Week on the Chesapeake: Part 2

Wednesday and Thursday we were ‘on the hook’ or ‘anchored out’. We didn’t stay in marinas and weren’t near any towns. We stopped in Fairgale cove (or something along those lines) and then on the Sassafras River the next night.  Matt and I had a great time taking the dinghy out for a spin after work both evenings with a beer in hand to explore some of the smaller waterways, chase wildlife, and relax. One night was extremely calm and windless and we ate dinner on the bow and stayed out there sipping wine until almost 11. Every night we ate outside, though usually on the protected sundeck. One afternoon my mom took Matt in to shore on the dinghy, where he went for a run and them came back for a swim.

Home for the week

Matt 'helped' my Dad in the engine room

 

Friday we left Chesapeake Bay and made our way 13 miles through the C&D canal (Chesapeake and Delware) to the far end right where it meets Delaware Bay. We stayed at a great little marina in Delaware City that night. Delaware City is truly nothing to write home about, but had its share of great old houses just like each of the towns we stopped in throughout the week and also very friendly locals. The marina we stayed at had some kayaks laying around which they kindly allowed us to borrow (never hurts to ask!) so the four of us made our way up a side channel, to a smaller side channel, not going very far or fast but enjoying being out in the sun and a bit closer to the water.

Matt driving the boat

shallow

Throughout the week we feasted on delicious seafood, mostly crab – of both the crabcake and the softshell variety. The Chesapeake is well known for its crabs, and it was the right season for softshell crabs, which are caught only in the 24 period in which they molt, and you eat the entire thing (no shelling). Yum yum. The towns were charming, the scenery wonderful, and the trip all around relaxing. We had a great time getting caught up with my parents, seeing what their life was like this year, and they did everything possible to make it seem like vacation for us despite the fact that we had to work – we hardly touched a dish all week!

Saturday afternoon after kayaking we took a short taxi ride to Wilmington, Delaware, where we caught an Amtrak train up to NYC to wrap up the weekend. The train went 100mph and had us in NYC in under two hours – fantastic! To be continued…