VIRGINIA TO MARYLAND

We left Coinjock and headed to Norfolk, Virginia which at Red Buoy #36 is known for being the official mile 0 on the Atlantic ICW. Norfolk has the world’s largest Naval Base on the planet and one of the nation’s oldest navy shipyards as well. As we approached Norfolk, there were working yards on either side of us and it was very busy as we entered into the marina. The first night we arrived there was a “Private” Concert right next to the marina which played very loud Rap Music almost until midnight! LOL Not so private. Norfolk was preparing to receive some of the Tall Sailing Ships that were making their way Northward and were working on creating welcome stations. We visited the Nautilus Museum and walked into town with our new Looper Aussie friends for dinner.

After the busyness and hubbub of Norfolk, it was so nice to spend a quiet, peaceful night in a secluded marina in Deltaville. The inlet is know as Stingray Point and I was honored to see 3 stingray swim by our boat the next morning as we headed to Solomon’s Island. Out in the distance, I saw a clouded line across the horizon and then I saw a clouded line moving upward. Pete and I were unsure as to what that was until we approached Solomon’s. That’s when we were rewarded with the Blue Angels practicing for their upcoming show at the Air Base. Solomon’s is a Yacht Club that welcomes AGLCA Members. We had fun riding our bikes to the grocery store, out to dinner, and to the museum and lighthouse. On Sunday, we sat on the dock right next to our boat and watched the fabulous NAS Patuxent River Air Show with the French acrobatic team – La Patrouille de France. The Air Show was a celebration of not only our nation’s 250th birthday, but also the 250 years of military cooperation between the US and France. Then came the Blue Angels doing the show we had seen them practicing for on our arrival. Quite an impressive day. The last day we had fun walking over to the Tiki Bar. And we spotted one of the Sail 250 tall ships arriving in the harbor.

Next stop Herrington North Marina in Deale, Maryland. We stopped here to check out the marina and its facilities as we hoped to leave Spring Fling here until next segment up on the hard and have some work done on her. We spent a few days checking the marina out and decided that we would choose this marina to leave her here.

Once we made our decision, we headed to Annapolis before ending this segment. Annapolis was founded in 1649 and was named for Princess Anne who later became Queen Anne. Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and a busy port on the Chesapeake Bay. It is located south of Baltimore and east of Washington D.C. A few nicknames include, “America’s Sailing Capital”, “Sailing Capital of the World”, Naptown, and Crabtown on the Bay. The harbor and the town itself are very close and an easy walk from one to the other. The town had an area with a memorial to Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley that included statues and plaques with inspirational quotes. We had fun exploring and we took a walking tour of the capital building, its surrounding areas as well as a stop at the Naval Academy where John McCain is buried. We also had dinner with some looper friends who we met a few years ago as we came down the inland rivers from Alabama to the Gulf.

Back to Herrington North and prepped Spring Fling for haul out. We packed up our stuff and prepared to head to Massachusetts.