Baltimore

We have a slip at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore. It's in an area called Canton, which is rapidly being "revitalized," with the building of new on-the-water condos and town houses that no one can afford. (Well, SOME people must be able to afford them because they're mostly occupied. Where do they get their money??? Yikes.)

From our slip we can see the Domino Sugar plant, and yes, they refine sugar there. Some days the air is sweet with it, some days our boat gets slightly sticky with it. I'm going to post a couple of photos here which I think really show the dynamics of the PORT OF BALTIMORE, and of course, Domino Sugar is featured. Believe me, we can't see it this close from our marina, but if you will go to the Inner Harbor (a delightful "must see") then you will pass this plant. We just happened to be passing when they were loading (UNloading?) raw sugar, and it's really a spectacular sight.

We are within a long walk of the Inner Harbor, which is a lot of fun to go to. What a sense of festivity it has! Colors and music and flags flying. We often start or end a cruise with a turn around the Inner Harbor, just for the fun of it.

The Constellation is there, and I'm posting a picture which really intrigued me. The sailor resting his arms on the rail was really just a visitor to the ship . . . but he seemed as if he belonged so completely that I believe that he saw himself that way too. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

Between Canton and the Inner Harbor is Fells Point and Little Italy. Baltimore is at the west end of the Patapsco River, which 99% of the time is rough with confused seas and a heavy chop. Perhaps some of that is due to the tug and ship traffic, because Baltimore is a port, and they're determined to keep it that way -- there's a new moratorium on development of the shoreline. I believe I've only seen this river flat on one or two occasions. Here's a picture of one of Baltimore's beautiful tall ships during one of those occasions.

Aqua Vitae on the Chesapeake Bay

Our 1986 Albin 43 is a gorgeous boat and ready to cruise! We've gone so many places on the Chesapeake Bay but I'd be willing to bet that NO one has "seen it all" on this amazing body of water. In a few months or a year we'll be cruising full time, but I thought it would be fun to start this blog with the cruising grounds that I know. There is SO MUCH TO SHARE on the Chesapeake Bay!

There are many many quiet anchorages . . . numerous lovely harbors offering everything from fine dining and honky tonk to educational maritime experiences. I hope no one minds if I've "tweaked" some of these images a bit to make them "artistic." Some I'll leave alone so you can see the "real thing." Nonetheless, hopefully I can help show some of the Chesapeake's finest. . . but, like everyone else, I've not "seen it all!"

Here is a misty dawn on the Corsica River, just off the Chester River. The Chester River (and I'll be posting more pictures of the Chester, believe me, as it's gorgeous!) is one of the few real rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. Most of the "rivers" are tributaries, tidal fingers of the Bay, reaching up into the farms and small villages, or developments and cities. . . and back down with the receding tide.

The Chester has a strong enough flow of fresh water that you can actually swim (some years) well into the fall, when other "rivers" are so full of sea nettles (stinging jelly fish) that you could almost walk across to the other side. The anchorage you see in this picture is one of our very favorites. The water is 10 feet deep or so almost up to the shoreline. In the fall, the geese fly overhead in huge flocks, calling, threading the skies like waves of seaweed in the ocean.

I remember once waking up in the middle of the night wondering what inconsiderate neighbor was having such a raucous party so late into the night. . . it was the geese.