Day 222, "on the loop", 5/19/2023

Friday 12 - We wrapped the day at Jackson Creek Marina, perviously known as Deltaville Marina in Virginia.

Virginia is the state of "LOVE" and here we found LOVE signs everywhere!

If you look closely you will see Chris & Dan in the "O," Capel in the "V" and Joel at the "E". Karen was waiting for us nearby.

We stayed at Jackson marina for 3 nights, it was a great stop! The staff were extremely helpful, we caught up on our laundry, had two pot lucks in the "Crab Shack" (an enclosed picnic area). Visited the Deltaville Maritime Museum (it was in walking distance). We also used the courtesy car for a grocery run. We crossed paths with more Loopers and even met "Brand New" Loopers, on day 5 of their loop adventure: Boat Name: High Five (Alison and Thomas).

Picture below (in the crab shack):

Loopers: High Five (Alison & Thomas - TX); Spartina (Joy & Pat - GA); The Beach House (Roxanne & David - GA) and then Long Gone 2 (Chris & Dan - TN); Arabella (Karen & Capel - GA) and lastly Summer Place (us - MO) - Chris from LG2 took the picture, Thank you Chris!

Meanwhile, back home: Jonathan wrapped up his first year of college! Took his final test and drove home to MO for the summer. He finished strong and we couldn't be more proud of this guy. By request, he even sent a last day of school picture :-).

He will work this summer and hopefully come visit us on the loop for a week (crossing fingers & toes).

Jonathan's first day of school (8/2022) Last day of school (5/12/2023)

*nervous smile* *confident smile*

full dorm room empty dorm room

Saturday, May 13 - Deltaville Maritime Museum

We followed a walking path (trail) from the marina to the museum. It was a lovely walk! It was a cloudy day; but, we made the most of it!

We had dinner at the Deltaville Tap & Raw Bar. The manager visited our table and explained how he cooks the oysters! So you know, we all had to try them! Joel, Capel, Dan & Chris all had fresh oysters. Roxanne and I shared a few fried ones as an appetizer and Karen had fried oysters for dinner. The manager was right, they were yummy! BUT, THE HIGHLIGHT of this dinner was: Chris and Dan (LG2) ordered 12 oysters and one of their oysters included a "live" baby crab! If Daphne, our server, had not pointed it out, they would have probably ate it. We named the crab, George. After talking to it, taking pictures, etc. Karen set George free (took him to the water so that he may survive or more than likely be food for another animal of the sea - Best of luck, George)!

Dan & Chris, with their oysters, George (2nd picture) came with their order. Karen & Capel showing their order (apologies for the blurred pics).

I think Roxanne & David took this picture... isn't it so pretty!

Sunday, May 14 - Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Trudie Carr, I hope you had a wonderful day filled with sunshine and love! Also, Happy Mother's Day to all those who love and nurture (your own kids, bonus kids, fur babies, etc). We hope you enjoyed your day!

For me, the day started with a phone call from Jonathan, Joel made breakfast and we walked to/from the Deltaville Maritime Museum to see the grounds surrounding the museum. Note: this part (the outdoors) was closed the day before due to a wedding.

The museum grounds included a children's garden, a beautiful (peaceful) sculpture garden and a pier where the F.D. Crockett (boat) is kept.

Pic 7: Is a blue crab

Pic 8: Oyster garden (you can plant these seeds, and store them in water, see the picture)

Monday, May 15 -

Map of Trip: Jackson Creek Marina (Deltaville, VA) to Solomon's Yacht Club (Solomon's, MD) - WE ARE IN MARYLAND - IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

We made it! Started off with a rolly / bouncy ride. See the "red" sections in our route? That is where Joel moved the speed from 9mph to 12 mph for a better ride (to cut through the waves). It was almost a 7 hour ride and 3 - 4 hours of it was not pleasant. I wasn't expecting such a bouncy ride... so Yes! You guessed it... the cabin got tossed. Not too bad; but, the handheld vac, the boat cards and a few other minor things were scattered in the living / kitchen and bathroom areas. Luckily nothing was broken!

Dennis, a yacht club member, greeted us at Solomon's marina. He helped with the lines and shared information regarding the area (i.e. grocery store, restaurants, etc). The rate here was $1.85 a foot. We couldn't refuse this great offer. On average we pay around $2.50 per foot and in some of the more popular or more expensive locations such as Annapolis, MD, New York, etc., the cost can be as much as $4.00+ a foot. Side note: Our boat is 42 ft w/ a 4 ft dinghy overhang making us 46 ft.

There are nearby places to anchor as well. Anchorages are "free" unless there are mooring balls. Anchoring out, you must use your water and generator. We tend to enjoy the marina's for the amenities (shower, power, courtesy cars (if they have them), laundry service - some marinas have "free" washer and dryers - like Solomon's.

We ate at the Lighthouse Restaurant, it was yummy! Most of us had the crab cakes, it was about 95% crab and 5% breading and at market rate, got it for $36.00. Of course, we had to have Maryland crab!

May 16 - May 17: We had a busy 2 days here in Solomons. We took dinghy rides, walked around the town and toured the Calvert Maritime Museum. The museum tour included a tour of the Drum Point Lighthouse. We ate dinner on the boat Tuesday and had Taco Wednesday at Solomon's Yacht Club. Taco night was ONLY $10 per person and included 3 tacos and all the fillers (beans, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, sour cream and guacamole). We even had ice-cream w/ chocolate fudge for dessert!

Drum Point Lighthouse (1883 - 1962):

Installed in 1883, originally stood 125 yards offshore at the Entrance of the Patuxent River to the Chesapeake Bay. The foundations on which the cottage living quarters rest consist of seven wrought iron screw piles, hand bored into the river bottom. The Cupola houses a fixed navigational lantern, during fog, a 1400 pound bell was rung. Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1962. The lighthouse was moved to the Calvert Marina Museum in 1975.

Side note: Anna Weems Ewalt (1906 - 1995):

Anna Weems Exalt was born in Drum Point Lighthouse on July 13, 1906.

Many years later, Anna drew on her childhood memories to help furnish and decorate the lighthouse as a museum exhibit. During our tour of the lighthouse, it was relayed that Anna was adamant about the placement of the furnishings and not friendly if something was not placed to her liking (or memory).

Pic 1 - See the box w/ blocks on top

Lighthouse children were generally homeschooled. Boxes were shared (swapped from lighthouse to lighthouse) for children to have a variety of different educational activities.

Pic 2 - One of the bedrooms, this one included a double size bed, more than likely where the parents slept, the cradle was for a baby. The table with bowl & pitcher was used for washing.

Pic 3 - A sewing table w/ sewing machine

Pic 4 - It is said that the lighthouse keeper had difficulty climbing the stairs, a platform was built for him to store items, to prevent multiple trips up the stairs.

Pic 5: dining area

Pic 6: Drum Point Lighthouse after it was decommissioned and moved to the Calvert Museum property.

Me & Joel at the top of the lighthouse

Calvert Marina Museum - Solomons, MD

This museum is by far, the best one (in my opinion). Had a little bit of everything! Sea life, boats and local information.

So much was covered at the museum:

Who knew? An egg case or egg capsule, often colloquially called a mermaid's purse, is the casing that surrounds the eggs of oviparous sharks, skates and chimaeras. Egg cases typically contain one embryo, except for a big skate and mottled skate egg cases, which contain up to 7 embryos.

It is very rare to find one; however, you may find one after a really bad storm or during high tide, mixed in with seaweed.

Look closely and you can see an actual mermaid purse below:

See below: You can find the animals below in the Chesapeake bay: Sea horse, Spider crab, horseshoe crab and small shark (I believe this is a dwarf shark) which grows no more than 12 inches long.

James Adams Floating Theater (Active 1914 - 1941):

• Founded in 1914 by James Adams and his wife Gertrude. The floating theater visited towns from the top of the Chesapeake down to the coast of North Carolina, occasionally venturing as far south as South Carolina and Georgia.

• The theater typically stayed six nights on one venue, performing a different set of plays and entertainment each night.

• In 1941 the theater was destroyed by fire while being towed to Savannah, GA to be refitted

• Pictures below are replicas of the floating theater and a stateroom. If I remember correctly, the boat had 6 staterooms.

There was a section about boats. Pic 1 was a boat (Witchcraft) brought down from Massachusetts to be displayed at the Calvert Museum.

Other sections, not pictured, Chesapeake racing boats, boat motors, and so much more! This was such a great museum, highly recommend it.

Lee Huntington, Sr., settled in Annapolis. He made these type of lures, shown above, at the L.B. Huntington Company.

Taco Wednesday @ Solomon's Yacht Club

Loopers: Arabella, Long Gone 2 (LG2), Spartina, Summer Breeze & Summer Place

Sights around Solomon's.

May 18:

Map of Trip: Solomon's Yacht Club (Solomon's, MD) to Annapolis Basin Yacht Club (Annapolis, MD)

Had dinner with Marshall from Escape at Dock Street - We missed Diana, she made a trip home! See her next time! We met Marshall at Fairhope, AL / Carrabelle, FL / Charleston, SC and today (Annapolis, MD).

More on MD, week

Random Information & Other Stuff

Chesapeake Lighthouses:

At one point, there were approximately 88 lighthouses on the Chesapeake Bay (Virginia Beach to Maryland). We passed a few in our travels. Today, more than 30 lighthouses still stand in the Chesapeake region, and 23 still aid navigation.

Wolf Trap Lighthouse:

The first lighthouse to mark the shoals of Wolf Trap near the mouth of the Rappahannock River was built in 1870 to replace the lightships that had been in service here since 1821. In 1893, ice floats dislodged the light from its foundation. A replacement was built in 1894; its red, octagonal tower stands 52 feet tall.

The Point No Point lighthouse sits six miles north of the Point Lookout lighthouse and the entrance of the Potomac River.

While construction began in 1901, it was not completed until 1904.

Today, a two-story white tower sits atop a red, cast-iron base. Automated in 1938 and converted to unmanned operation in 1962, the light remains an active aid to navigation.

Smith Point Light is a caisson lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Potomac River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

New Point Comfort Lighthouse (2 different views):

A lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, United States, off the tip of the Middle Peninsula. Finished in 1804, it is the third-oldest surviving light in the bay, and the tenth-oldest in the United States.

Different Shapes of Lighthouses:

By day, lighthouses often serve as landmarks for ship captains seeking to identify their position along a coastline. Thus, lighthouses vary in shape, size, and color. Lighthouses can be square, round, conical, rectangular, and even octagonal (eight-sided).

Various Lighthouse Construction Types:

The lighthouse type can also be classified as terrestrial or aquatic, i.e., onshore or offshore types. The major construction types for historic lighthouses are wooden, masonry, wave-swept, concrete, cast-iron plate, skeletal, straight-pile, screw-pile, crib, caisson, and Texas tower.

Side note: The lighthouse I talked above, Drum Point Lighthouse is a screw pile lighthouse. A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms.

Lighthouses are painted differently to help identify them during the day by the mariner. For example, a lighthouse may be painted all white if its surroundings/background is dark, such as fields or woodland. This will help it stand out from its background.

Green coloring on a lighthouse - Is Often used to identify safe waters. Green is also used to identify the port (left) side of a channel.

Lighthouse Flashing Lights;

Most lighthouses rhythmically flash or eclipse their lights to provide an identification signal. The particular pattern of flashes or eclipses is known as the character of the light, and the interval at which it repeats itself is called the period.

A couple of fun facts about lighthouses:

• The first lighthouse was Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, built in the third century BC. The lighthouse of Alexandria was made from a fire on a platform to signal the port entrance.

• The United States is home to more lighthouses than any other country.

• With more than 115 lighthouses along the Great Lakes, Michigan boasts the most lighthouses of any U.S. State.

• The first keeper in America, George Worthylake, met an untimely death: He drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the Little Brewster Island lighthouse in 1718.

• The most expensive lighthouse built in America is St. George Reef, near Crescent City, California. It took 10 years to construct and cost $715,000.

• Lighthouse keeping was one of the first U.S. government jobs available to women, going back to the 19th century.