A beeee-uuuuu-ti-ful day. Cool temperature. Light breeze. Sunshine sparks on the water. A cardinal calling from the bushes near the marina office.
Sunshine on the water makes me happy. Thank you John Denver.
Despite having about two months of cruising under our belt, I’m feeling like this segment of our trip is really what cruising is all about. We sort of had a schedule when we left Coral Gables on May 11 — “gotta be in Charleston by May 25!” And from Charleston the mission was to get to Washington DC by July 2 to have a couple days to prepare for our July 4 flight to California. But now….we really don’t have a schedule at all. We’ve got a very loose end date and “all the time in the world” to cruise.
Sunset view from last night.This is more like it! Cocktails on the bridge deck. It’s been so hot that we’ve spent hardly any time up top except for driving to the next location. Lovely to just relax, enjoy the views, watch little boats cruise up the river, listen to the birds and sip.
Our navigation system has a nifty feature that I call “breadcrumbs” — it marks and remembers the boat’s path on each trip. In Marathon, the path between our house and various watering holes was pretty thick with them. But as we cruised down the Potomac there were only the tracks from our upriver trip. That made navigation pretty much of a snap since all we had to do was follow the breadcrumbs (and look out for logs!)
We are staying in Colonial Beach tonight. We stayed there on the way up. We are skipping the trolley:-)
Spent yesterday running around to provision (bread, sandwich stuff, fresh produce, paper goods….& wine!) and visiting the marina in Maryland where we will put Dot Calm for the winter. Wanted to see the place and meet the people — and we were quite pleased. Left an arm’s length list of things we want done over the winter and have our fingers crossed that all will go well. It’s a long way off so I will definitely not start worrying about it ahead of time. Not quite sure if Cliff is in the same place.
We left National Harbor mid-morning for the easy cruise to Ocaquon Harbor Marina. Yesterday Washington DC got a deluge….nearly 2 1/2 inches of rain in one hour. A nice fresh water rinse for the boat, but we feared that it would also sweep lots of tree branches and other debris into the Potomac. Happily, that was not the case. I think that the rain and wind were so ferocious, that most debris was whisked downstream to the Chesapeake.
Eagle? We think so. Couldn’t get my camera in action soon enough for the definitive shot. BUT…definitely didn’t have the characteristic “eye” pattern on the under-wings of an osprey.
At any rate, we headed out to sparkling water, fresh (and cool!) breezes, bright skies, fluffy clouds and a pretty much empty river. The Potomac is 150 miles long — we were told this was the fourth longest river in the U.S. which is completely, utterly, positively NOT true. But it’s long in terms of taking it at 12-15mph! We are making three stops before we reach the Chesapeake…..which is 200 miles long with 11,684 miles of shoreline. You can understand how people spend years exploring it.
Today we will moor within a couple of miles of Belmont Bay Marina where we stayed on our way up the Potomac to Washington DC. Occaquan Harbor Marina is a bit closer to the old town – tho’ still an Uber ride away. The town has maintained its turn of the century charm with many original buildings and new ones that match the architecture wonderfully. We walked to a shady park at the end of the town’s main street and crossed a bridge to get a closer look at the river, a glimpse of white water rapids above and a view of a smallish lovely waterfall on the far side of the river. Learned that Ocaquan is the Algonquin Indian word for “end of the water” which the rapids made quite apparent.
New development in turn-of-the-century clothing. The developer did a great job on these condos I think.One of the oldest buildings in town.Another old — but much smaller original building.Look at that window! And the cute bird house below. Definitely rates “charming.”
It is nice to be “back on the water.” We enjoyed our interlude in California, of course, but the quiet rhythm of our boating life is quite addicting. Morning planning and navigation discussion along with a couple cups of coffee is a great way to start each day. The views from the bridge deck are amazing. Houses along the shore (most too far away to get a decent photo), osprey pairs urging their nearly fully grown offspring to take flight, seagulls, terns, cormorants and an occasional big splash of a fish (I am sure a GIANT one) that we’re not quite quick enough to see fill the day. There is “work” to be done as well: Keeping an eye out for floating logs, looking for the next navigational markers and keeping an eye on the depth finder. And writing the blog:-)
There is so much to see and do in Washington DC it is nearly overwhelming. We (okay, so I) picked four museums for the day. A bit ambitious but good as a starting point.
First stop, the Holocaust Museum. It was very crowded and we were surprised to see many families with young children (under 10) and wondered how a parent could possibly explain what the museum depicted. It was packed with startling film and photographic images and, for me, it felt like I’d seen them before in a movie. There was a boxcar that you walked through from one part of the museum to another with a sign that explained that a 100 or more people would be crammed inside “for transport.” I wondered about how the reality of the Holocaust experience could be demonstrated by putting 100 museum-goers into the car before letting them enter the next gallery. Probably a bad idea. I didn’t take any pictures inside. It was just too sad, too horrible. But I am glad to have visited.
One piece of reality that they have at the museum is that every visitor is asked to pick up an “identification card.” The card presents the story of a Holocaust survivor. Mine was of a little German girl from a wealthy family. Eerily, she shared a birthday date with Cliff, Dec. 31. Her father and grandfather were taken to Dachau, but somehow (I’m thinking there was a LOT of money involved) allowed to return. Two years later, the entire family (when Inge was 7 years old) was deported to a Jewish ghetto in Czechoslovakia. She recounts that everything was taken from them except the clothes they wore and her doll, Marlene. Cliff, by pure chance, had the ID card of a Dutch Jew from Amsterdam. He managed to evade the Nazi sweeps until 1943 (the Nazi’s invaded the Netherlands in 1940) and was sent to Auschwitz. When he developed appendicitis, he was “lucky” in that Nazi doctors wanted a young physician to see the removal of a nearly ruptured appendix. Most people who needed surgery were sent to the gas chambers.
We passed the late, great Environmental Protection Agency during our walk along the National Mall. It is lavishing gilded on building and security gates. Do you think that Scott Pruitt added it? We didn’t see any gilt on the Justice Department or even the U.S. Bureau of Engraving where they print the $$! And I got this neat shot of the Washington Memorial
The National Portrait Museum was a much cheerier place as you might imagine. We loved seeing Michele Obama’s portrait in person. This portrait is so popular, that the museum has directional signs leading you to it. Bill Clinton’s portrait was done by Chuck Close, one our our friend Roger’s favorite artists. It is quite striking and unusual. Walking around the gallery and reading the concise descriptions of each president’s term was like a mini-history lesson. Next time, I’m looking at them sequentially!
Star of the Portrait Gallery, the painting of Michele takes center stage and is roped off. We saw many people taking selfies next to Michele.Even though I don’t really get the imagery of President Obama’s portrait, it offers a reflective look at a brilliant man.Chuck Close’s portrait of Bill Clinton is apt I think. A million different pieces adding up to a portrait.Now here’s someone you probably don’t know. Robert Johnson, the founder of BET, and more importantly the money behind RLJ Investments, the main group involved in the sale of TeleSight. Amen.
We skipped the Spy Museum (it looked more like a shop to sell spy equipment!) and didn’t make it to the Newseum. Next time!
Wow is it HOT. We are used to cool ocean breezes after our trip to Newport Beach. Humidity is also off the chart. But it is nice to be back on board — with no “surprises.” All systems in great shape — we were especially grateful that the air conditioning was working!
The marina we are staying at is a bit farther from DC proper than we thought. We could see the Ferris wheel landmark from Reagan National Airport — but it is across the river in Maryland.
We got to the marina after 11pm on Saturday night and found the place hopping. There was a traffic jam on the street above the marina where our taxi left us off. I think we looked very out of place as we schlepped our duffle bags through the crowds.
We did nothing but unpack and unwind on Sunday. We walked around the marina area a bit and found a tiny market to do some resupplying. $14 for Monkey Bay — ouch! Oh….and watched the World Cup and the Cubs game.
Man in the sand sculpture. Very clever.The mall area includes an outdoor big screen. Cliff is checking out the soccer game being shown, but we watched the game in air conditioned comfort!Cliff says hello to Abe.
Except for the heat maybe. It is REALLY hot here. Well above 100 on Monday and Tuesday. We slunk out of the boat for dinner Tuesday night and lunch on Wednesday and then melted back to the sweet, cool confines of Dot Calm.
The National Harbor Marina where we are moored is in a “happening” neighborhood — lots of restaurants, lots of things to do, lots of hotels, a nearby casino, water taxis and tourists.
View heading into National Harbor Marina….which is in Maryland and farther away from DC than we thought. But a nice spot nonetheless.
Monday’s departure from Belmont Bay Harbor got off to a delayed start. We planned to fuel up At Belmont Marina, but while we were waiting our turn, the boat getting fuel ahead of us suddenly had a paramedics problem. A woman on board slipped as she was working the stern line and cracked her head on a sharp metal “vee” piece meant to cradle a dinghy on the boat’s swim platform. She was bleeding like mad and quite hysterical. The seven paramedics (call 911! They were all hunks!) who came to the scene allowed her to walk off the dock under her own power. Cliff thinks she might just need some stitches. I think it is a terrible start to the holiday week.
We got our wish for calm waters….but the amount of debris in the water made the going a bit dicey in some places. Wish these photos could give you a better idea of the size of some of these logs!
Calm!I told you Dot Calm likes calm water — and we certainly had that all the way to DC. Except for the lumber in the water (see below) it was an easy trip.
The trip down the Potomac is beautiful. The scenery is green-green-green and the houses are mostly stately and not crowded together. Seems quite civilized. There are way too many chimneys for me (chimneys are my measurement of how cold it gets), but the houses really are lovely.
We spotted Mount Vernon which is larger than I thought it would be. And learned that Monticello is pretty far inland — which makes sense since it was a plantation.
Mount Vernon from the water.
We’re off to California tomorrow. Can hardly wait to give Addie and Charlie in-person hugs. Stand by. We’ll be back on July 14.
We haven’t reached the famous spot where George Washington tossed a silver dollar across the river. Maybe there is a narrower spot….and maybe a silver dollar could reach the other side if the span was frozen solid…..and maybe it’s another myth like the cherry tree. Take your pick.
The route showed 32 miles “as the crow flies” (I haven’t seen any crows here), but it was actually more than 50 miles taking into account the bends in the river.
No crows have shown up, but ospreys are abundant in the Chesapeake and environs. I’ve been trying to get a good shot of their twiggy nests often built inside the two sides of day marks. It’s baby bird season, so the parents are often “home” and seem to be posing for pictures. Finally, with the help of Cliff’s zoom lens, I got a good photo!
Ospreys are kind of raggedy looking birds and fierce hunters. They mate for life and both parents tend the young. I caught this picture of an osprey leaving its nest. Osprey pairs return to the same twig nests every year and add to its size. This one is a medium sized nest. Some of them are really huge.Mom and pop at home with their chick. You have to look very carefully to spot the chick. It is sitting just below the osprey on the right.
As we headed up the Potomac, the amount of flotsam in the water increased substantially. It reminded me to tell you that while the navigation duties on this trip have decreased, the look-out requirements have re-doubled.
This shot gives you an idea of the size and density of the flotsam patches.Log in our wake. It was impossible to avoid all of the debris in the water. Cliff heard a few clunks on the hull when he went below and left me at the wheel. I, of course, am too nice to tell him that I hear clunks when he drives too:-)
We passed the Aquia River today…which turns into the Aquia Creek which is where Jessica, Amy and Clay had many adventures when they lived in Aquia Harbor. I still have a candle holder Jessica made from clay she found along Aquia Creek.
Quantico is also along the Potomac. An impressive group of buildings and a huge chunk of geography.
What do you think “they” do/hide/plan in this building?? I say “they” because Quantico hosts Marine, FBI and CIA training facilities. Cliff has run the obstacle course….and fallen off the log across a river each time.
And, as you might imagine, there are some beautiful homes along the Potomac. Definitely not as densely situated as in Florida, the Carolinas or even southern Virginia. And a little more restrained.
Duck blinds dot the shore from place to place as well. If I’m not mistaken, duck blinds mean that people are shooting guns from the blinds. I hope that boaters are given some sort of warning to avoid these places during duck season!!
And take a look at this turkey! Perhaps they need the duck blinds!
This antenna sure looked like a giant turkey from afar!
It is hot. We are happy NOT to have to wash the boat. We are relaxing, watching the Cubs. Think we’ll have dinner aboard. Just too hot to walk to the nearest restaurant which is about a mile away.
And we had fireworks to celebrate it at our marina in Colonial Beach, VA.
Calm waters. HOT HOT HOT. But cooler on the water, especially as we were zipping along at 14 mph.
This marina has a nearby beach on the Potomac. Went for a swim. Fresh water! After all of the salt spray along our journey, this was a treat — for us and Dot Calm. All of our fresh water boater friends should take a moment to thank their stars for fresh water.
Downside of the particular beach we chose…..a fleet of seaplanes taking off and kicking up lots of sand. But the water was just enough cool, just enough warm. Cliff wondered if I wanted to take a ride in one of the planes….NO.
Seaplane beach….the props kick up the sand for about 20 feet. We were left with gritty towels when we got out of the water.There were about a dozen seaplanes and amphibian planes (do you know the difference!?) stationed near our marina. Fortunately, a large sand berm kept the noise away from our slip!
We heard about a trolley that would take you into Colonial Beach downtown for 50 cents. What a deal! So we hopped on and learned that there really isn’t a downtown (we were expecting something like Fernandina Beach). Not even close. But we did get a nice tour of the city and decided dinner on board was a terrific idea. Greek salad. Yum.
Can’t post pictures, because we are still in Patagonia — oops, I mean rural Virginia:-)
