Solomons Island

Solomons Island, just inside the mouth of the Patuxent River, has developed since the 1970's into one of the Chesapeake's top destinations for cruising boaters.

There are may protected spots for anchoring so we pulled into Spring Cove with it's serene setting of beautiful homes and calm waters.

Our new friends, Sarah and Brooks McCuen (fellow loopers) anchored near by, picked us up by dingy to explore the town.

Issac Solomon established the first oyster-canning plant here in 1867 and since that time, Solomons has been a major boat-building and waterfront community. Up Back Creek is the Calvert Marine Museum easily identified by the restored Drum Point screwpile lighthouse.

The first bugeye (oyster-dredging sailing vessel) was built here in 1879, and during the 1930's the yard of M.M. Davis and Son produced many famous racing yachts.

The museum has three maritime themes: local maritime history (including a bugeye and three-log canoe); paleontology of Calvert Cliffs (fossils of a 22-foot toothed bird and 17-million-year-old whales and sharks); and estuarine life of the tidal -Patuxent River.

Sarah takes our picture as they drop us off. We will be taking a slip tomorrow in a Marina to take care of our laundry and grocery needs.

In the morning we pull into a popular full service marina, Spring Cove. With friendly service and a beautiful country-club setting, we first put on fuel (3.60 a gal for diesel).

Landscaped grounds with picnic areas and a playground is very different from marinas that I'm used to. I feel like I'm in a park.

The marina has special rates for boaters that want to extended their stay, along with free WiFi, bike rentals, a ship's store, and laundry facilities.

And of course, there's the heated pool which I spent the afternoon in yesterday. I think this is a pretty nice destination and a great place to keep your boat on the Chesapeake Bay.

You all have to see Bob's new invention. "Have-Cart-Will-Travel" for those out of the way places. (Maybe he can sell it back to West Marine!).

Not a bad place to wait for the weather to change.

Samy agrees.

Tangier Island

Tangier Island is an isolated patch of Virginia marshland in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, just south of the Maryland line. For centuries the island has been a community of watermen, the Chesapeake term for people who harvest the crabs, oysters and fish in the bay.

"Tangier is a living history. We've been doing this hundreds of years," says James Eskridge, the mayor of Tangier. "We are really not that far from D.C. or Richmond, but you can come here and step back in time."

No cars, no trains; the only transportation to Tangiers Island is by boat or by small airplane. When you arrive, plan to leisurely stroll around the island.

Pictured here is Parks Marina, the only marina in Tangier. Milton Parks (80 something) and a bit hard of hearing is the marina owner, and retired waterman with a great sense of humor.
The island was settled in 1686 by a man named John Crockett, and many of the island's inhabitants today still bear his name. Other common last names, handed down from early settlers, are Pruitt, Thomas, and Parks.     

We arrived early Memorial Day weekend and the marina filled up quickly.

Houses line narrow streets that follow patches of high ground in the town of Tangier, population 535. With no bridge to the mainland, supplies and people arrive on the daily mail boat from Crisfield, Maryland, 12 miles away. Most people get around the 3-mile-long island by foot, golf cart or bicycle.

Residents speak with an accent so distinctive that after a quick listen they can easily tell if someone is from Tangier or another nearby harbor. Almost everyone on the island goes by a colorful nickname; favorites include Puge, Spanky, Foo-Foo, Hambone and Skrawnch. Locals call Mayor Eskridge "Ooker" after the sound he made as a boy when he imitated his pet rooster.

Tangier residents take pride in their Chesapeake Bay heritage and maintain a traditional religious life. In many ways this island reminds us of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas.

Many of this small community have lost their lives in World War I and World War II. It was also surprising to find old family burial plots in the front yards of many houses, apparently a very old tradition.

Where else can you sit in a crab chair?

The island life always has a familar feel; slow, quiet, and hot.

Samy agrees.

Enjoyin the life in Tangier.

 

More Museums

The skies were gray as we head past the Washington Monument towards the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial was built in 1920 to honor the 16th President of the United States. It was designed by architect, Henry Bacon.

The Lincoln statue was created by sculptor, Daniel Chester French.

The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial has three parts: the three soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall (you can see it in the background).

The Vietnam Women's Memorial honors the women who served in the Vietnam War.

This haunting work of art is the Korean War Veteran's Memorial.

Now on to the Natural History Museum. You walk into this massive rotunda and it takes your breath away. The architecture, the lighting, and these giant creatures that once walked the earth, now that's better than the movies.

These giants are up close and personal and all I kept thinking was Jurassic Park (the inspiration for the movie).

T-Rex was getting his well honored attention from all, but watching the kids was most inspiring.

How this prehistoric whale could have evolved into it's 21st century version is beyond me.

Next we moved on to the Gemology section as I researched the source of my prized possessions. Judi, this one is for you! And yes, we saw the Hope Diamond. Sorry, no picture.

This American golden topaz is 22,892.5 carats and is one of the world's largest gems. It comes from Brazil and weighs 10 pounds.

This was sitting in the main hall of the museum and Bob swears that it is a first edition of the wheel.

As we leave the museum it has certainly given us alot to think about.

Museums

Our day of sightseeing started at the Washington Monument as we biked over to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Looking down the National Mall at the Capital is awe inspiring.

  

We pass the graduation ceremony of George Washington University.

Just 5,000 graduates and their families gathered on the National Mall. 

The Air and Space Museum is an incredible collection of restored famous flying machines and space craft.

  

It's very dramatic to look up towards the ceiling and have the first plane that flew around the world suspended above your head.

This is the first plane that flew to the Antarctic and instead of wheels, it had little ski attachments.

And of course you have the Wright brothers making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903.

Along with the great achievements in air travel, airline nostalgia brings all of us back to another era. Here I'm pointing to the stewardess uniform that I wore in 1971, when I flew for Northeast Airlines "the first to wear hot-pants."

Next, we went over to the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. That's me sitting on the steps.

What can I say. The greatest works of art in the world gathered in one place is awesome. We were inspired...

... and captivated.