We are making good use of our time with the boat at the dock. We took time to do some of the tourist things in Solomons. The Calvert Marine Museum is particularly well done. It is small enough to view in an afternoon, but complete enough to revisit many times to delve deeper into the exhibits. We were truly impressed and will return.

There is so much more there, good boating infrastructure, great restaurants, and a tiki-bar we still need to visit. One small downside is that all gasoline has ethanol. That stuff is very hard on small engine fuel systems. I’m sure it’s a coincidence but our little outboard quit running immediately after filling the tank with new fuel.

We have returned to New Bern for the FHYC meetings next week. We will do some garden/landscaping chores, get caught up on emails, see a few friends and do tons of laundry.

Last year’s hard work and progress on the yard is suffering a bit from neglect, but everything remains alive and will rebound once we are back here on a more regular basis to care for it. We did an afternoon garden walk and Lynn pointed out several things I need to do while we are here. As usual, however, my list is shorter than hers.

Our son-in-law Chuck is checking on the boat every few days. What a reassurance that is for us.

The outboard is in a shop to clean the carburetor ($98/hour labor rate. OUCH!). The new hatch is ordered and should be installed by the time we return. We may have to stay another day or two past our planned departure to make sure we have settled up with the repairs and that everything is working as planned.

Weather permitting we will go as far north as Annapolis before turning south and visiting locations on the eastern shore and working our way back south and eventually home.