We
pulled anchor at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday morning at our Dobbins Island
anchorage on the Magothy River and motored toward Baltimore's Anchorage Marina.
A short three hours later we docked in D-18, a slip owned by friends Peggy and
Hans (Aqua Vitae) but currently available for us during our stay in Baltimore.
A sincere thank you to Peggy and Hans who arrived early afternoon with a
security key in hand for a reunion chat. Such fun for them to bring precious
pup Naiya with them. Love that dog!
Following
our boating friends' departure, we welcomed LAMO friend Karen Hallows and hubby
Keith aboard then accepted their invitation for dinner at Kali's Court, a tapas
restaurant 'with a Mediterranean influence' in the heart of historic Fells
Point. What a delight our first day in Baltimore turned out to be!
Clay
and I seemed to be on a late schedule Sunday; sleeping in does that to a day's
routine for sure. Late walk. Late breakfast, followed by a late lunch, followed
by a late dinner. Interspersed during the day were processing two loads of
laundry, a 40-minute roundtrip trek to 'nearby' Target, and an attempt to get
acquainted with the area near the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. When dinner time
rolled around, we linked up with friends Linda and Floyd (Tumbleweed) for
dinner at highly-touted-on-Urban-Spoon Langermann's which was conveniently
right across the street from the marina. I love having my very own social
director! Linda, you are a wonder! Clay chose the traditional Southern shrimp
and grits; I selected a grilled salmon salad that was to die for, with roasted
beets, goat cheese, walnuts and an orange vinaigrette dressing that was
awesome!
On
Monday, we fell into a routine of sorts that would survive our lengthy stay in
Baltimore with a morning walk for exercise (always), computer work (me, at the
boaters' lounge and Clay, onboard), a walk or bike ride to a chosen
destination, often a grocery run to nearby Safeway (a five-minute walk) or to
Target or Harris Teeter (a twenty-minute walk), and numerous miscellaneous
encounters with other boaters at the marina.
Monday's
highlights were happening onto a Memorial Day 5K Run where the route paralleled
our morning walk today (which meant we also witnessed the fun celebration at
the staging area for the race at Boston Running); and a Memorial Day BBQ aboard
Tumbleweed with burgers and brats, potato salad, grilled asparagus, pound cake
with ice cream and fresh berries.
Tuesday's
highlights were my mid-morning solo bike ride to CVS in the Inner Harbor area
of Baltimore for a Rx refill; a lunch visit with Jim and Sanci Canella at
Langermann's; and a 4 p.m. departure via water taxi for a Baltimore Orioles vs
the Houston Astros game with all the pre- and post- festivities. The game event
was orchestrated by my 'social director' friend Linda (it's fun to have a
friend who is such a great social planner and includes us as tag-alongs!
Thanks, Linda!) We simply had to pre-game at Pickles, then eat bbq from the
Boog's venue at the stadium. It was a late night (remember, 9 p.m. is Loopers'
midnight, so anything after 9 p.m. is considered a 'late night'), but we
certainly filled our day with memories!
Wednesday...my
washer died. Bless sweet Clay's heart, he spent much of the day trying to find
a Splendide (combo washer/dryer brand) repairman; no luck. Clay also worked
with me to drain (through the filter compartment) the
still-in-wash-mode-locked-door machine. I was possessed with draining because
the wash water was turning pink before my very eyes, and I could do nothing
about it but obsess over draining and rescuing my clothes! Because I'm smaller
and more flexible, I pretzeled into the companionway, manually controlled the
water flow out the filter compartment to drain six+ gallons of pink water
(stretchy neon pink tank top, the culprit to blame for the pinkness), then
started the dry cycle to unlock the door! Whew, a sigh of relief to rescue my
multiple pieces of exercise clothes without damage. Clay sacrificed his day
trip to Fort McHenry to rescue his Damsel in Distress (with capital 'D's')!
Following
the Splendide fiasco, I biked to Floyd's Barber Shop for a highlight and cut
(thanks, Sadie, for a job very well done) while Clay biked to Joe's Bike Shop
for a new chain followed by lunch at Jimmy's where breakfast is served all day
long. Company for dinner coming soon, I hustled to prep dinner before
welcoming Linda and Floyd (Tumbleweed) aboard for grilled pork chops, jasmine
rice and grilled romaine. Our time with our Wichita friends was coming to an
end which made us all the more intent on spending time together before their
departure.
Thursday's
highlights were a bike trek to Panera for lunch followed by a bit of afternoon
shopping, then dinner at Outback; but plans to enjoy a zedeco outdoor concert
foiled when both Linda and Floyd booed the misidentified zedeco genre music
(me, I wouldn't know one zedeco from another!)
Friday
was a day of high highs and low lows! We got up early to bid our Tumbleweed
friends goodbye, vowing to meet again. Clay and I then mounted bikes for a ride
into downtown Baltimore, unintentionally into the heart of the city; our
destination on Lombard was not the nearby 856 East but rather 856 West which
took us considerably farther and through the heavy traffic of downtown. Not
pleasant riding! Clay's interest in the Craigslist non-folding bicycle was soon
squelched when reality set it (where to store it?) At least we were on the same
wavelength there!
Biking
back to the boat through the Inner Harbor area, we stopped at a corner linen
shop then mid-block at a funky variety store which had comingled shelved
offerings of soup, WD-40, paint thinner and gift bags. As much the fun we had
at the variety store, the funk hit when we exited the store, shocked to see
only one bike beside the lightpost. Our cable lock was no match for the
bolt-cutter-wielding bike thief; one clean slice and my bike was gone. Long
walk home, made even longer by the woe; Clay, in an attempt to offer comfort,
walked his bike along side me even though I encouraged him to go on. Coulda
been worse! (Mom always said I was blessed to have this attitude!)
Never
say die Sal quickly took the suggestion of our neighbor boater who suggested we
might pursue pawn shops in an effort to recover the bike. I walked my little
legs off during the remainder of the afternoon, trying to cover too many miles
between pawn shops (the map makes them look so close). Home, exhausted, I guess
I gave up on that idea and began processing the acquisition of another bike.
Clay and I both firmly believe in the need for bicycles aboard.
With
a West Marine store nearby and the availability of a folding bicycle, Saturday
was bike-purchasing day. Noting the predominance of D-locks on locked bikes in
Baltimore, Clay and I were quick to purchase two quality Master locks. The
remainder of the weekend we spent doing the usual and customary. Maybe we'd had
enough excitement?
Monday
was a disjointed day spent much in preparation for friends' Johnny and Audrey
Roberts arrival scheduled for Tuesday. We tolerated grumbling thunder and
intermittent lightning with frequent weather radio alerts, and we tried to
complete outdoor tasks between rain showers.
The
weather ugliness continued on Tuesday accompanied by quite chilly temperatures.
Because this was the forecast for LAST week, we'd postponed Roberts' arrival,
only to have last week beautiful and this week inclement. Bummer! Johnny and
Audrey arrived noon'ish and showered us with all of the enthusiasm they'd
demonstrated on their previous trip! So fun to see a fresh look at our
adventure; for us, it becomes somewhat redundant. We completed preparation for
a Wednesday morning departure by visiting the local grocery stores (having
better 'totability' with Roberts' car) and stocking up on edibles and snack
favorites. We also found a safe spot to park the car (Clay had thorougly
investigated the subject with various government authorities), lunched at
Panera, visited nearby Canton Market for wine/beer (Baltimore grocery stores
don't stock alcoholic beverages), secured bikes for upcoming travel, and dined
at Langermann's which had become a favorite of mine.
As
we depart Anchorage Marina, Baltimore, MD this Wednesday morning with Johnny
and Audrey aboard, I must say that I'm not disappointed to be leaving this city
behind. I imagine I will retain vivid memories of this city--both good and
bad--for months if not years to come.
Until
SaSea Sally's next update, I wish for you a nice summer with sunny days ahead!
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