We were originally gong to check out Oxford and Cambridge,
but while many suggested these were great places to stop…and the guide made it
out to be fabulous, we figured they would end up being much like St
Michaels…and decided to skip them, head back across the bay to Solomans’
Island. We like to keep the travel under
40 miles a day (est. 5kn ph, and that is 8 hours a day of travel). Slaughter Creek is a little stop, only one
marina, in between Solomon’s and Wye.
The entrance to the creek is a bit tricky and can shoal…a lot. We called the marina (this is a perfect example of what a marina should do, Bohemia) for
a reservation; the dock master asked us
the depth, then told us EXACTLY how to get into the creek! We gassed up a bit at the dock, and headed
for our slip for the night…and I have to admit (knock on wood) Mike and I are
getting pretty good at docking! Even
when we back in..and there is very little mobility when she is backing up!
Again, the guides said there was a little store somewhere in
the vicinity of this marina, which also had a restaurant Palm Tree Willies in
the parking lot. Mike and I left Salty to
go talk to the dockmaster (just an older
gentleman holding down the fort there, really). He looked at us funny when we mentioned the
things the guide said were here (grocery store and bike trails). Normally, he keeps a loaner car for
transients to use, but it just went into the shop this morning. Oddly enough, when he asked us where in
Jersey we were from (most pple just go,
oh..jersey…and move onto next topic) he knew exactly where we were! He used to drive produce trucks to the
ShopRite depot off the NJTP! Haha. And
would make runs for mushrooms out to the eastern end of LI, when it was mostly
still working farms! Small world!
We did decide to eat at Palm Tree Willies that night, mostly
especially because they allowed dogs! We got the recommended Maryland Seafood
Chowder (really freaking awesome),
mike got a burger, and I splurged on the calories and ordered their special
sandwich: Ponchos’ Club, and multi
layered club of crab cakes and shrimp, Canadian bacon, cheese, LT and evil
mayo…but it was freaking insanely good!
They also served their sweet potato fries with light dusting of brown
sugar and syrup! Was pretty
interesting!
09/21/2012 =>Solomon’s Island, MD
We didn’t have along run today, only about 20 miles, so I
was able to take Salty for a nice long run in the morning (needed to work off some of that Sammie from last night). We waited until 0930 for high tide to ensure
our save leaving of the creek, and arrived in Solomon’s by 1430. Orginally, we were only going to stay here
for a day as the cheapest dockage was 2.50 ft/night, but upon closer inspection
(thank you good maps) I discovered one club had moorings! When I called, she was like I have 4 open
now, so when you get in pick on, its 30.00 a night! Sweet!
We grabbed one closer to the dinghy dock, and headed inland. The marina was spread out to resemble a
little village, with many different bldgs (bathhouses, laundry, service,
restaurants, private clubs) centered around a large pool…with a pool bar, woot
woo! It is a family owned place, as was
evident when we entered the main store and were greeted by a dad, and what is
obviously his son! We got our little map
of the island, and they also mentioned either driving us to the Food Lion
tomorrow (about 2 miles away) or driving us to the Calvert Cliff State Park
(which they said was too far away to bike), and they could lend us their bikes,
as ours a bit tricky to take onto the dinghy!
SWEET! Afterwards, we went to
explore the riverfront in Solomon’s, noticing lots of dog friendly restaurants
and shops!
Along the river walk, we ran
into another cruising couple (they offered to take a picture for us, and then
we just go to talking). They are on
there way south as well, but in a large cruiser (motor). They once were
sailors, but as they got older, it just wasn’t feasible…completely understand
that! Since we ate dinner out the night
before, we cleaned out what was left in the ice chest, with hopes of hitting up
the Food Lion in the morning!
09/22/2012 =>Solomon’s Island, MD
The dreaded Laundry day!
Up early and hitting the washer’s!
The facility for the laundry is situated in a really nice bldg, with
corridors for private bathrooms on either end so really no hardship..plus got
WiFi and power outlets! All our clothes
were ready to go around 1100, which we dropped back off on the boat (Salty
too!), and headed to pick up our loaner bikes from the marina…they were super
comfy old fashion looking bikes! The ride to the food lion wasn’t that bad, and
we were able to pick up lots of steak, which I have been uber craving lately!!!
When we arrived
at the beach, the park ranger was telling everyone to stay away from the cliffs
themselves, as they have been deteriorating to the point that large rocks and
trees falling make the area a safety
hazard…well BOO to that! That is where
all the good stuff is! A lot of people
were relaxing/fossil searching on this narrow stretch of sand, but Mike was
diligent and managed to get a little piece of fossilized what looks like some
sort of scallop shell! Salty and I just
threw a ball and forth, ha.
When we got back
to the marina, and put our food away, we were able to get a ride from the very,
very nice owner’s son to the Calvert Cliffs State Park. I was not sure what to expect from this park,
as I did see the cliffs coming into the harbor, but Mike was very excited! It seems that you can get fossils of sea life
along the beach of the cliffs at almost any time. We were dropped off at the beginning of a
forest, with several trails leading into a very lovely shaded area. The trail markers est. 1.75 miles to the
beach, so off Mike, me and Salty went (yup,
dogs are allowed through state parks here!)
the trails were fun, and very beautiful, however not all that hard to
traverse! Half the fun of going to this fossil beach is the walk there.
When we arrived
at the beach, the park ranger was telling everyone to stay away from the cliffs
themselves, as they have been deteriorating to the point that large rocks and
trees falling make the area a safety
hazard…well BOO to that! That is where
all the good stuff is! A lot of people
were relaxing/fossil searching on this narrow stretch of sand, but Mike was
diligent and managed to get a little piece of fossilized what looks like some
sort of scallop shell! Salty and I just
threw a ball and forth, ha.
The marina was
to pick up us at 1630 back at the main entrance, so we hauled tush to get back
for them (this was not a typical thing
they did). This time the other
younger son was waiting for us; he was a trip!
Maybe about 17, he had nothing good to say about Solomon’s, in a very
teenage angst way, and was telling us about his family trips aboard their
hunter 34…and how much he wanted to just jump ship about 2 days in! We were tired from the days excursions, but happy! Salty even fell asleep in the car ride.
We had read the
weather for the next day would be clear, but winds of 10-15 knots, with guest
up to 30…so while we were going to keep checking, we were almost sure we would
be staying another day.
09/23/2012: Solomon’s Island (still)
I checked the
weather around 0630, and all my sources still called for high wind gusts and
this time, high seas! So stay in Solomon’s,
we would! Salty and I went running in
the town; they built this great river run area!
Then Mike, as the good Cinkewicz in this relationship, went to church. Mike came and got us around 11, with the
promise of going to this little café called Key Lime we had seen earlier
yesterday, for coffee at least. This
place was adorable, and basically a house with a slightly altered to have an
ordering/take out in the patio front, with iron wrought table and chairs
outside under big cypress-like trees.
The morning was a little chilly, but really sunny for Salty and I
grabbed table, while mike went inside.
Since the service was a bit slow, I was able to ease drop into the
people’s conversation next to us. They
were talking about this watermen’s festival that was going on at the point of
Solomon’s…so of course, I had to google this!
Technically, it’s a watermen’s rodeo with games, contests, etc…so when
mike came out, I told him and we got very excited to 1-find something to do and
2-go to a very local, very different festival!
The main, and
really only attraction, is the Watermen’s Rodeo: trawler/fishing/crabbing boats, and their captains
compete to see who can dock the best/fastest, and in different weight classes/categories. Seems pretty easy/boring, right? I will admit, docking is tough, but on those
boats, its kind of easy…until I saw the whole set up! A boat would start off stern in between 4
piles. At the sound of a little cap
shot, they would fly as fast as they could out of the 4 piles, and try to
reverse back into another set of piles about 30 ft down from where they
started. As the boat was flying
backwards, the captain would have to get 4 lines across the 4 piles
successfully to officially “dock” the boat and call time…it was pretty
wild! Fastest time ended up being 19
seconds, but last year was a 17 sec time!
Some boats hit the piles, some just miss altogether, but either way the
crowd in the stands and all around, AND the extremely southern and hysterical
announcer would make their input known!
We left the
festival and headed for the boat mid afternoon.
We were a little beat from the day before, and from standing in the sun
all day. We made our dinner rather
early, and went to bed! Oddly enough, we
are usually exhausted by 2200 every night!
We go to sleep earlier now than we ever did when working; get up the same
time too!
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