Rainy Day at Solomons MD

Last night we took the dinghy to Zahniser's Yacht Club for a nice dinner on the porch overlooking the docks.  On our way we found the boats of two other Looper friends moored on balls at Zahniser's.  We discovered where the Calvert Marine Museum was & plan to visit there tomorrow.  Then we were treated to a concert by The Band Perry!  They played at the amphitheater behind museum and boaters just line up along the waterway to listen.  They were loud enough that we could hear them up Back Creek where we were anchored.  The music stopped at 10p.

This morning we woke to a big surprise... NO WATER! Our water has lasted about 4 days but this time only 2 days!  We hope there is no leak and yes, I must learn to do better on conserving water and maybe I will just not wash my hair the rest of this year?!  Nix on showers...I'm going back to sponge bathing until I get the hang of this boating life.

So in stead of being tourists first thing we up anchored and cruised in a light rain to a close by marina for fuel, pump out and water.  I called them and they promised help on the dock as the wind was blowing.  I had rigged the lines for a port docking but we had to change to starboard at the last minute... I do feel a bit more confident doing the lines especially when the help on the dock knows nothing!  He was a high school kid working there only one month and apparently without instruction... he grabbed the spring line thinking it was the bow line pulling it forward which made the bow swing out... I told him what I heard in my ear from the Captain (head set) it was the wrong line and threw him the bow line and then had to run to the stern as the engines were stopped and we were blowing away from the dock.  I actually told the kid what to do!  Me?!  

This was our first fueling stop and we took on 205 gallons of diesel.... diesel is cheaper on the water but you don't want to know the other figure! Then we cruised back to our nice anchoring spot.  After lowering the anchor and making our grocery list Walter notice the anchor was dragging and we had to reset it which also meant I had to wash it down again as he brought it up.  I told the Captain there would be an extra charge for two wash downs in one day!  OOOOhhh, by aching back!

Dinghy Dock at Holiday Inn

Then we set out in the dinghy to find the dock at the Holiday Inn...went up a creek or two and finally called them and found the place... very small signage. We were able to borrow a boat cart and walked the mile to Food Lion in the light rain.  Before we left, I made the mistake of taking off my wool sweater and just wearing rain gear... I was chilled!  But the walk warmed us up and we were glad for the exercise.  I am also happy Walter got the large hard side dinghy (Boston Whaler) as it held all our purchases just fine & getting in & out of it is easy.  

It was raining harder by the time we got back so we have spent a quiet afternoon on the boat.  I worked at putting away groceries and rearranging things.  We have lots of storage space but knowing what to put on top so to speak making it easier to get to things more used, etc. will take some experience as we go along.  Walter spent time planning our next cruise to Oxford on Monday when we believe the weather will be better.