We're Officially Cruisers!

Day 7  |  Chesapeake City

There is no need for an alarm clock when you're sharing an anchorage with 30 Canada geese. They began honking at 6:00 and as much as I wanted to, there was no hitting the snooze button. We enjoyed a lazy morning under a gray sky. My NOAA radar app assured us that the storms would hold off until 3:30 so we piled into the dinghy and headed back to town to walk around.

We attempted to explore Ferryslip Road Park only to find that there were no trails and was an inaccessible protected wetland. A few flowers along the margin of the marsh caught my eye. We headed back into town, vowing to explore this time from one end to the other.

We walked many of the same streets we had the previous two days, but it seems this time we were looking more closely and seeing the little things. We noticed the highly-decorated porches, the accessories that personalized each dwelling, and the doorways.

We also enjoyed reading the many signs along the way. We passed by four churches, but after the conclusion of their morning services. Most houses have a historical marker placed out front alongside the sidewalk and we read most of them. This one homeowner must have had sign envy ... and a sense of humor.

We made our way back to the Canal overlook and were content to watch the boat traffic for a while. It was 1:30 and Barry was on the phone when it began ... rain. It was just a drizzle, but the radar showed red in the area so we headed back to the dinghy dock. We climbed into the dinghy and Barry gave the cord a quick pull to start the outboard. Our hearts sank as the cord snapped and came free. Luckily, our anchorage neighbors were tied up beside us and had similar plans of returning to their boat. They graciously towed us back to Crossroads. Thank you, crew of Slip-Knot. We did not want to paddle our way back. Once securely tied up, Barry replaced the cord as I handed him the tools. All is good and we're all set to go again tomorrow.

We've always been told that the definition of a cruiser is "one who repairs their boat in exotic places." I'm not sure if Chesapeake City is exotic, or if repairing the dinghy is the same as repairing the mothership, but we felt pretty good about overcoming our first mechanical challenge. We know there will be more to come in the next year.