Monday, Oct 11 - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 - In Rock Hall, MD

 

Oct 11 - Oct 20, 2021 Rock Hall, MD

We were getting to Rock Hall, moving onto the boat, getting it organized, figuring stuff out, getting to know how it works - these were the major priorities during this time, but we stayed there much longer than we anticipated.

Monday, October 11, 2021

Rocky Hills, CT to Riverside NJ to Chesterton MD

We travelled by rental car and then by UHaul. When we got to Riverside from the hotel in Connecticut, we picked up the UHaul and then dropped off the car rental. We went to the Hunter 39' where Kim fixed up the interior for staging and Roger did a little more cleaning of the nooks and crannies.  

We took pictures and said good-bye to that well-loved boat. There were many good times had aboard her. Anyone want to buy a good, well maintained and loved sailboat?

We packed up the ridiculously large pile of stuff in the storage/garage at the marina into the UHaul and hit the road again. We made it to Chestertown just outside of Rock Hall in Maryland. Tomorrow we go to the new-to-us boat!

Last picture of Lillian Gray, the 39 foot Hunter

A few pictures of the inside of the Hunter 39, all fixed up for the sale:

The v-berth looking pretty cozy.  It was some hard to make it and keep the wrinkles tamed!  We rarely saw this view of the v-berth because that's where we stored all our goodies.

The salon (everything gets a fancy name in the boat......just because?)  We rarely had the table set up - usually the table was down and the cushions on to make a lounging area; it was much more comfortable for us that way.  We either ate at the captains table on the port side of the boat or outside in the cockpit.

The galley

The main cabin.  In the new boat, Kim will not have to do gymnastics in a tunnel to make the bed, nor to get out over Roger in the middle of the night from that dark shadowy area. The ceiling over the bed comes out more than it looks like in this picture.  Other than that is was a nice comfy bed after we put on the memory foam.

That night at the Comfort Inn in Chesterton, Levi just about drove us around the bend.  He caught scent of another dog in the room next door and put on his stubborn pants about getting over there. We imagine this is bred-in behavior for fox hunting - find the den and wait there, barking and whining, until someone comes and does something about it.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

In Rock Hall

With great vigor and enthusiasm we started moving into the new boat at Osprey Point Marina in Rock Hall. Lots of people noticed us moving in and were making fun of all the loads going down to the boat. Each one had to be rolled out in a dock cart. Kim got to work cleaning all the nooks and crannies before anything was put away. We had the boat detailed while it was sitting idly until we could get there. Our neighbors told us they saw them waxing the boat but there was some SNAFU with them getting the interior done because it was definitely left unacceptably wanting. They were to have cleaned all accessible surfaces inside. It was so disappointing to have to do all that hard work when it wasn't expected. In the end, we did get a refund on that. We couldn't be hard on the previous owner because that poor guy only sold the boat because his wife had rapid onset dementia; we imagine cleaning up the boat was rightly not on the top of his priority list.

The first of many, many loads going out to the boat.  We're excited to settle in.

Yet another pile of stuff to get organized.  But hopefully, the hauling will be done this day!

The first relaxing moment on the new boat.  A group of transients stopped by to chat and took our picture.  We're happily sitting atop our new-to-us Beneteau Oceanis 48.  It sits a  couple inches lower in the water now with all our stuff on board!

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

In Rock Hall

We continued to unpack, organize and clean, we took Levi for some walks and had dinner at the Inn at the marina. We had a bread pudding dessert.  Yum!

We were excited about living on the new boat. Actually, when we were shopping for it, we were running into a short supply of used boats available and had to travel a couple times down as far as Annapolis. This boat had everything except a full enclosure (a must have!), a table-to-bed kit for the salon, and a good stereo system.(Roger says it is the stereo from hell. it turns on itself periodically with no way to fully shut it off). We figured we could make do with the Bimini and side panels until we could find a place in Florida to install the enclosure. Roger was much more okay with this plan than Kim! And the stereo and table-to-lounge area could wait too.

Such pretty scenery at the Osprey Point Marina on Chesapeake Bay

OMG

The bed is made and Levi knows where to chill while Mamma and Daddy bust their butts.  The blanket is meant to keep him off the bedding but clearly, it doesn't always work.

One of the before and after photos we took to send to the detailers.  We were after a refund for the missing interior cleaning.

The entrance to the docks - so pretty at night

Thursday, October 14, 2021

In Rock Hall

Kim’s birthday!  We had to return the U-Haul truck and were finding out that there are no Uber’s and no taxi’s in Rock Hall, Maryland; and the U-Haul was going to be picked up by another renter at 2:00 p.m. At the same time, we were getting word that the dinghy was going to be delivered – and Roger needed to be around for that and the dinghy would be delivered to the marina next door where there is a boat ramp. After some mind storming, it occurred to us that the guy delivering the dinghy could pick Roger up in Chestertown.  So, Roger rushed out, picked up groceries and did some other necessary shopping and met up with Bob, the dinghy-deliverer, at the UHaul drop-off point.  Midafternoon, Roger showed up in the dinghy with flowers, wine, groceries, and various other and sundry items.  It was good to stock the fridge and have our trusty old dinghy back.

We went for dinner again at the Osprey Point Inn, as a special birthday treat, and besides, who can cook in kitchen with no water to the sink? We discovered it leaking and weren't able to get it fixed right away. And, the freezer was not working too.

Back on the boat, we relaxed outside in the cockpit.  Roger asked Kim to look for something behind her, “move this,” he said.  “Move that.”  And a few moves later, Kim had a jewelry store bag in her hand!  Inside was a beautiful box with an impressive hand-made gold-ribbon bow.  Inside was a beautiful necklace.  An elegant piece of jewelry.  Wowzers!  Happy Birthday Kim!

Spooky morning in one direction

Beautiful sunrise in the other direction

We discovered a leak under the sink in the galley.  The cold water pipe had a good crack in it.  Roger tried his best to fix it but a new part was needed and we couldn't get it.  He made some pleading calls to get help with it.  In the meantime, no galley sink for us.

Happy even though the move in did not quite go as smoothly as we imagined.  We have been dreaming about this trip for many years and are looking forward to the adventures ahead. We are also cherishing the idea of not having to clean up ice and snow.  We love our home in Strafford, and miss our neighbors, but we won't miss taking care of everything.  Not only did we downsize our home, we downsized the work.  We have yet to decide where we will buy again (hopefully when the market is more of a buyer's one).  In the meantime, we have Lillian Gray and plan to enjoy every minute we can!

Birthday dinner!

And Levi had a great day too!  He's a wader and we found a tiny little beach down the road in the village of Gratitude.

Friday, October 15, 2021

In Rock Hall

We took the boat over to Haven Harbor Marina, in hopes of getting the leak in the galley sink fixed and to check a warning lights on the bow thruster batteries--the batteries were recently replace supposedly and Roger's meter check showed all have great charge despite warning light).  We were a tad nervous because it would be the first time we moved this boat and the docking is a bit different than what we are used to up north.  After an explanation from Roger as to what to do with the spring line on the way back in, we were moving out of our slip very, very slowly.  Oops....Where’s the hand-held vhf?  We couldn’t find it!  We were falling into old habits, we always kept our handheld in a certain place in the old cockpit and we always had a remote that works in the cockpit...but the remote on the new boat doesn't work lo and behold!  We needed the radio to communicate with the dock folks on the working dock at the marina we were going to, especially as we have never been into it before and were not quite sure where we were even going. Kim did a search then went to the helm and Roger did a search while we idled outside the marina.  We’d just have to use just the radio in the navigation station below deck. 

Where exactly do we turn into the marina?  Kim went down and hailed.  “Haven Harbor Marina, Haven Harbor Marina, this is Lillian Gray on 6-8.”  Nothing.  Hailed again, nothing again.  Roger suggests hailing them on 16 the general channel everyone is suppose to monitor).   "Haven Harbor Marina, this is Lillian Gray on 1-6.”  Now an answer; “Lillian Gray, this is Haven Harbor Marina.  Acknowledge and switch to 6-8.”  “Roger that, Lillian Gray going to 6-8.”  We got instructions and were heading to the assigned slip on the White Dock (we had no idea what or where the white dock was!).  Once the dock hand saw us approaching, he decided to have us go onto the T-end of the red dock across the way as we were a bit too large for the spot.  He ran over to meet us, but Kim was able to jump off the boat with the lines and we were already tied up before he got there.  Not long after, Jeff (an Owen Wilson look alike), arrived to fix our leaky sink and check out our bow thruster batteries—and we finished with a thumbs up on both accounts.  Early we tried to find the parts at their marina store to do it ourselves but they did not have them. Jeff had to get creative and it took a little while for him to rig something up. The freezer would have to remain unfixed as they did not have anyone that worked on them.

Back at Osprey Point Marina, Roger saw a boat coming in and went to help, especially since the boat was just like ours.  Turns out it was coming in from Gratitude after having some work done.  Roger met Gene - the boat owner and his friend Joe.  He realized these guys were treasure troves of good local info! We were also having some really great discussions with our neighbor on the dock, Rich. Really great folks.

We were thinking about heading out on Sunday towards Annapolis but realized that the weather was going to be crappy, and we were still hoping on a guy from Gratitude Marina might be able to help with the freezer.

We tried to dinghy to a restaurant on the other side of the peninsula, but once we rounded the end near Gratitude, we saw that the waves were much too choppy for comfort (and staying dry!), so we turned back and walked across the peninsula to the Harbor Shack restaurant. Roger found a dubious short cut on Google maps and halfway through we realized it required us to cross over the corner of someone's yard. Since it had just turned dark and it was another 20-30 minutes to walk the long way around, we decided to go for it. Not until we passed by it, did we see the big "No Trespassing Sign." Whoops. Another of Roger's bad influences on sweet Kimberlea.

Laundry day and a collapsible laundry basket.  One washer and dryer = a lot of walking back and forth on the dock.

On the return trip on the dinghy, we snapped a picture of Lillian Gray, and you can also see Rich's (our neighbor) sailboat Kallisto on our starboard side.  

We were treated to a gorgeous sky on the walk to the restaurant

Saturday, October 16, 2021

In Rock Hall

In the morning Joe Musike came over.  He was the neighbor a few boats down on a Beneteau 50 (a few years older than ours) that Roger met the other day helping Gene's boat come in.  Joe is a certified marine technician, captain, and charters his boat out; and he also does sailing and systems instruction.  So naturally, ding ding ding the light went off in Roger’s coconut that he would be a good chap to have on board to help him with a few questions we had about the systems on our new boat.  Even Joe had to do some head scratching with some of the questions, so Roger felt redeemed.  Every boat is different.

It was starting to get windy as per the weather forecast. With the galley sink fixed, we were able to have dinner onboard. It was a little more of a relaxing day and we needed it. Amongst continuing work issues, Roger was trying to learn the new B&G chart plotter and realized that we needed to do some software updates.

At the marina - a barn near the entrance from the road is overshadowed by really cool black clouds.  We are lucky to be having some unexpected extra time at this lovely location.

Our first cooked dinner on this boat! We will eat at the Captain's table when not up in the cockpit, just like we did on the old Lillian Gray.

The place is feeling more settled and comfortable now.  How we will ever find anything that we stowed all over the boat is another matter!

Lovable Lounging Levi - feeling at home

Sunday, October 17, 2021

In Rock Hall

The weather is still too choppy and gusty to forge ahead with the trip today in reasonable comfort.

We went to lunch at a neat little café/shop/restaurant in downtown Rock Hall called Lava Rock with our new friend, Rich, from the boat next door.  He was so helpful and kind to take us and he took us with him to two different grocery stores so we could get all the good stuff.

When we got back from those errands, we went on bike ride and took Levi along with us. Afterwards, Rich came over and we shared some cheese and crackers and he helped us plan potential stops along the Chesapeake Bay and the ICW.  It was really fun, and we got good notes. Rich has an incredible memory!

Roger’s leg is healing up well!!

Levi was fascinated when he found that the back of the bench, which is black, in the cockpit was a window.  He could see us moving around inside.

Kim loves, loves, loves the new e-bikes!

Levi rides along in the backpack.  Roger smiles and enjoys all the girls saying "He's so cute!" when he drives by.  

The cook's cooking!  Three burners instead of two in this boat.  

The birthday flowers that arrived via dinghy

Monday, October 18 - Wednesday, October 20, 2021

We stayed on even longer in Rock Hall.  Here's why:

1.  It’s free because the dock space for 2021 came with the new boat

2. We were waiting to hear about getting repair work done for the freezer - Wade from Gratitude Marina was still at the Annapolis boat show and not being particularly communicative, not a good sign

3. It was still very very gusty and choppy on the water

4. We placed a couple online orders and had to wait for them to arrive

Roger worked on updating the B&G electronics and tried to figure out the stereo from hell that kept randomly turning on. We just decided not to use the radio at all. The zones are messed up, controls do not work, and it appears that the previous owners had it set up to be controlled by the B&G plotter and not a base receiver. But even at the B&G unit, the on and off button is grayed out, not workable! Roger plans to just disconnect the power wires for now. In the meantime, we have that lovely waterproof speaker that Rob (Kim's brother) gave us for Christmas a couple years back!

We enjoyed biking around and found a baseball field where we could play ball with Levi who was getting a chance to go full tilt (brown bullet) like he did in the invisible fence in Strafford.

It turned out that the the guy we were waiting for at Gratitude Marina wasn’t able to help us with the freezer but he gave us the name of Eric Brown at BoatAC. Roger called Eric and he said he could come take a look at it when we get over to Annapolis on Thursday.

By this time, we were feeling pretty built up about doing our first trip on the new Lillian Gray and were grateful for having met our neighbor, Rich and having a chance to get to know Rock Hall and the Osprey Point Marina.  

Our next destination:  Annapolis.

Osprey Point Marina - there's a full moon behind those clouds

A heron

We have been seeing a lot of geese on this trip making their way South with us - honking and "veeing"

We went to the grocery store on our bikes and really loaded up!  Levi got to ride on Roger's back inside. We were somewhat worried we were overloaded, but we made out just fine with our saddle bags and milk carton.

The fruits of our grocery trip - lasagna!