The past couple of summers we've left our land home behind and moved aboard Salty Lady.....

By some measures we're not that adventuresome -- having never taken her out of the Chesapeake Bay since our delivery trip up the ICW from Belhaven, NC. On the other hand, we've discovered some wonderful places to chill out -- with no crowds, no hassles, and often going a week or more NEVER seeing another cruising boat.

Salty Lady's home is on Lerch Creek -- at Hartge's Yacht Yard (the OLDEST working yard on the Bay!) in Galesville, MD. That's on the West River, just off the Chesapeake Bay -- about 12 miles south of Annapolis on the "Western Shore." If you'd like to know more about the historic village of Galesville (including exactly where Salty Lady calls home and where to anchor if you visit by boat, what to do and see, and where to eat and stay), click here.

The summer of '99 included a cruise up the Patuxent River with friends to Battle Creek with stops on the way back at Solomons Island to visit our many Krogenite friends at Calvert Marina. Calvert used to be a Krogen dealer, and it still is a key gathering spot for the Krogen clan in this part of the Bay. The owner, Matt Gambrill, is a true animal lover. Don't miss his wild turkeys that he's been raising -- he keeps them in an open "pen" so they're free to come and go as they please. A couple of years ago we caught Matt trying to teach them how to roost in trees, like REAL wild turkeys -- he was afraid if they kept on sleeping on the ground the local dogs would "get" them. He put up a sloping tree limb in their home near the ground and, of course, turkey's being, well, TURKEYS, they didn't get the idea -- at ALL! Matt was a real trooper, he figured that if HE sat on the branch a while, they might join him. All I know is that by the time we left the marina, Matt was still sitting on the branch, but the turkeys were still on the ground. Here's a photo of Matt's turkeys -- in their "pen" beside the marina office (Look carefully -- the little one on the right looks like it's actually SITTING on the limb now -- way to go Matt!):

Matt's turkeys

We also made a couple of long trips up the southern Potomac River, making new friends along the way. These included long stays in the St. Mary's River and St. Clements Bay, plus a new creek (to us, obviously), the Lower Machodoc. The summer wouldn't have been complete without trips (we made two this year) and long stays up the Chester River -- always one of our favorites. That's just a sample.

We don't "do" marinas as a rule, so we're always on the lookout for nice quiet, out-of-the-way anchorages -- with excellent protection and close enough to dinghy ashore for supplies occasionally, a bike trip to explore the countryside, and lunch at restaurants on or near the water. We've gotten pretty good at discovering the public docks where we can land the dinghy (most aren't listed anywhere as far as we know). Since our new "child" joined us in early '99, we've also gotten pretty good at finding sandy beaches where Rio can run and swim.

To save myself a little effort, I thought I'd just drop in some of the "reports" I sent to the folx on the TrawlerWorld List (TWLers, as I calls 'em). That'll give you some idea of what we see and do.