Back Where We Started

We arrived at Herrington Harbour South (HHS) Thursday, June 11th.  We stopped at the fuel dock and filled up our fuel tank and emptied our holding tank, Ryan was the lucky dock hand. We managed to snag the Drunken Princess slip C8 which was pretty much right behind our old slip of C5.  It was almost like we never left.  Rob was able to put the boat right in the slip, but I had the worst time getting our lines on.  We were super excited to see our friends.  The very first night our Julian friends came in two cars and left one for us to use while we were there.

Ryan ready to assist

Our first weekend back and we were able to enjoy crabs and grilling out with all of our friends. I had been wanting crabs since we left.  They were small but good.  On Monday, Lance took us to Happy Harbor on How Ya Doin for burger night.  A little bumpy on the return ride.

Since we had a vehicle we were able to arrange lunch with Rob's parents.  We decided it would be best if we met in a park instead of going to a restaurant.  So they drove down from PA and we drove up from Rose Haven to Meadowwood Park in Timonium. As a bonus Nick was in Baltimore and was able to join us, he was only 5 minutes from the park.  We purchased some cold cuts, rolls and had ourselves a nice little picnic.  It was great to see Mom, Dad and Nick.

 

Rob's former coworkers wanted to visit with us before we left so Marie arranged for everyone to meet at her house for dinner, it just happened to be on the same day as we met his parents.  It was very nice seeing everyone and Marie made a delicious rib dinner.

Gary, Rob, Bob, Richie, and Marie

While we were here we tried to have Zimmerman Marine check an oil leak that we have.  Rob's favorite mechanic Steven came to the boat to check the issue.  When we left our last Anchorage in VA Rob put a dye in the oil so they could figure out where the leak was.  Well we needed more dye since one bottle was not enough.  Steven added more dye and we had to run the engine for at least an hour. The engine fired right up and Steven told Rob it sounded really good.  Rob was thrilled! Did I mention Rob's man crush? It would be Steven. 😁😁

There were two areas the leak could possibly be from.  The first area is on the front of the engine and not too expensive to repair. The second leak is a 'nuisance leak' on the side of the engine and would cost much more.  We were definitely hoping for the cheaper fix. Zimmerman decided they 'didn't have time' and they weren't going to fix it.  Rob's man crush told him about another mechanic, Wade from Offshore Diesel.  He contacted Wade and he came to the boat, ordered parts and three weeks later we still haven't seen him.

Our plan was to head north and go through Canada since we could not do the Great Loop because of lock closures on the Illinois River.  Due to the Chinese virus the Canadian border is currently closed.  We extended our stay at HHS for another week while waiting for the mechanic and hoping the border would open.

We invited Heather, David and Nick to come visit us and grill out for the day so we could visit with them before leaving.  We all got together on Saturday, the day before Father's Day and Rob's birthday.  We endured a little rain, but the day turned out very nice. We grilled chicken, burgers and hot dogs.  Heather made strawberry cupcakes and Giovanna made brownies and cupcakes. Nick spent the night on the boat which made his dad very happy.

Heather, Rob, Nick, Sharon, & David

Giovanna's cupcakes

On Sunday morning, with Nick's assistance we had to relocate the boat from C8 to C7 because of extending our stay.  As we discussed our plans we both thought it best not to go to Canada this year, as we did not want to get "stuck" for the winter. So, change of plans: we will cruise to Maine.

On Sunday Rosella and Gemma were so excited because they had a sign they wanted to hang on the boat for Rob's birthday. Happy Birthday Rob!

We spent the next week with our friends, grilling out, hanging by the pool, watching the storms roll in, and of course watching the sunset. 

  

 

On Tuesday we went to the Jetty on Kent Island with Mike and Sue for crabs.  I would post pictures of the crabs, but someone deleted the pictures.  On the way home, we stopped at Happy Harbor for a cold
refreshing beverage.

We also went to Swann Farms and picked our own blueberries.

 

After much discussion and checking websites to see other state restrictions for the virus, we decided to try and stay at HHS. We didn't want to run the risk of having to self-quarantine for two weeks as we headed north. We contacted Amy in the HHS office to see if there were any slips available. There were two. We walked and checked out the slips and needed to make a decision quickly. So, we decided to remain at HHS for the summer.

On Monday, June 29th we started the engine, removed our lines and headed out for a two day cruise.  As we were leaving HHS we saw dolphins swimming in the bay. 

Our first night we anchored on the Rhode River which is one of our favorite anchorages. It is busy during the day with small boats beached on what is known as dog shit island playing loud music and kids swimming.  Jet skies, water skiers and plenty of traffic.  Once the sun starts setting the jet skis and small boats leave to go home and it becomes a nice little haven with beautiful sunsets.

Tuesday we had a very leisurely morning.  Coffee, breakfast, games, reading, sudoku, and some minor daily chores.  Finally, pulled up the anchor around noon and headed to Bear Creek, which is located off the Patapsco River. The Patapsco River leads to the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

We were heading to Hard Yacht Cafe to meet Heather, Chris, David, and Nick for dinner.  Hard Yacht will let you stay at the marina for free as long as you dine at the restaurant.  I did not order a mudslide this time but, they have the best mudslide I have ever had, made with a full ice cream sandwich.

So, we are back for the summer right where we started from except we are now located on P dock, which is all the way in the back. We will be getting our steps🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚶🏼‍♀️🚶🏼‍♀️ in for the next three months.

Thank you to all who read our blog! We even had Ken and Lisa, a couple we met that come by boat to HHS every year, tell us they read the blog.  We cannot see who reads our blog. We can only tell how many views we have had.