Our Adventures in Washington, D.C.

We stayed at the Capital Yacht Club for a week (well, we did stay an extra day because we needed an R&R day after all of our activities). The Yacht Club was very accommodating and we participated in several activities – happy hours, spaghetti Tuesday night dinner and Saturday morning breakfast. We were close to the metro and the circulator (which we used daily) and were able to easily get anywhere we wanted to go. The marina was a bit noisy with all the airplanes, helicopters and cruise boats, but after awhile you got used to it. Definitely worth the noise to be so close to all the action. We lucked out and had great weather while we were there – high temps in the high 70’s and low 80’s. It rained hard several times, but usually for no more than an hour.

6/13 – After arriving early on Monday we checked in, cleaned up, and headed out to get the “lay of the land”. We ended up having a drink and a couple of light dinner appetizers at Marina Cantina and then walked to the closest Metro stop so we’d know the easiest and fastest way to get there.

As we made the split into the Washington Channel,
we passed by Fort McNair



Up ahead is the marina (Capital Yacht Club) with the
Washington Monument in the background



Most of the boats at both the Capital Yacht Club and
the Gangplank Marina are liveaboards.  Here at
the Gangplank, many of them are houseboats

The Presidential Yacht, Sequoia, is docked at the Gangplank

A view of the marina taken from Banneker Circle

The fountain at Banneker Circle



Every night there were several rowing boats that would
cruise by our boat



6/14 – Today we rode the circulator bus to the Museum of Natural History where we spent the morning.  After a quick lunch at a British Pub, we caught the Metro to Arlington Cemetery where we took a tour that included the Eternal Flame at the gravesite of JFK and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  That night we went to the spaghetti dinner at the Yacht Club.  It was actually bbq chicken and pork, but they still call in Tuesday Spagetti Dinner -- Go figure.

 

The Museum of Natural History has
quite a variety -- here some
seashells millions of years old

The Hope Diamond.  It
was our anniversary, but
Gerry thought it was a bit
out of his price range

A very large old elephant

The eternal flame at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy

The Changing of the Guard

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Inside the Arlington Memorial Ampitheater



The outside of the theater



Chicken and pork loin cooking at the Yacht Club

6/15 – We had a leisurely breakfast and then took the circulator to China Town where we wandered around for awhile.  After a very good Thai lunch we went to the Verizon Store where Gerry got a new phone.  The buttons on his old one (it was NOT really that old) no longer worked.  He could not turn the phone off.  Yesterday at the Changing of the Guard during complete silence, it rang – OOPS !!!  After purchasing a new 4G phone we were off to our Segway Tour.  What a great way to cover a huge area in a short amount of time with little effort.  Based on a recommendation from the Segway personnel, we went to Matchbox for dinner and had great wood fired pizza

Mr. Segway ....

... and Ms. Segway

Jefferson Memorial

FDR Memorial

Washington Momument

Lincoln Memorial

Korean Memorial

World War II Memorial

White House

6/16 – This morning was spent at the Spy Museum, the afternoon at the Museum of American History and then dinner in the Capitol Hill area at a German restaurant with a friend that Gerry was doing some work with in DC.  Unfortunately, as we got off the circulator, it started to pour.  We walked about 3 blocks and were drenched by the time we got to the restaurant.

James Bond Car at the Spy Museum -- only picture I got
as you were not supposed to take pictures

6/17 – Today Gerry had several meetings (a work day) and so Linda did laundry and other boat chores and went to the fish market.  Once Gerry and Jon got back from their meetings, we all went next door to Phillips for their seafood and Italian buffet.  While we were there it rained hard again. 

Crab Legs

One of the vendors at the fish market

Shrimp and lobster
(things Gerry can't eat)

My, what big eyes you have

Salmon fish heads -- $2 each

6/18  – We started the morning out with breakfast at the yacht club, then took the circulator to the mall area where we walked through the sculpture garden.  We  boarded the circulator and headed for U Street where we went to Ben’s Chili Bowl (an institution in DC) then on to  Adams Morgan finally ending up in Georgetown where we sat at a bar facing the waterfront and had a few drinks while we did some serious people watching.

After Gerry's day of work on Friday,
he said he felt like this statue

... or maybe this one

.. or this headless guy

This one is called Lunar Bird

The Thinker

A bunch of headless bodies

This fountain was popular on a hot day

Here's something obsolete -- a typewriter eraser

Gerry standing in line at Ben's Chili Bowl

Linda with the Chili Bowl Bear

A view of the Potomac from a restaurant in Georgetown

6/19 – Today was Father’s Day so Linda made Gerry a nice breakfast.  Later in the morning our friends from the neighborhood, Jim and Karen, came to visit us.  We went out to lunch and had a great time catching up on everything that’s been happening since we left last October.  In the evening our daughter and grandson joined us for dinner.  It was great seeing them as we also hadn’t seen them since leaving home.  With the visits from our family and friends, it almost feels like we’ve never left.

Cheers!! Our friends Karen and Jim

Our daughter, Kara, and grandson, Cameron

6/20 – We were going to leave today, but we were exhausted from our week’s activities and the forecast was for rain most of the day – so we stayed put and rested.

Cruising up the Potomac

6/10 – 6/13 - We have lived in Maryland for over 20 years and have been to DC numerous times, however, never by water. With a very loose schedule and some extra days before our next planned event (an MTOA Rendezvous at Vera’s on St. Leonard’s Creek off the Patuxent) we decided it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do some Potomac cruising.

We departed Deltaville early in the morning and had a pleasant cruise up the Bay, into the mouth of the Potomac and then to the Yeocomico River where we spent the next 2 nights at Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina (1 night free for MTOAers). Freddie and Cas Olverson are the owners and they really know how to make a person feel welcome. Fred was on the dock ready to take our lines as we arrived and we docked across from friends, Jim and Julie on Insight (also MTOAers).

The next day we took advantage of the courtesy car and explored the local area. That night we were guests of Freddie and Cas at the Lodge Creek Yacht Club toga party. Olverson’s serves as the home port to this yacht club and transients are included in the activities. After waiting out a horrendous rain storm, we made our way up to the club house in our “spur of the minute” togas. Linda’s toga was a lace tablecloth and Gerry’s was made from 2 flags (one was a pirate flag and the other was the Conch Republic flag) along with a pirate hat (instead of leaves) for a headpiece. The food was great - chicken and fish – along with the trimmings. At one point they gave a prize for the best male toga and best female toga. The person selecting the best male toga was a young boy who bee lined straight for the “pirate toga and hat”. Way to go Gerry!!

At this green buoy we were officially in Maryland, but not
for long.  The Potomac splits VA and MD so we cruised
in and out of the two states as we sailed up the Potomac.

Look at all those crab pots !!!!

Approaching Olverson's Marina



Freddie in his toga



Cas and Freddie

The winning "pirate" toga

Osprey at sunset

The next day we had an 8-hour cruise up the Potomac to Mattawoman Creek. As we entered, there were several boats in the anchorage, but within an hour or so they were all gone except for two boats anchored next to us (it was Sunday and those working folks needed to get home).

There had been severe storm warnings all afternoon, but we had lucked out and only encountered a few sprinkles on our trip up. Well, after being anchored for about an hour, that all changed. We were hit by an intense storm – probably one of the 3 worst we’ve encountered over the past 2 years. We couldn’t really agree on the worst – once you have strong wind, lighting, thunder and rain it’s hard to differentiate. Suffice it to say it was pretty strong and we swung back and forth and heeled way over several times as gusts blasted us on the beam, but the anchor held with no problem (fortunately, so did the anchors of the other 2 boats around us). Within an hour, the storm passed and we had a delightful evening in the anchorage.

View from our anchorage at Mattawoman Creek

An interesting sky

Mother Goose, the boat next to us in the anchorage

Mother Goose, during the storm

The sailboat in the anchorage looked like it was heeled over
and underway through much of the storm

After the storm -- a nice evening

The next morning we attempted to raise the anchor, only to find we had several pounds of seaweed, grass and other gunk attached. After a half hour or so of cleaning off grass, the boat anchored next to us dinghied over and helped us pull the crap off the anchor and we were on our way (thanks for the help, Mother Goose). We cruised past some enormous homes, Mount Vernon, under the Wilson Bridge, past Regan National Airport, and into the Capital Yacht Club where we plan to spend a week and see the sights of Washington we have not seen before.

One of the "small" homes on the Potomac



We cruised past Mount Vernon ....



...and Fort Washington



Alexandria, VA

Approaching the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (with plane overhead)

As we cruised under the bridge
we were in Washington DC