A Little Loopy

Chesapeake City to Cape May NJ ANCHORAGE: 14.0 mph; 72.4 miles; 5:10 hours Cape May Anchorage to Utsch's Marina: 0 mph; 0 miles; 0 hours West of Coast Guard Station, Cape May ANCHORAGE When crossing the Delaware River and Bay, it felt so lonesome and unforgiving. There is nothing to see or hear and I really missed the Chesapeake Bay.  Jim is having the time of his life! He really loves this crazy stuff! The wind and tide were major hurdles and we needed to time everything ‘just right’. After what seemed like forever, we saw the canal to Cape May and the dolphin guided us in. We anchored west of the Coast Guard station and felt the waves of the busy channel the rest of the day and into the night.  The next morning, we woke to find ourselves anchored just off course of the  Around the Cape Paddle . The event was put together by Desatnick, a surfer, who was told he would never walk again. All funds go toward helping people with spinal injuries.  If y...

  St Michaels to Chesapeake City: 11.6 mph; 64.9 miles; 5:40 hours Chesapeake City ANCHORAGE This was a travel day and pretty calm. We were on the hook for the night; Chesapeake City offers a calm anchorage and overnight docking on the City Dock if you are lucky enough to claim a spot.  The  Chesapeake Inn has a side bar with live music and we met our first Looper Friends: Mary and Jeremy, panacea , out of Key West - even had dinner with them - they're a hoot and she makes the BEST guacamole! Hope we see them again along the route. MAKING LOOPER FRIENDS: I sent Mary a message through the Nebo App, and all I said was "Hi Looper." If making friends as adults is scary - think about how scary it must be for the little people.

St Mary's to St Michaels: 13.9 mph; 84.3 miles; 6:10 hours; Higgin's Yacht Yard At this time, it isn't the fanciest marina but it is the perfect location to downtown. We were a block away from the middle of Talbot St and a block from the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. Walking the town is an absolute must. The museum pass is for 24-hours and you really need two days to see everything it has to offer. On Thursdays, the community offers free music in the park and we had perfect ‘seats’ on the bow of LegaSea. The owner of Higgins has big plans for the boatyard and adjacent property. I look forward to returning and seeing how his plans took shape.  Meet some 700 Club and Tammy Faye Bakker Fans then bought wine glasses from the local thrift store. There is an olive oil and vinegar shop in town that I absolutely loved! The best Balsamic Vinegar! The grocery store is little but has what you need. LESSON 1: Buy a collapsable utility wagon to carry heavy groceries ...

Potomac River, MD Aqua Creek, VA to St Mary's MD: 12.0 mph; 65.5 miles; 5:28 hours; Avg Speed 12.0 mph St Mary's River ANCHORAGE June 21, 2021 and it's the first day of summer! Woke up ‘excitement-early’ and headed out of the Creek around 7:45am. It was a cool, breezy, slightly hazy morning making for a great travel day. Heading down the Potomac River we saw a 150’ Mega Yacht named Elisa (OMG! 45.5M and so beautiful), picked up & let go of a crab pot and later we dealt with the dinghy.  We always drop anchor in this basin just past the College dock. You can tie to the dock during the day but not at night. We deployed the dinghy with some trouble but we had the oars ready … then I saw them … all of them … STINGIN’ NETTLES EVERYWHERE! I have never been so focused on rowing to a dock. Nettles are awful! Why were they even created? It looks like what the Bay of Souls might look like - UGH! I am very aware of those prehistoric-critter-nightmares! Jim put his legs in the wat...

I love the Creek.  The Curry Family had us over for dinner … and the entire community showed up! How much fun was that! I cannot thank the Curry Family enough for such a special night. We have the best friends and community on the planet! Sound carries on the creek. Right now I’m listening to bunch of laughter coming from Jack’s Garage - something about us and an over under bet. Who knows what they are up to! I'm sure money is involved! Did Linda just say something about Life Insurance Policies? I really love these people. We think we have everything covered and every checklist has been checked three times. Our adult children are perfectly capable of taking care of things here. Pearson has turned into a wonderful man and will take care of the yard and house maintenance. Sara has blossomed into a beautiful young lady and will take care of the house and animals. We even have a renter for the River House. I guess all I need now is a perfect bourbon and a good ...

I was granted a Leave of Absence from SCPS for the 2021-22 school year. Not an easy letter to write but a load off my mind and it settles health insurance. I have been working since I was 15 when dad wrote a letter to Burger King giving me permission to work (I wanted concert tickets to see Foreigner 4 with the Police ).  I have NO IDEA what it is like to NOT WORK. Jim is supportive; he suggested I look at this as 'testing retirement' - that I can do. Teacher friends have a LOT of questions and I am still figuring out answers. "It's so unlike you..." is a common comment. Is it really? Ok, maybe it is unlike me because I am a thinker and planner - Looping has a lot of Plan A, B, C, D ... maybe an E ... PAPER CHARTS I think this is a most disturbing only because it is a change. NOAA no longer provides paper charts; instead, they have a list of independent companies that will create the charts on-demand. The prices are outrageous and none of the packages are REALLY p...

Reality is setting in, lists are being made, questions are finding answers, and responsibilities are being managed for when we are on the Loop. The kids want to know if Keenan will be with them for Christmas. Really? That's their biggest question? Our trip is no longer a secret; there are a lot of moving parts: health insurance, retire vs leave of absence, what if I decide to become a boat-floating teacher and never return to the classroom? Lots of, “What if…” questions with HR and Benefits. I’ll wait until January 2021 to tell my principal and provide a written R equest of a Leave of Absences to HR for approval. I am patient; anything could throw us off course like: another round of the pandemic closing the world, a change in political leadership destroying a financial portfolio (Jim says it won’t but I worry - but we are talking about Biden! I'm good at worrying enough for everyone - it's a gift). Right now, I need to plan a halloween costume and tend to R2T2. Jim won’t...