We're at the Spa

We are anchored in Spa Creek, Annapolis, Maryland.  If you have been keeping up with our spot tracker, you'll already know that we have been in Annapolis for the past week and a half.  We arrived in plenty of time to scope out a comfortable spot in Spa Creek for the Annapolis Boat Show.

Passing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Arriving in Annapolis

The Navy is watching us yet again....we just can't seem to shake them 

This is the first time since Maine that we are spending more than a few days somewhere.  It has been really nice to relax and get to know the place, even though it feels like we just got here yesterday.  Spa Creek is a stone's throw from the downtown Annapolis waterfront.  Every street that dead ends at the water, in this neighborhood, has a public dinghy dock.  How cool is that?  It's surrounded by beautiful homes with perfectly manicured lawns, shrubs and trees.  The green leaves on the trees changing to vibrant red and orange is evidence that fall is on its way.  The days are warm and the nights are cool.

Our view in Spa Creek

A bird enjoying the morning sunshine

We have caught up with new friends and reunited with old ones.  How does one distinguish between old and new when the timeline is only 3 months old?  Anyway you look at it, it's been great fun exchanging stories, talking about boat projects and future plans with fellow cruisers.

They look way to happy to be leaving without any parents!  Maggie driving Kate, Olivia, Justine and Colin (Full Monty) to the park.

The kids accompanied Jenny and I to the laundromat.  Here they are entertaining themselves by playing soccer with a water bottle cap.  

We celebrated Craig's birthday in true cruiser fashion, with a potluck at the park.  We met 2 other Manta boats, What if (another kid boat) and Sangaris, in the area and invited them as well.

Kate, Liv, random girl, Maggie Derek (What If), Colin and Justine (Full Monty)

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Craig

Playing games with Bryson, Reese and Porter from Patronus

Salty Dawg Rally rendezvous with Chris and Erica from Patronus

One of our fellow Manta owners put together a dinner for all Manta owners that were going to be in Annapolis for the boat show.  Four of us sailed our boats here, the remainder flew in and left their boats at home.  We have an amazing group of owners that share information through an exclusive e-mail forum.  We are indebted to them for their expertise and willingness to help!

The Great Tooth Hunt:  at the park looking for Porter's lost tooth on the ground

All the kids playing games - inside

Grown ups outside

The cold front was on it's way....getting chilly

New York, New York

Hellllooooooo New York!  The morning after the horrific wind in Port Washington (which topped out at 47 knots/54 mph!), we weighed anchor and made our way to the Worlds Fair Marina to pick up my mom.  She was there waiting for us as we arrived.  “Come on grandma, come aboard, let’s go”, we all said as we were very excited to see her and get to New York.  I think Olivia must have asked every day, 3 times a day “are we going to New York today?”.  Finally we could say "Yes!"  Grandma got the full 30 second tour of our abode and tried to steady herself on our floating home.

Finally, Grandma AND New York!

Citi Field where the Mets play is right next to the marina where we picked up my mom

We met up with another cat family that we met briefly before the big blow in Port Washington, Full Monty.  We both sailed through Hells Gate and down the East River.  We timed it perfectly at slack tide so we wouldn’t experience any drama.  Hells Gate is famous for claiming many ships before the late 1800's, when the army corps blasted the rocky shoreline in an attempt to make the passage safer.  

It was a beautiful day to see New York City in its full glory from the bow of the boat.  It’s so different than being in a taxi! 

Full Monty sailing the East River to NYC.  Hells Gate Bridge in the fore front.

Tons of fun!

Sailing in New York Harbor on our own boat was exhilarating.  The new World Trade Center is nearing completion (tallest building)

Isn't she grand?

Three little ladies

We followed Full Monty to an anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty.  It was an amazing location in that we had a view of the back side of lady liberty, it was very protected from wind and ferryboat wakes.  We quickly met Mark on a neighboring cat, Big Easy, while we were visiting with Full Monty.  We thought it was comical that there were 3 cats in one small anchorage but even better were our boat names:  Full Monty, Big Easy and Anything Goes. 

Our boat at rest behind Lady Liberty

The only down side was the long trek to NYC from the anchorage and back.  First we tried driving our dinghy over to Liberty Landing to catch the ferry.  This sounds easy enough, except navigating the plethora of ferry wakes churning the water into a washing machine was a little uneasy and it was a long way.  Then returning in the dark and wind was a little too much adventure.  The next day we walked to the light rail station through a sketchy part of New Jersey.  I mean to say, we were thankful it was daylight!  Then it we took the subway into the city.  Finally, we moved to a mooring ball at the 25^th st pier, which only required a 60 second dinghy ride to the dock.  It was great to be so close but the ferry wakes were never ending during the day.  


Day 1 in NYC: Boat school, Ferry ride, China town, Little Italy

Riding the ferry to NYC

St. Paul's Chapel was spared in the 9/11 attacks but became a place for fire fighters and volunteers to seek rest, comfort and nourishment.  Today it is a shrine of those lost and remembered.  It was a moving experience to see pictures and personal items on display.  I did not take any pictures out of respect except for the note Kate added to a table that others have contributed from around the world.

Farmer's market along the streets of China Town

Beautiful exotic fruits

Waiting for us to figure out where we were going

Little Italy's street festival

New York style pizza for a late lunch/early dinner 

Celebrating my birthday with a chocolate ganache cake

Day 2 in NYC:  NJ Light Rail, subway, Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey, Union Square 

The girls LOVE The Cake Boss on the Food Network.  We were thrilled to visit in person, stand in line for cupcakes and cannoli's and watch the camera crew at work - presumably filming for the show!

  

Street hotdogs in Union Square Park, fresh corn from the farmer's market for our first cruising potluck with our friends on Full Monty.  We were sooo excited and it was so much fun!!

Too tired to walk home - it was a long walk from the train station

Day 3 in NYC:  Moved to mooring ball at 25th street pier.  50 lbs of dirty laundry carted through NYC!  Do you know how hard it is to find a coin operated laundromat in the city - nearly impossible.  They are rare and almost extinct!  The girls played at an awesome, gigantic park right on the pier where our mooring ball was located.  How perfect!

An ordinary day in New York Harbor

Day 4 in NYC:  Subway to Midtown and Uptown

Empire State Building

Flat Irons Building

All of Kate's statue poses

Eating our brown bag lunch at the Grand Central Station's dining concourse

Kate had birthday money to spend!

In honor of Charlotte and Sophia : )

The girls love the movie 'Big'

 Dylan's candy store - oh my!  Craig gave me the credit card and ask that I not share how much the total bill was for the same candy you can buy for under $2 at the drug store!  Oh well, it's all about the experience, right?  That's what I keep telling myself.

Statue near Park Ave.

Street performer near Time Square

Central Park

We rested for a couple of hours in central park, taking in the sunshine, people and dogs.

No more birthday money!

Looking down the Avenue of the America's

Time Square

Is this NYC or Disneyland?

Dancing on the late night subway after a very long day

When it was all said and done, my mom traveled by car, airplane, boat, dinghy, light rail, subway and bus!  I think that just about covers it!  Bye Bye New York City.