10/13/12 Chesapeake City to Solomon Island

Hi everyone,
Since I last wrote a post a lot of stuff has happened. From Chesapeake City we sailed to Baltimore, where we anchored in the inner harbor (less than a hundred feet from the World Trade Center) and spent a night feeling wonderfully out of place in the middle of a bustling city. That night the Baltimore Orioles played the Yankees at a nearby stadium, and we could hear the roar of the crowds every time someone made a home run. It was very exciting. The next morning we moved a mile away to a local marina, where we took on more water and spent a night with the heat on, a first for the trip. The heater in Julia's room didn't work, while mine did. Suddenly, the cat was my new best friend! That day we walked along the shoreline of Baltimore, took lots of photos, and generally had a good time. Even during the off-season for tourism, there were still a lot of people and a lot to see and do. The next morning we spent all day traveling, during which time we doing school work and other less interesting tasks. With one night stopover in a small inlet inside of Gibson Island, we arrived at Annapolis the next day. We anchored just off of the soccer and football fields of the naval academy. While at Annapolis we toured the naval academy, explored town, and went to the boat show that was taking place at the time. In town, Julia and I found a shop that sold fudge, and we bought a pound and a half to take back to the boat. While on the boat, swarms of small sailboats would come out to join us and the other boats in the anchorage. Other highlights include seeing an F-16 fighter plane in flight circling the academy, and waking up to the sound of a 50-cal machine gun being fired. After deciding that our next major stop would be Washington D.C., we embarked today on the first of a three-day trip up the Potomac river. Right now we are in Solomon Island, Maryland. Tomorrow we will continue up the Potomac river, and my next blog post should be about everything we do and see in Washington D.C.
-Paul

A zebra that we saw en route to Baltimore. I thought Dad was kidding when he told me... 

The buoy at the entrance to Baltimore that marks where Francis Scott Key wrote the
Star Spangled Banner while imprisoned on a British ship.

A Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum in Baltimore.

A decommissioned submarine in Baltimore.

Me holding a 10,000 pound "marble" in front of Ripley's museum. It floats on a sheet of water 1/254 of an inch thick and can be pushed to go in a particular direction with a good shove.

Julia standing in front of a Bumblebee statue made of used car parts at Ripley's. 

A wall of soda cans that make Michael Jackson's face. You may have to stand back a ways to see it,
but the King of Pop is there. 

The family in front of an interesting statue in a traffic circle in Baltimore. 

A panorama of the statue.

A shop that sold only candy and other sugary treats.

A giant snickers bar...

A wall of M&M's containing every flavor ever invented. Awesome, no?

Dad, Julia, and I outside a bar where we had apps.

Us on a seawall of the Naval Academy.

Some of the boats at the Academy. Lasers, F-J's, and more, for those of you who are familiar with small boats. 

Their fleet of 44 foot training boats. All of the boats had very patriotic names. Fearless, Bravery, Justice, etc. 

Buildings at the Naval Academy.

More buildings.

The main hall/ assembly area.

The inside of the main hall. Huge, vaulted ceilings, beautiful stone floors... These pictures really don't do it justice. 

A stained glass window in the main hall.

One of the rooms in the main hall.

The ceiling, complete with two huge chandeliers and many other accents. 

The view out the front steps of the hall. 

A ship in the museum at the academy. The interesting thing is that it is made of bone. It was
made by French prisoners with time on their hands and apparently the ability to
catch small animals.

A man flying with a water-powered jet pack at the Annapolis boat show. These things are insanely expensive and very rare.
Look up videos of them on YouTube and you will be amazed.

A very zoomed-in shot of an F-16 over Annapolis. When I took it the pilot was
probably doing around 500 to 600 miles per hour.