Baltimore, Day 1

We beat the bad weather into Baltimore!  My last post was titled Bad Weather Fore and Aft because we’re supposed to be getting ice pellets and rain for the next two days.  We pushed ourselves to do slightly longer days (though we ended up kicking ass and arriving in good time) in order to be tucked into our new slip before the second round boxed our ears.

So…the last I wrote was that we’d left Reedville and arrived in Solomons.  And the showers really were nice.  The rest of the visit was, well, expensive.

The first thing I did was pay for fuel and moorage.  We put 14 gallons in the tank, which means that our Yanmar 3GM runs quite, quite economically.  And in the office, the woman working the desk, Sam, asked the manager what to charge us.  They gave us a two-night special rate – the super-off-season-snow-on-the-dock-almost-xmas-rate – and still our bill came to $140.  Gulp.  We’d planned to anchor out more than tie up, but with the cold, it’s really nice to have the electric heater in addition to the propane one.  Plus, we needed showers!

The second thing I did was call my new employers.  It worked out better to do my paperwork Tuesday – after Solomons, we wouldn’t have access to a rental car company – and they accommodated the scheduling change.  Thanks!

Third, arranging the rental car.  Enterprise would pick us up at 0900 and everything would work out fine.

Except that the Enterprise guy called at 0830 because the reservation was incomplete.  And we found the sticking point – they won’t allow rentals to be held by debit cards.  Grrrrrr.  All the plans fell through, and I had to be in Baltimore at 1300.

I rushed to the marina office and tried to bribe Sam into loaning me her car for the trip.  No go – she had an eye appointment (or said she did so I wouldn’t push the issue).  The only other person working had driven to work, yes, but there was no way I’d be taking his ride.  It was a Kawasaki dirt bike and – uh – no.

She did offer me the phone book, which I accepted with as much grace as possible.  To make a frustrating story short, Hertz agreed to rent to me based on a debit card, but they didn’t do pickup.  Sam offered to take us over there, which was really nice of her – thanks, Sam!  It was especially nice since, on the other side of the rental, we had to get a cab and the cost was $25.  Whew.

With a rental car under my ass and the borrowed Garmin 478 (combo marine/automotive GPS) on the dash, I sped up hill, over dale, to Baltimore, where I spent 32 minutes taking care of business.  That was a very expensive half hour – the total price of car, fuel, cab, extra day’s moorage…about $200.  That’s the worst negative income I’ve ever had for attending a required work function, and it doesn’t even include the 5 hours I spent on the project.

Sigh.  But the figures will be positive starting on Monday.  Or more precisely, on the 8th, when I get my first paycheck.

James had spent the day working on photos, doing internet stuff, and downloading movies.  I was impressed, as always with his shots…

We filled the propane tank and bought a bottle of Myers rum.  The lady gave us a couple travel bottles – tequila and whisky – how sweet!

The next morning, we were off the dock by 0715.  We’d improved our time by 45 minutes since the beginning of the trip, since we’d gotten used to the morning routine.  And oh, the sunrise pictures!

From Solomons, we pushed it hard to reach Galesville and succeeded handily.  The entrance was longer than I’d expected and I brought the main down earlier than needs be.  Oh, well – it was another smooth day, really.  I left a message for the owner of the fuel dock we tied up at, but we didn’t hear anything from them.  Score!  A shot of rum each to toast our innards and we went out for dinner to celebrate.  We made an early night of it.

The next morning was cold as usual, but beautifully clear.  Oops, clear and still.  We were off the dock at 0700 that time into a glass river snaking from Galesville into the bay.  Excitement bubbled in us and I made James laugh out loud with my keep-warm-and-celebrate dance in the cockpit.

We knew we’d be in Baltimore at the end of the day and I enjoyed the trip quite to the limit.  Every landmark and watermark was a new thrill.  We passed the Thomas Point Light…

…a strange facility not on any charts we had…

…a lighthouse…

…a couple of bridges…

…and a cement factory that meant we were almost there…

And then we were here.  We tied up on the fuel dock long enough to not-reach Dick Mead, the owner of Getaway Sailing, before we moved the boat to our new slip.  I’m quite, quite happy with it, and amused by the Safeway just behind us.  There’s a West Marine that’s as close as the bathrooms on the dock in Blaine, WA.  And we have free memberships to the great gym up at the main building.

Sigh.

It’s an adventure over, and another begun.  We manage to make crazy shit happen, so though this leg is complete, stay tuned…