Blog # 8 The Potomac River

Blog #: The Potomac
May  23 - June 4th
First, here is a map of everywhere we have been so far if you are interested https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z9lhWtsm6sNQ.kk5KoaqHMNEw&usp=sharing
If someone knows how to copy the map into the blog let me know.
 
Traveling up the western shore of the Chesapeake to the town of Reedville, famous for its Maine (born in Brooklin) founder, Elijah Reed. He came down in 1865 and established the town and the menhaden fishery and made a killing doing so. There is still a menhaden industry today, but not what it was.

Reedville is still fishing

We didn’t actually see the town that day as our very pleasant Buzzards Point Marina was up the creek and and on the far side from town, so we biked the nearby roads and ate aboard. 

Buzzard's Point Marina, Reedville. Another Snow Goose here, but owners not aboard

The wheat is coming in around Reedville

However the next morning when we left the sheltering river and went round Smith Point into the Chesapeake we encountered some pretty unpleasant choppy swells, just not fun, so we put in at the closest spot, which was a very narrow channel into a lovely protected bay and the Smith Point Marina. It was a beautiful day and we took our bikes back into Reedville which was only 5 miles away by road. There is a fine Fisherman’s Museum and a great ice cream store, which also sells delicious clam chowder by the quart (dinner!) and it is altogether a lovely quiet town.
Monday the 24th, Memorial Day, we left at 6:15 am (a record for us) hoping to take advantage of lower morning winds in light of small craft advisory warnings. This time we were pleasantly surprised. We had thought to go only 15 or 20 miles in expectation of high winds but ended up going much farther. We made it to Colonial Beach around 3:00, a long day for us, and it was a challenge getting into our 4 piling, quarter finger slip pier with an on shore wind. The calm and helpful owner of the Boat House Marina, Bill, was wonderfully patient and we liked the place once secure. The  town has water on both sides and is filled with little modest houses, simple and sweet with a good community feel.

The beach at Colonial Beach

We joined Bill and friends and other Loopers we had met before for a Memorial Day cookout pot luck. The other Loopers boat is named Quo Vadimus (which, in case your latin is weak, translates as “where you going?”, and they registered it in “Nowhere, OK” which is a real place.

Next stop Occaquan, again farther than we thought we would get. It is reportedly a pretty quaint town. Our Marina was up the river, but not all the way up to the town. We tried to bike the one mile up to the but I freaked out, it was on Route 1, with heavy traffic and no sidewalks or bike lanes and way too much civilization. We turned back and never saw the place.

Mt Vernon by water is definitely the way to visit ”the most visited historical home in America”! 

View of Mt Vernon from the boat

 We anchored right in front of the mansion. We were the only boat there all afternoon and night, and there were no signs of development on either shore. There were hordes touring the grounds, 5000 school children scheduled during the day we were there, plus the rest of us, but even so you could find empty gardens and vistas. 

Mt Vernon gardens

George was a self taught architect. This is a 3 hole "necessary" on the grounds

The big house

Empty roadway, closed, but we didn't know that, beneath Mt Vernon, our boat to right

meticulous gardens

The Washington's view- preserved!

We saw the bed George died in, of a mysterious sore throat that nobody can figure out for sure, but the copious bleeding inflicted by the doctors didn’t help. He slowly asphyxiated over 2 days at age 67. We, however, had a glorious still night with fabulous clouds and sunset, communing with the founding family and their slaves.

Mt Vernon sunset from the boat

On to Washington and the Capital Yacht Club for a few days, right downtown and close to everything. 

Washington's Monument, from the boat. A far cry from George's Mt Vernon

Courtney & her Uncle Joel, beer before noon!

 The best part was getting to see the Davis girls, Courtney & Sara, our nieces & Helene Cognacca, niece-in law.

Hangin' on Snow Goose, Courtney, Sara, Julie & Helene

Sarah & Sara at the Newseum

Our Parkinson's display, we put it in the Capital Yacht Club lounge for a few days and Joel had some conversations

The first night Courtney came by after work and we got to see her beautiful new condo in Georgetown. She is still moving in, but the place is lovely, with the National Observatory out her windows, which means all big green trees and quiet. Nice dinner in the ever so charming ‘hood, and she took us grocery shopping to boot. Sara came on Friday, and Helene and sister-in law Julie came on Saturday. Friday Joel got a shipment of meat from Central Maine Meats, a business in Gardiner he has been helping out while aboard, and we had filet Mignon on the boat.
We had a great time at the Newseum, Sara and I saw a striking exhibit by the Iranian photographer and film maker Shirin Neshat at the Hirshorn. 

Sara and I at the National Gallery for lunch

Thanks to Sara’s connections we were able to get Saturday night reservations at Zaytinya’s. She works with the wife of the chef there, and not only did we get a good table, he came out and chatted, and comped us all desert. 

Helene, Sara, Courtney, Julie & Joel at Zaytinya's

It was truly a spectacular meal, with a lively and passionate waiter, we highly recommend this place. As an added bonus we glimpsed the Presidential motorcade as the Obamas went out to dinner nearby, to another restaurant also owned by Jose Andres. It was wonderful spending some time with these delightful engaged and engaging young women, what a great family!

Sunday we started back down the Potomac River with our dear Julie, glad for the breeze on the water. Its been very hot and very humid the last few days. We got Julie on board because she came to Washington to attend the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity. She has been to these before, but this time she and her colleagues were presenting the great work they have done at Colby to address race and to support students of color.

We pulled into Potomac Creek to anchor in the afternoon and enjoyed a swim off the boat and more filet Mignon with new potatoes and asparagus fresh from the farmers market in DC. Next day to Breton Bay and the Combs Creek Marina. 

Breton Bay. Just before the rain hit the water in the river turned a wonderful green

We have seen a ton of Osprey’s on this trip, but there were five full nests within sight of the boat, and a pair just beginning a new nest on top of flat topped boat  a few docks down. Those owners are going to be some surprised. 

Leaving Combs Creek Marina

No internet and barely phone service, and the only restaurant within miles not open. So we got another Julie feast of pasta prima whats-on-hand, followed by canasta, of course. Still hot and sticky.

Next day was comfortably cool and cloudy and we motored up the winding pastoral St Mary’s River to the dock at the college of St Mary’s, next to Historic St Mary’s. St Mary’s College is the honors college of the U of Maryland, small, and active from the looks of it. Sailing is part of the curriculum and lots of small boats and kayaks on the shore. The town was for a short time the capital of Maryland in the late 1600’s until they moved it to Annapolis, where upon it pretty much died until resurrected as a living history museum, complete with a reproduction of one of the ships the earliest English settlers came over in.

This guy has been in stocks for a long time...

Julie in the graveyard at St Mary's

A history tour with Julie is an education within an education. She is brilliant at gently engaging any and all, in this case docents, archeologists, scholars and school teachers, on questions of how slavery and race are researched and portrayed. We got a variety of somewhat contradictory responses but the bottom line seemed to be that yes a better job could be done, and should be, but it didn’t seem to be anyone’s top priority. We also learned about Margaret Brent, first woman to ask for the right to vote in 1648. She didn’t get it.  She probably also stopped a mutiny by making sure soldiers got paid after a skirmish and skillfully executing her brother's estate.

We finished the day back down the river a piece to Dennis Point Marina where again the Restaurant was closed and again chef Julie came up with some pretty tasty enchiladas, followed by … canasta. Next morning Julie got shuttled back to the airport and we are now vistor-less once more.

The Dove, came with the first Maryland English settlers in 1637

Heading north once more on the Chesapeake
Sarah & Joel