donuts and a cheese Danish twist which we are for breakfast.
After they left, we picked up the anchor and started sailing for the Magothy River. Josh and I did a bit of school while we sailed. Just before turning into the Magothy River, Mom and dad decided that we should sail on to Annapolis, MD. We anchored in front of the Naval Academy. Nearby were Bob and Suzanne on s/v Brittany de la Mer, John and Mary on s/v Mary Lee, and some other boats we know. It is packed because of the United States Sailboat Show that starts in a few days. Everybody is going there.
We got together with Bob and Suzanne this evening. We had dinner on their boat and practically stayed all night. Josh and I watched Rin Tin Tin. We stayed until 11:00pm. I'm tired, so I'm going to keep this short. Good night.
Monday, 10/6/08 Day 246
Being in Annapolis, MD instead of the Magothy River turned out not to be so bad. The largest boat show in the country is getting set up, and tons of people are arriving daily. This morning, a friend who was able to get a mooring ball a few days back called and told us that a boat was leaving from a mooring ball. We took advantage of that info and, after confirming with the departing boat, brought Liberty over to the mooring field. We were able to get the ball by putting our boat as still in one place as we could to wait until the other boat left. That is a plus because the mooring balls are good priced ($25/night) and they include shower and laundry facilities at the Harbormaster's office.
We did school and were finished by lunch. During school, a man on a boat going back into the Spa Creek anchorage yelled to Dad in the cockpit, "Gohlke?! Is that you?" It was s/v Imagine, a sailboat from Chicago that has 3 kids on board. After school, we dinghied over to say hi before taking showers. We ended up being invited on board and spent a couple of hours playing and talking. The 3 kids are Noah (6), Grant (8), and Caroline (9). They have a great Lego collection that we all played with. We had fun.
During that dinghy ride in Spa Creek, we met two other boats with kids and a boat we were looking for. We took showers and walked around a bit. The town is pretty cool. We then came home and had a quick supper.
Today was fun. I hope we get together with s/v Imagine again soon. I can't wait until the boat show starts. That should be cool. Today was great.
Tuesday, 10/7/08 Day 248
Today was pretty good. We walked a bit. Actually, we walked a ton! Luckily, I had my scooter. But it's still a lot of pushing with my legs. We went miles!
Our walking/scootering started before breakfast. We went to Chick & Ruth's for breakfast. It is famous in Annapolis. It has been here for, like, forever. The statesmen go there because it is next to the capital building. It is also very popular with the Navy guys and the cruisers. The cruisers meet there on Wednesday. The Navy Chaplains and staff from the Academy meet on Tuesday s. We saw a lot of Navy guys. They ranged in rank form Ensign (O1, or Second Lieutenant) al the way to Commander (O5, or Lieutenant Colonel). That was awesome!!! The food was great too! I had a Belgian waffle and one egg over-easy. I was stuffed when I was done! Another cool thing about Chick & Ruth's is that they say the Pledge of Allegiance!! They do that every day at 8:30am. They are the only place, shy of school, where I know to do that! It's not bad, just different.
After breakfast, we went to the grocery store. We were told that it was only a mile or so away, so we walked/scootered. It turned out to be 3 ½ miles away!! Luckily, we met a cruising couple in the store who took us to a free bus that took us back to the dinghy dock!!! How stupid are we!!??!!
After taking the groceries and scooters back to the boat, we walked to the Naval Academy. As long as you show an ID, you are free to walk the grounds. We just walked around. We went to the Visitor's Center and saw a movie about the Academy. Walking around, we saw lots of midshipmen. Midshipmen are what the Navy calls their cadets. We also watched them do sports like lacrosse, track, sailing, and javelin throwing. That latter was cool to watch. I like the Academy. There are a lot of trees and squirrels. It is almost as pretty as West Point. I think West Point is prettier, but Mom disagrees.
We had skipped lunch, so we grabbed a quick supper on the way home. I am tired. I think we all are. I should go to sleep.
We did almost nothing today. We did a lot of school. A storm came. Mom didn't feel good. This evening we played Jenga. I am about to go read Brisingr. It is a good book. I am on page 612 of 755. Bye Bye.
Thursday, 10/2/08 Day 243
Today was pretty good. We started pretty early, in the cold. The wind, current, and waves were against us, so it was as rough as offshore. We went down the Chesapeake Bay to the Sassafras River, MD. Once we entered the river, it was no longer rough and was a nice sail.
We anchored at the mouth of Back Creek, a tributary to the Sassafras River. We dinghied in to the Mt. Harmon Tobacco Plantation to check it our and try to take a tour. We had some fun on our way to the manor house by running through the forest trails. We accidentally lost Dad. I got scratched up by thorn bushes. We ambushed Mom, but we were found out.
We took a tour of the manor house. There were a lot of antiques. Our long-winded tour guide gave us a huge explanation and story for every piece and thought I interrupted a lot. I think that she just wouldn't shut up! It got boring.
I really liked the Prize House. There, they pressed two 400 lb. barrels of tobacco into one, using a machine. It was pretty cool.
We got back to the boat and sailed an hour up to Georgetown, MD. It is pretty. I finished by book, Brisingr, during the sail. That was a good book.
For dinner, we had leftovers made into Asian Peanut Pork with carrots, celery, squash L, and pasta. It was good. We were going to watch the Vice Presidential Debate on CNN.com, but things got ... wild. Whatever, tomorrow will be better.
Friday, 10/3/08 Day 244
Today was great! We had a great quick day of school, ending completely by lunchtime. After lunch, we were all eager to get off the boat and go dinghy exploring!
It is very scenic here on the Sassafras. There are lots of herons, waterfowl, gulls, other birds like kingfishers, and people even there are bald eagles and deer. There is also some fall color! There are a lot of "creeks" off the river. Only about half of them are truly creeks. The other half are long, very shallow coves.
We explored Mill Creek today. It is a real creek that winds all the way into a little dam that controls the water flow from a higher lake. We saw frogs, schools of baitfish, a turtle or two, dragonflies, butterflies, other insects and bugs, plus herons, egrets, gulls, ducks, geese, kingfishers, and other small birds. The landscape was beautiful. There are hills covered with dense forests and the occasional house.
We got out to explore at the dam. We got out to explore at the dam. We kind of ignored the No Trespassing signs and went to explore the deserted forest. At first, Mom and Dad stayed behind. Josh and I found walking sticks and explored. We found this huge dead tree that had fallen, creating a bridge to a high branch on a huge tree. I got up it about half-way. At the end, it was about 20-25 ft. off the ground. That's pretty dang high.
Soon after I got off the fallen tree, Mom and Dad ambushed us while we were dueling. It was Dad versus Josh and me. Dad had the high ground. He killed Josh. I broke his sword down to nothing with mine. It ended in a draw. I showed Mom and Dad the fallen tree. They convinced me to go all the way to the top. Mom got some great pics! As we went back to the boat, Dad saved my life. I was hurtling down a hill, but got out of control and was going straight for a huge, broken log whose end was a giant spike. Dad caught me before I hit, thank the Lord!
As we were climbing across some rocks into the dinghy, we saw about 2 ½ feet of a snake slithering through the rocks. It was a cottonmouth water moccasin, we think! Those are really poisonous! It was a good 5 in. in diameter! Judging by that, it was probably 5 - 6 ft. long! Mom was very scared of it. It slithered into the rocks and we didn't know where it went. As Mom was getting in the dinghy, I shouted, "There it is!" and pointed. She got so scared that she almost fell into the water! I burst out laughing, but everyone else looked unhappy.
We stopped at a marina to drop off trash and pop into a marine store. Then we went home. We ate supper and watched a movie. That was the worst part of the day. We were going to watch this awesome new movie we just got, but it wouldn't play. We have to return it. Instead, we watched Shiloh, a movie I don't like very much. But the vote was 3 to 1. After the movie, Josh and I got into a fight and everybody went to bed with hard feelings. The day was great, nonetheless.
Saturday, 10/4/08 Day 245
Our plan today was to do school this morning and, like yesterday, go dinghy exploring u the Sassafras River in the afternoon. But halfway through school, Dad decided that we should go dinghy exploring right then and leave around lunchtime for a creek down the bay, for a number of reasons. So, we stopped school and went exploring. We went into a good bunch of creeks and landed twice, but never for long. Our exploration wasn't half as exciting as yesterday.
We left and sailed for the rest of the day for Bodkin Creek. I did school for almost the whole time. We got to Bodkin Creek around sunset. Nobody wanted to cook or do dishes, so we dinghied to Props, a restaurant up the creek. The food was crummy and expensive. None of us had a good meal.
We are going to the Magothy River tomorrow. I think it will be something like the Sassafras River. There seem to be a lot of tributary creeks to dinghy explore. I can't wait!
Sunday, 10/5/08 Day 245
This morning started good. It eventually got worse, but then better. This morning, Lance Brasher, the partner Daddy works with who supports Dad and lives vicariously through him, and his daughter Bridget came to see us. They live up the nearby Severn River and drove to us at Bodkin Creek in their speedboat. They brought Entenmann's donuts and a cheese Danish twist which we are for breakfast.
After they left, we picked up the anchor and started sailing for the Magothy River. Josh and I did a bit of school while we sailed. Just before turning into the Magothy River, Mom and dad decided that we should sail on to Annapolis, MD. We anchored in front of the Naval Academy. Nearby were Bob and Suzanne on s/v Brittany de la Mer, John and Mary on s/v Mary Lee, and some other boats we know. It is packed because of the United States Sailboat Show that starts in a few days. Everybody is going there.
We got together with Bob and Suzanne this evening. We had dinner on their boat and practically stayed all night. Josh and I watched Rin Tin Tin. We stayed until 11:00pm. I'm tired, so I'm going to keep this short. Good night.
Monday, 10/6/08 Day 246
Being in Annapolis, MD instead of the Magothy River turned out not to be so bad. The largest boat show in the country is getting set up, and tons of people are arriving daily. This morning, a friend who was able to get a mooring ball a few days back called and told us that a boat was leaving from a mooring ball. We took advantage of that info and, after confirming with the departing boat, brought Liberty over to the mooring field. We were able to get the ball by putting our boat as still in one place as we could to wait until the other boat left. That is a plus because the mooring balls are good priced ($25/night) and they include shower and laundry facilities at the Harbormaster's office.
We did school and were finished by lunch. During school, a man on a boat going back into the Spa Creek anchorage yelled to Dad in the cockpit, "Gohlke?! Is that you?" It was s/v Imagine, a sailboat from Chicago that has 3 kids on board. After school, we dinghied over to say hi before taking showers. We ended up being invited on board and spent a couple of hours playing and talking. The 3 kids are Noah (6), Grant (8), and Caroline (9). They have a great Lego collection that we all played with. We had fun.
During that dinghy ride in Spa Creek, we met two other boats with kids and a boat we were looking for. We took showers and walked around a bit. The town is pretty cool. We then came home and had a quick supper.
Today was fun. I hope we get together with s/v Imagine again soon. I can't wait until the boat show starts. That should be cool. Today was great.
Tuesday, 10/7/08 Day 248
Today was pretty good. We walked a bit. Actually, we walked a ton! Luckily, I had my scooter. But it's still a lot of pushing with my legs. We went miles!
Our walking/scootering started before breakfast. We went to Chick & Ruth's for breakfast. It is famous in Annapolis. It has been here for, like, forever. The statesmen go there because it is next to the capital building. It is also very popular with the Navy guys and the cruisers. The cruisers meet there on Wednesday. The Navy Chaplains and staff from the Academy meet on Tuesday s. We saw a lot of Navy guys. They ranged in rank form Ensign (O1, or Second Lieutenant) al the way to Commander (O5, or Lieutenant Colonel). That was awesome!!! The food was great too! I had a Belgian waffle and one egg over-easy. I was stuffed when I was done! Another cool thing about Chick & Ruth's is that they say the Pledge of Allegiance!! They do that every day at 8:30am. They are the only place, shy of school, where I know to do that! It's not bad, just different.
After breakfast, we went to the grocery store. We were told that it was only a mile or so away, so we walked/scootered. It turned out to be 3 ½ miles away!! Luckily, we met a cruising couple in the store who took us to a free bus that took us back to the dinghy dock!!! How stupid are we!!??!!
After taking the groceries and scooters back to the boat, we walked to the Naval Academy. As long as you show an ID, you are free to walk the grounds. We just walked around. We went to the Visitor's Center and saw a movie about the Academy. Walking around, we saw lots of midshipmen. Midshipmen are what the Navy calls their cadets. We also watched them do sports like lacrosse, track, sailing, and javelin throwing. That latter was cool to watch. I like the Academy. There are a lot of trees and squirrels. It is almost as pretty as West Point. I think West Point is prettier, but Mom disagrees.
We had skipped lunch, so we grabbed a quick supper on the way home. I am tired. I think we all are. I should go to sleep.
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