April 2023
3/26 shrink wrap off, canvas over the lights and speakers.
3/30 splashed!
4/2 mainsail up! Switched Reef 2 and jib halyard so jib halyard is outermost. Flushed and filled water tanks. 3 oz bleach first then the 15 ml for the full tank. Turned the handles in galley and shower to hot to flush antifreeze from hot water tank. All clear on cold, hot and in between.
New main halyard works well, very smooth, correct diameter.
4/4 main cabin cushions aboard and labelled. Clock put back up. Changed traveller lines to longer lines. Changed dock lines…aft black 25ft lines. Tested cockpit lights "Happy Lighting", works.
4/5 telltales on the jib. Purasan vid call with Laz, replaced water valve to chlorine dispenser, works! Got new flares, exp 3/2025. New Velcro straps. Reset spring lines both at bow. May have a solution for main halyard block, thanks to Eric the new store manager. Ordered tie down eye straps for the spare propane tank. Chatted with Laura and Dave from Lallapolooza and with Betty from Summer Semester.
4/12 First sail of the season! Daysail. Got out of the slip cautiously, first time in 225. Bow thruster works. Winds 10-15 with gusts to 20 from NW moving to W. Going 6.5-7 kts out of the channel with main Reef 1. Glorious day in the 70s with high of 80°. Sailed to Still Pond for late lunch, nearly there in 2 hours, wind got squirrelly and soft so we motored the last bit across the mouth. W wind so tucked into the cove. Wing Wednesday! Dropped anchor and let out 70 ft due to brisk breeze. Found that the topping lift was tangled in the main halyard. Untangled at anchor. Relaxed lazy jacks so they didn't catch the battens on the main. Lovely relaxed lunch. Trawler from Canada anchored ahead of us in cove. New fish haven on west side of the cove, right in prime anchoring spots for motor boats! Wonder if the fish like loud music and partying. Great sail back as well. Got her back in the slip without difficulty. Chatted with Dave from Lallapolooza then headed home. Fried chicken from Landhope for dinner! (They stop serving chix at 8p and we're nicwere nice enough to pull out a couple of pieces at 8:15p)
Awesome first day!
4/18 Home at MN:30 from TX. Up at 0830 for dance, then packed clothes, ran errands, and to baji-naji by 3:30pm. Stowed clothes, put topper on aft bunk. Brought linens and guitars down. Home for soccer.
4/19 Provisions! Turns out I had most things from home. Picked up some turkey deli, corned beef hash, Chunky soup, wraps, olive oils and soy plus AAA batteries. Stopped at Sam's for an Italian sub and to baji-naji by 1:30p. Stowed all the food. OMG the freezer is spacious! To fuel dock for pumpout. Had to turn her port side in to pumpout and flush antifreeze from head system. Off the fuel dock by 3:45pm. Blowing 10-15 from the West, so sails up. When we turned the corner past Aberdeen, the wind has dropped to 10 and was now SW 😢. Furled the jib, turned on the engine and headed for Poole's Island, ultimately Middle River. I put in the chlorine tablets and primed the Purasan, Laz put the bottom sheet and pillow cases in aft bunk and I stowed some head amenities on the way. 6:30p time to make dinner, cooked 2 Nomadic hand pies, one pulled pork for Laz and one corned beef and colcannon for me while under way. 62° out so nice to have a hot dinner underway. Navigated inside Poole's with chart and binocular help. The new binocs are sharp! Green 7 marking the shoal off Carroll's Point was missing. Seriously could not find it. Stunning sunset and dusk. Anchored SW of Bowley Point Bar Red, tucked in east of Sue Creek. Some star gazing despite Baltimore light pollution. Saw Venus coming in, missed Mars as we had to drop the main and found Arcturus after anchoring. Anchored at 8:45pm. Hot tea in the cabin after star gazing.
nb: realized I forgot the big jar of metformin 😞 will have to pick up in Annapolis.
4/20 Up by 0815. Up intermittently all night checking battery due to new fridge and landmarks/red/green in a new anchorage for us. Beautiful houses and the Sue Creek Yacht club house in view. Dodo move, banged my left knee on the open oven door, got a nice big cut and scrambled to find a Bandaid big enough. Hard boiled egg and a freshly baked croissant for breakfast! Motored across to Bowleys marina to case the joint and tied up at one end of the fuel dock farthest from the fuel pumps/pumpout. Marcus called just as we tied off and we walked up the long ramp to greet him. Got a cart and walked the Takacat dinghy boxes back to baji-naji. Gave Marcus a small tour below and off he went. We motored out of Middle River and put up sail just past Hart-Miller Island near the obstruction. Good wind from NE about 10kts. Sailed for a good while towards the Annapolis Bay Bridge. Wind moved more and more to the N and dying. Had lunch (turkey and salami & lettuce on whole grain) and then decided to furl the jib and started the engine. Motor sailed under the Bay Bridge as we had ~30° angle. Put up sail on the other side of the bridge as wind picked up to 6, then dwindled. Motored to Horn Point Harbor marina. Noticed everything one else was coming in backwards, but I decided to go in forwards. Slips are angled and had to use the bow thruster to get her in. Got in without bumping anything! Pilings in front, cleats rear. Laz changed to the black lines so he could use the teal for a spring. In by 3:30p. Went to the office to meet Mike Pachler, the marina manager and got the head and wifi codes. Sailtime is based here so went to the office to say hi to Todd and Tammy. They were with a client so we hugged and left. Laz called Annapolis Hybrid Marine and we walked to their office on Severn to pick up the EPropulsion motor for the dinghy. He would have driven us back, but there was a truck coming in to make a delivery. He loaned us a hand truck and we walked back to the marina. Got it mounted in baji-naji and plugged in the battery to charge in the V. Decided to walk to Davis's Pub for dinner. Had most excellent pub tots with crab dip, bacon and cheese. I had the superfood salad with seared Ahi and Laz had the Wild burger (bison, elk, and other wild beasts). Took 1/2 our dinners home…generous portions! Showers then changed the bandaid on the R knee and icing/compression sleeve on the left. Sliced the last 1/2 of the caramel peanut apple for dessert.
4/21 Busy busy lay day in Annapolis! Up at 0730. Breakfast of Greek yogurt, blueberries and dried coconut flakes. Nate and crew from Horton Marine Services was out to service the generator with oil and impeller change, install the water cooling hoses for the new Sea Frost plates/fridge and install the electric panel to control the temp for the fridge. Very very nice when all said and done. They arrived about 0930 and were done and gone by 1230. I put everything back in the fridge. Plate temp is set at 10°, will have to see what box temp is in the am. Currently reading 48-50°.
While Nate and his crew were working, Laz built our Takacat!
It was fun rowing it to the baji-naji as I've never really rowed anything before. She goes fast! Laz hauled her up to the bow with the Code-0 halyard and she is sitting pretty there. Sight lines are decent.
Had a delicious lunch at Wild Country Seafood market, I had an oyster Po'boy and Dan has a rockfish sandwich. The owner catches everything fresh and they farm Patty's Fatty's, from oyster aquaculture. Recommended by Mike, the marina manager. After lunch we took a Lyft to CVS to pick up the Rx I left at home, then walked to Giantto pick up provisions forgotten at home (maple syrup, cb hash, more Planters peanuts, salsa, gherkins, Pellegrino, mustard, limes, more yogurt and OJ, and pineapple chunks for fun). Crossed the street to Fawcetts to get “things”. $400 later we were the proud owners of a chart book from Cape May to Nantucket, lifeline protectors for the bow to protect the jib sheets from rubbing too much, a harness for Boji (the dinghy) and assorted carabiners and items for baji-naji. Back by Lyft in time to hang out with Todd and Tammy in the courtyard. Then showers and a walk to the Chart House to have 8pm dinner with Smudge and Clarke. Chart House has changed a lot, very much darker decor, DJ next to the bar and the menu was a bit different. Had NE clam chowder and chopped salad. Table share of calamari (excellent) and crab dip. Laz had lamb chops with a pomegranate sauce that was scrumptious. Smudge's crab, mango and avocado tower looked amazing, the most photogenic of our meals. Lovely walk back. Saw some midshipmen in formal dress running for their bus from some event at the Maritime museum. Late night but lovely.
4/22 Earth Day
Slept in til 0830. Walked over to Leeward Market to have breakfast. Laz had a tasty scrapple, egg and cheese on English muffin and I had a bacon, egg, avocado and cheese on rye. Coffee was good, local roast from Chesapeake Bay Roasters. Ended up walking back later to buy a beautiful tin of Osyter Reef, a medium roast.
Put the new bridle (from our Fawcetts run) and secured Boji to the cleats with the painter provided. Laz organized the lazarette and the V, where everything was stowed to give Nate and the boys room to work. I walked back to Leeward Market to pick up chicken gyros for dinner as well as their chicken salad for lunch. She kindly provided the gyros ready to heat and assemble later. Met some slithering friends at the dock.
Big storm front moved in.
We both got a nap and I went through my in box which had piled up. And I signed up for Cobra.
Made the gyros, had ice cream (Snickers for Dan and chocolate eclair for me) from the market for dessert. Freezer kept them frozen. Still working on the proper set temp. 10° seems low and the compressor was on all the time. Temp got down to 39°. Trying 12° with box temp ~40° and compressor not on all the time. Will have to see. Googled correct temp for fridge and <40° is recommended. Hmmm.
4/23 Up at 0730. Coffee brewed, Greek yogurt with blueberries, pineapple, and coconut made and both brought to the cockpit. Out of the slip by 0830, possibly earlier. Slowed to get Boji off the foredeck and tie her tow line to the aft clear. She is bright in the water.
Put up the main sail and motor sailed until we were safely past the shoal off Tolly Point then unfurled the jib. Wind was from the NW at 8-10. Lovely sailing. Had 4 Navy grey power boats zoom by us in formation. In a hurry to get somewhere for sure. Able to put her on autopilot on track for the Solomons as we were past Herring Bay in 3 hours. We listened to the Newcastle-Spurs game. 5-0 at the half then 6-1 in the second half. I was able to join the 10:30am Sunday Zoom dance class with Luisa. All my dance friends were amazed at the view and that I would even try to go to class while sailing. Great class despite a few wakes and waves. Had to modify, but it was wonderful to dance. Made lunch: chicken salad wraps with tomatoes, baby romaine and added Bonfire smoky sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Yum! Small bowl of chips to share, with Milanos for dessert. Wind softened just after lunch so put up the code-0. It totally fizzled and shifted to the E which was not on any wind prediction. Classic Chesapeake. Gave up and motor sailed after furling the code zero. Laz spotted dolphins! A small pod and definitely a youngling. So cool.
As we got to the mouth of the Pawtuxent we noticed whitecaps in the Pawtuxent despite absolutely nothing where we were. As we motored in, it picked up to 8-10 from the NW as was advertised for the day. Unfurled the jib and had a rocking sail tacking in. Got to Safe Harbor Zahnisers with the spot we were hoping for taken. They did not respond to our Dockwa or Dockspot request and a call to the office said they were closed for the weekend. We pulled up to a lovely floating dock T, and Laz tried the electric to find that it was not yet on. We later found out that all of the wiring for the new dock was stolen on Thursday! Went around to the far side but no spots there either so picked up mooring ball. Mounted the EPropulsion motor onto Boji and went off on an explore! She is a zippy craft with a quiet motor. Learning how to go forward, back and turn was fun. Stopped to chat with Rick on Baby B. He goes to Cape Cod often and will be heading up this summer. We had reservations for 8p at La Vela so went back to baji-naji for showers, then got back on Boji ans headed to the lovely dinghy dock for La Vela. Delicious dinner with Shrimp Gondola as an appetizer, my favorite Fettuccine Zaffrano (crab, shrimp, scallops in a saffron cream sauce, enough leftovers for dinner for 2 tomorrow night) for dinner. Laz had veal Saltimbocca.
Met Bob and Amy at the table across from us who are at Maryland Marina in Frog Mortar up Middle River. They just bought Saranac a 36 Hunter. Their first boat Saranac was hit by lightning and it fried everything. Geico totalled the boat so they were looking for another. Their sea trial is tomorrow. Took apple strudel dessert back to baji-naji. Enough for 4 people, so saved 1/2 for another time.
Settled on 14° set temp for the fridge. 15° was too warm and 12° too cold. We'll see, it may change with ambient temp.
Long day, but a lovely one.
4/24 Rough night's sleep between the intermittent squeak of the bimini ties, the wind blowing creating waves and frequent tacking, and a nauseous stomach. Not sea sick more like something I ate or a virus. Woke at 0730 with a headache, went back to bed for another hour. Felt a little better but still headache. Laz rowed Boji to the dinghy dock to refill water jugs and talk to someone in the office.
I made coffee for me and hot chocolate and coffee for Dan. Heated up my 1/2 sandwich of egg cheese avocado bacon on rye and made Dan a egg and cheese on fried bread, aka toast. Jim, the marina manager, apologized for all the construction and confusion and did not charge us for the mooring ball. Off the mooring at 10am. We motor sailed out to green 1PR then put out the code-0. Decent wind, N-NW 8-12 kts. The aft quarter rollers sometimes grabbed the keel, but overall good sailing. I still had a nasty headache despite Tylenol, and laid down for a couple of naps. Saw our first pelican as we crossed from MD to VA. Apparently they only have VA residency. Snacked on honeycrisp apple slices with Tillamook sharp cheddar. Late lunch at 3p of PB and strawberry rhubarb jam. Due to late start and wind softening, furled the code-0 and motored the rest of the way to Ingram Bay and Mill Creek. With building following seas Boji got swamped a couple of times, so we tied her closer. She is easy to bail; just lift the front and all the water drains out! Anchored in a beautiful spot in Mill Creek by 5:45p. Decided to take Boji and explore further up the creek after inflating her a bit more hoping that will help prevent the swamping. Beautiful surroundings, relatively deep (10ft) in many places. Homes, piers and duck blinds on the shore on both sides as well as seeded oyster beds marked by a white pole. Glamour shot of our big girl as we came back.
Sat out to enjoy the sunset with some Stoned Wheat Thins and cream cheese with Worcestershire. Reviewed the charts for tomorrow.
Had leftover Fettuccine Zaffrano for dinner and the rest of the apple strudel and vanilla bean gelato for dessert. Tried to put the heat on in the main cabin (it was down to 45°) and there is no power to that unit at all. It worked before Nate and the guys did their thing, and the aft cabin works. Laz is troubleshooting with Nate.
Pictures added following day as there is very little signal here. Clear night for stargazing. Moon and Venus were bright.
4/25 Up by 0800 and up anchor by 0915 as we had a long way to go. Coffee for me, mocha for Laz and a beautiful morning cruise out of Mill Creek. Wind was blowing at us as we came into Ingram Bay, so we raised the mainsail. As we turned south we were able to pull out the code-0 and sail along beautifully. Wind was from the NE so we sailed a reach and then switched more N which made it more difficult (or a longer trip to job tack) so we ended up turning on the engine when the wind softened to 8kts. Picked up again to 12 so we unfurled the code-0 again. A beautiful sunny crisp day.
Headed to Yorktown (yes, the song was in my head as we walked the town later) which was just under 50 miles. Saw many pelican diving, lots of big ships coming and going and a few sailboats. If they have AIS it's fun to learn their names. When we passed the Rappahannock and Sting Ray Point, we were officially the farthest south that we have ever been in baji-naji. Wolf Trap light is a beautiful abandoned lighthouse.
We saw the Energy Endeavor (above) awaiting the Calvert Filling station in the Solomons
We passed Mobjack Bay which we will return to, and came into the York River. Got to Riverwalk Landing Piers by 5:45p. Backed into a floating dock with starboard tie. 3 Navy hovercraft came up the river with much buzzing and wake.
Met some lovely neighbors on the Chipmonk, a Monk 35, Dodie and Steve. They are doing the Great Loop and on Day 208 of it. Knackwurst in whole wheat tortilla as a wrap (did not provision hot dog buns) for dinner, with chips. Gorgeous sunset tonight.
Took a walk up to Ben & Jerry's for dessert.
Tide runs strong, so can't leave til slack around 11 am tomorrow.
4/26 Slept in until 0845 since we could not leave right away. I walked along the beach (actual sand!) and then uphill to Mobjack Coffee Roasters to pick up coffee and breakfast. Had an excellent blend of Deadrise and the decaf and bought the Waterman's Blend of light and dark roast. Much better than the Oyster Reef from Chesapeake Bay Roasters. Also picked up 4 bomboloni, about the size of a donut hole, 2 with chocolate hazelnut filling and 2 with vanilla creme. Also found apple turnovers, a chocolate croissant and iced lemon pound cake. Breakfast pastries to last a while. Cute historic town, with tall snapdragons in bloom in many gardens. Perused the historical plaques along my walk. Back to baji-naji where Dan was still troubleshooting the forward Dometic heat/AC unit. We may have a solution that we can implement at the next port of call. I was reading in the cockpit and got distracted by the beautiful jellyfish in the water.
Walked up to the Landing shops and found Carrot Tree Kitchen. Apparently the original is in Williamsburg which is not far by car. Got a Captain Wingfield (roast beef, cheddar, frizzled onions, LT and zippy sauce in a wrap) and a Good Dad (roast beef, cheddar, microgreens LT) with potato salad sides. Yorktown has a water bottle refill station with good tasting H2O so we refilled two of our gallon jugs. The water at Zahnisers was not tasty, too much chlorine. After checking with the dock master, we determined high tide was at 2:45p and it was about slack tide so we decided to set off, since we had ~28 miles to go. The wind was blowing 15+ from the E as we left the dock. With the dockmaster handing us lines, no problem to get out. nb: $10 tip for the dockmaster for help with lines, electric and local knowledge. Off the dock at 12:15pm. Dodie took a lovely photo of us leaving.
Slowed to take Boji from the port side to aft. Waited until we were 6 miles from the dock, past the last shoal (York Spit)when we raised the main. Sailed due East with wind SE 15-18kts, then when we hit deeper water tacked to South. It was much better sailing than on engine only into the wind. Still some waves but able to steer and work with them.
The aforementioned zippy sauce ended up all over my Helly, my life vest, my warm adventure pants and the deck. Sigh. Wet paper towel took care of all of it. The sandwiches were excellent and tasty, albeit messy for mine. Found the inlet to Hampton Roads, danced with Cajun, a tug towing a really long snake, or so it seemed. Took down our sails there as the chop was minimal, and motored around Hampton Bar that had only 2 ft of water.
Wed night races were on! There was a lovely racing Tartan that passed us on their upwind leg, and we passed them on their downwind leg going into Hampton Creek leading into the Hampton River. Found the Docks at Hampton Pier, we were assigned slip 10. Cased the joint, then tied off Boji to port and backed into our slip. No port piling, only starboard, so Laz got creative with the lines to keep us snug. Docked at 7pm. Partway through the raucous sailing, Laz looked up and noticed the topping lift was swinging in the breeze. The pin on the shackle had come undone and is somewhere in the Bay. We spent some time with a skinny line and the long boat hook to successfully unwrap the topping lift and secure with a knot. Will need another shackle. Walked up to Marker 20 for a nice pub dinner. Laz had a steak salad which had mango and strawberries and I had the seafood roll which was lobster and crab. Cucumber and onion salad which is apparently a Southern dish was my side. Yum. Back to baji-naji for the night. Planning to move to the Bluewater marina tomorrow as they have a full service store, and more facilities. The AC guy that Dan called is supposed to meet us tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully he will have the parts we need.
4/27 Up at 0800 for coffee and delicious apple turnovers from the Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters in Yorktown. Headed to Safe Harbor Bluewater at 10:15, stopped at their fuel dock first. For 27.7 engine hour and an hour on the generator to round it up to 28 hours, we used 19.9 gallons of diesel. 0.71 mpg is not our best, but I was running her at closer to 2200 rpm for much of the time. View from the cabin after we got to Safe Harbor Bluewater.
Many chores done on this lay day: lifeline protectors to prevent jib sheet wear, new tell tales and leech tales on the main, refurled the jib for weather, put locking wires on the shackles, sadly too late for the topping lift shackle, refilled the water tanks and washed the salt off the boat, cleaning the Eisenglass. Cleaned out the V so Mike Latham, the marine AC tech, could work. Had lunch at Surfrider at the marina and I had excellent mahi tacos. Laz had a smoky BBQ chicken sandwich. Mike came by at 3p and determined it was the control panel that was dead, replaced it with one he brought. $305 for the part, $100 for his time. Chatted for a little while about sailing and he recommended Urbanna and any of the creeks in Mobjack Bay for anchoring out. After putting the V back together went back to Surfrider for some of the best fried oysters I've ever had. Very light breading, sweet juicy oysters, so good. Came with a couple of hush puppies, a baked potato and a side salad. Oysters don't keep, so the baked potato and hush puppies came home with me. Laz had pork chops. Really nice sweet and spicy shrimp for starters. Another lay day tomorrow as a storm front coming through with up to 35 kt gusts and rain.
4/28 Rain and wind all night and in the am. Note to self: do not eat all the fried oysters on a platter, your stomach will not thank you in the middle of the night. Slept in til 0900, made a nice brunch of scrambled eggs with Worcestershire, cheese and sauteed mushrooms, along with bacon, and English muffins with strawberry rhubarb jam or orange marmalade. The good Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters Waterman's Blend coffee rounded out a lovely meal in the cabin. It was nice to have heat in the main cabin.
Laundry day! The laundry detergent sheets work well as do the wool dryer balls. Nice clean fresh laundry which smells so good. Some items needed air drying so we hung those in the cabin. There was bit of a line for the two washer and dryers likely because it's a rainy day and the laundry at Bluewater is free. A woman got to the last open washer before we did but left her stuff long after it was washed and did not come back. The woman using the other washer was done shortly so I was able to throw in a load of lights then use the same machine for the darks. Our transient neighbor, Donna, on Sanctuary, a 42’ older Beneteau came in shortly after me so after 1/2 hour, we put the cleaned linens in the dryer for the person who did not return, so that Donna could use that washer. My view from the pool area while I waited for laundry.
I was able to catch up with friends by text and phone while waiting on the washer and dryer cycles. While waiting, Dave, the marina manager invited us to the social that night at 5:30pm. It was about 3 pm by the time laundry was done, and the first woman still had not come back for her now clean and dry sheets. Crazy. Saw a beautiful waterfowl (a scaup?) on the way back from laundry.
Caught up with Barb by phone for a bit, then wandered over to the social. Dinner was pulled pork, pulled chicken. Cornbread and chips. All delicious! Sat with our transient neighbors, Donna and Carl, and Pete on the Nordic Tug and swapped info about good places to anchor, etc. They hail from Oriental, NC, and recommend it highly as a place to retire. Average age is 63 according to Pete. Moved tables to sit with John Duncan who has April Wind, 56ft Jeanneau, just bought her and have not yet sailed her. Did not quite meet his wife. Karen and Cookie were at the table as well and Karen grew up sailing Oyster Bay. They have Dos Serenas (Two Mermaids) a 47’ Jeanneau. They are planning to be in LI Sound this summer as well. It was a lot of fun chat with them. Dan also talked with the regional manager for Safe Harbor and askes for a 'tour shirt’ with all the Chesapeake marinas listed. Plus an associate membership for the rest of us. He seemed interested, we'll see. There was a raffle with 3 winners and I won a Safe Harbor hat! Truckers cap style in Navy which I gave to Laz. Took a walk along the docks after dinner and saw Dos Serenas as well as many other boats. Beautiful night with warmer temperatures.
4/29 Leisurely start as there was not far to go. Quick breakfast, yogurt with berries and nuts shared chocolate croissant and coffee. Off the dock by 10:15am. Used the cut channel closer to the tunnel road which saves a lot of time. Put up sail just past that. Light winds 3-5kts, W then N then E. We had the code-0 out since it was light which improved the speed a little. Saw Hylite who was in the slip behind us come out after us.
Had a big container ship, the Hyundai Victory come out the channel headed for Cape Henry.
Sailed into the open Atlantic for a bit. Open ocean selfie. You could see Cape Henry.
Came back into the Bay, tried to sail some more but the wind kept fading. Furled and stowed the code-0, and brought Boji into the foredeck just before the channel leading into Little Creek. Passed the Naval Amphibian base as we entered Little Creek. Docked at Morningstar Marina by 3:20pm or so. Checked on with Ashley, the marina manager, who gave us the lay of the land, including how to get out to a nice beach. We walked the 1/2 mile or so to Food Lion to get more OJ, milk, soda, berries, lettuce and yogurt. And another loaf of bread. It was a tough 1/2 mile back as the groceries were heavy. We did snack on our newly purchased Fig Newtons to keep up our strength. After putting the groceries away, we walked across the small bridge, US route 60, to East Beach.
Crossed the small dunes via allowed path and dipped our toes in. The water was brisk. Walked back into the East Beach neighborhood and down the street to Lola's, a Mexican Cantina. Pretty good, but more Americanized than Mexican. Laz had a delicious seafood enchilada and I had shrimp tacos, as well as a romaine salad with toasted pepitas and pomegranate seeds. The guacamole was tasty but too pureed, not chunky enough. The salsa was excellent, as was the Spanish rice. Got the chocolate mousse cake to go and walked back. With the cloud cover it was chilly, so windbreakers went on. Back to the marina with our leftovers, they will be great when at anchor some night. Missed any sunset pictures as the cloud coverage thickened up.
4/30 Slept in as we were staying another night in Little Creek due to weather. Headed to brunch at 10:30 only to find that Stony's was opening late at 11am. Walked the docks then had a delicious brunch. Amazing pancakes which tastes like they had cinnamon sugar for Laz and classic Benny for me with fresh fruit. Big cup of coffee as well.
Came back and called Dan's Mom for an update chat. Her place got a bit wet from the storm via the ducts where the AC runs through. Repairs from Hurricane Ida still not completed. Laz washed the slime of Boji and I refilled our gallon water jugs. Met some marina folk, one from Omaha, NE who is able to work from home allowing him to be on his Island Packer for 1/2 the year here. Not much sailing in Omaha. Watched the first storm roll past, then played some music in the cockpit. I didn't have any guitar picks so Dan made one out of a plastic clip.
Some blue sky between storms
Dinner was white pizza (Boursin, ricotta and mozzarella) from Stony's while watching Ted Lasso. So excited that we were able to figure out how to stream it on Dan's laptop!
Had a lovely chat with Kathy Reichert to round out the night. A good lay day.
