Home for Christmas

December 9, 2007 Sunday
Home is a relative concept - is California our home or is the boat our home. At the feeling level, both are. Anyway, we're probably not going to be blogging too much since we are leaving for a month in California, couch surfing with family and friends. We had a grand sendoff here in Oriental although it wasn't just for us. They had the big Christmas parade yesterday and it was great. The whole town turned out for a chili cook off, free gumbo, and lots of other free food that we never even found out about. Then there was a parade, a fire dancer and then a bunch of parties. Whew! The parade was very cool. It had the usual politicians, fire department, marching bands, etc. But then there were a bunch of comedy entries from wacky locals. And they lined the streets with paper bags with candles inside. Now that's not totally original, but they did a mile of the main drag and a bunch of side streets. More than 3000 lights deployed and they burned for hours. Very cool.

Here is the local volunteer fire truck in the big Parade.
And here is Jeff with celebrated firedog Hoosier in his first-ever parade.
Here are the 11 pipers piping. They did (mostly) syncronized marching and turns to the delight and ridicule of the crowd.

Another reason to like this town is the weather. We are having a warm spell right now. For the next week, temps are going to be in the low 70's. Santa Cruz and SF are going to be in the 50's and LA in the 60's. The Gulf Stream is only 30 miles away and that helps. But we hear that it gets into the 30's in the dead of winter here, but then there are some warm days in between the cold spells. We are on the same latitude as Santa Maria, CA.

We'll have email as we travel and cellphones, so don't hesitate to be in touch.

Getting domestic in NC

November 30, 2007
Can you believe it? We have been getting complaints that we are getting lax in our blogging responsibilities. Nothing has been heard since the great Oyster Feast. Well, we're sorry and will try to do a better job in the future.

We bought a car. Winter without a car looked kinda bleak so we went out and bought one that we can turn over to Tony and Annette upon our departure. They need something with a back seat for the future baby and this is the perfect ride.
So we went off to have Turkey Day with Tony & Annette in Asheville, NC. Asheville is in the western part of the state, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Being higher and further from the coast, it is quite a bit cooler. In summer, that is very nice. Here we all are having a pre-thanksgiving Mexican dinner.
Annette is providing a warm, wet home for a future bambino. Only 2 months to go.....
Here's the lucky couple in downtown Asheville.
Here is one of the bands that Tony plays with. We saw two of their shows while we were there. These guys are good! They made us get up and do a little flamenco - the audience was nice about it although I doubt many had ever heard flamenco before.

After a week in Asheville, we came back to Oriental and are now doing the promo work for our big show here on February 1. We need to get everything out now so that we can visit California without having to worry about it. While in Asheville, we noted that Santa Cruz has been out-hippied by Asheville. Asheville has more yoga and massage instructors, more organic food stores, more music, and younger hippies. And there are a lot more of them! Santa Cruz hippies are showing their age - the young ones are punkier or gothier or something. I am now so old that I have no clue what the young folks are up to - and don't even feel bad about it. Now that we are here for a while, we can get snail mail, so you could actually write to us (those of you who eschew the keyboard).

All the oysters you can eat.....

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
We have settled in to life back in Oriental, NC. We bought a car and are enjoying the mobility. Here in the marina, the social life is very rich. Almost every night lately, we have been having outdoor potlucks around the fire pit. As soon as a fire is lit, folks just start showing up with food and drink.
Yesterday, we used the new car to take Don, Heesook, and son Christopher shopping. They have been at the marina for a few days now on their way to the Bahamas. Don wanted to get some fresh shrimp, so we went to the local shrimp packing plant where "just off the boat" shrimp are frequently available at great prices. Alas, it was late in the day and so their stock was all gone. So we just went to the supermarket. As we came out, we saw a truck that said "Fresh Crabs and Oysters" on the side making a delivery. Don, being somewhat irrepressible, went over and offered to buy some oysters directly from the driver. To our surprise, they made a deal. We pitched in and the two families bought a bushel of fresh oysters (harvested yesterday) for $40. That is a bag that I doubt the women could lift.
So we took them back to the marina and I began to discover why a plate of oysters on the half-shell costs $1 per oyster and up. First we had to break clumps of oysters into individuals. They we had to hose the mud off them. They were in the same condition as when they were pulled out of the ocean. Then we sorted them into oysters that would be easy to shuck for eating raw and oysters that would need some kind of cooking to get them open. Finally, the oysters to be shucked at once needed to be brushed along their hinges so that leftover muck didn't get inside when they were shucked. When you consider that we are dealing with well over 200 oysters, the task becomes significant. By the time all this was done, it was dark.
But finally the oysters arrived at the table and we commenced the all-you-can-eat oyster feed. We tried every possible combination of sauces in addition to just as they come from the shell. Shucking them took a bit more work, but we had more help so we gorged. Then the BBQ oysters started coming off the grill. You toast them until they open. They get steamed in their own juices and then get a smokey flavor on top of that. Since this was a potluck, there was chicken, pork, salads and pasta to be had. Finally, we couldn't eat anything more.
So we went to bed with our refrigerator full to capacity with the fresh oysters that didn't get used. Tomorrow, there is to be an oyster chowder, according to the reigning cook. I think I can handle this.
Late flash: there was an oyster chowder, "just like Mom used to make", and then for dinner, Oysters Rockafeller, lot of them and the best I've ever had. We washed those down with a Chardonney from New Zealand's Marlborough region. This is my favorite source of great value wines - virtually any wine from this region will be a treat, especially if it has a screw cap. The Marlborough vintners are the first group to really defy the notion that cork is the only way to seal a quality wine. Actually, it is the worst, and screw tops are the best. Anyway, we aren't living too badly our here. We really do wish you were here.

Back home in Oriental

Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007
We have been back at Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor for a week now and have been settling in. Last night there was a potluck on the docks with steamed oysters and a really good gumbo - plus all the other usual yummies. Fun!
We bought a car so that we would be able to do road trips this winter and visit family and friends. It's been a long time since we drove, but it comes right back.
We have been amazed at how many people we have been running into on the streets and in the market who saw us perform in the 2 little appearances that we did last summer. There are already students lining up for Andi's dance classes. It is nice to be recognized even though the town doesn't really have any aficionados. It seems as if there are quite a few willing to be aficionados. We'll see what we can do to encourage that.
We have a great internet connection and spotty cellphone connections, so email is the best way to reach us. The phones do work, though.

Saeta gets her picture taken

October 30, 2007
Since we were travelling in company with Kloosh, we took the opportunity to photograph each under under way.


Here we were motoring through the river below the last lock of the canal.
And here we were still in the canal, following Kloosh.
Once we left Elizabeth City, we were able to sail across the Albemarle Sound
I wonder who's steering that thing.

We brave the Dismal Swamp

Monday, October 29, 2007
We met John and Cheryl just before the first lock of the canal and rafted with them until the lock opened. We were really worried about the canal being too shallow for us, but there had been rain for 4 days that raised the water level enough for us to risk it.
After we got through the first lock, we tied up to a dock and went out for a really bad Mexican dinner, but got to know John and Cheryl and shared lots of stories about our Sceptres.


The next morning when we awakened, there was this fog on the water that was mysterious and spooky.
Then we all started off. We let some other boats go ahead because we figured that we were the most likely to go aground. We touched bottom many times, but never were stopped.
There was some kind of duckweed on the surface of the water.
As we got to the final lock, the duckweed was really thick. We were on TV as the last group of boats to transit the canal before it closed for the season. Most boats use the regular canal that is deeper and used by commercial shipping.
John took this picture of us in our cockpit awaiting the final lock opening.

The Dismal Swamp Canal does a big job of promoting itself because it only serves recreational boaters and is always under the threat of being closed. It was planned before the revolution, but wasn't funded until the 1790's.
There was a hotel along the way where Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The Raven", undoubtedly inspired by all the dismalness.
Once we cleared the last lock, it got much deeper and by sunset we were in Elizabeth City where there were flags that said "Welcome" and people to take our docklines as we tied up to a free dock right on the city front. It is nice to be welcomed without a big price tag. We'd have liked to have spent a few days there, but had to leave at dawn to make miles before tropical storm Noel threatened the area.

End of the Chesapeake

Here is one of the lighthouses on the way down the Chesapeake to Hampton Roads. You can kinda see how rough the water was although the camera always makes the waves look smaller.
When we anchored at Hampton, we were rewarded with a flaming sunset.
Here are John and Cheryl, owners of Kloosh, another Sceptre 41 with whom we travelled for a while. They are in the first lock of the Dismal Swamp Canal with us right behind them.
Here is Kloosh under sail - looks a lot like us, but Kloosh is much newer.

Sunday, October 28,2007
We anchored this afternoon in Hampton, VA which is right at the mouth of the confluence of the James and Elizabeth Rivers. All very close are Norfolk, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Hampton. We had a wild sail down here with wind up to 33 knots in the gusts. Fortunately, it was behind us so we were pretty level although the motion wasn't the best with the wind against the tide all day. We are glad to be here. Tomorrow we are going to meet another Sceptre 41, Kloosh, and go with them down the Dismal Swamp Canal. This canal was dug under the supervision of one G. Washington (yup, him again) who seems to show up everywhere around here. It is very primitive, but shallow.
We have spent a lot of time in rivers with Indian names - like Mill Creek was a tributary to the Great Wicomoco River and Jackson Creek, Deltaville was a tributary to the Pianktank River. I'm glad the indians got to leave something of themselves. It must have been a paradise for them with the oysters, crabs, and geese ready for the pot. Only the mosquitos were a plague. Fortunately, coming in fall, we missed those. We really could have spent a year exploring the Chesapeake. We saw some of the high points, but there are thousands of miles of shoreline and only about half of is is covered with rich people houses. If I had known there were going to be so many rich people, I might have tried harder to be one of them. I always thought that being middle-class was pleasantly comfortable. I am beginning to figure out that it means being poor with dignity.

The end of Indian Summer...

October 26, 2007 Friday
Well, we've had some lousy weather for the last few days with more scheduled. It has been raining, at times very hard with lots of wind. We sailed from Solomons, MD to Mill Creek, just below the Potomac and above the Rappahanock (on the west shore). We had lots of wind, so we went pretty fast. The Chesapeake being shallow, there were steep waves caused by the wind blowing in the opposite direction from the tidal flow. The motion was a little uncomfortable, but we were going so fast that it was tolerable. We got into Mill Creek and then put up with the wind howling all night long. We don't sleep that well when we are worried about the anchor holding. If it drags, we could end up on a beach or just aground on a mudbank, neither a pleasant alternative.
We woke up this morning to a dreary rain and too much wind, but by 10AM it had moderated a little, so off we went for Deltaville. After all, the wind was blowing in the right direction. And it was blowing hard, so we were hauling! The sailing was pretty nice, but the rain... And when it was time to enter Jackson Creek at Deltaville, the skies opened and we could barely see. Fortunately, my electronic navigation saved the day. With Andi on deck watching for the buoys and me following the channel (on screen) we got into this tricky harbor with its very narrow winding channel while the rain came down in buckets.
Now we are snuggly anchored and having eaten a quantity of gambas al ajillo (shrimp in a paprika and garlic sauce), we're going to get some sleep. We have pretty much given up on trying to see more of the Chesapeake. With this lousy weather, we're just going to make one more run down to Norfolk and then start down to Oriental, NC where we will try to find a car to use for the winter. I guess we will miss Halloween celebrations. Darn.
Write...phone, why not?

Even more Solomons, MD

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

This cute lady duck made a habit of coming by the boat every day to see if there were any tortilla chips. She didn't run with the usual pack of ducks - she was a loner, but too cute to say "no" to.
Here are Andi's swans - the white ones are the parents and the beige ones the children. They were getting begging lessons.
And this time of year, geese are constantly going overhead. Our Canadian friends consider them pests, but we are fascinated.
Here is Don and his son, Christopher. You can't see his wife Heesook (Korean) because she wasn't in the dinghy. They are Canadians travelling South and we have been with them in quite a few harbors now. We've done some dinners together and they invited us to a big Canadian raftup where 4 boats anchored all in one group and we partied for hours. They made us do flamenco and other musical things. Fun! They spoke English instead of French in our honor. There are lots of Canadians travelling South - more than us natives, actually. I don't know why there are so many - maybe because the US is so inexpensive for them.

Solomons, MD

Tuesday, Ocotober 23, 2007
We have been in Solomons for a few days now. It is getting late in the fall and the weather is starting to show the winter pattern of cold fronts every few days. That means more wind than we want, so we are hanging out here. It is a pleasant harbor with lots of marinas and anchoring space. The geese and ducks tend to be in the less travelled areas, but Andrea was tickled to get to meet some begging swans. They like tortilla chips. The cool air means that I've been wearing long pants for days now and even a heavy shirt from time to time.
We have good internet and phone connections, so have been getting some business things out of the way. I moved everything out of the stock market for a while. We will find out later if that was correct.
We had a great sail coming down here, hitting 8.5 knots at times. There hasn't been enough of that. We only have a few more stops before we will be back in Norfolk and heading back down the ICW to Oriental, NC for the winter. We'd like to see Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg - history is all over the place around here. If we had more time, going up the Potomac to Washington would be terrific, but it's getting late.
When we were anchored in Trippe Creek above Oxford, it was glassy smooth at sunset. And then a powerboat made some waves. It looked cool.
We went down to La Trappe Creek off the Choptank River (setting for Michner's "Chesapeake") and anchored behind this sandbar in a sheltered cove.
Here is the bottom of that cove. There were thousands of geese hiding back behind that island. We spent a few days here waiting out bad weather.
Here is a lighthouse we passed while sailing down to Solomons.
Just before we got to Solomons we were catching a fleet of sailboats. We mostly are alone, so the company was nice.

More pix from Oxford and the Tred Avon

After Oxford, we sailed up the Tred Avon to Trippe Ck. We took the dinghy to see some geese at the end of the creek. We scared them.
But, we got some pix as they flew by. I must admit, a lot of geese had their domestic affairs disturbed to bring you these pix.
There are lots of rich people homes along the shore - this is an older classic one.
And this is a newer, more expensive one. There is more money per capita here than anywhere else in the US. At least we are getting to use the internet by capturing the signals from their home networks. These pix are thanks to them.
Here is Saeta anchored in front of a big estate.

Pix from the Eastern Shore

Here I am in St. Micheals. We were on our way to the grocery.
Here is a traditional skipjack - the kind of boat used for years to dredge oysters ("drudge arsters")
We then sailed around to Oxford, MD. This was a boatyard specializing in rebuilding classic wooden boats.
A flock of geese came over in formation, just before sunset.
And, of course, the sunset.

St. Michaels, MD

October 13, 2007 Saturday
After a wait for bad weather, we were able to leave Annapolis in the throes of a powerboat show and sail to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. St. Michaels is a colonial town that has changed in the last 20 years from crabbing, clamming, and oystering to tourism. We actually got to sail most of the time (for a most welcome change) and arrived in mid-afternoon. We went ashore and found it to be a charming little town with grocery stores and good restaurants galore.
It has been a major change to get used to wearing long pants and heavy shirts as the chill of fall has arrived. I am getting the diesel heater ready as the nights can get into the high 40's. Of course, that is what makes the trees change their colors.
I am reading "Chesapeake" by Michener and it is so cool to be reading about the history of the places where we are now anchored. Today (Sunday) we went to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum, which had a fascinating collection of early Chesapeake relics. See pix later. The part of the museum about oyster harvesting was so interesting that we went directly to Big Al's Seafood afterward and had a dozen oysters. Coming from water that is only partly salty, they were sweeter than the salt water oysters we have known from the Pacific. Yum! This is a very pretty town and I apologise for not putting up more pictures. Our keel is so deep that we have to anchor pretty far from shore and because of that, the pictures don't show the detail well enough.
This traditional catboat came by our anchorage. This used to be a very popular style as the one sail was easy for a lone fisherman to handle
Here is a church that dates to 1691! The chimes ring every hour and we can hear them in bed at night.
At the museum, we visited a lighthouse and there was a lighthouse keepers uniform available. Andi tried it on. Our boat is anchored directly to the right of her.
Here is the lighthouse with Saeta framed underneath it.
And here is a traditional Chesapeake sailboat; the kind that they used to dredge oysters and for light shipping.

Cuted out in Annapolis

October 9, 2007 Tuesday
We got up early to catch the tide this morning. Although the wind was directly against us (What's new?), we made good time and by lunchtime were anchored off the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Annapolis is one of the sailing capitals of North America along with Newport, RI and maybe Ft. Lauderdale. There is an incredible amount of nautical activity here. We arrived in mid-week between the big sailboat show and next weekend's big powerboat show. So it's chaotic on the waterfront. Still, with all the little creeks, there is a lot of waterfront.
We walked around town and found that it was terminally cute. Everytime we came around a corner or looked down a side street - cute! I am not making fun of it. It was like being in Disneyland, but it is really like this. I'm typing this while a cold front is coming through and there is lightning, rain and wind. So I'll just show you a few pix and and you decide if it is cute.
Here is St. Anne's Church in the center of a traffic circle.
Here is the South side of that traffic circle. You can see the State Capital Dome in the background. That building is the one in which Geo. Washington (yup, him again) resigned his commission as head of the continental army so that his presidency wouldn't look like a military coup. And the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War was signed here.
Here is a back street that is one of the ugliest streets we saw.
Here is the North side of the traffic circle.
And here is a typical business street.

So, is it cute?