BALTIMORE

Okay, the forcasts kept changing and we decided we should stay until Sunday in Annapolis. There were small craft warnings and a severe thunderstorm warning with high winds over 50 MPH. We finished our tour of the Naval Academy and made plans with Len and Kathy for dinner at around 6 on Saturday. We were just getting back to the boat around 4:30 when the rain started with a few drops and then we saw the roll clouds heading toward us. We rushed to Manana and began closing up the enclosure as the wind and rain came with a fury. We could barely see the boats around us and the wind appeared to be gusting well over 50 MPH. Within a half hour or so, the wind subsided but it continued to rain. Kathy is the sister of Rob from Michigan City and they helped us find a marina to leave our boat and offered to drive us to the airport. We had only talked to them on the phone and arranged dinner so we could meet them personally. We donned our rain gear and dingied back to town in the rain and finally met them. What interesting and wonderful people! Len is a retired airline pilot and Kathy is a music teacher who plays guitar, has a recording studio and what sounds like an extensive collection of acoustic guitars. Better yet, they are both Parrotheads and Licensed Captains! We had a great time and I am looking forward to visiting them again. The entrance to the Dorm rooms at Naval Academy

Sunday morning brought a much calmer day, with blue skies and a nice high pressure system hanging over us. The only negative was that the wind would be right on our nose (again!) as we headed North to Baltimore. We slipped the mooring and made it to Baltimore in about 4 hours. We had arranged for a slip at Hendersons Wharf at Fells Point. We had been told that the marinas further down in the Inner Harbor were not very safe and the surrounding areas were even less so. Fells Point is an deep port are with old industrial and warehouse buildings that have been converted to condo's and apartments. There are a lot of restaurants and bars and seems to be the place to go for entertainment. We found our way to the Little Italy area just North of Fell's Point and had dinner. On the way back to the boat, we stopped at a little Rum bar and then back to the boat. The view approaching Baltimore

Fort McHenry guarding the harbor

A view down Fells Street

The Downtown area from a distance

Monday afternoon, we toured a little more and checked out the "Downtown" Baltimore area from a safe distance. We then headed back to the where the Patapsco River meets the Chesapeake and into Bodkin Creek to Pleasure Cove Marina where we will leave Manana. This is a very quiet and well protected area. Our friends Len and Kathy will help us get back and forth from the airport and keep an eye on our boat for us. We will continue the blog when we get back.