Sat, June 3 -Cape May to Atlantic City

Sat, June 3 - Cape May to Atlantic City

With no current in the marina at a 7 am departure, we headed to the ocean.  We were a little anxious, as this part of the trip depends very much on the predicted forecast, weather and waves conditions.  Once again our prayers were answered with calm seas.  The day was sunny and made for a comfortable ride into Atlantic City NJ.  We docked at a small family owned marina - Kammerman's - the docks were a little rundown but our hosts were helpful and great.  Got the bikes out for our ride to explore.  The boardwalk was nice - clean, wide and well maintained.  The commercial venues consisted of t-shirt shops, souvenir shops, restaurants and bars on the beach, some vacant store fronts and closed casinos and of course open casinos.  We walked the boardwalk with the rest of the visitors and locals, enjoyed dinner at the Food Truck Festival and Pam even won some cash at the casino.  At the deck area at the marina we enjoyed cocktails and chatting with Chris and Stacy, the owners of the marina.  Early to bed cause early to rise tomorrow.

Our armada arriving in Atlantic City. Sequest on the left

and Short Vacttion on the right

My new car, I hope. I bought a chance on it anyway.

If I win it, John and I are doing a road trip

The famous "Atlantic City Boardwalk"

Food Truck Festival, Mama's balls, excellant

 

Relaxing in the swing on the backyard deck

Evening in Atlantic City, the casinos across the

bay from our marina

Fri, June 2 -Delaware City to Cape May

Fri, June 2 - Delaware City to Cape May NJ

From the briefing last night, it was suggested we leave at 7 am. In that case, we would only go into the 2 knot current for a short time and then ride the current  down to Cape May at 9-11 knots, so that's what we did.  During the 7 hour ride, the water was calm at first, toward the mouth of the bay, the wind shifted and increased to produce a 2 foot chop.  The travel timing with the conditions were favorable so we arrived safely.  

 

 

 

 

Pulling into the marina was one of the challenges for the day.  At South Jersey Marina, a boater is expected to stern into the slip - which usually is no problem - but ahh the current.  It took the expertise of the captain, 3 dock-hands, the first mate and multiple attempts to get in without damaging the swim platform or boat rails.  Short vacation followed after multiple attempts and Seaquest ( Bruce and Bev) were also successful with a single screw engine and a bow thruster.  Once on dirt, the bikes were produced and the exploration of the town began.  Cape May has a nice "small town feel" mall district with shops and restaurants, even a Dairy Queen.  We rode along the Jersey shore and admired the many huge Victorian style mansions.  We encountered a number of other "Loopers" in town. One couple Colletta and I had met in Marathon this past winter when we were cruising the docks. Cocktail hour aboard Short Vacation, a luxurious shower and a comfy bed completed the day.

 

At the end of Delaware Bay you pull into the

Cape May Canal

The Cape May ferry that runs between Cape May and

Lewes, Delaware across the bay

The beach

A "Looper Bike Gang" Lost?

Early morning departure from Cape May to avoid the

current in the marina. Success!

Some of the attractions along the coast of New Jersey

as we headed north.

 

 

Tues, Wed, Thurs May 30, 31 June 1-Delaware City / Philadelphia

Tues, Wed, Thurs  May 30, 31, June 1 - Delaware City

Again a rainy morning - but today we have plans.  After a long delay, we finally got picked up by Enterprise, rented a car and headed into Philadelphia.  Since we are in the area and have to be here, this sightseeing trip fits perfectly into our schedule.  We went into the city and took a bus tour around town to get a lay of the land.  We will use this information to plan our more in-depth visit which will take place tomorrow.  The bus tour makes 27 stops and gives us a good opportunity to visit historical sights as well as general points of interest.  We ate beef and pork sandwiches at DiNic's in the Reading Terminal (an inside mall of eateries and meat  and fish and pastries stalls).  On the way to the boat, the boys needed a stop at Harbor Freight and Big Lots for, what they perceived as necessities.  We are resting up for tomorrows adventures.

Got ready to head into Philadelphia again only to see a tire pressure light on in the rental car.  We stopped by Enterprise, they sent us to a tire repair shop, they removed a screw and fixed the tire and we were on our way.  

Sandwiches at DiNic's in Reading Market Place

 
 

Our accomplices in good eating. John and Pam from

Short Vacation

 

 

Earle's Tire repair. Very fast and friendly

 

 

The visit in Philly was wonderful.  The town is full or history, Tom's favorite, and food, also Tom's favorite.  We walked in Ben Franklin's footsteps via a tour guide, saw the Liberty Bell up close, visited Independence Hall where the declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed, and viewed the city from the Observation deck - great view but no beer ( like Chicago).  Lunch consisted of the famous Philly Cheesesteak with cheese whiz.  - Delicious.  On the way back to the boat we stopped in Wilmington DL at Ironhall Brewery for burgers and here Tom got his beer.  Philadelphia is a nice town - we may be back sometime, maybe for a baseball game.

We returned the rental car today, but not before the girls ran errands for groceries and the guys ran errand for boat supplies and a Home Depot stop.  The rest of the day was spent tidying up the boat and preparing it for the next three long days of travel - engine checks, flybridge clean ups, stowing things away and general cleaning.  The weather briefing by Tim, the marina owner, confirmed that we would be leaving in the morning.  We enjoyed steaks grilled on the back of the boat and a relaxing evening.

One of few narrow streets in Philly. Most are very wide

to act as fire breaks in case of a massive fire

They do have a sense of humor

This church has the grave yard where Ben Franklin

in buried. He was a most remarkable man in an

era of many remarkable men

This was Clark our tour guy on our walking tour

Clark, again, a very knowledgeable and lover of

his city, Philadelphia

 

On a recommendation from some friends of our

son, Pete who live in Philly this was their choice

for lunch.

The cheese steaks were outstanding. Before we could

get the camera out 1/2 of John's sandwich was gone.

The room where the Declaration of Independence and our

Constitution were signed.

The Liberty Bell with a cutie

The famous "Rocky" steps from the movie

Preparing to take a long elevator ride to the

top

Ben Franklin's feet on the ground floor, his head was on

the 57th floor

View from the Observation Deck of the Ben Franklin Bridge

over the Delaware River

Philly's city hall, Impressively large

 

Sun and Mon, May 28,29 Delaware City Marina

Sun and Mon, May 28 and 29  Delaware City Marina

We woke up and headed to church - a small, old Methodist church.  The congregation was very small and older but very welcoming.  They also sang some of our favorite songs which is always enjoyable for us.  The difficult job for the day was for Tom to remove the anchor windlass from the bow of the boat so it can be sent out to have the motor repaired.  We are very thankful that John is always available and seems eager to help us with our projects.  We can get them done eventually but having John help makes the job more tolerable and productive for Tom.  Colletta is very thankful to have both of these men here.

We enjoyed pizza and conversation aboard Tinacious for the evening - a slow day.

On Memorial Day we awoke to rain again, however we gathered our gear and walked up to Patriot Point to observe a Memorial Day ceremony with the rest of the town.  There were many locals there and the program was excellent.  A naval reserve officer sang the National anthem, a speech by the VFW former post commander, a gun salute by a group of reserves, a cannon shot by a colonial reenactment group, and singing by the community choir - in which Tom and Pam proudly participated  and sang along.  The ceremony was solemn, respectful, honored the fallen heroes as well as the survivors, and veterans.  It was a pleasure to observe this holiday with these local veterans and townspeople.  We honored the holiday in Tom's favorite manner - with ice cream.  The afternoon was low key, went for a walk, tidied up the boat, and completed the evening by playing euchre again with Art and Pam and this time the girls won big!

 

The honor guard preparing the 21 gun salute

Pam and I in the community choir. The gentleman in the glasses

to my right is Tim, the owner of the marina at Delaware City. A really

great guy and pleasure to be around.

Doesn't everyone have their own cannon? Preparing

to fire.....

 

Notice the crowd and the guys next to the cannon

covering their ears....

Fire !!!

 

 

Sat, May 27, 2017 Sassafras River to Delaware City Marina

Sat, May 27  Sassafras River to Delaware City

The day looks good so we took on fuel and then headed down the river, to the Bay and then up into the C&D Canal.  There were more boats on the waterways, a sign that this is the beginning of the summer boating season.  The ride was calm and interesting.  Heading into Delaware City Marina was somewhat tricky but Tim, the dock master, gave specific directions and we came in smoothly.  The boat dock is a long face-dock in a narrow channel.  When we pulled our boat in the dock boys -Cory and Jack- were great.  They catch our lines and then ask if they can turn you around so you are ready to bow out for your departure.  They secure a bow line to the dock, push out the stern, let the current catch the stern and let the water do the work of turning the boat around.  It is amazing and fun to watch.  They also do it all the time - almost to every boat - so they are pros at the process.  We enjoyed meeting up with Pam and Art again, as well as having dinner with the whole gang including Foster and Susan too.  We enjoyed the live music at Crabby Dick's and also at Lewinsky's.  A good way to start the weekend.

Coming down the C& D canal. Long, narrow, lots of traffic

Coming into Delaware City Marina before the dock guys

spun the boat around. I have a video of it being done to our

cruising buddies but it wont up load to the blog. I will get some

technical help from John on Short Vacation and try to post it later.

 

 

Wed, Thurs, Fri May 24-26 Sassafras River Marina

Wed, Thurs, Fri May 24-26  Sassafras River Marina

We are here in the marina for a few days and hope to accomplish a few chores.  Since we have a car available to use, Colletta went shopping with the girls while Tom, John and Mark worked on Greeks Folly with the antenna and then the head.  Another day Tom and John took the car and did their shopping while Colletta worked on the computer and in the aft cabin.  Also the big event on Wednesday was that Mark and Becky had their new boat delivered to Duffy's marina and we all went to help and watch the exchange of ownership take place.  The 27 foot trailer-able tug boat is sure cute and sure small compared to what we are all use to.  Wednesday we then enjoyed dinner once again aboard Short Vacation and had a champagne toast to celebrate the new arrival.  Thursday we enjoyed dinner with fellow Loopers, Susan and Foster Schucker whom we have not seen since 2014.  On Friday, we waited patiently for the small outboard motor to be repaired.  It was the first day in about a week in which the sun shone, at least for awhile.  Also the wind blew from the west and blew water into the harbor which made for a very high water level.  Also the locals began to arrive and prepare their boats, washing and stocking, for the long holiday weekend.  We enjoyed our last dinner with Mark and Becky before they head back to Iowa and then return and start their adventure on their new boat. 

San Domingo Creek to Rock Hall MD Monday, May22,2017

Mon, May 22 San Domingo Creek to Rock Hall MD

It started raining in the night and continued most of the day.  Rain usually makes for calm seas as the rain beats down the waves.  That was the case today as the bay was flat except for the raindrop circles.  When pulling up the anchor, we saw that a waterman put a crab trot line in front of the boat.  The waterman, Lady B, is know to harass and aggravate cruisers.  As he watched us pull up the anchor, we avoided his line and his attitude and made it away cleanly.  Upon heading out of the Broad River, we saw 15-20 watermen working their trot lines in the pouring, constant rain.  A difficult way to make a living.  There was a lot of activity on the Bay today: charter fishing boats, watermen with fish lines and crab pots, cruisers moving north and south, and commercial ocean going ships - all in the constant falling rain.  It seemed as we pulled into Rock Hall, the rain eased fo the day and cloudy skies prevailed.  Pam and Art on Tinacious docked with our 2 boats and we enjoyed an evening together: dinner at Bay Wolf restaurant and musical entertainment of piano and a jazz singer at the Main Stay.  Back at the boats, Tom and Colletta then played cards, euchre, with Art and Pam and the girls got beat bad.  Didn't ruin Colletta's night tho, she still slept a baby.

The red thing in the middle of the picture is the float

for a crabber's trotline that he laid right in front of our boat.

 

Traffic going up the Chesapeake Bay