May 24-30, 2011 (Week 34, Day 232-238)

Tues. May 24, 2011 (Week 34, Day 232) Weather: extremely hot >90F, humid, mostly sunny; rain shower late pm then clear
After breakfast both of us got right into the list of jobs. With my bathing suit on I tackled cleaning & polishing all the exterior stainless steel. Graeme emptied the jerry cans of diesel into the boat tank, performed an oil change & got rid of waste diesel & oil + ?few other jobs. Later in the afternoon Ken had to move us from the fuel dock to another T-dock. Late in the day we made a trip to the grocery store for badly needed bread & milk for morning breakfast. Despite the intense heat cooked supper anyways & ate in the cockpit with of semblance of a breeze. Supper= pork tenderloin, peas & pickles. I wrote up the last 4 days of my journal as I had been negligent in doing each evening until it was too dark to see in the cockpit (2100 hrs.) & mosquitoes while Graeme read & slept & read & slept. When it felt slightly cooler I showered & hit the sack. Graeme went for his shower & I did not hear him return.
Wed. May 25, 2011 (Week 34, Day 233) Weather: beautiful & fabulous temp & sunshine early in the am; mid am it was already too hot but not as humid as yesterday; temp high= 88F Wind: S & very slight only
After breakfast we took the head sail off & folded it, followed by my more cleaning (shower walls & glass door, all the main cabin cushions) & finalizing my inventory list, even some internet & computer updates. Graeme’s work list included talking to & showing the service manager a possible placement of the ICOM VHF’s outside operating unit, retrieving the new/used dinghy motor (Yamaha 8) & fuel tank, removing the Tohatsu motor & packing it in the van & installing the Yamaha on the stern rail mount. After lunch we drove to town mainly to say hello to Jeannie at Nauti Nells + few other stops. Boy, it was hot & most of my work was in the shade today! Supper somewhat early (1900 hrs.)= butter chicken with rice--> very good from my perspective. We drove & walked about the north point of the entrance into Broad Creek then around to Regatta Point where we saw 2 young deer. It was very calm out on the Bay. A cool down shower before bed. A very calm, slightly cooler but still very warm night.
Thurs. May 26, 2011 (Week 34, Day 234) Weather: hot, 90+F, sunny & no clouds Winds: calm to 8K from SSW
We both slept well despite the heat, but woke up early. By 0700 hrs. Graeme had showered, I washed my hair, breakfast eaten & the day’s projects started. These projects included: -checking something in the engine compartment -washing & window panels of the surround part of the enclosure -hauling the dinghy on land to wash & scrap with a metal trowel all the millions of crustaceans -spraying a mixture of wood bleach/oxalic acid on the dinghy’s hull & interior floor & the tannic ICW water stain on the stern -scrubbing the 6 cockpit cushions -removing soft drinks from 2 floor compartments & cleaning thoroughly
It appears that we will be able to split our 13 hrs. drive home to Ottawa by visiting friends in Solomons on Sun. & other friends in the Annapolis area on Mon. A hot dog lunch for a change. Exhaustion, that feeling of no ambition & laziness & sleepiness set in about 1600 hrs. mainly because of the heat Graeme slept in the shade in the cockpit while I read till it cooled a bit. Supper late (1930 hrs.) in the cockpit= meatloaf, peas & the last of the dill pickles. I showered then tackled journal entry as it has been 5 days now without working on it. Still hot at bedtime.
Fri. May 27, 2011 (Week 34, Day 235) Weather: very warm, 88F & sunny with occasional cloud but less humidity in the afternoon Winds: S 5-10K here at Norton’s but a small craft warning out on the Chesapeake with 15-20K winds & 2-3 ft. seas
Happy Birthday Debbie! We woke at 0600 hrs., quickly had breakfast so as to tackle the exterior boat cleaning before the heat really hit. Mid morning it was already hot. Fortunately I was working with water & on the water removing the yellow “moustache” stain from the waterline of the bow & all the port side of the hull, the transom & only 1/3 of the starboard side as that was the side boat was tied up on; looked good & the task was made much easier by using wood bleach. After lunch I tackled scrubbing the head & shower floors & their respective mats, the deck & most of the cockpit & transom. Graeme met the lady from Bay Canvass who will give us a quote for firmer foam for the starboard cushions in the main cabin; he made some purchases in town, attempted unsuccessfully to remove the shore lock for the dinghy--> cut it off; he gave the service staff a case of beer. All but the last minute jobs have been completed. I showered early as we were invited to a farewell & thank you party for the staff at 1630 hrs. on the Jeanneau 49 that is leaving in the am for Norfolk then offshore to New York; I had prepared a few munchies to bring so there was lots of food, beer & even champagne. The party finally broke up at 2200 hrs. What a beautiful & comfortable evening!
Sat. May 28, 2011 (Week 34, Day 236) Weather: phenomenal! sunny with few dark clouds in the am; in fact a few drops of rain actually fell but by pm as predicted blue, blue skies & hot (90ishF) especially when out of the breeze Winds: S with good breeze & chop on the Bay according to local casual fisherman, but we were very protected here at Norton’s
Another early rise; since Graeme lay awake since 0500 hrs. he finally got up & had a shower while I prepared breakfast & worked away at catching up with my journal entry. The day was left for odds & sods & near last minute jobs, ie: -Graeme packed up his clothes -I washed the bimini & connector windows & Graeme took them into “The Ships Tailor” -we lifted the dinghy & moved it to it’s storage area on land; Graeme returned to Hurd’s Hardware for a tarp -a quick wipe to the stainless splashed with land’s hard water & the bird poop on the nice clean deck -Graeme back to town to buy a bottle of Goslings for the office staff
It is hard to express the business decisions & work attitude & ethics that are made here at Norton’s in such a caring, thoughtful & personable way. Many a time it has been said that we feel like family, but the entire staff makes us feel important like family as they do to us. How do you express that in meaningful words?
Once the heat of the day had subsided a bit, we repacked the van; man-o-man I don’t understand why some stuff I questioned can’t stay here! A nice cool shower for both of us then Graeme insisted going to Bellas for a pizza; it holds no match to Granby St. Pizza in Norfolk. I checked emails when we got back as I listened to the fireworks for Memorial Weekend here in the US. And now I am also caught up in my journal entries. This was our last sleep here in Deltaville, our last sleep on ‘Sweet Chariot Too’ as part of this trip! And a calm, beautiful night it was; a perfect ending!
Sun. May 29, 2011 (Week 34, Day 237) Weather: sunny & hot, hot, hot! Winds: calm
Another early morning. We got right to the last minute jobs before it got too hot: -turned off the power to the fridge & freezer -removed the linen from our bed; will take back to Ottawa to wash -moved items in the storage area to the V-berth or the main cabin to give Norton’s staff room to perform their work on our work list -washed & removed the dodger & stored in the main cabin -covered up the wheel; now with the new handrail around the nav console, unable to cover console up with the original cover--> will ask Ken it he has something that might work
Now with only the fridge & freezer to empty, clean & dry, I decided I had time to attend Zoar Baptist Beach Service at 0930 hrs. (1 hrs.) & so took a very quick shower & skaddadled to Stingray Point. On return we got right to work at emptying the fridge & freezer of it’s contents into the cooler then removed any existing ice from the freezer box & wiped dry the entire fridge/freezer compartments. Man it was hot! One realizes the protection the dodger & bimini provide when they are not in place. With the cooler packed into the van, we closed tightly all the curtains & blinds in the boat, locked her up, thanked her for keeping us safe for the last 7-3/4 months & said good bye till the Fall! By noon we were on our way to visit Jody & Joe Frost in Lusby, Maryland (Solomons)--- a 3 hr. drive. Soon out from the agricultural Deltaville area, the flat lands gave way to gentle rolling, very green, lush hills. It was a wonderful afternoon & evening of chatting, catching up on each other’s news & eating a delicious BBQ steak, sweet potatoes & asparagus with an assortment of fresh fruit & cream for dessert, outdoors on the patio surrounded by flowers, pots of herbs, under the shade of trees overlooking Mill Creek, a tributary of the Patuxent River! And to add more icing to the cake, Carol & Richard (Kilissa) were present! Richard filled us in on the details of his accident in the Fall & his recovery phase; my he has come a long way! The Frosts kindly let us stay the night in their very nicely decorated house.
Mon. May 30, 2011 (Week 34, Day 238) Weather: sunny & hot
A shower then a quick departure by 0800 hrs. as the Frosts were expecting friends to arrive mid morning. We grabbed some breakfast on our way to Annapolis, just 1 hr. away. We had a good time walking about downtown Annapolis despite the intense heat. A big surprise--- we bumped unexpectedly into Dave (Firecrest) at Fawcetts & then Patric & Karin (Artful Dodger) at the Magazine Shop in Annapolis! Who would have guessed! The canals up north just opened due to flooding & there is a big back log of boats waiting to travel the canal systems. They decided to spend time in awesome Annapolis. After 1500 hrs. we met up with the Buckley Family; lots of conversation of each other’s happenings, an invite for a wonderful supper (pork roast, salad then ice cream) & an overnight stay! How fantastic has this has all been!