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Strange house from afar

Thursday August 24th

We started the engine at 9:15 and pulled the anchor which was very muddy. Bob has a Rule bilge pump attached to a hose, which plugs into a 12V outlet in the V berth and he lowers on a plastic chain into the water. He uses it to wash off the anchor and chain.

I called the Chestertown Marina and asked for a slip. Motored up the river under somewhat overcast skies. Saw a fox trotting along the shore.

Passed a most unusual house at Ashland Landing - 4 stories plus an attic with dormer windows - very tall and narrow - made of wood. And it had full balconies all the way around the 2nd and 3rd floors, and french doors in the middle of the longer side of the house for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. There was also a large barn with a cupola and a shed on one side. Found out later that two silos (which are on the charts as silos) had been converted into a house.

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Chestertown from the water

We arrived in Chestertown at 12:40, after motoring 13 miles at 4.6 knots. They put us on the river side of the dock and charged $1.25/foot, but water and electricity were free.

We walked into town and had a late lunch at the Blue Heron. On the way back to the boat, we stopped in the gourmet grocery (now Joy's) and the Natural Foods store. They had between the two stores a lot of what we wanted, but Bob felt that the prices were way out of line, and he refused to pay for the convenience and the upscale location.

The marina said the owner who would have given us a lift to the mall was on vacation and there was only one taxi. I called him and left a message. When I called again, he said he was at the airport in Philadelphia and wouldn't be back until 6 pm.

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RosalieAnn at the marina

So Bob determine to walk to the shopping center - probably a mile or a mile and a half away. Before he went, he started the A/C refrigeration system.

On the way, he went around Washington College, and he found what he says must be the last Rose's in existence. There he bought a bag (like a carry-on bag) to bring back the groceries, and he also found an oriental type runner for the boat. It took him about an hour and a half to walk up, shop at the Acme and walk back. (He said the folks at the Acme thought he was crazy.)

I picked up my pocketmail at the pay phone, filled the empty water jugs and put them in the freezer and frig., tried to find a local access number for the computer (without success) and spent a lot of time arguing with AT&T on the phone because my connection was really awful. I later found out that a lot of the static on the line was due to a faulty head set. But even so, the connections were bad.

We went to the Old Wharf Inn (right next to the marina) for dinner. We ran the refrigeration until we went to bed.

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Sunrise over the Chestertown Bridge

Friday : August 25th

Took photos of the sunrise over the Chestertown bridge early this morning.

Spent a long time on the phone with AT&T and they are going to ship me a new phone. It has to go to my mother's because we won't be home to sign for it, so I had to call her to tell her it is coming. Found that pocketmail isn't forwarding all my messages. Wrote them a note about it.

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Digital photo of the silo house

The freezer is getting pretty cold. Bob says it is freezing the meat!! Got a pumpout and sailed peacefully down the river under sunny skies until about noon. Then the wind shifted so we motored.

We want to be in the Wye River tomorrow, so we want to go as far as possible today, since Bob doesn't think we could get out the other side of Kent Narrows without going aground (and we don't want to do that again). That means we have to go around tomorrow.

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Mouth of the Chester River

So we are anchoring in the Chester River just down from Love Point. This is obviously a completely unsuitable place to anchor, protected only from the west. Bob went in too close and the depth alarm sounded twice, but finally we anchored off a little inlet - 24.6 miles in 6 hours. We sat on the deck and watched water skiers and boats.

Called our daughter and friends on the cell phone, and ate dinner. Then sat on the deck and watched a fireworks display (quite a good one) which appeared to be at Queenstown. Then it was flat calm all night.

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Bloody Point Bar Light with fishing boat

Saturday: Aug 26th

The bimini is covered with gnats, midges and mosquitos this morning. There are also flies, mosquito hawks and small yellow lady-bug type beetles.

At 8:25, when we pulled the anchor, it was completely clean (the bottom was supposed to be sticky). Bob says we could probably have anchored with just the chain and not even put the anchor on the end.

Passed Langenfelters oyster shell piles - another barge full came in again last night. Ran the freezer again. It was zero yesterday and now is still 29 deg. (Bob checks with the laser temperature sensor). Rounded Bloody Point Bar at 12:15. The South wind is 5 to 6 knots and the sea is glassy and rolling.

Next: Shaw Bay