Last winter as we were planning out the summer, we thought it would be fun to take advantage of our "home" location on the Chesapeake Bay to see friends, take in a few concerts, enjoy Maryland's seafood bounty (especially crabs) and return to our favorite ports of call. In the month of June, we have done all of that and more!
The first of the month we took Endless Summer up the Patapsco River and into Baltimore's Inner Harbor. As we approached the city passing by Fort McHenry, we were treated to a ceremonial flag raising of Old Glory flying in the breeze. From our vantage point on the water at about the location Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner, it was quite a "moment" for us.
We stayed at Harbor East Marina for two days enjoying Baltimore's Inner Harbor sights and activities including a couple of great meals in Little Italy. The highlight of the trip was attending the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert at Royal Farms Arena just a few blocks away.
Later in the month we cruised over to the Eastern Bay and Miles River to visit one of our favorite little ports of St. Michaels. We strolled through the town shops, toured the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and of course enjoyed fresh local steamed crabs at the Crab Claw Restaurant overlooking the harbor.
But seeing friends and family was what the month of June was really all about. We drove to Bethany Beach to visit our friends Larry and Marilee Giebel at their beach house for a couple of days. We also got together with Cordell and Sharon Vitkum of the Chesapeake Yacht Club, hung out with our Eastern Shore pals Nancy and Wynn Poole, hooked up for lunch with Bob and Carolee Duckman and Renie and Harry Friedman, visited Rachels' Uncle Gene (96 years old and going strong) in Bel Air, and spent a day with my sister Janice Walden at her beautiful new home in Middletown, Maryland.
We ended the month with a trip to Connecticut (by plane, not boat) to do some "Nana and Papa" duty of our two darling grandchildren while their Mom and Dad attended a wedding. The highlight of that trip was learning to shuck corn and making homemade ice cream. Summertime fun!
Needless to say, a full and fulfilling month.
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| Maryland's best -- soft shell crab and crab cake dinner! |
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| Cruising up the Patapsco River approaching Baltimore |
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| Old Glory raising over Fort McHenry -- "Oh say can you see...." |
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| View of Baltimore Harbor from the Trade Center observation deck |
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| Beautifully prepared fresh Branzino with olive oil, garlic and lemon. |
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| And for dessert..... |
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| Delectable cookies from Vaccaro's |
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| Royal Farms Arena concert |
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| Tim McGraw and Faith Hill |
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| Larry and Marilee Giebel |
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| Docked in St. Michaels |
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| Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum -- Hooper Straight Lighthouse |
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| Chesapeake Bay steamed crabs and cold beer. The best! |
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| Sunset over St. Michael's harbor |
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| Great visit with Cordell and Sharon Vitkum |
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| Learning to shuck corn on the cob |
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| "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" |
