Plans Change

Waking early and going up top to put together a cup of coffee, I take a look out the window and see the winds have indeed stopped blowing. The cool temp and warm water has coalesced to paint this image of a foggy morning inside Solomons Island Harbor.

During our last couple of days at Solomons, we put together a loose plan to run down to Deltaville then on to York River to hang for a couple of weeks. Eventually, we'd motor to Atlantic Yacht Basin where we'd officially put an end to the Bay and have a bit of work done before starting our return South.

With that idea in mind, we left and made way out to the Bay. It was another nice soft day and the forecasts predicted the weather to hold for a week.

We'd been running for a few hours when the radio crackled and a friendly Kiwi accent was heard, it was Southern Star.
We asked about their time at Trawlerfest and they asked about our plans and told us they were about to turn and head up the Potomac to spend a few a days in Washington, D.C.; I could see on AIS they were just a few miles in front us.
I told them our intentions and said hopefully we'd all meet up somewhere soon, wished them safe travels, and signed off.

I guess it was somewhere around Point No Point Light when Mel and I started rethinking our plan... then at about the same time we both said, WTF. We'd actually thought about DC a few weeks ago, but scrapped the idea due to business in S. Carolina. However, the Hilton Head project had been rescheduled, so.
Quickly looking over charts of The Potomac, we did some calculations, discussed things a bit, then decided to forego the current plan, (typical for us), and like Southern Star,  head to DC.

A right turn at The Potomac was made.

For the sake of the pups, we found a little marina that wasn't too far up the Potomac and made arrangements to stay for a night.

White Point Marina

This little marina reminds us of some of "off the beaten path" marinas we loved to visit while running the Tennessee River. I'd forgotten the restful sound of quiet.
As the sun set and the moon rose, not much was resonating other than a skein of geese honking in the distance, an occasional fish breaking the surface, and the ringing in my ears.

The next day we caught up to Southern Star and it was decided we'd both stop and anchor just up river from Quantico, VA. We set the anchor at a little state park where we dropped the dink and took the boys to shore for their biz. Leesylvania State Park.

Another nice night and another fat moon.

Rising early, we both pulled anchor and motored toward DC.

Mel and I have been cruising rivers for many years and, while we do find The Potomac to be a pretty river, we're just not too excited about it until we get closer to Washington. Then, we start to see things along the shore like the above pic.
George Washington's digs, Mount Vernon.

As we get closer, the Capitol building and the Washington Monument appear on the horizon. Now, we're interested.

So we finally pull into Washington Channel, tie up at Gangplank Marina, and wait for Southern Star to arrive. After much confusion we end up moving slips where we tied up next to Jenny and Ted.

Here's another story: Istaboa and brand new Bellingham Marine docks don't seem to get along. After tying up and attaching our power cord to the pedestal at Gangplank, we kill the electricity for whole dock. Needless to say we weren't very popular with the other boaters. A bit of a discussion ensues with the dockmaster about the source of the problem, ELCI type breakers, and their pros and cons. Eventually we're moved to the older section of the marina and just next to Southern Star; no problem there with power, all's well that ends well. This has happened to us before with these new Bellingham docks and their new highly sensitive breakers. It's our inverter that's at issue, however I do find it interesting that we don't have the same issue with new Technomarine docks we tie up to. I also find it interesting the Harbormasters at the marinas with these new Bellingham Marine docks are overly defensive when discussing them. (think Ft Pierce Municipal, Marathon Marina, Stock Island Marina)

There are a couple of fixes, though not cheap.
http://www.proboat.com/2016/11/finding-fault-lies-elci-tripping/

 /http://waggonerguide.com/new-shore-power/

But I digress ... We've had a nice time in DC but, Damn! It's hard work being a tourist here. Averaging about 6 miles a day of walking amongst the swarms of sightseers has taken a toll on this old guy.

All in all, Washington is an amazing city and we've seen things that we always wanted to see. Maybe next time we'll stay a month. DC's worth a long stay.

 Now we're on the move again. The weather's being weird so plans are in flux  — Surprised?

Adios,