Today's Pic

We love dogs pics and we love elephant pics...

An elephant with a dog pic? Priceless.

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Big City To Little Town

Out of Baltimore...

And into St Michaels...

It was a beautiful day and a nice run to St Mikes, though a busy day on the Bay. We forgot that Sunday is a day to move for most boaters.

The Baltimore Ravens first home game drew a lot of boats into the city and the Downtown marina was the place to be; the place we were leaving. We even saw the Ravens owner's yacht ease by, appropriately named, 'Winning Drive'.

Not to mention it was a great day for sailing... so after being rolled around by the speedy power boats who were heading to the game, we had to thread our way through miles and miles of sailboats who all demand their right of way and seem to seek it out.

But, all in all, we easily made it into the Miles River and St. Michaels Harbor.

We immediately called old friends, Steve and Jayne, whom we once wintered with at Sunset Bay in Stuart, Fl; they were nice enough to come by and take us to dinner.
Radar was so surprised and happy to see Jayne, the treat lady, as she and Steve were walking down the dock.
Steve and Jane knew us well enough to presume we would enjoy some local fare vs. the tourist stuff so they took us to one of their favorite spots, a little place called Gina's.
It's a hip little cantina where we ate outside and enjoyed the perfect weather...  the fish tacos and Margaritas were excellent, the company was better.

Pic from: The Chesapeake Journal

Best of all, it was a blast catchin' up with old friends and these old friends are really fun. We've been promising to come visit for a few years and finally, we have.

Sunrise at St. Michaels Harbour.

So here we are in St Micaels, MD, tied up at the Harbour Inn Marina. 

It looks like it could rain a bit today... we love rainy daze.

And check out this forecast... 

 Fall is falling.

Cheers,

Istaboa

Baltimore: Parting Shots

Baltimore was interesting... Big City!

I wandered around yesterday with cam in hand and caught some nice pics.

Living Classrooms is a project to give inner-city kids hands-on training; sailing, boat building, and other things that will teach the skills needed in a port city.

It was a beautiful day so I kept walking.

A nice day to take your puppy out for a stroll and lunch.

A nice day to do a little urban fishing ... guess these young fellows had to share a rod and reel.

 Checked out this record shop in Fells Point.. They had some great vinyl records, but there's no need for that on the boat so I just looked. They had a really good Memphis section.

And, of course... it wouldn't be a walk in the big city with out some real street color.
This lady asked for money for food... I gave her 5 bucks and said, "Eat it, drink it, or smoke it, I don't care, but I want a picture" — she happily consented, smiled, then said in a sincere voice... "You're a nice man. Thanks. I could use a drink."
We both laughed.

Cheers,

Istaboa

Today's Pic

Apple Core? Baltimore! Who's Your Friend?

 Pete!


After a month, we've finally bid farewell to Annapolis and arrived in Baltimore's Inner Harbor... Downtown and everything that goes with it.

Our buddy Pete lives on the 24th floor of a building that overlooks the harbor, he got some great shots of us coming in.

Pete walked over and we all had lunch just a short walk round the harbor.
We can tell we're going to enjoy our stay in the big city; the weather's forecast to be low 70s tomorrow and sunny... it should remain this way for the foreseeable future.
Oh yeah, we've heard from our friends aboard 'Santa Clara', folks we met in Savannah on the way up, they'll be here in a few days... so it should a fun stay before we turn to head back down the bay.

Thanks for the photographs, Peter.

Cheers,

Istaboa

Today's Pics

NSS Annapolis, officially known as Naval Communications Station Washington, D.C. Transmitter or NavCommStaWashingtonDC(T)

Yep... even these towers are historic.

That's Interesting

Today's Pic

Saw this old Trumpy up in Back Creek.

Today's Pic

Last night, we had dinner with friends at an old restaurant just across the street from the Maryland State House in Historic Annapolis.

Harry Brown's

What a view...

Cut from their website:

Known for its 1920's Old World feel, Harry Browne’s has been an Annapolis dining institution for generations of Annapolitans and their guests. The Continental Cuisine is in keeping with the seasons and local fish, seafood and farm-raised meat are featured on the menu. Harry Browne’s has catered to local politicians and 7 Governors and is a favorite with local lobbyists. The elegant décor and Old World charm coupled with enticing cuisine makes this State Circle restaurant a preferred dining choice in Annapolis.

The food was good, though the politicians and lobbyist must've been on vacation... the place was nearly empty. There was a Groupon for 50 bucks that we enjoyed.

Still scratchin' my head regarding our next stop... Maybe Baltimore?
We want to stay north for a few more weeks. Our thinking? Any blows that come will be less severe up here and there are more places to hide.
Another factor to consider... It will start to get crowded soon due to the Boat Shows.
We'll see...

Cheers,

Istaboa

RIP... Russell George

We're both shocked and saddened tonight.

We've just learned a friend and the proprietor of our favorite dive in Memphis is dead.

Things will never be the same without Russell George; South Main St. or Earnestine and Hazel's.
Our neighborhood just lost it's ambassador, a good friend, and a great deal of it's color.

On our last night in Memphis we stopped by and had dinner at his joint... Russell would always come over and sit with us and we'd joke and reminisce about music, the clubs, and the old days... he said he was going to come down and see us on the boat one day... he always said that, he never did.

It's a shame... as he would say, "A cryin'-damn-shame."

Article here... Russell George, proprietor of Earnestine & Hazel’s, was found dead in the well-known bar in Downtown Memphis Monday.

Hope you're better now, Russell.

Maybe there's a new ghost at Earnestine and Hazel's.