Was a beautiful morning as we left our anchorage at Horseshoe Bend on the St Mary’s. I can see why boaters, especially sailors, like this river. It is wide with scenic bluffs and wooded shores.
We will re-enter the Potomac River for a few miles, then head north into the Chesapeake. Our destination today is the Patuxent River and Solomon’s Island.
As we reach the end of the mouth of the Potomac, we went around Point Lookout. During the Revolutionary War there were sentries stationed at the Point to watch for the British convoys and if necessary dispatch riders to warn garrison further up the Potomac River. In 1830, a lighthouse was built on Point Lookout and it is still functioning today. Point Lookout lighthouse stands 52 feet tall and the beam can be seen 5 miles.
The Chesapeake Bay narrows as we go north and now we can see the islands on the Eastern side of the bay in the distance. Since it was Sunday, we saw no commercial traffic on the bay.
As we approach the Patuxent River, the Patuxent Naval Air Station takes up the shoreline. The base was established in 1942 as a center for test pilot training, as well as for research and development of new aircraft for the navy- focusing on air combat, aircraft materials, failure testing and engineering investigations, communications and electronics for any new aircraft.
We turned into the Patuxent River and immediately saw the Calvert Cliffs. These cliffs up to 100 feet off the river, contain fossils from the Miocene Epoch- 10-20 million years ago. As the cliffs erode, they reveal fossils of creature that inhabited the shallow sea that once covered this area.
As we moved to our marina we noticed the geese settling on the sand spit They seem to be following us north!
We stopped to get fuel and took a slip at the Solomon’s Island Yacht Club. Once we got electric and water connected to the boat, we took off to explore the Calvert Maritime Museum. This museum focuses on the history of the oystering, crabbing, and fishing in this area; allows you to walk through the retired Point Drum Lighthouse, explores the environment and animals of the area, and displays fossils from excavations of the Calvert Cliffs. Was a lot to learn here!
After the museum we walked to the grocery store and did laundry. What fun!! Did go out to dinner and had a combination of chicken,crab and bacon in a wrap. Was delicious!
As the weather has turned quite windy with a cold front coming later today, we will spend the next few days in Solomon’s Island.
Day 51. May 23. Due to a cold front coming thru we stayed in Solomon’s Island. Spent the morning downloading pictures onto a hard drive as running out of space on the cloud. In between downloads, we did chores. We then moved the boat to an anchorage further down the creek and spent the day relaxing. Later we dinghied back to the marina to join about twenty other cruisers for drinks. Had fun sharing and learning great anchorages and cities to visit further along the trip. We met Captain Crusty and his wife who have done the Loop three times and are on their fourth Loop. What a character!!
Day 52 May 24 Solomon’s Island
Rained most of the day and the wind picked up. Nice day for ducks, which there are a lot of here. We planned our trip thru the rest of the Chesapeake and into the Delaware Bay, and relaxed. Saw and heard lots of navy helicopters and jets flying over head. Guess PAX Naval Air Station was busy today, even in the rain.
Bill played with anchor line a bit and fought off the little flying bugs that got into our cabin. Never knew a small vacuum could be such a great bug catcher.
