John arrives back tomorrow, so the voyage continues. He is reportedly doing fine, but we will take it easy at first.
I have been waiting in Annapolis at very nice Annapolis Landing Marina on Back Creek. There are two principal marina areas in Annapolis, Spa Creek right downtown and Back Creek further south in the suburbs. There was no way I wanted to be downtown over Memorial Day and it was the right choice. The only problem has been the horrific weather — five solid days of Small Craft Advisories. My former partner Jeff Myers was going to come down for a trip over to the Eastern Shore, but had to cancel, since we would never have made it out of the slip.
On our way up from Solomons, we dipped deep into Michener Country, heading on a dark, damp day up the Choptank and Tred Avon Rivers to Oxford. Oxford is just about perfect — surrounded by water, beautifully preserved and far enough off the beaten path to be very quiet. I did a lot of walking and we had a wonderful dinner at Salter’s Tavern at the Robert Morris Inn. On my walk, I passed the famous Cutts & Case Boatyard, well known to anyone who studies wooden boats. But like so many of these places that loom large in your mind, in reality it’s tiny. Same with Annapolis — it’s one of the Sailing Capital’s of the World, but sailing itself is such a small-potatoes deal in the great scheme of things that the role of Annapolis as Capital of Maryland is much more noteworthy.
When the weather finally broke on Saturday, I spent the best part of a day at the Naval Academy Museum. The Rodgers Ship Model Collection is absolutely superb. These are “dockyard models” for the most part, built at the same time as the actual ship and wonderfully detailed. Also got to take a look at the John Paul Jones Crypt in the Chapel during a break between weddings. The midshipmen became ensigns on Friday and many took the first chance available to them to become married men on Saturday. I could say a lot of smartass things about whether that’s a really great idea, but actually it was quite touching — brides and grooms all in white, most of the guests in white, the huge Chapel bedecked in flowers. Best of luck to these young people — it’s not an easy life they’ve chosen.
Also, given my penchant for historic homes, I found the Historic Annapolis Foundation and got set up with a docent-led tour of the home of William Paca, three-time Maryland Governor, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and everything else that needed signing in those days.
Our taste of the Chesapeake has been smaller than a Baskin-Robbins sampling spoon. But I am absolutely sure I will be back someday for a triple scoop of the Jamoca-Almond-Fudge of small boat cruising.

Oxford — one pretty street after another.

This little building served as the Oxford Post Office until the 1930s.

Molly, can we buy this one?

Robert Morris Inn, formerly the home of financier Robert Morris, principal backer of the American Revolution.

Cutts & Case. Boat in the middle is the famous “Foto” owned by Morris Rosenfeld, the world’s foremost marine photographer. BEST marine photographer is Bejamin Mendolwitz in my opinion.

Main Street Annapolis at Academy graduation and Memorial Day weekend. Still fun, but what a zoo!

Annapolis City Docks, AKA “Ego Alley.” You have to have a high tolerance for noise and good curtains if you want to put your boat in admiration range of thousands of tourists.

When you get past the tee-shirt shops and pizza joints, Annapolis is a very pretty place.

This model of a French 100-gun ship is about eight feet long.

British frigate — workhorse of the age of sail. Modern equivalent would be a destroyer.

“Bone models” carved by French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars using bones, wood, thread from their clothes and whatever they could scrounge.

Having read something like 200 works of naval fiction, I spent a lot of time with the small models like this brig. The battleships are spectacular, but these really illustrate what the “Age of Fighting Sail” was all about.

Magnificent William Paca House of 1763. Beautiful Georgian symmetry outside, tastefully restraint in decoration inside.

“Summer House” at Paca museum. Equivalent of a pool house today, I guess.

Maryland Statehouse, smack in the middle of downtown. Statue is Thurgood Marshall, a truly great Marylander.