Homecomings

We had been anticipating return to home waters and the chance to see friends and family, and to let them see for themselves the lifestyle we had adopted. Somehow, reconnecting with old friends seemed the perfect way to start a journey where most things and people we encounter will be unfamiliar.

Our long weekend in Norfolk, 6/26-29 was delightful. Two “Open Boat” parties. Andrea got in a day at the beach with some of her buddies. Pictures tell it all.

Our Monday, 6/30 trip (up current all the way) gave us a chance to show off the boat to Mom and Dad. Some logistics kept Mom on the dock, but Andrea gave Dad a top to bottom tour. We had a delightful dinner on the deck at Kingsmill Marina. We’ll be back in the Fall! We took two easy days to cruise to Annapolis.

July Fourth weekend (± 3 days) in Annapolis was HOT HOT HOT - like >100 heat index from start to finish. It didn’t stop the festivities, though. Roger visited and stayed aboard for a few days. It was great to see him and catch up on his new job and his happy life. We also got a hydraulic hose repaired (and re-repaired), did some banking, dentist, and doctor stuff. ATW did some hair stuff, and we both did some storage, provisioning, and shopping stuff.

On Saturday, 7/5 we took a trip to the Waterman’s in Rock Hall for crabs with Roger, Dick, Karen, Wolfgang, Astrid, Jim, Nancy and Faye.  The crabs were as hot as the weather. The Charlottesville contingent and Roger became our first overnight guests! 

 On Sunday we welcomed lots of friends for our now familiar “Open Boat” party. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures of the festivities. L. Sorry, you guys will get your15 minutes of fame another time.  On Monday, we moved the boat to our old slip, courtesy of Brooks and Nell, who have it now in anticipation of their next boat purchase.  They joined us for a sunset cruise up the Severn River.  They are long-time Annapolitans, and shared lots of local knowledge.  Tuesday night in anticipation of our travels into northern waters, Karen invited us for steamed mussels so that Andrea could see how it’s done.  Delicious!

Thursday, 7/11, we arrived in Baltimore and welcomed a ton of friends, family, (ex) family, and fraternity family. To our surprise, the Baltimore contingent significantly out-partied the Norfolk contingent despite a 1:2 disadvantage in opportunities. Here they are:

So we ended the Homecoming Chapter. It was all we had hoped for in terms of getting our ‘friend fix.’ Nonstop, to say the least, but well worth all the energy. As things wound down that Thursday night, we began to turn our thoughts to the many chapters in our future. Stay tuned.

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