Getting Ready

Our chillin and grillin time is coming to an end as now we have family and friends to visit with and work to be done before our departure.

On September 3rd we met my sister and brother-in-law at Harvest Thyme in Davidsonville.  The week before Pat and Mary Healy took us to Harvest Thyme and we enjoyed our dinner so much we thought Brenda and Florian would also like it. Both times we went we had the B.A.M Meatball for Two, very good.  It is always fun spending time with my sister and brother-in-law.

Rob, Sharon, Brenda, & Florian

As you know the marina did not do fireworks on the 4th of July and postponed them to Saturday, September 5th.  In addition to fireworks, Herrington provided lunch, catered by Smokehouse Grill.  Lunch included either a pulled pork or chicken sandwich along with coleslaw, chips, cookies, brownies, and a cold refreshing soft drink or water.  

Our group decided since lunch was being provided, we would do a light evening dinner prior to watching the fireworks.  Our light dinner was an amazing charcuterie board with cheeses, meats, whipped feta, fruit, marinated mushrooms, and so much more.  

We started our evening with a chocolate cake shooter, so yummy and tasted just like a piece of chocolate cake!

Lance, Sharon, Christopher, Nicole, Rob, & Christin

Recipe:

• 1 ounce hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico), ½ ounce vodka, 1 lemon, cut into wedges, and white sugar

In a shot glass, combine 1 part hazelnut liqueur and 1 part vodka. Coat a wedge of lemon with sugar. Suck the lemon wedge, and with the juice still in your mouth, drink the shot.

Our evening ended with Herrington Fireworks

Rob, Lance, and Nick went on a fishing trip on the Lucky Duck courtesy of Rob's friend, Bob, on the 8th of September.  The weather was absolutely perfect. They caught striped bass also known as rockfish, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. 

After the fishing trip I met the guys at Ketch 22 for a cocktail (they really did not need another one).  While at Ketch, Nick's friend Nicole came to visit.  

Nicole, Nick, & Sharon

A day spent at the pool with the crew.

The week of September 15th we began the project of lowering the mast.  Lowering the mast will allow us to go under more bridges without having to wait for an opening.  As some bridges open on the hour and 1/2 hour only.  In order to lower the mast we had to take down all the canvas including the bimini and fold the metal support structure.  

We took advantage of the canvas being down and applied a coat of varnish to the top side railing.  We took the bimini to Chesapeake Beach Laundromat to clean and then sprayed it down with a waterproofing solution and Rob cleaned each panel.

The temperature is starting to drop and we were missing the warm weather already (at least I am).  Our first time turning on the heat and guess what, it was not blowing hot air, not even warm air. This made me remember we had no air conditioning in July (not sure how I forgot about that) considering it was 90 degrees with 100% humidity.  Luckily, it was for a night and Rob was able to troubleshoot the issue and fix the problem.  We also were able to borrow a portable air conditioning unit from Bernie Cowger.  Back to the heat, the reverse valve is stuck. Thank God it is stuck in the air conditioning mode. We determined it was much cheaper to purchase an electric heater than replacing the air conditioning unit.

Next project, Rob re-torqued the head bolts and adjusted the valves on the generator while I sanded, taped, and varnished wood.

On September 18th we celebrated David's 30th birthday, Rob and I met him at Carson's Creekside Restaurant located in Middle River, MD.  It was a nice enough day and we were able to sit outside on the deck.  The cream of crab soup and crab cake was delicious.

David does not like me taking his picture

More projects, just little ones such as cleaning the strainers, changing the oil and filters, flushing heat exchangers with Barnacle Buster, replacing zincs, several coats of varnish, organizing the garage, inventorying, ordering supplies, etc. 

We ended the month enjoying Oktoberfest dinner with Florian and Brenda at The Old Stein Inn.  We sat in the Biergarten. It was a little different due to covid. They had no seats at the bar and the high top tables had been replaced by tables socially distanced. We shared the Bavarian soft pretzel and potato pancakes for an appetizer, the applesauce served with the pancakes had a little too much cinnamon. Brenda and I enjoyed the Jager schnitzel, while Florian and Rob had Schnitzel Cordon Bleu with a radish salad and an Oktoberfest salad.  Brenda and I could not leave without sampling dessert, she had hazelnut torte and I had the apple strudel.  

I have to say the summer spent at Herrington Harbour South has been a lot of fun.  We had our normal crew, which was Rob, Sharon, Lance, Nicole, Giovanna, Rosella, and Gemma but this year our crew expanded to include Bernie, Jackie, Marti Ann, Jamie, Holly and Reardyn for weeknight cookouts.  Our weekend crew included the normal crew plus John, Christopher, and Christin with special appearances by Billy, Madeline, Terry and Sheila. The meals we had were always very delicious, thanks to the amazing chefs in our group.  

Looking forward to the next adventure. Stay Tuned!