Annapolis...boat show and beyond

This is the first boat show we have attended that we can say that we own a boat.  We can walk around and feel like we are apart of an exclusive club.  Snotty attitude, perhaps...Fun, absolutely!

The Annapolis Boat Show is an awesome sailboat show.  It was fun and impressive to watch them turn the calm and serene waterfront into a maze of floating docks, boats and booths.  They transformed the waterfront in a matter of days, right before our eyes.  There were monohulls, catamarans and trimarans in all shapes and sizes, stern to stern and nose to nose.  Some boats had a long waiting line, like the Gun Boat "Sugar Daddy" with its sleek and modern design.  The boats are all shiny and new and can make one's own boat seem far from perfect, even though it was perfect before you got here.

Another bonus to owning a boat and going to the boat show is that you can ask the experts very specific questions that pertain to the equipment on board.  We found a company to recertify our life raft in Virginia, where to send our wind generator for an examination and learned how to properly clean the knotmeter without a geyser of salt water filling the boat.

The Annapolis waterfront has an old world feel with its brick sidewalks, streets and buildings.  It's small enough to walk around in an afternoon, peering into the unique shops and cafe's.  The downtown area has a free shuttle which is convenient for laundry and the grocery store.  Jenny (s/v Full Monty) and I went to the store together, which was such a treat to have kid free, adult female companionship.  We got lost in conversation on the city bus and ended up at the Naval Academy's football stadium (the last two on the bus).  Ooops!  The bus driver said "Uhhhh, ladies?  Are you going to get off here?"  In which we replied in unison "Uhhhh, isn't this the bus to downtown?"  We finally made it back to the boat confronted by a lot of teasing from Wil and Craig.  Oh well, it was an adventure and a fun one at that!

One of the many fancy and sleek catamarans at the show

The girls listening to the Coast Gaurd seminar about how to be rescued at sea

The Capital Building

A bustling Main Street

Great friends, Marce and Jack from Escape Velocity (fellow Manta owners too)

Izzy the kitty from Escape Velocity...going for a walk in the park

Fall has arrived

Love the changing trees

Signed cookbook direct from the author on Main St. - The Boat Galley cookbook, brand new, hot off the press.  A great addition to my nonexistent collection on the boat (left them all at home, in storage)

Waiting patiently for a customer

A hot cup of tea to warm up a cold morning

Discussing our route - Eastern vs Western Caribbean