Our 47 mile cruise over to Annapolis was a pleasant change after all the rain.  Chesapeake Bay was brimming with traffic, both pleasure and commercial.  As we turned up the Severn River we could see the busy Annapolis Harbor.

    

        

After passing the U.S. Naval Academy we entered the busiest waterway we have experienced,  “Ego Ally”.  This would be our home for the next 4 days.  It is officially the Annapolis City Dock but is a narrow water fairway with a turn basin (one way in and out).  We were fortunate enough to dock at Ego Alley, where there is an endless parade of boats – everything from paddle boarders to major yachts – maneuvering up and down the narrow canal showing off their boats.  Most definitely the place to see and be seen!

    

    

                        

Cafes… ducks…other Looper Boats (“Magic” and “Meraki”)….    

    

We had the perfect view of downtown Annapolis and the Naval Academy – and sailors filled the streets.  It was commissioning (graduation) week.

    

    

….tomorrow – The Naval Academy and The Blue Angles!

We are about “museum’ed out”, but a tour of the Naval Academy exceeded all expectations.

    

All of the students are housed under one roof and the dorm building covers a space of THIRTY ACRES!  Our tour guide introduced us to “second-in-command”, Captain Robert Chadwick (Dean of Midshipmen).  His daughter attends Belmont University in Nashville.

    

These are the homes of the officers……

    

The Naval Academy chapel was beautiful and moving.  A ship hangs in the rear alcove to bless all those who go to sea.

    

A memorial seat is forever present in memory of those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

The marble and bronze crypt below the chapel holds the remains of John Paul Jones, America’s first Naval hero.

    

This is commission (graduation) week at the academy.  Tradition holds that during this week, the freshman class has to top an obelisk (monument) in order to become midshipmen.  Prior to climbing the monument, the upperclassmen grease the obelisk with lard.  They top it by climbing and placing a sailor’s hat on top.  This is an annual tradition that took the freshmen over two hours to accomplish and was most entertaining.

    

We also visited the campus museum that houses hundreds of historical model ships.  Some even hand-carved from bones by French prisoners.

As part of graduation, The Blue Angels impressed us with a practice day and a show day that was spectacular.  If you have never seen on of these shows – do it!

            

Karen captures pictures from atop Kara Mia……we had a front-row seat!

    

Another “PICTORIAL – in an attempt to catch up on our blog……the rest of our stay in Annapolis.  With people everywhere, it was an awesome stop with so much to see and do….

From sunrise to sunset, and double rainbows in between…..

    

    

People lined the streets and docks to watch the Blue Angels perform and the continuous boat parade on Ego Alley…..

    

After day one, we scooted from the marina side (very expensive), to the city dock side (first come – first served), where we spent the next several days….

   

The elementary school was within sight of our dock and children were dropped off for school by boat.  There were “characters” roaming through Annapolis in period costumes, and we even saw Monks walking the streets.

    

The bronze statue of Alex Haley sits at the end of Ego Alley.  Author Alex Haley (1921-1992) was best know for works depicting the struggles of African Americans.  Raised in Henning, Tennessee, he began writing to help pass the time during his two decades with the U.S. Coast Guard.  Next, a store window display of a winter scene made out of cookies!

    

And on to our dining experiences in Annapolis – – –

Breakfast at “The Iron Rooster” with Herb (on Phantom)…..

Dinner at Middleton Tavern with Rick and Deedy (on Rejoice)….    

Crab and Maryland chowder at Chick & Ruth’s…..a family operated Delly since 1965….

    

Lunch with Herb and John and Angie (on Angelita) at Mission BBQ….

    

and New Loopers Rick and Kris…..Missions will also deliver to your boat!

    

The guys had cigars on Kara Mia after dinner……

    

….and some caught up on their laundry…..

Docktails on Phantom with Herb……every night……

    

        

    

Docktails on Kara Mia with Rick and Kris (on Eagle One)….Rick was a Navy pilot!

A walk around downtown…..still lovin’ the red brick streets!

    

    

“Bailey” from Ashland City, Tennessee – our home port….

Santa fit in very nicely….and he liked the attention!

We crossed from Maryland to Delaware today – add another state to our list!  After topping off the tanks with 227 gallons of fuel, we pulled out of Annapolis heading for the C & D Canal (Chesapeake & Delaware), a channel cut to allow access from Chesapeake Bay in Maryland to Delaware Bay in Delaware.

    

We exited Annapolis via the double “Chesapeake Channel Bridges”….    

We passed light houses, a huge trailer park and more interesting bridges…

    

    

We had planned to stay at The Chesapeake City Marina below, but decided since we had made good time so far, we would continue on to Delaware.

    

Entering Delaware……

Along the way we encountered a rescue in process – involving a jet ski that had passed us earlier.  There were ambulances and emergency vehicles on the bank and a helicopter above.  We were not able to get details.

    

Also along the way we “encountered” some (much) debris in the water and think we hit a log.  Still having good transmission oil pressure and good temperature readings, we were thankful that we were still able to travel.  Only now at 9-10 mph rather that 32-33 mph – and with a good bit of vibration.  We will have Kara Mia pulled tomorrow to assess the damage!

 

We met four other looper boats this evening at Delaware City Marina and they lined us up on “the wall”…

    

After a short walk around town, we had a unique dinner experience at (pay attention here) “Lewinsky’s on Clinton”……with Herb, Rick, Deedy and Mike & Cindy on “Wine Speed”.

    

    

It was Ken’s birthday and Karen and Ken on “Island Girl” joined us after their dinner at “Crabby Dick’s”…..

Our waitresses are at it again!  “Selphies”

Ron’s hot dog????  Not exactly what he was looking for but they did call it a hot dog…

Pulling out of Delaware City Marina early in the morning…..

We are checking off the states now that they are a bit smaller.  Today was Delaware to New Jersey.

    

We followed two other looper boats, Herb on “Phantom” and Rick and Deedy on “Rejoice”.  Kara Mia had to limp along at her slow vibrating speed until we reached our next stop.

    

This is Herb retrieving a dropped fender and Rick playing chicken with a large tanker…..

    

We passed our first nuclear plant along the way.

    

We always enjoy the sights along the waterways, such as lighthouses and survey boats….

    

On the busy (shallow, narrow) cut through the Cape May Canal that joins Delaware Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, we saw ferries, fishing boats, whale watching boats and even sandy beaches.  Cape May is a resort area on the southern tip of New Jersey.

    

    

At Utsch’s Marina on the Cape May Harbor they were very prompt and helpful in getting Kara Mia on the sling to take a look at the props.  Damaged was discovered and the props were removed and sent out for re-tuning.  Realizing this was a holiday weekend (Memorial Day) we did not anticipate a quick turn-around.

        

Charlie, the Dock Master, pulled our prop-less boat skillfully into a slip where we spent the holiday weekend.

We worked on the boat a bit then joined other loopers on Herb’s boat for yet another docktail evening!

    

Having once again accumulated a number of “go boxes”, we opted to have dinner on the on the boat tonight…..

Saturday was catch-up day.  Ron helped Herb do some work on his boat while Karen caught up on laundry, blog and “household” chores.  We had the “Seafood Pot” for dinner at The Lobster House.  It was a pot full of steamed lobster, scallops, crabs, mussels and shrimp.

    

Yet another waitress “selfie”…….this must be a new “thing” because it has become a regular in our dining experiences!

Boaters normally do not “dress” for dinner because we are usually trudging through dirty boat lots, climbing rock walls or over fences to get there!  Tonight was no different.

    

The Lobster House overlooks Cape May Harbor and offers a variety of dining in a uniquely nautical atmosphere.  It houses five dining rooms – each with its individual menu (The Take-out, The Raw Bar, The Schooner – an actual 130 foot Grand Banks sailing vessel, The Fish Market and the Lobster House Restaurant).  We had dinner while watching both commercial fleets and yachts passing by.

    

Sunday we borrowed the Harbor Host’s (Bruce) truck to tour Cape May.  Cape May covers an area of less than 3 square miles and has a population of less than 3,000 – so it did not take long to get a feel for the area.  In the summer, Cape May’s population is expanded by as many as 40,000 to 50,000 visitors.

SIDE NOTE:  The State of New Jersey still has “Full Service” gasoline stations.  In this generation of “self-serve”, many might not know what that is!  There are only two states in the country (New Jersey and Oregon) where retail customers are prohibited by law from pumping their own gasoline and self-serve stations are banned.

    

The entire city is designated the “Cape May Historic District”, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings.

        

The Travel Channel recognized it as one of America’s top 10 beaches.

    

The Cape May Lighthouse (built in 1859) and the WWII Lookout Tower are tourist highlights…..

    

Our final stop was at the Sunset Liquor Store for a bottle of wine.  The outside resembled an old saloon.  Inside was the coziest liquor store I’ve ever seen.  Very organized and neat with a nice scent from a burning candle – a nice change of pace that we don’t usually encounter.

    

Tropical storm “Alberto” had made its way to the Mid-Atlantic states and we were the recipient of some pretty serious rain and winds!  Being so close to the coast and bay, we rocked and rolled as the temperature dropped.

    

Rick and Deedy invited us to dinner on “Rejoice”.  Rick, a gourmet chef by profession, prepared a French dish, Coq Au Vin – it was delicious.  Having shared several “first” moments with Rick and Deedy, this was their first entertaining for dinner on their boat and we were glad to be the guests of honor!

    

Last but not least – Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Monday was Memorial Day and Karen decorated Kara Mia.

    

We walked to the the South Jersey Marina where we found several loopers already already gathered.

    

We had dinner with Steve and Jane on “Sabbatical” and Rick and Kris.

After dinner we sat at the bar to watch the Caps vs Knights hockey game.  Being from DC, Rick and Kris are big fans!

    

….tomorrow we hope to get our props back……

Utsch’s arrived early to pull Kara Mia out of the water to reinstall our shiny new props.  It was a nice turn-a-round for a holiday weekend.

    

While we waited, we visited with Rick and Prudi on “Rascal’s Retreat”.  Notice the Texas flag and raccoon statue on their bow.  Ask us about their story.  Before we left a local fisherman pulled in a 68 pound red drum.

    

Despite the early fog, it turned out to be a beautiful day!  This was a 135 mile day out in the Atlantic Ocean.  The seas were relatively calm and we made good time with our new props!

    

We waived to Atlantic City as we passed by two miles off shore.

    

As we rounded Sandy Hook, we entered the busy New York Harbor.

    

We passed other Looper boats and survey boats….heading to Staten Island….

    

    

…and chartered yachts…..the kids said we should get one of these….until Karen researched and found you could charter it for one week at $59,000.00!

    

We arrived and docked at Mansion Marina in the Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island in New York……..

    

…we walked over to Great Kills Yacht Club Marina (the next marina over) and visited with other Loopers.

        

We enjoy the changing “feel” of the little port towns as we travel up the east coast.  The flowers were beginning to bloom along Mansion Avenue.  Nestled amid the beautiful flowers we found Fiore De Mare Italian Restaurant where we dined on lasagna and eggplant……Italian Food and Staten Island – hand in hand, a perfect fit.

    

We delayed our start this morning waiting for the fog to lift.  This was the day we had looked forward to for some time.  It was “Statue of Liberty” day!  Like so many other loopers, we had arranged with another boat to take each other’s photo at the base of Lady Liberty.  The fog was a problem because we weren’t sure we could see all of her when we got there.  With an hour cruise ahead of us we followed our buddy boat “Best Day Ever” into N.Y. Harbor and under the Verrazano Bridge.

    

    

    

Soon she was in sight but dodging the commercial traffic was no small task as we entered the Hudson River.

    

    

Santa exclaimed as we pulled out of sight, “The Lady is here – the World to Enlight!”

    

Situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of the State of New York. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898.

After getting our photo, we moved up the Hudson through the City.  The sites and architecture were amazing.  There were so many buildings you could not fathom from where and how all the people populated them.  The river traffic was just as unusual, with very fast ferries going every direction, to an air craft carrier, to a three-mast sailing vessel.  And, of course, very, very big yatchs…..

    

    

   

As the skies cleared, we moved up the Hudson Valley to much more natural surroundings and a beautiful river setting.  However, on the east bank of the river was a railroad track busily moving people back and forth to the City.  We would be on that train tomorrow.

    

Finally, we arrived at Half Moon Bay Marina.. Located about 20 miles north of the City in Croton on Hudson, it would serve as our port for a few days…

    

SIDE NOTE (we also call “useless information”):  We were not the only ones wondering about that big yacht as we passed.  Seems that CNBC had already researched that for us.  It is owned by a reclusive British billionaire.  Usually when we pass these super mega-yachts, I can google them to find out their port, their history, even their price!  This one ranks #47 on the list of largest yachts in the world.

        

It was quite the hike from the marina to the Express Train and we were excited to see New York City!  We traveled with Looper friends Bru and Sandy aboard “Coconuts”.  There was only one stop on our trip – Harlem – and we arrived at Grand Central Station around 10:00 a.m.

        

Starting at Grand Central Station we hit the streets intent on seeing the whole exciting city in one day!  First stop, Time Square, a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City.  And we “window shopped” on Madison Avenue.

                     Radio City, Fox, NBC, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, ABC’s Jimmy Kemmel Live and Rockefeller Plaza were next.

        

We needed a short break so we stopped in Rue 57…….      Then on to Central Park….

            

We stopped at “Tavern on the Green” in Central Park.  A number of famous movies were filmed here – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Wall Street, Arthur and Ghostbusters – to name a few.  In its heyday, Tavern on the Green was also known for glitzy decor and boldface guests such as Grace Kelly and John Lennon.  We ordered deviled eggs, flatbread pizza and drinks.  Karen poses in the newly opened Bubble Gardens.

        

We visited TRUMP TOWERS at Lincoln Square…..         

While at Lincoln Square, Ron also got his long awaited hot dog……Bru joined him…..

         Walking around New York City…..we found BarBacon in Hell’s Kitchen.  Hell’s Kitchen is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan.

    

At BarBacon they serve bacon with EVERYTHING.  A flight of beer comes with a flight of bacon (jalapeno bacon, maple bacon, slow smoked bacon).  Even a glass of wine is topped with a slice of bacon.  Not sure what this did for our arteries, but we really enjoyed this stop!

        

Our first subway ride.  We took the #4 Subway to Fifth Avenue and then walked to the 911 Memorial Reflecting Pools.  It was moving being here.

    

    

 

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, St. Paul’s Chapel, which sits directly across the street from the World Trade Center site, suffered no physical damage.  Much of its survival was attributed to a single sycamore tree in the courtyard. The tree sheltered the church from the falling debris of the Twin Towers.

In the weeks following the attack, well-wishers created a make-shift memorial along the iron gates that surrounded St. Paul’s by leaving thousands of pictures, notes, cards, patches from different fire departments worldwide and flowers dedicated to those who lost their lives.

Others posted pictures on the gates of loved ones lost in the tragedy, hoping that by some miracle someone might see one of the faces.

        

Then it was back to the Subway and on to Grand Central Station to catch the express train back to the marina….

    

We spent several easy days at Half Moon Bay with several other Loopers. This is a popular lay-over with easy access to the NYC rail service and Croton-on-Hudson is a neat little village.

        

Despite a wooden structure sea wall, our boats rolled with the current and waves coming off the Hudson.

    

It was a short walk to the village for Ron to get his pizza.  Yes, they deliver but you gotta get your exercise somehow.

    

Did we mention it was a popular Looper stop?  Docktails were in order each afternoon and everyone brought snacks.  Diet is a dirty word on the loop.

           

As it was the weekend, other local boaters were enjoying the water as well.

    

Rick and Chris rented a car to go to West Point and the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and we joined them for a local grocery re-provisioning trip.

The weather improved during the week as did the sunsets.