Summer 2021 Visit to Rhiannon and Road Trip

Friday, July 9, 2021. We loaded the car and set off for Annapolis to visit our boating friends Gayle and Laura. 

Loaded and ready to go

This is the first planned stop on a trip which started out to be just to Rhiannon to check on her after a year of separation.  When we put her on the ground last June, no one knew how long it would be until we were able to return because of Covid.  

One of our friends passed away yesterday (pancreatic cancer) and we had also planned a visit with him, but now we will visit his wife instead. We have known Jerry and Pam (Thunder Gust) for many years, first as a peer at work, then as a sailor and a good friend. We miss him already. 

Jerry & Pam in Warderick Wells 2017

The trip then expanded to include other friends and family, as you will see. This has been our first real adventure out of the area in over a year. Now that everyone we will see has been vaccinated, we feel much more comfortable making the trip.

We arrived at Laura and Gayle's (Fancy Free) at 7:00pm and they had prepared a lovely dinner of fish and fresh vegetables. (507 miles today). 

We visited with them the following day and then departed on Sunday, July 11. Crossing the Bay Bridge and driving down the DelMarVa peninsula to Cape Charles, VA. (191 miles) Here we met up with Ed and Debbie, who Benny worked with (many years ago now).  We have not seen them in 20 years.  They had both retired and moved to Florida, living on a golf course.  Ed is an enthusiastic golfer.  Their daughter moved to Cape Charles.  She and her husband bought the local airport and are investing in the area.  When grandchildren came along, Ed and Debbie would visit and take care of the grandchild.  When the second grandchild was born, they sold the place in Florida and moved to Cape Charles.  Now they have invested in a business there.  They have a golf cart that is a mobile hot dog stand.  They sell hot dogs at the beach.  They seem to be having a lot of fun with it and are meeting a lot of people. 

We had dinner at The Oyster Farm.  Lovely views and great Seafood. Dessert was home-made ice cream at The Brown Dog. We stayed at The Hotel at Cape Charles, a renovated 1800's building right downtown. The rooms a huge and beautifully decorated. Lovely.

Front Porch at The Hotel at Cape Charles

Water Tower/Lighthouse at Cape Charles

The Boardwalk to the beach at Cape Charles

The Beach

L to Right Benny, Lisa, Ed & Deb at the Oyster Farm

Click on this link for more information on Cape Charles, VA

Click on this link for more information on The Hotel at Cape Charles

The next morning (Monday, July 12, 2021), we had breakfast at the hotel with Ed and Debbie, walked around the small downtown area and 

then headed out driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel to Norfolk and on down I95 to Fayetteville, NC, where we spent the night in a Quality Inn (not so much "quality"). (266 miles today)

The next morning (Tuesday, July 13, 2021), after a marvelous free breakfast (just kidding), we drove on the St. Mary's, GA. We stopped at St. Mary's Boat Services (where Rhiannon is waiting).  She looks good for having sat for a year.  Her sun cover is intact and she is really dirty on the outside, but the interior looks great.  We keep a dehumidifier running and it seems to be doing the job keeping mold and mildew at bay. We saw Bob and Allison (All In), Rhonda (who does the exterior work on Rhiannon) and her son TJ (who looks after Rhiannon in our absence). The last time we saw Bob and Allison was in the Bahamas. They are here working on their boat.

We checked in to the Sure Stay Inn and Suites (formerly the Cumberland Inn and Suites). We see many hotels that have changed their names over the past year. Nice room, reasonable price.  Dinner was take out from St. Mary's Seafood (good, but not as good as we remember it). (370 miles today)

Wednesday, July 14, 2021. We spent most of the day cleaning the exterior of Rhiannon (some mold and lots of dirt).  This is the longest we have ever let Rhiannon sit alone and I'm pretty sure we will not do it again.  When we left her in the past it was for about 4 months.  When we left her in the water, we had someone give her a bath at least once a month. We unloaded the car with the stuff we brought for the boat.  I had made some temporary hatches for the two large roof hatches in the salon (Lewmar 40).  Bob helped me remove the hatches and install the temporary ones.  The hatches will be sent off to Hatchmasters to be refurbished (new hardware, seals and plexiglass).  All the other side ports and small roof hatches have been refurbished.  The large hatch (Lewmar 70) which is forward in the head will be the last to do (probably next time Rhiannon is laid up). We met with Rhonda and discussed the work to be done prior to launching in late October (teak, cleaning, waxing, bottom paint, new stripes along the hull, etc.). 

Rhiannon under her summer sun shade at St. Mary's

We noticed that our inflatable dinghy was not where we left it (under the boat).  When we left it, the dinghy was clean, deflated, covered and wrapped up with a rope and sitting on a palette. Kevin (Rhonda's husband who works for Rocky) told us the boats stored in this area were moved a few weeks ago and they put more gravel in to firm up the ground.  Our dinghy was moved over next to the fence and apparently never put back.  We looked all over the yard, as did Kevin and TJ, with no luck.  Later in the day, we found the stuff that was in the dinghy (anchor, seat, cable for the lock) and the cover for the dinghy. No dinghy.

At 5:00pm, we met with Terri and her Mom, who are re-making our exterior canvas.  There were some adjustments to the dodger (that she made last year), the new bimini and adjustments to the existing side curtains of the enclosure. Today we went over the final touches needed. We saw Rocky and discussed the missing dinghy and our tentative launch date of November 1.  He also said he would look for the dinghy.

6:30pm, Allison made a lovely dinner of seared tuna and a salad.  They had the air conditioning going in their boat and cold beer.  What a treat!

Thursday, July 15, 2021. We dropped off the hatches at Kings Bay Mailing Services.  They will pack them and ship them off for us.  We then drove across Florida (you forget how long it takes to drive across the panhandle), the tip of Alabama and arrived at my sister Liz's house in Diamondhead, Mississippi at 7:00pm, in time for dinner.  She had made a huge pot of gumbo.  Yum! My sister's husband Robert was there as well as my other sister Patricia, who lives nearby.  Very nice evening. (531 miles today)

Friday, July 16, 2021. We spent the day doing not too much.  It has rained everyday here and today was no exception. Robert has a bunch of bird feeders in the back yard, and we spent some of the day watching all the birds.  We made a trip to the local grocery and then made Chicken Lillian for dinner.  Patricia again joined us.  After dinner, we watched the Red Sox and Yankees. Lovely! 

Saturday, July 17, 2021. Another day of relaxation.  Lisa helped Liz and Robert plant St. Augustine grass plugs in the yard.  I always have said that she is happiest with dirt under her fingernails.

Sunday, July 18, 2021. Robert and I paid a visit to The Lazy Magnolia micro brewery.  They did not have a great selection of beers to try as it is between their seasons.  The ones they did have available were good. We shared a mango and jalapeño pepper pizza for lunch, very good.  I bought a six pack of their beers to bring home for Carly and Jeff.

https://www.lazymagnolia.com/

Dinner was grilled steaks and vegetables.  Our nephew and his significant other joined us for dinner, as did my other sister Patricia. Ryan (nephew) and Jeff (our youngest) share the same birthday (Christmas Eve, although 5 years apart). Jeff's significant other is Carly and Ryan's is Carlee. Nice to be sharing a meal with family.

L to R: Benny, Lisa, Liz, Robert (with Beenie), Carlee, Ryan
Kneeling: Patricia (with Caesar)

Monday, July 19, 2021. We left early and drove back through Alabama and part of Georgia, skirting around Montgomery and Atlanta, then north into the western part of North Carolina to Cherokee, to visit with Earl and Kathy (Seeker).  We met them during out first year cruising in Marathon, FL.  They keep their boat in St. Mary's during the summer.  We have seen them several times, most recently two years ago in Vero Beach.  They have a lovely place nestled in the Smokey Mountains. They have a large garden and for dinner Earl grilled chicken, sausage and zucchini.  We also had fresh corn, the first picked from the garden this season. (575 miles today)

Kathy and Earl

Kathy and Earl's house in the mountains of NC

L to R: Earl Kathy, Lisa, Benny

Tuesday, July 20, 2021. After a very nice breakfast prepared by Kathy and Earl, we set out to Fontana Dam and Village.  Fontana Dam was built in the 1940's by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) to electrify that part of Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.  After the dam was completed, the "village" which had housed the workers was turned in to a resort.  The cabins the workers lived in, the store, the dining hall were right on the shores of the newly formed lake. My grandparents loved the mountains and visited many summers on vacation.  For three summers, between the ages of 11-13, I was lucky enough to travel with them.  They liked to stay at the resort Fontana Village.  It was kinda neat to return there after all these years and the place pretty much as I remember it.

Benny 1958

Click on this link for more info on Fontana Village Resort

Click on this link for more information on Fontana Dam

Afterward, we had lunch at Historic Tapoco Tavern, which is farther down the valley in Robbinsville, NC.  The server was Jasmine, who was from Fort Lauderdale.  She was enjoying her time in the mountains away from the "craziness" of Florida.  We had a lovely late lunch and arrived back at Kathy and Earl's house about 4:30pm.  What a nice day!

Click on this link for more information about Tapoco Lodge

Wednesday, July 21, 2021.  After a leisurely breakfast, we bid Kathy and Earl good-bye and headed north.  Our next destination is Pasadena, MD, and friends Jim and Judy (Tug-A-Long).  We made it as far as Rocky Mount, NC.  We had dinner at a Cracker Barrell and checked in rather late to the local Days Inn.  We have had good luck with Days Inn in the past, but not this time.  The hotel was probably the worst we have stayed in.  The room had damage everywhere.  It was clean, but that was about all you could say.  The next morning we discovered tons of trash by the pool and several rooms with windows broken out.  When we got home we wrote a letter to the owner and to Days Inn International, but have yet to hear back from either.  This is the second hotel we have stayed in that is in terrible condition. (367 miles today)

Thursday, July 22, 2021.  We passed on the "free breakfast" at the hotel and opted instead for MacDonald's.  We were on the road early and arrived at Pam and Jerry's (Thunder Gust) in Easton, MD about 4:00pm

You may remember that Jerry was one of the original reasons for this trip, however he passed away the first night we left home on this trip.  It was good to see Pam and be able to spend a bit of time with her during this time of grief.  Lisa and Pam were able to take a long walk,  Later in the day they went to a neigbor's to listen to bagpipe music for Jerry's memorial.  The neighbor plays the pipes. Pam made fresh rockfish and vegies for dinner. (320 miles today)

Friday, July 23, 2021.  We have been researching a new dinghy in case ours does not turn up.  Pam had meetings she needed to attend this morning, so after breakfast Lisa and I headed over across the Bay Bridge to Annapolis to Annapolis Inflatables to continue our research on inflatables to replace our missing one.  As with many other things these days, rigid bottom inflatables (RIBs) are in short supply.  Now that the demand for boats has sky-rocketed because of covid, the demand for dinghies has also.  Combined with manufacturing shortages and shipping issues, it is now very difficult for any dealer to predict when an ordered dinghy might actually show up.  Good used dinghies now cost almost what a new one does. The good folks at Annapolis Inflatables are trying to get some stock for the Annapolis Boat Show in October, but having their own issues with supply.  They will not even take orders for AB or Caribe as they cannot predict lead times.  Those were two of our preferences.  Annapolis Inflatables has a shipment of Highfield RIBs due in September for the show.  One of these is one on our list of preferable RIBs.  They have the next larger model on the floor (although it is sold - as are most all of the "floor models").  We looked at AB, Zodiac, Achilles, Highfield, Caribe models they had on the floor as well as all the specs and brochures. We were impressed with the Highfield, so we placed an order (which they said we can cancel - they will have no problem selling the boat).  If ours does turn up at St. Mary's, then we can cancel this order.  If not, we will have a dinghy for the trip this fall. We found the staff very helpful and knowledgeable.  It is easy to understand why so many of our boating friends have either bought and/or had dinghies repaired there.

Afterward, we had a late lunch at the Boatyard Bar and Grill.  We ate outside under the tent.  Lisa had Crab Dip and I had Crab Balls (mini crab cakes).  The food was excellent and the cold beer was great.

(53 Miles so far today).

Click here for more information of the Boatyard Bar and Grill

We drove a bit north to our friends Jim and Judy (Tug-a-Long) in Pasadena, MD.  We haven't seen them in a couple of years.  We went to dinner at the Stoney Creek Restaurant, which is one of our favorites in the area.  We wanted one of their famous drumstick ice cream bars for dessert, but lo and behold, they do not make them any more!  Luckily Jim knew of a place (The Daily Scoop) where you could still get homemade ones, so off we went.  Great dessert. (20 additional miles today)

L to R: Benny, Lisa, Judy, Jim

Lisa feeding goose - now a pet of Judy's

Saturday, July 24, 2021.  After breakfast, Jim and Judy had a memorial service to attend in Pennsylvania, so Lisa and I went to the grocery. Lisa worked in Judy's gardens and fed the pet goose (who adopted Judy). There was a family of Osprey next door and the fledglings were just learning to fly. When Jim and Judy returned, we made grilled steak, fresh corn and tomatoes for dinner.  We had more ice cream drumsticks for dessert. A nice relaxing day.

Mom encouraging fledgling out of the nest

Sunday, July 25, 2021.  After breakfast, we left Jim and Judy's and drove north through New Jersey, west around New York City and then north towards the Mass Pike.  Before we got there, we were routed off I87 onto the back country roads because of an accident where I87 meets the Pike (I90).  We were headed to Stockbridge and the back country roads were a nice, scenic change to the interstates.

We arrived at the at Stockbridge Inn about 5:00pm, where we were greeted by the Innkeeper, Jeff. This is where we stayed the first night after we were married in 1987.  Can it be that long ago?  The place is secluded and beautiful and Jeff the gracious host.  We had dinner at Michael's (Italian).  We split a huge veal parm and a salad accompanied by a very nice pinot noir. While having dinner a thunderstorm rolled through and we got soaked getting back to the car. The same thing happened 34 years ago.......By the time we drove the 2 miles back to the Inn, the rain had stopped. (391 miles today)

Click here for more information on the Stockbridge Inn

Monday, July26, 2021.  We had a wonderful breakfast prepared by Lisa (Jeff's wife) on the patio of the Inn.  After we said our good-byes, we headed into town to walk around the shops.  Sturbridge is lovely.  It was originally a coach stop on the Old Post Road to Boston.

 About noon, we headed north toward North Adams, MA. We arrived at our friends Kate and Shawn, who we have known 25 years.  Our youngest (Jeff, now 27) and their youngest (Ted, 27) are lifelong friends. We had dinner in (burgers and fresh corn), then went to Shawn's sister's (Liza).  Most of Shawn's  family lives in the area as well as his parents. Annabell (Shawn's neice) had gotten married the previous week-end, so most of the family was there. They are a musical group and get together regularly to play and sing.  Tonight was one of those nights.  A good time was had by all.

L to R: Grampy (Shawn's Dad), Todd (Brother-in-law), Priya (Neice))

Nephew Ben on piano, Grampy in rear

L to R: Priya (neice), Kate and Shawn

After breakfast, we headed through Williamstown to see Elaine and Lawrence (Elle and I).

On the way, we passed a display of birdhouses and other yard decorations for sale.  Lisa has been wanting to put up more bird houses, so we stopped to take a look.  They were reasonably priced, so we bought a few to take home.

When we got to Elaine's and Lawrence's, Elaine prepared a beautiful lunch. 

L to R: Benny, Lisa, Lawrence, Elaine

We got to meet their Bangle cats.

We had a great visit with them and we hated to leave, but after three weeks, we were getting anxious to get home.  It rained on and off on the trip home.  We arrived about 7:00pm.  A great road trip. (145 miles today, total days 19, total miles 3,739)