John has to leave the boat Monday in Annapolis for some minor surgery in Connecticut, so we’ve stopped cruising and have been busting up the Chesapeake, but having a fine time nevertheless.

We started going up the James River from Norfolk to Williamsburgfor a visit with our good friends who moved from Wilton not too many years ago, Carey, Delia, Justin and Nicole Dubois.  We were treated to great meals, showers and REAL BEDS on land, the first time I’ve been off the boat since Thanksgiving.  Justin will be a sophomore at the University of Virginia and Nicole will be a freshman at Virginia Tech.  The kids have kept up on Facebook over the years, so they had a great time.  But the highlight was Sparta, who spent 24 hours per day terrorizing their poor male cat Max.  The Dubois have a big, beautiful home and she ran after poor Max for hours, enjoying the newfound space to exhaustion.

Sorry I don’t have a picture of beautiful Nicole, since she was locked away much of the time studying for AP exams.  She is pretty, smart and charming.  John is handsome, smart and personable.  You don’t suppose…?  Nope. we got him into college.  That’s enough for now.

Then back to the little city of Hampton, Virginia across the way from Norfolk, followed by a stop at Dozier,s Regatta Point in Deltaville, VA a great marina and Looper hangout where we had dinner with our friends Ross and Laura from The Zone.  We ate at an excellent Italian-German fusion restaurant (SIC), hey, veal is veal and sausage is sausage, right?

Then a quick night on the Potomac at Smith Creek anchorage, and up to Solomons Island, Maryland, where I managed to work in a visit to the Calvert Marine Center.  As you know, I never met a maritime museum I didn’t like, and this is a good one, full of log canoes and bugeyes and deadrise boats and pungeys.  I know it’s a conceit, but I don’t think too many tourists can walk in and immediately note, “Oh my god, they’ve got a Hooper Island Draketail!”

One more stop before Annapolis, Oxford, MD on the Eastern Shore.  I have been re-reading James A. Michener’s “Chesapeake”and a visit to the Choptank and Tred Avon Rivers is just as important to my psyche as our foray up the Moon.  Michener’s writing is that of a sixth-grader, there’s a corny moral to every story, his history is dubious — and I love his books to distraction.  For me, he captures places and times like no other American author.

Justin and John, old friends re-united.

Justin and John, old friends re-united.

Former Wiltonians Carey and Delia Dubois.

Former Wiltonians Carey and Delia Dubois.

Rub a dub dub, two cats in a tub.

Rub a dub dub, two cats in a tub.

John and Sparta slept for two days after visiting Williamsburg.

John and Sparta slept for two days after visiting Williamsburg.

Hampton Public Docks -- pretty darn nice at $1.25 per foot.

Hampton Public Docks — pretty darn nice at $1.25 per foot.

Ross and Laura -- the only New Yorkers we've met on the Loop. They got engaged and married on the trip and now that the are Gold Loopers they are busy honeymooning.

Ross and Laura — the only New Yorkers we’ve met on the Loop. They got engaged and married on the trip and now that the are Gold Loopers they are busy honeymooning.

Smith Creek anchorage on the Potomac. Beautiful, serene, deserted.

Smith Creek anchorage on the Potomac. Beautiful, serene, deserted.

Aforementioned Hooper Island Draketail.

Aforementioned Hooper Island Draketail.

Bugeye taking museum visitors for a short cruise.

Bugeye taking museum visitors for a short cruise.

Drum Point Lighthouse, transported a few miles to Solomons from the mouth of the Patuxent. A family of seven lived in the four rooms below the light.

Drum Point Lighthouse, transported a few miles to Solomons from the mouth of the Patuxent. A family of seven lived in the four rooms below the light.

Solomons Island from the top of the lighthouse.

Solomons Island from the top of the lighthouse.