July 2, 2010
Friday
Cool and comfortable!
Wow, what a difference….a pleasurable low 70’s. Michelle and I have manicures and pedicures schedule…yes!..and poor Barry will take on the task of getting my car ready for our return ride to Maryland. The check engine light came on and it is a mystery as to why, but this has to be taken care of prior to going anywhere too far. Welcome home my love! There always seems to be a honey-do list for him when we are here. A visit with mom and Aunty Ida…always entertaining!
July 3 – July 7, 2010
Saturday thru Wednesday
The heat returns
So, we had a very, very busy weekend/week. Party at Judy and Ron’s on Saturday…fabulous to see everyone, and then a get together with all of our boat friends at the marina…again fabulous to see everyone. The rest of the week we tried to relax a bit….it is so good to be home and enjoying family and friends again! Much cleaning of the house…I sometimes need to do things my way, but still very impressed with the way Michelle and Jon have cared for the house. Dinner with Roberta Wednesday night and off to Maryland again tomorrow. I can only hope our ride back will be less eventful than coming…way too much traffic for Barry’s liking and I could not blame him one bit…he will succeed!
July 8, 2010
Thursday
Cooling off!
Our ride back began at 7 AM…it was overcast and cooler…and heading along the less traveled roads of CT and NY was delightful! Thank you, Judy, for your suggestions! No traffic to speak of. We went 40 minutes out of our way, but well worth it to avoid New Haven and NYC. The GPS guided us to roads we have not traveled in the past, but what a wonderful thing. We reached MD in what seemed like no time and traveled along Rt. 301 for 65 miles noting all the farmland…never knew MD was so rural. It was a great drive and arrived in Solomons Island by 4 PM. We were treated to a delicious dinner by Roberta and Laura…and early to bed…it was a long day.
July 9, 2010
Friday
93*
Today Laura, Roberta and I headed to Amish Country….who knew MD is home to many Amish! Just 20 minutes away from the marina we are again in God’s country. Beautiful rural roads with farms all along the way. We arrived at the Mechanicsville Public Library where nine Amish families sell their goods in the parking lot. Horse and buggies were parked all around and “stalls” were set up for sale of their offerings. Just picked corn ($5 for 13 ears), plump tomatoes (6 large mamas for $4), green beans ($3 for a large container), squash (.50 each), melons ($1.50 each) fresh flowers ($5 a bunch)…and lots more! Gotta love these outdoor markets and the cheap, cheap prices. We loaded up and then took a ride along a couple of the country roads where we saw them harvesting corn with the aid of horse driven harvesters…amazing! There were lots of roadside stands on the edge of their properties selling much of the same we found at the outdoor market. One home offered herbs and pretty much any kind of plant one could imagine. I picked up some sage and parsley to add to my boat garden. I am happy, happy! Two more stops at Super Walmart and the liquor store and we headed home. We stopped at the seafood market and ordered a bushel of crabs for a Sunday feast and that completed our day! Great! R & R for the evening. Rain expected tomorrow. Love to all!
July 10, 2010
Saturday
Rain and cool
The rain certainly did not help with the humidity…in fact it made it worse. But, that gave me ample time to defrost the freezer…very much needed, and it was great preparing chicken and polenta for dinner….nice relaxing day even with another Super Walmart run. I feel like we live there. But it is truly one-stop shopping. I picked up some cherry tomatoes to make Francie’s roasted tomatoes…so freaking good, I have to share!
1 container of cherry tomatoes (mine were big so I quartered them)
Garlic…lots of garlic for me…you decide for yourself…I just smashed it and removed skins
Fresh basil coarsely chopped…again lots for me….save some for the end of cooking
Extra virgin olive oil…a couple of tablespoons
Balsamic glaze or vinegar…just a drizzle
Salt and pepper
Mix everything together and spread out on a sheet pan. Place in a 250* oven for 2 hours. When done add the fresh basil, mix to combine a bit and enjoy!
I will make these over and over again.
July 11, 2010
Sunday Funday
Upper 80’s
What a simply glorious day today. Crab fest today. We ordered a bushel of blue crabs and indulged! They were full of meat and so delicious. We all gathered at the picnic tables and devoured these wonderful morsels with sides that everyone had brought…great, great time!
July 12, 2010
Monday
Overcast and humid!
Annapolis
Ahh…the rain is coming, but not just yet. Barry and I headed out with Laura and Jason at 5:30 AM to once again drop Jason off at BWI so he could head to another job in Florida. Our plan was to spend the day in Annapolis and arrived there by 8:00. A big breakfast at Double T Diner satisfied us for our adventure….cruising Annapolis. With Laura as our guide we headed down West St. to the waterfront and parked the car. Heading out on foot we ventured this wonderfully small, but chock full of stuff, town. It is compact enough to see everything in a couple of short hours even with all there is to see. The state house and the grounds are beautiful. Buildings….brick upon brick upon brick. Even West St., the main drag, is a brick road. The marina is conveniently located right at the center of town…fun, fun to be in a slip there, and restaurants galore! Such a delightful area to cruise on foot and enjoy all the wonderful sights, including large baskets of flowers hanging from the lamp posts….I love it here! Lunch at Giolitti Deli was magnificent!! A few more shopping stops along the way and then we headed home….gotta do it again, soon, really soon.
July 13 – July 16, 2010
Tuesday – Friday
The heat returns..lower 100’s
I have been remiss with blogging! So much to do on the boat and around this area, and there never seems to be enough hours in the day. Having the car has been a blessing. It gets us to places we would have otherwise never been able to see. While in Annapolis we picked up everything we would need for eisenglass repairs, but as it turns out neither my, nor Jason’s sewing machines would be powerful enough to do the job. It will be left to the professionals. Barry will search for someone here or we will return it to Frank at the Wickford Shipyard Marina and he will do the repairs…and probably rake us over the coals at the same time! Freedom and Blue Blaze also continue with fixing and repairing on their respective boats as the weather will allow. As the day goes by Barry does find someone who promises to be as anal as he and hires Steve to repair eisenglass! Yeah! Such a load off my mind as it was not a job I was really looking forward to attempting/accomplishing. I was not even looking forward to taking it all down and bringing it home to Frank, and then bringing it back and reinstalling, so hiring a local contractor certainly works for me! It is so hot today we have all chosen to “hide” in the A/C…..ahhhhh!
July 17, 2010
Saturday
Hot! 103*
Teak cleaning today…the trim on the aft and the furniture…As always, it turns out to be an all-day project, but a wonderful thing when it is clean. At the end of the day comes the reward for all our hard work…dinner at Café Des Artiste in Leonardtown, with Laura along, was a pleasure. Dining outside on the sidewalk was great. It had cooled off enough to enjoy being outside. Another wonderful day in the neighborhood! Love to all!
July 18, 2010
Sunday
Hot and sunny…upper 90’s
So, we are still cleaning teak! Barry is on the hunt for a product that will do a better job than what we have been using. We head out early afternoon in search of Ace Hardware that he swears he saw along the 2-4 highway, but is now nonexistent! We found Jerry’s Place along the way and that is a good thing, but still no hardware store. The GPS is on the boat…wow…and being of no help to us at this point. Pam happened to call and found an Ace Hardware online for us and 2 ½ hours later we found it! Not on the 2-4, but on 765 which is a road that runs parallel to the 2-4 and about 5 miles from the marina! Well, we had an adventure, but unfortunately ended up with nothing to aid in teak cleaning. At least we know where the store is now, and it is a great store that we will head to for future shopping. As for the Ace Hardware he saw along the 2-4…I now believe that is in Chesapeake Beach and many miles north on the 2-4. The heat continues and we hide in the A/C for the rest of the day….
July 19, 2010
Monday
107*
Another adventure cropped up late last night. Jon called and gave us the great news that the refrigerator at home had died! AUGH! What next? After searching and searching online and Michelle and Jon on foot at home a replacement was found. The biggest feat was to find a store that would deliver one soon! Most stores had a one week window for delivery and that was not acceptable. Finally, Lowe’s came to the rescue! Next day delivery was a wonderful thing. It took the entire day to accomplish this task, but at the end of the day all is well and a new fridge on the way tomorrow! Yea!
July 20, 2010
Tuesday
103*
Cleaning and laundry today….chores never end, even on a boat. Barry is determined to finish the teak project even in the dreaded heat. After assisting Roberta with computer issues he is off to West Marine. Finally, he broke down and decided to go back to the original products he had been using…expensive, but the best he has found for the dreaded job. It is done! A wonderful dinner with John, Roberta and Laura and off to bed early! Amish outdoor market tomorrow…I am excited! Love the outdoor markets! Love to all!
July 21, 2010
Wednesday
Upper 90’s
So, at 9 AM the girls head out! Fun, fun. We went to an actual farm that was chock full of goodies and scooped up many items, including an entire bushel of tomatoes for a mere $8….amazing! We happened by an actual auction and stopped in for a peak at the goings on. Wholesalers and retailers gathered selling a buying absolutely perfect fruit and veggies with an actual caller! Great times! Then off to an Amish dry goods store. Laura’s friend April certainly knows her way around these parts and guided us to wonderful places today….thank you, April!~ When we returned to the marina we found that the eisenglass had been removed and Barry and John were working on removing and replacing the caulking all around the bridge…what a freaking job…and I was happy that I was not around for that process…hehe! Thank you, John!!! You saved me! The eisenglass will be stitched and returned tomorrow. The galley turned into a cooking machine…processing fresh beets and making a gravy from those gorgeous tomatoes…tired and off to bed early!
July 22, 2010
Thursday
Upper 90’s yet again
Our plans for an adventure to Baltimore or Washington have been squashed for the day. Barry needs to be around for the return of the eisenglass. There is much to do with getting ready for tomorrow’s journey back home so I am not feeling so bad about the change of plans. John helped Barry remove the icemaker that has been giving us headaches for so long and we will take a detour into New Jersey to the manufacturer to drop it off and have it repaired while we are home.
July 23, 2010
Friday
Off to Rhode Island!
We headed out at 7 AM and caught every bit of traffic possible making our usual 9 hour drive 13 1/2….AUGH! It really sucked, but we finally arrived at home by 8:30 PM….a cocktail and off to bed!
July 24, 2010
Saturday
Hot and humid
The dogs escaped just as Michelle and I were off to get manicures! Bitches! Barry and Jon search for an hour to no avail. Once our manicures were complete Michelle and I headed out to continue the search, and after about an hour of driving around we found them 2 streets over “gardening” with the homeowners. Back at the house prep work was being done for Michelle’s party….and by 2 PM the crowd started piling in. Tons of food (of course) and drinks. A shot luge was constructed, beer pong set up and the afternoon turned into night very quickly. Fun, fun….much too fun ending at 3 AM.
July 25, 2010
Sunday Funday
Hot and humid again…90’s
After cleaning up from the party…lot of cleaning….we headed out to Steven and Jessica’s to have a family get together and lounge around the pool. It was nice to just hang for the day….and eat and drink yet again!
July 26, 2010
Monday
And yes…still hot!
Off to Donna’s condo…gorgeous place….lunch and back home again. Barry had a dental appointment and visited his dad. Great day but I need some rest from doing stuff!
July 27, 2010
Tuesday
Will the heat ever end?
Hot and humid still
Today to veg day…need to go back to Maryland to relax a bit! We spent the day hanging out and then dinner with Jon and Renzo…good times and still relaxing….it was a great day/night.
July 28, 2010
Wednesday
93*
Home again, home again…jiggity jig! We were up and out by 7 AM heading back to the boat. Much better run today. The icemaker was not yet repaired so the detour to pick it up was squashed for this trip and we successfully made it back to the boat by 5 PM…much better than 13 ½ for sure!
July 29, 2010
Thursday
Freaking hot!
Upper 90’s
The eisenglass was reinstalled last week but the caulking was not done. That was the task for the day….in the heat! A couple of hours later the heavens opened and the rain poured in….OMG! Barry and John worked so diligently last week to dig out the old and put in new…and yet it still leaks. And the caulking that was done today proved to be even worse. Much work will need to be done to rectify the flooding of the bridge….Yikes! Our reward for the hard work done was dinner at Jerry’s Place. Amazingly wonderful seafood was pricey but so, so good. We had about a ½ wait and Jerry tempted us with a couple appetizers while we waited…fried haddock bites and scallops wrapped in bacon gave us a preview of what was yet to come. Soft shell crabs topped with yet more crab was the highlight of the evening…and Jerry still came by again and again giving us extra sides simply working on luring us back for another time…and there will be another time! Great food and pleasant staff is certainly the key here to such a successful restaurant.
July 30, 2010 – August 13, 2010
Okay…so many of you are questioning why the blog has not been coming?? We have been back and forth to RI and also trying to prep the boat for our departure south in the fall and I really did not think anyone would be interested, but I guess you are. We have been very busy these past couple of months making Sea Fox her best and also visiting family and friends at home. Going back and forth has been wonderful and it is always another adventure. Today we pretty much completed our long, very long, list of projects to make our “home” its very best and other than a couple of small projects we are done…thank the Lord. The weather in Maryland has been dreadfully hot and some days we were unable to work outside for fear of heat stroke or worse. Yesterday we did have a fun day and ventured to DC, Alexandria and Mount Vernon. It was a wonderful day of history and fun. George Washington’s mansion at Mount Vernon and the estate was amazing….set right on the Potomac and a simply gorgeous view of the river. My earlier days in school were wasted oppose to what was learned in a day of actually being there. George Washington was an amazing man in so many aspects of life. Did you know one of his loves of life was farming? The grounds are still kept the way they were way back when, with several improvements including museums and an education center. The veggie gardens are phenomenal and continue to be planted as he did many, many moons ago. Dinner in DC was much fun, except for the guy behind us at a restaurant verbally abusing, I guess, his girlfriend. I had to verbally bitch-slap him and when all was said and dinner for them was done she left with the crowd and the idiot was left behind! Yes! Sorry, but I had to add this in…. Any who…life is wonderful and in just about a week we will be heading home for 10 weeks to spend time with family and friends and assist with Barry’s dad while his sister, Bev, and brother-in-law, Mike, take a much deserved 10 week motor home vacation. So, please give us a ringy ding as we would love to see you all!!! Ciao for now! Love…Barry and Paula
