It was a dark and stormy

Sunday, perfect for catching up on the blog. (and you thought this blog might be about a boat drink made with ginger beer & rum?)  It's raining and cool (58 degrees).  Plus the museum in Lewes, DE (the first town of the first state) doesn't open 'til after 1 PM today.  

We're here visiting Emily (one of Jerry's high school buds) and her husband Charlie.  They've taken us all around the area, including to their favorite park to climb a watchtower used during WW II to protect Philadelphia and inland factories.

The Atlantic Ocean from the Watchtower in Henlopen State Park, Lewes, DE

Yesterday we visited the Historic Lewes Farmers Market and found lamb, beef, pork, egg, dairy, flower, plant and produce vendors & bakers.  By far the best Market we've visited yet!

America's got good taste!  Great market - got oyster & shitake mushrooms, eggs, lamb bacon (not a typo), strawberries, mixed summer squash, asparagus, very impressive lettuce, pork chops, kale and met lots of great farmers!

Other highlights of the past month include Memorial Day Parade in Annapolis, MD - clearly the US Naval Academy musicians were the best anywhere in the country!

There were also lots of beauty contest winners & Boy Scouts, reminding us of the kids we know.

If you get a chance to go to Annapolis, be sure to tour the Naval Academy Museum, the crypt of John Paul Jones (I have yet begun to fight!), the State House (all free), and the William Paca House ($5).  We also took a 2.5 hour guided walking tour with a guide in a period-costume for $20.  It was fantastic.  The streets and houses haven't changed for centuries.

The Naval Academy museum is probably the only place that displays model ships made of bones.  At the Paca house (Mr. Paca was one of 4 signers of the Declaration of Independance from Maryland) we learned that back then, men didn't have beer bellies.  No, they called them purses and were proud of the proof their paunches provided of their wealth!

We took the Dismal Swamp Canal route on the ICW through Virginia, up to Portsmouth.  Lousy name for the canal.  It was beautiful.  We took advantage of a free dock to stretch our legs, visited a museum to learn more about it (George Washington was involved in surveying the Dismal) and got to know other boaters who had even less experience than we do!  

The Great Harbour Owners Association met in New Bern, NC in early May.

Other Great Harbour boats filled the face dock.  Tanuki had a slip inside (and we avoided many a rolly night because of it)

We had a great time meeting other owners, seeing what modifications they've made to their boats and hearing their stories.  Punk & Joe made their BMW available to all the GH owners.  We all enjoyed using the Punk-mobile to provision, get to the hardware store and I even got a haircut!

Inspired by the modifications other owners made, we added LED strip lighting to the engine room.

Before - shadows everywhere

After - you could shoot a Hollywood movie in here!  Bright!

We also got a magnetic strip (meant for tools) and hung it in the galley.  I love this!

Invisible improvements in May included another oil change and replacing a leaking raw water pump in the generator.  Jerry's also working on tapping into the engine's analog dashboard to make it digital and portable.  This will make driving from the fly bridge a lot more enjoyable.  

We used our folding, electric Glion scooters in Deltaville where the generator was fixed.  They were also great for going to the Historic Lewes Farmers Market.  Thanks to Richard on Semper Fi for taking the picture!

We also got to stop into Worton Creek and visit with friends John and Donna who contributed wire to Jerry's analog-to-digital project.  We made spinach ravioli with them.

Still raining, and it's a little after 1, so the museum is open.  If it lets up before 3 we'll walk over and explore it.  Charlie is picking us up for dinner at their house tonight.  Last night they had Tanuki's house specialty, home-made ravioli (this time lobster-oyster mushroom ravioli).  It included lobster from this killer dinner in Chesapeake City, MD.  Maryland crabs weren't in yet, but the Maine Lobster dinner for two sure looked good.  Turned out it was dinner for 6 when I added some oyster mushrooms from the market!

Tuesday we plan to cross the Delaware Bay to Cape May NJ.  We hope to cruise past the Statue of Liberty in June's single-digit days.  

The Wandering Williams, reminding you that all who wander are not lost!