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Blessing the Boats
May the Tide
That is entering even now
The lip of our understanding
Carry you out
Beyond the face of fear
May you kiss
The wind their turn from it
Certain that it will
Love your back. May you
Open your eyes to water
Water waving forever
And may you in you innocence
Sail through this to that.
By Lucille Clifton
More photos of St Marys, Solomons &
Herrington are in a photo gallery
ST.
MARY’S
Our first stop after
leaving DC was St. Mary’s. It was about a 10 hour cruise from Washington. St.
Mary’s was the site of the first settlement in Maryland. We put ourselves back
in time as we entered St. Mary’s river. Our anchorage is five miles up the
river in a protected cove called Horseshoe Bend. It’s right next to the site of
the early settlement and St. Mary’s College.
As we approached Horseshoe
Bend, we marveled at some of the old colonial estates on the shores. Their
massive green lawns and beautiful structures were a beautiful site. We passed a
waterman picking up his catch for the day and the design of the long low boat
was a picture perfect backdrop to the scenery. St. Mary’s sits on a knoll and
projects out into the river to make a narrowing of the river before you turn the
corner into Horseshoe Bend. There is not much there as the area is not built
up, so you can really put yourself back in time and imagine what it must have
been like in the 1645 when Governor Lord Calvert came up the river in their
wooden ship, the “Maryland Dove”, to find a place to practice their religious
freedoms. One of the old homes we passed was “Cross Manor” which is supposed to
be one of the oldest homes in Maryland dating back to 1644 on land granted to
Thomas Cornwallis. Our cruise book said the Ted Koppel and his wife are doing
an extensive restoration on the property to bring it back to its original
condition of the 17th century.
Our first glimpse of
anything resembling the old settlement was the church spire of Trinity Episcopal
Church built in the 19th century and we could see hints of gravestone
markers on the hill called Church Point as we passed by, heading for the cove
around the point. We could see what looked like an old brick building which is
a replica of the original State House built in 1676. Out on the point as you
turn there is a lonely little beach with a simple wooden cross. We were looking
for the replica of the Lord Calvert’s old sailing ship, the “Maryland Dove”,
that usually is docked the base of the hill, but there was no site of it. We
later found out that it was out on a visit to Cambridge across the bay and would
return the next day.
We anchored easily among
less than a handful of other boats. We could see the little sailing club on
shore. Their club house was lined up many small sailboats. The place was quiet
though, not a soul was to be seen. It was definitely the right place to come
anchor after the hustle and bustle of Washington DC and all the airplanes and
helicopters whizzing by over the boat. The chapel on the hill was clearly
visible now with the old grave stones on the grassy tall tree laden hill. In
the back were some beautiful brick buildings which must be part of the college.
It was late in the day and
I took Zig to shore on the kayak rather than bother Larry with getting the
dinghy down. It was a long day and we were both pretty tired. Ziggy went wild
on the shore as there were lots of squirrels which he chased all over the
hillside. He was having a ball after being confined to the boat it was a
perfect ending to his day. After running all the squirrels into their holes, he
ran back down to the shore. He jumped into the water to chasing little fish
that were jumping out of the water to escape him. He was having a great time.
I paddled along the shore with him for a long time letting him swim and chase
and get a good run. I was a little worried about the jelly fish stinging him
because the water was filled with them but there was no stopping him and he
didn’t seem bothered.
We had a nice dinner and a
quiet evening on the boat and then crashed. We almost couldn’t sleep because it
was so quiet.
The next day we got up
early, had some coffee and toast and headed to shore to see what was there. We
climbed the hill and walked through the graveyard that over looked the
anchorage. We had a nice view down the river. The large brick buildings that
we saw from the boat were part of the St. Mary’s College established in 1839 as
a finishing school for ladies and over the years has been transformed into a
high school, junior college and presently since 1964 a four year coeducational
college. It’s a beautiful school with wonderfully crafted brick buildings both
modern and old. It’s set nicely within the natural landscape with walking paths
the lead past old buildings and ponds graced by white geese. It’s truly a
serene location.
We meandered past the
church and wondered into Historic Village of St. Mary’s. It’s like a
Williamsburg concept but much less developed and more rustic. It was closed the
day we were there and we were able to walk the grounds freely. There were
several walking paths amid green pastures and space frame structures that were
built on original historic sites to indicate what had been there verified by
their extensive archaeological research. They have been able to reconstruct the
accurate layout of the original village. The space frames enabled you to expand
your imagination to fill the voids. There is a newly constructed tavern and
beer garden built to replicate what would have been there hundreds of years
ago. It would have been fun to try but sadly closed today. They serve food
similar to what would have been available to the settlers.
Many plaques scattered
throughout made our walk informative and interesting though we didn’t have the
enhancement of people dressed in costume play acting the daily life of the
settlers, we still got the picture. As we walked the length of the village into
the pasture area we noticed a brick structure going up and workers on primitive
scaffolding laying brick. We decided to take a closer look. We noticed a big
fellow on a small tractor mowing the pasture nearby. As we got closer to the
brick structure, he stopped his tractor and walked over to us. We were sure he
was going to tell us Ziggy wasn’t allowed or we weren’t allowed because the
village was closed. Instead he introduced himself and said that normally he was
a docent for the village but on his day off he was helping out cutting the field
and if we were interested he would give us a tour of the new recreation of the
original chapel. We were thrilled and he spend a good ¾ of an hour giving us a
most interesting tour of the workings of the chapel and other inside information
about the village and what they were trying to do. We are always amazed at the
friendly people we have met on the Chesapeake so far. Working up an appetite,
Larry asked him if there was a place to get a cup of coffee nearby. He pointed
to a large brick building at the college and said they have a great lunch. We
thanked him and he went back to his tractor and the mowing of the pasture.
The school was beautiful
as I mentioned, and the buildings, even the new ones were of such nice detail
and craftsmanship, I was truly impressed. We got a cafeteria style lunch and
they let us enjoy it out on their outside patio since we had Ziggy. We remarked
at what a nice stop this had been.
We meandered back to the
boat and past all the little sailboats lined up ready at a moments notice to go
racing. We read that the college takes sailing very seriously and they have a
huge regatta here each year.
We dined that evening in
the cafeteria. After dinner, we took a walk around the campus and pondered the
history of this setting. This was the site of the 4th permanent
European settlement in North America and was Maryland’s first capital until it
was moved to Annapolis in 1695. This settlement was an experiment in religious
tolerance and provided a place for people to live in harmony with their
beliefs. Guess this is an example of how our country began and today we are
trying to remove all resemblance of the original purpose of this country.
SOLOMON’S ISLAND
 Our
cruise from St. Mary’s to Solomon’s Island was pretty nondescript except for the
call on the radio by the navy to tell us to take a slight course change to avoid
the firing range in the Chesapeake. We passed a tall structure or platform with
white board-like targets but we didn’t see any navy ships or jets. Patuxent
Naval Station is nearby and is a naval research center. It is a testing station
for war weapons, etc. You can really feel the presence in the area.
Once we began the entry
into the Patuxent River we were swarmed over head by swift, stealth-like jet
fighters. The sound was overwhelming and the speed was soooo impressive as they
went by in a blink. The noise and vibration shuddered the area.
We entered the Patuxent
and took the first tributary to our right called Back Creek. We dropped anchor
right in the Creek’s cradle formed by Solomon’s Island. Solomon’s Island is a
well settle area compared to our last stop. Its one small marina after another
backed up by small little cottages that have been turned into restaurants, yacht
clubs, or stores. Just as we were getting ourselves settled, we got a call on
our radio. The little sailboat behind us said we were too close to him as he
had a rope rode and was going to be doing a 100 foot swing. He said our anchor
was probably on top of his too. We couldn’t believe it. We’ve anchored many
times and he was plenty far enough away.
I could tell Larry was
irritated as we had just cleaned the decks and put everything away. He looked
at the situation and said to me there was no way he could possibly swing and hit
us. Larry told him on the radio that we’d watch the situation.
We were hungry and there
were plenty of restaurants here so off we went in the dinghy to find some lunch.
We stopped by the nearby fuel dock first to fill up the dinghy tank and the girl
working there recommended the Captain’s Table down the way. She said it had
outdoor seating and Ziggy would be able to sit under the table she thought. We
cruised on down the river passing still more boats and marinas, it was amazing.
We found the Captain’s
Table hidden amongst the boats and buildings just past the Calvert Boat Museum.
It looked fun with an outdoor porch and grass down to the docks. We pulled up
and tied the dinghy to the docks. I went in ahead to ask if we could sit
outside with Zig and the woman very rudely said we can NOT allow dogs to sit on
the patio. I said I understood and would it be OK is he sat on the other side
of the railing. She took a look outside and said "NO, he couldn’t sit there but
I could tie him up on the light pole quite a ways from the deck in the sun." I
said I couldn’t tie him up there, that it was too hot to tie a dog in the sun
like that. She said “Well…. we can’t have dogs around the food! It’s not
sanitary!” She didn’t need to be that rude and I said that “I wasn’t tying him
up out there. That would be cruel. We’ll just leave.”
 When
we started to get back into the dinghy several people eating on the deck
including the outside waitress yelled to us. They asked if we were turned away
because of the dog. We said “yes” and everyone said to come back and he could
sit in the shade by the rail. We thanked everyone but said we didn’t feel
comfortable with that after the woman inside was so rude. One woman gave Ziggy
some dog biscuits and another nice lady from one of the nearby boats offered to
dog sit Ziggy on our boat while we ate! We thanked everyone and said we didn’t
feel like we could after she turned us away and left. They were all trying to
make suggestions and give directions where they thought we could go. We felt
better after everyone took Zig’s side.
We motored back down the
creek and found another place called the Dockside Diner. It was not as busy,
and they gladly accepted Ziggy. So we tied the dinghy up and sat outside on
their picnic tables. There were only two other people there. They were a
couple of older English ladies. We had to hold back from laughing because they
each had fly swatters and as they ate their lunch they were smacking and
swatting flies the whole time as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The flies
were swarming all around them. They weren’t nice dainty swipes from a couple of
elderly proper English ladies but big smacks that would that would every once in
awhile startle us. It still makes me laugh to think about it. It was
hilarious. They also had some smoke thing burning on the table which I imagine
was lit to help detract the flies but it wasn’t helping much.
We ordered lunch and asked
if we could have a “To Go” dish for some water for Ziggy. The waitress came
back with a doggie dish and said she could put some water in it. I looked at it
and it was filthy. I was kind of shocked and I guess she must have picked up on
my look and said she could wash it out for me. I said a ‘to go” dish would be
fine and then you don’t have to mess with washing that dirty thing out. So
after she brought me the “to go” dish I saw the owner chewing her out about it
and then he walked up to the table and said when people come here with dogs they
have water out of this dog dish an that’s how we do it and walked abruptly
away. I was beginning to wonder, are these people all crazy here?
When we got our lunch we
had the same problem with the flies as the English ladies but we were able to
eat our meal faster than they did. I covered what I wasn’t eating at the moment
on my plate with my napkin and kept the other hand swinging like a horse tail so
none could land. Larry pretty much did the same. I guess this trip has changed
me because it didn’t even bother me. It just felt
normal. I guess it’s just
par for the course when you go boating. I gulped that hamburger down so fast
and we were out of there before you knew it. Maybe they should call it Fly’s
Swatter Café instead.
We hopped back in the
dinghy and headed back to the boat to just make sure everything was OK. Things
looked fine with the boats on the swing. As we rode by the sailboat though, the
guy waved us down and said that our boats were “actually having contact” which
we had a hard time believing. Actually it was impossible because there was no
wind and the current hadn’t changed. Larry by now was getting really irritated
with this guy. He asked him “what do you want me to do, move the boat” and he
said “yes, if you could move it a couple feet”. We both looked at each other
and rolled our eyes. So when we got back to the boat we started the whole thing
all over again… pulled up the anchor, and other the other stuff that goes with
it and moved the boat. We moved more inside the cove but there really wasn’t
much room to anchor in here if he really swung the circle that he said he did.
He pretty much claimed the whole area with his ridiculousness. We anchored one
more time and thought we were not far enough away and then did it another and
final time. We didn’t want to get too close to the boats in the docks so we put
it in the best we could.
When all was said and done we don’t think we are any farther from him than we
were before, just a different position, but he seemed content. There is no way
our boats touched as that meant the wind that has been blowing in one direction
the entire day. It would mean that the wind stopped and blew the opposite
direction for 30 minutes, including the current. Now we were beginning to
wonder why no one else was anchored nearby, he probably did the same thing to
all the others and that’s why they are anchored further up the river.
Anyway, so far this place
has been a weird experience. Hope it gets better.
We needed some provisions
so we took the dinghy to the nearby Tiki Bar landing and got a number to call
for a taxi to take us to the grocery store which was too far to walk and carry
supplies back. I heard Larry on the cell phone saying, “sixteen dollars? What?
Sixteen dollars per person? What? You mean sixteen dollars per person to take
us a mile one way? That’s ridiculous!” He hung up (if you can hang up a cell
phone) and said they have to come too far to get us and that’s why they have to
charge so much. I suggested that we try to take the dinghy as far as we can up
the inlet and get as close as we can to where we think the grocery store is and
hoof it from there. So we did. It wasn’t bad at all. We lucked out and right
behind the Holiday Inn there was the Gourmet Grocery store, as they call it. It
had everything I needed and more. We packed up what we could carry and took it
back to the boat.
We had dinner that night
at the Lighthouse Inn right across from our boat. It had a large deck out front
and inside a tall ceilinged dining room. It seemed to be the busiest place
around. We sat inside as the inside dining looked more comfortable and a little
more upscale than the patio. We wanted to be a little pampered after the lunch
ordeal. We found out that the patio was a different restaurant and had a
different kitchen. It was nice atmosphere and nice décor and most of all it was
air conditioned and they didn’t serve the food on paper plates and plastic cups
as they did on the deck. We had a magnificent view of our boat as it sat in the
center of the small harbor. The late evening sun illuminated it only the way
nature can and it was stunning to look at. Too bad I didn’t have the camera so
we had to put the image to memory. The dinner was OK but the raw eggplant needs
some more thought as a vegetable side. Don’t know what they were thinking on
that one. Our waiter poured our coffee like the Turkish do by holding the cup
well below the table and pouring from high in the air. I don’t know how that
tied into the theme of the restaurant but it was fun to watch.
After dinner we picked
Ziggy up and took him for a walk around the side streets. The Tiki Bar was
hopping and continued on until way beyond after we fell asleep.
 The
next day, Larry was determined to get our propane tank filled as we were almost
empty and that would mean no cooking. He loaded the big thing in the dinghy
while Ziggy and I were walking the great new wooden boardwalk that the town has
built on the Patuxent side of Solomon’s Island. It had plaques along the walk
describing the local history of the area and was really enjoyable. The old
oyster factory now owned by the Calvert Museum is now a museum open to the
public and gives you a little insight into the island’s history and how oysters
were harvested and canned. Larry picked me up with the huge propane tank in the
dinghy and off we went down the inlet to find a place to fill it. We went to
Washburn’s Boatyard and asked a couple of the guys working there where we could
get the tank filled. They scratched their heads and said the only place they
new of was a long walk and with a tank like that, well it would be impossible.
They finally told us that we’d better take the yard’s truck and gave us
directions. Again, we were amazed by some of the people we met. They didn’t
know us from Adam and gave us the keys and off we went in this old jalopy. If
it wasn’t for their generosity we would not have been able to get the tank
filled.
 On
the way back to the boat we stopped at the Calvert Museum by docking our dinghy
at their dock. Larry took advantage and walked to West Marine nearby while I
walked through the great little museum. The Tennison Bugeye, the oldest
passenger carrying vessel was just leaving with a group of people for a tour of
the bay. The museum was great and gave a great in-depth history of the
evolution of boats and their styles on the Chesapeake. I also learned about
the local history during the War of 1812 when the British blocked off the entry
to the Patuxent River and burned and destroyed the surrounding areas on their
way up the River and crossed the land to burn to the ground Washington DC. In
the yard were many remnants of old boats on display. It was a great little
museum.
We could not find a place
open for lunch except for the Fly Swatter Café or the Captain’s Table we ate
lunch on the boat and slept the rest of the afternoon. The heat of the day just
put us right to sleep and it was so quiet. All these boats and no people
around. I guess the heat keeps them home.
That night we had a great
meal at D’Giovanni’s. It was more food than we could eat so we brought half of
it home. Tonight we gave in and put the A/C on. We thought to prematurely I
guess that the summer heat was subsiding but were mistaken. The heat and
humidity were at its strongest so we slept again in our air conditioned cocoon.
HERRINGTON HARBOR
 Herrington
Marina was to be a day or two vacation for us to rest up. As we neared the
first marker to start our turn into the approach to the marina we were over come
by crab pots. There were millions and as far as we could see. We were doing
our best to avoid them but not being familiar with how they lay in the
Chesapeake, we were uncertain is some were connected with lines or what they
were. We hailed the nearby crab boat to ask if they were linked and he advised
us to go around. Of course, we were in the midst of them now and just had to
meander around them. It was terrible. We finally managed to get clear of them
and head into the marina channel.
They had a long breakwater projecting out from the shore.
They docked us in the channel made by the breakwater. We didn’t like it at
first as it was a long way from the resort and we felt miffed that they stuck us
out there by ourselves. It wasn’t long though before we realized that this was
the place to be. As the marina started to fill up we realized we had the best
views, the best breezes on these hot muggy days and great boat watching as the
boats paraded by all day long. It was great.
 We
spent one day at the pool and just relaxed, ate and drank. It was definitely a
family place and not our preference for a quiet time but it was fine. We got
the bikes out and too long rides down the country roads and even to the next
town over where we found a lovely new restaurant. We did some antiquing and
just enjoyed the show for a few days before we headed up the Chesapeake to our
next stop, Annapolis.
More Photos of St Marys, Solomons &
Herrington
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