we do love that annapolis, don't we!?
it was back there once again this morning for a few things at target (they've got a escalator for shopping carts there!), and to the grocery store for provisions for the next couple weeks. yes, couple weeks! yippee! that's cause pam and owen and i are going gunkholing until annie and jason come to gunkhole with us some more. i think they'll be here july 6th or so! we will be dropping papa jerr bear off on the hard in the morning, and then will go where the wind takes us. it's nice to have guests, but we are both very much looking forward to having some time alone!
after our successful shopping trip we went to the old city dock and had sweet iced cream. t'was a rather hottish day, so the iced cream had no problem finding it's way into our mouths and on down to our innards.
when we'd stowed all our new gear and provisions onto cricket we slipped our slip at herrington harbour (not without a little windy, launchy drama... almost taking the gps reciever off her stern). headed over to pump the gunk out of our holding tank (did you know that you can actually see your little turds pump through the sucker device? pretty cool!). then it was out to the bay (herring bay), just around the corner. just 4 miles or so down the shore, and down the anchor. beautiful spot! we'd gotten the idea to stay here when we'd seen others doing the same when we came back to herrington last time. great spot with an expansive view of the bay on one side, and lovely views of the shores trees and cliffs and houses on the other. we all three had a cool swim around the boat (cricket looks so happy and beautiful from the water!). owen came out from the cabin, and was checking out the surroundings, even to the point of poking his head over the ladder! perhaps he wanted to have a little swim too? i doubt it, but he sure didn't seem to hold any grudges from being thrust into the water last time. he's been an amazing ship's cat!
we've been watching "skates" swim all around us this evening. skates are a form of a sea ray. they swim near the surface sometimes, and when they do they stick the ends of their two wing like fins up out of the water, and it looks like a couple of dancing sharks going by. very fun! the golden sunset behind the shore was so serene, with the silver sliver moon following close behind. amazing! as the stars were poking out we went below for one last game of cutthroat cribbage with jerr bear.
and now, to the sound of water gurgling around cricket's hull, i will go outside and gaze at the lights on the shore, and the lack of lights on the big water of the bay, and the twinkling lights of the heavens and breath some thankful breaths.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
20090624: today's adventures
pam and i are a bit red faced being here, back at herrington harbour. it seems a bit like, "here we go on our big adventure..." "here we are, back to the comforts of luxury." i know the true adventurers are thinking, "aha! they can't hack the real stuff! look at 'em crawling back with their tail tucked between their legs, just two days after they left! whimps!"
well, let me just say to you true adventurers, "you are wrong! we ARE true adventurers, just like you (however, less judgemental)! we came back for the sake of OTHERS! we came back for the sake of jerr bear, and his friends, joe and fran. we came back, so that papa jerry could get some ice and vodka. we came back so that we could take joe and fran out on the bay, so they could have their own little adventure on cricket. and besides, even though we came back, we still adventured plenty good. yeah! for instance, when we were out in the middle of the bay, and the wind died down, we swam with the jellies! yes, risking getting stung, and all of the oogly feelings associated with swimming with slimey, underwater things. and we've got 3 witnesses. and if that weren't enough adventure to prove our brave adventuring spirits, we took owen the cat, claws and all, into the water with us! so now HE's as much an adventurer as the rest of us true adventurers, huh!? AND, now that owen is one of us, he's adventuring himself right off the boat, down the long dock, and to the grassy shores. so not only are we true adventurers, but our true adventure aura is rubbing off on our cat!
and finally, our tails are not tucked between our legs. they are wagging, happily as ever."
so now that we've established that, let me just say we enjoyed a hot tub, a swim in the cool pool, and a nice shower... laundry tomorrow.
well, let me just say to you true adventurers, "you are wrong! we ARE true adventurers, just like you (however, less judgemental)! we came back for the sake of OTHERS! we came back for the sake of jerr bear, and his friends, joe and fran. we came back, so that papa jerry could get some ice and vodka. we came back so that we could take joe and fran out on the bay, so they could have their own little adventure on cricket. and besides, even though we came back, we still adventured plenty good. yeah! for instance, when we were out in the middle of the bay, and the wind died down, we swam with the jellies! yes, risking getting stung, and all of the oogly feelings associated with swimming with slimey, underwater things. and we've got 3 witnesses. and if that weren't enough adventure to prove our brave adventuring spirits, we took owen the cat, claws and all, into the water with us! so now HE's as much an adventurer as the rest of us true adventurers, huh!? AND, now that owen is one of us, he's adventuring himself right off the boat, down the long dock, and to the grassy shores. so not only are we true adventurers, but our true adventure aura is rubbing off on our cat!
and finally, our tails are not tucked between our legs. they are wagging, happily as ever."
so now that we've established that, let me just say we enjoyed a hot tub, a swim in the cool pool, and a nice shower... laundry tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
20090623: time ain't money. time is time, sweet time!
cricket has this cool little device as part of her electronic gizmo colection called "anchor watch." this nifty little feature allows you to sleep better because it will set off an alarm when your boat starts to drift when it's supposed to be anchored to whatever stuff makes up the bottom of the sea under your boat. around here the bottom under our boat is most often slick, silty mud. this is bad and good. not so good to hold a heavy boat that really wants to drift in the wind, but good because if you do go aground, it's softer than a babies butt, however, harder to get off of (i'm not 100% sure this is true, since i've never been stuck on a babies butt, but i have seen some stuff come from them that looks alot like the stuff that drips off our chain and anchor when we heave it up!). anyway... last night around 3am our anchor watch alarm woke pam and i up. we popped out of bed and got out on deck in a flash, expecting to find cricket drifting across the little inlet on a collision course with the most expensive boat she could find. we found no such thing. all we saw were the stars shining sweetly upon a shore that was staying right there where it was supposed to be. standing out there reminded me of the fire drills we'd have every now and then at school. like you'd be out there saying, "there's mr. ben's class, and there's mrs. pam's class, but where's mr jerry's class?" guess he knew it was just a drill, and had more important things to do in his classroom. mrs. pam and i went back to our classroom and did more important things too.
we had another wonderful sail today. we headed back to herrington harbor because we're meeting with some friends of papa jerry's tomorrow, and that is where p.j.'s borrowed car is located. we started out tacking here and there to avoid this and that, and did all this tacking like regular sailors! pretty soon we won't have to season our own finger food, we're getting so salty! we had a long time when the wind died to a dead calm, and we sat out there in the middle of the bay for hours waiting for a breeze. i loved that! i'd sit in the shade of a sail and read, or blog, or daydream, bird and boat watch, or look up at the clouds. there was no hurry. nowhere we had to be. and it's hard to run into anything when you're not moving! wonderful!
...we eventually motored to the marina, and (yippee!) pam did a fantastic job of docking the boat! great way to end a great day!
o. and a shower too.
we had another wonderful sail today. we headed back to herrington harbor because we're meeting with some friends of papa jerry's tomorrow, and that is where p.j.'s borrowed car is located. we started out tacking here and there to avoid this and that, and did all this tacking like regular sailors! pretty soon we won't have to season our own finger food, we're getting so salty! we had a long time when the wind died to a dead calm, and we sat out there in the middle of the bay for hours waiting for a breeze. i loved that! i'd sit in the shade of a sail and read, or blog, or daydream, bird and boat watch, or look up at the clouds. there was no hurry. nowhere we had to be. and it's hard to run into anything when you're not moving! wonderful!
...we eventually motored to the marina, and (yippee!) pam did a fantastic job of docking the boat! great way to end a great day!
o. and a shower too.
20090622: why be crabby?
we woke to a lovely, cool breeze blowing over the waters and into the hatch of our little bow cabin. the anchor chain runs out from the bowsprit (the pointy thing stickin' out in the front of the boat), so when you are at anchor your bow is always pointed into the wind (i'm sure you can work that one out in your noggin ; )... so, since our cute little hatch (that's the openy thing on the roof of our cabin) is pointed forward, we get a nice breeze throught it! nice, huh!? anyways, when i went up on deck it was an amazing view of the water (there you go, nola, i'm talking about the water ; ) of the bay with a jelly our two lazily drifting by. over to shore there were a few cozy cottages surrounded by green lawns and billowy green trees. i think it is very kind of folks to allow us to camp out in their beautiful, watery backyards. kind of reminds me of canoeing down the minnehaha creek with erick and anders last spring. over the stern (back of the boat) and across the water a ways there was a wildlife refuge with inlets and penninsulas(sp?) all along the unpopulated shore. best of both worlds! our Creator's nature and people's God given creative abilities.
we decided to head over to st. micheal's to check out that quant, historic port, and eat some crabs from "the crab claw" restaurant, which some friends from herrington harbor suggested. they said you really haven't toured the chesapeake until you've had a pile of crabs dumped on your table by the waitresses there. however, we had to wait for favorable tides to go there, so while we waited we took care of a few chores around the boat, one of which took me to the top of the mast. that was great fun! papa jerr bear and cap'n pam took turns hoisting me up there by way of the main halyard (that's the line (rope) that you hoist the mainsail up with). quite an unusual and fun veiw of cricket. i'll post some pictures on facebook, if i can find a way.
in the afternoon we left our anchorage and headed south to st. micheals. i'm not ashamed to say that we "ran aground" in the good, goopy chesapeake mud on our way to more open waters. there's a saying amoung sailors (especially chesapeake bay sailors) that goes something like, "there are two kinds of sailors. those who have run aground, and those that lie and say they've never run aground." we proudly joined that first group today, and had a fairly easy time getting off the bottom. we had a perfect tail wind and were able to sail "wing on wing." mainsail off to the port side (left, facing forward), and our big jib (sail in the front of the boat) sticking out on the staboard (right side of the boat facing forward). cricket did wonderfully, once again! it's amazing to me when you simply adjust this and that, and the wind and water's Masters and cricket do the rest! what a deal! we even learned a few new tricks that'll come in handy when pam and i make the big sailing trip.
we eventually found another cozy anchorage, and took jimminy (cricket's little dinghy) to town, observed how sweetly cozy the streets in town were (very), and got our fingers and faces full of crab goop. we even managed to get a little crab meat into out mouths. we'll definately be going back to that port to check out the town when we've got more time. we dinghyed back to cricket in the dark of night, and only bottomed the outboard out a couple times in the mud. exciting times.
when we got back to cricket we found three things. one: our anchor light doesn't work (that's a light on the top of the mast to let other boats know you're there in the dark of night). we'll have to look into that later. two: the boat had swung 180 degrees while we were gone. no big deal. just interesting... sort of. and three: and best of all, dear owen came out to greet us when we pulled the dinghy up to the side of the boat. couldn't have had a better welcome home!
we decided to head over to st. micheal's to check out that quant, historic port, and eat some crabs from "the crab claw" restaurant, which some friends from herrington harbor suggested. they said you really haven't toured the chesapeake until you've had a pile of crabs dumped on your table by the waitresses there. however, we had to wait for favorable tides to go there, so while we waited we took care of a few chores around the boat, one of which took me to the top of the mast. that was great fun! papa jerr bear and cap'n pam took turns hoisting me up there by way of the main halyard (that's the line (rope) that you hoist the mainsail up with). quite an unusual and fun veiw of cricket. i'll post some pictures on facebook, if i can find a way.
in the afternoon we left our anchorage and headed south to st. micheals. i'm not ashamed to say that we "ran aground" in the good, goopy chesapeake mud on our way to more open waters. there's a saying amoung sailors (especially chesapeake bay sailors) that goes something like, "there are two kinds of sailors. those who have run aground, and those that lie and say they've never run aground." we proudly joined that first group today, and had a fairly easy time getting off the bottom. we had a perfect tail wind and were able to sail "wing on wing." mainsail off to the port side (left, facing forward), and our big jib (sail in the front of the boat) sticking out on the staboard (right side of the boat facing forward). cricket did wonderfully, once again! it's amazing to me when you simply adjust this and that, and the wind and water's Masters and cricket do the rest! what a deal! we even learned a few new tricks that'll come in handy when pam and i make the big sailing trip.
we eventually found another cozy anchorage, and took jimminy (cricket's little dinghy) to town, observed how sweetly cozy the streets in town were (very), and got our fingers and faces full of crab goop. we even managed to get a little crab meat into out mouths. we'll definately be going back to that port to check out the town when we've got more time. we dinghyed back to cricket in the dark of night, and only bottomed the outboard out a couple times in the mud. exciting times.
when we got back to cricket we found three things. one: our anchor light doesn't work (that's a light on the top of the mast to let other boats know you're there in the dark of night). we'll have to look into that later. two: the boat had swung 180 degrees while we were gone. no big deal. just interesting... sort of. and three: and best of all, dear owen came out to greet us when we pulled the dinghy up to the side of the boat. couldn't have had a better welcome home!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
20090621: smooth sailing and gunkholing
supremely happy! all 4 of us.
what a grand day of sailing. you know how completely happy stories make for the most boring tales? if i were to tell you all about all the details of the day today you would sit there pretending to be interested, while all the while yawning your brains out within. so let me just say two things. one; check out the new pictures on my facebook. two; cricket and her crew (including owen) did a job to be very proud of! today was true sailing into some fairly good winds, and we got the sail configuration just right, the trim just right, and The Lord and sweet cricket did all the rest! sailing up the bay, with the bow cheerily splashing up the bigger waves every so often. wow! wish you coulda been here with us today! and one of the best parts is that at the end of the day... no docking!! just slip into a quaint little bay, anchor up, and enjoy the evening! a little swim ( with just a slight sting of a jellyfish tentical), a little reading in the sunlit breeze, bbq in the stern, a pipe, trying to catch a crab, light conversation, beautiful sunset, and now the stars are coming out! you're bored now, aren't you? bored, and perhaps a little jealous, huh? someday come and join us! life is good! God is good!
o yeah. i haven't forgotton. i'll get to the less boring story of a couple of days ago soon. on a day that requires less soaking in.
what a grand day of sailing. you know how completely happy stories make for the most boring tales? if i were to tell you all about all the details of the day today you would sit there pretending to be interested, while all the while yawning your brains out within. so let me just say two things. one; check out the new pictures on my facebook. two; cricket and her crew (including owen) did a job to be very proud of! today was true sailing into some fairly good winds, and we got the sail configuration just right, the trim just right, and The Lord and sweet cricket did all the rest! sailing up the bay, with the bow cheerily splashing up the bigger waves every so often. wow! wish you coulda been here with us today! and one of the best parts is that at the end of the day... no docking!! just slip into a quaint little bay, anchor up, and enjoy the evening! a little swim ( with just a slight sting of a jellyfish tentical), a little reading in the sunlit breeze, bbq in the stern, a pipe, trying to catch a crab, light conversation, beautiful sunset, and now the stars are coming out! you're bored now, aren't you? bored, and perhaps a little jealous, huh? someday come and join us! life is good! God is good!
o yeah. i haven't forgotton. i'll get to the less boring story of a couple of days ago soon. on a day that requires less soaking in.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
20090620: a little about yesterday and today, a lot about turds
alright... as promised, i'd better address yesterday's happenings before i completely forget them (gettin' old!)... darn. too late!
just kidding.
as i said, we did go for a bit of a sail yesterday, and there was quite a lot of joy in being out on the water (finally! pinch me!), however, there were some moments of frustration, and one moment of sheer terror. let me just say this now, and all you sailors will totally be able to relate i'm sure; it's too bad that a perfectly lovely day of sailing has to end in docking procedures! it's too bad you can't dock at the beginning of the day to get it over with, and then end it with a big fat smile upon your contented face, sailing in the roomy, wide open spaces of the sea. but, no. until we are in heaven, every voyage must end with trying to squeeze your big, fat, expensive, slow to respond boat in between two other boats (usually more expensive than yours) and a few unyielding pylons. but i'm pumping a head before i crap here (a little nautical humor. hee, hee ; ) let me back up...
actually... it's late again, so please allow me to continue this story tomorrow.
but for now i will briefly recall today's news and hit the bunk:
we did a great job of keeping owen awake yesterday, so we actually got a great night's sleep. now if we could only figure out a way to keep his poops from being so stinky our dreams would have a better chance of being sweeter! our ship's head (fancy nautical term for toilet) is basically a part of our sleeping quarters, and we keep the kitty litter box in there, so our rapid eye movements can be disturbed whenever our noses perceive owen's not so rapid bowel movements. that poor kitty has been having a wee bout with diarrhea. it's not his fault. all i can say is thank God for ziplock bags and little breezes from overhead hatches!
i hate to harp on a subject, and i don't want to bore you, but i need to pump this out of my mind's bilge, so if your done hearing about owen and his litterbox skip down to the next paragraph.
owen has been a fantastic ship's cat. we could find no better. he's patient. he doesn't freak out with the many, many changes he's gone through on this trip. he doesn't hold any of his life's inconveniences and discomforts against us, though we are primarily responsible for them all. he is very fun to watch exploring the boat and his surrounding. he's friendly and very affectionate. and he's smart too. very smart! figures out tough cat puzzles all the time. but he's not so smart in one little area of his feline life... the little guy just can't figure out how to bury his stuff under the litter! maybe he's missing the poop-n-pee burying gene. maybe his mother allie (bless her heart) didn't get a chance to show him the skill before she disappeared. but for whatever reason he just doesn't have what it takes to do this seemingly simple task! and it's not from lack of trying. oh no! he claws and paws and scrapes and scratches in his litterbox for long periods of time (while we're trying to sleep in the same tiny room). but we'll hear him stop for a brief moment to smell if the job's done, realize it is not done, and continue to paw and paw and paw the walls around his kitty box. yes, the walls! he has no idea that must paw the litter. keeps right on with the walls as if that was the main idea. i've tried to help him, short of crapping in the box myself. i've even taken his paws and helped him bury his dodo, but he just doesn't get it. finally, from the bed i can hear him give the walls one last burst of pure frustration, and in one motion scrape and leap out of the box, then jump upon the bed and look at us with his cute yellow eyes as if to say, "i'm sorry. i just don't get it... oh, and sorry about those little bits of litter i just got on your bed" typically i will lay there for a bit in pure wonder of owen's disability. then i try to tell myself that i can sleep with the scent lingering heavily in the air, and finally get up, and with the scoop cover owen's poop myself... does this make me an enabler?
wow. that took a bit of telling.
anyways, as i was saying... we got a good night's sleep, and woke up to the offer of papa jerry buying us breakfast. who'd refuse that? not us. so we jumped in his borrowed caddy and went to a local cafe. very nice to fill up on pancakes, eggs, potatoes, and sausage. pam had "shit on a shingle," as jerr bear called it. oh, and coffee too, of course.
then we sat in the ship's cabin and scratched our heads for a long time as to why the tachometer for our engine won't work. it still doesn't work. then we drove to annapolis for boat stuff, groceries, weatherstripping, and ice cream.
showers for all tonight because who knows when our next one will be because... we're off gunkholing tomorrow! yippeeee!!!
just kidding.
as i said, we did go for a bit of a sail yesterday, and there was quite a lot of joy in being out on the water (finally! pinch me!), however, there were some moments of frustration, and one moment of sheer terror. let me just say this now, and all you sailors will totally be able to relate i'm sure; it's too bad that a perfectly lovely day of sailing has to end in docking procedures! it's too bad you can't dock at the beginning of the day to get it over with, and then end it with a big fat smile upon your contented face, sailing in the roomy, wide open spaces of the sea. but, no. until we are in heaven, every voyage must end with trying to squeeze your big, fat, expensive, slow to respond boat in between two other boats (usually more expensive than yours) and a few unyielding pylons. but i'm pumping a head before i crap here (a little nautical humor. hee, hee ; ) let me back up...
actually... it's late again, so please allow me to continue this story tomorrow.
but for now i will briefly recall today's news and hit the bunk:
we did a great job of keeping owen awake yesterday, so we actually got a great night's sleep. now if we could only figure out a way to keep his poops from being so stinky our dreams would have a better chance of being sweeter! our ship's head (fancy nautical term for toilet) is basically a part of our sleeping quarters, and we keep the kitty litter box in there, so our rapid eye movements can be disturbed whenever our noses perceive owen's not so rapid bowel movements. that poor kitty has been having a wee bout with diarrhea. it's not his fault. all i can say is thank God for ziplock bags and little breezes from overhead hatches!
i hate to harp on a subject, and i don't want to bore you, but i need to pump this out of my mind's bilge, so if your done hearing about owen and his litterbox skip down to the next paragraph.
owen has been a fantastic ship's cat. we could find no better. he's patient. he doesn't freak out with the many, many changes he's gone through on this trip. he doesn't hold any of his life's inconveniences and discomforts against us, though we are primarily responsible for them all. he is very fun to watch exploring the boat and his surrounding. he's friendly and very affectionate. and he's smart too. very smart! figures out tough cat puzzles all the time. but he's not so smart in one little area of his feline life... the little guy just can't figure out how to bury his stuff under the litter! maybe he's missing the poop-n-pee burying gene. maybe his mother allie (bless her heart) didn't get a chance to show him the skill before she disappeared. but for whatever reason he just doesn't have what it takes to do this seemingly simple task! and it's not from lack of trying. oh no! he claws and paws and scrapes and scratches in his litterbox for long periods of time (while we're trying to sleep in the same tiny room). but we'll hear him stop for a brief moment to smell if the job's done, realize it is not done, and continue to paw and paw and paw the walls around his kitty box. yes, the walls! he has no idea that must paw the litter. keeps right on with the walls as if that was the main idea. i've tried to help him, short of crapping in the box myself. i've even taken his paws and helped him bury his dodo, but he just doesn't get it. finally, from the bed i can hear him give the walls one last burst of pure frustration, and in one motion scrape and leap out of the box, then jump upon the bed and look at us with his cute yellow eyes as if to say, "i'm sorry. i just don't get it... oh, and sorry about those little bits of litter i just got on your bed" typically i will lay there for a bit in pure wonder of owen's disability. then i try to tell myself that i can sleep with the scent lingering heavily in the air, and finally get up, and with the scoop cover owen's poop myself... does this make me an enabler?
wow. that took a bit of telling.
anyways, as i was saying... we got a good night's sleep, and woke up to the offer of papa jerry buying us breakfast. who'd refuse that? not us. so we jumped in his borrowed caddy and went to a local cafe. very nice to fill up on pancakes, eggs, potatoes, and sausage. pam had "shit on a shingle," as jerr bear called it. oh, and coffee too, of course.
then we sat in the ship's cabin and scratched our heads for a long time as to why the tachometer for our engine won't work. it still doesn't work. then we drove to annapolis for boat stuff, groceries, weatherstripping, and ice cream.
showers for all tonight because who knows when our next one will be because... we're off gunkholing tomorrow! yippeeee!!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
20090619: cricket sails!
we had a wonderful little sail on the bay today!
we are all a little redder of face and wiser of mind.
lots of sun, lots of lessons.
i hope you don't mind if i fill in the details tomorrow.
tired.
we are all a little redder of face and wiser of mind.
lots of sun, lots of lessons.
i hope you don't mind if i fill in the details tomorrow.
tired.
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