Annapolis - A drinking town with a sailing problem

No trip to Annapolis would be complete without at least one stop to Pusser's Bar for a Painkiller. They give you the recipe. They sell the mix. But nothing compares to having a Painkiller served up proper (strength 2,3 or 4...always start with 3). Unless of course it's having a Painkiller from the Marina Cay Pusser's in the BVI's. If you don't know the history of Pusser's Rum- Wiki it.



















Notice please the skinny Pusser's Rum bottle. You might be thinking...so. WELL my dear friends, the original bottle is fat and won't fit in the wine/liquor rack of any boat. NOT GOOD. Our bartender explained that these were new and by request of the bartenders. This became my new quest....I needed to find a resource/liquor store for the skinny bottles so we could have Pusser's on s/v Honey Ryder.













But alast....I searched and searched only to discover the bottles are only for Pusser's bars. ARGH!!














However, I did score some Peanut Rum.
*Yes, the pic is blurry but is it the pic or the picture taker after a Painkiller or two? Hummm?
**Please see previous posts about peanut rum and the peanut butter cup martini.

Fun in Annapolis

Downtown Annapolis and the capitol













Very historic














We stayed at the O'Callaghan Annapolis Hotel and walked to class each morning over the bridge to Eastport. Ok....we didn't actually walk. We planned to however the hotel has a free shuttle van that drove us AND he was available each morning when we were headed to class. We did walk home each evening.














The above is a modern day skipjack coming in with his load of oysters for the day. I learned all about it at the Maritime Museum. Ohhh....the fresh oysters in Annapolis. YUM!
Speaking of yum - tons of great places but definitely go to Chick & Ruth's Delly. It's a throw back to the old time Mom & Pop style deli.

More fun in Eastport MD

I planned to visit the Maritime Museum in Eastport but when I got there I discovered it was closed.














However I met a lovely local Annapolis couple - Charles and Josiane out for a walk near the museum. Seems they met when Charles sailed into Savannah (from across the Atlantic on his maracuja yacht, no less !) when Josiane was teaching there.














As we chatted in front of the closed museum, a man drove up and went in the office entrance. One thing lead to another and the three of us ended up with our own private tour.














Very kewl. I only wish I would have had more time to chat with my new acquaintances as they were an interesting couple to be sure.

Friends with Benefits

Just kidding! More like friends that are sailing connected....Sailing Industry connected to be specific. So while Cap10 Tom was in Level 2 Marine Diesel Class, I explored Eastport and all things sailing. Imagine that!













Annapolis is Mecca for sailors and what I discovered is that specifically Easport (part of Annapolis but don't say that to an Eastport person) is like a HUGE candy store for sailors. All the players are here. Sailmakers, canvas shops, yacht brokers, navel architechs, riggers, yacht clubs, and on and on.


I went out and made some friends. Imagine that!









Dan at Sailrite was an absolute Prince of a guy. He was patient with the hundreds of questions I had and gave me tons of good ideas and suggestions on various canvas projects for s/v Honey Ryder. Funny guy too. This shop is simply a MUST for any sailor visiting Annapolis. Hands down awesome! *Dan knows his Eastport lore too. Good, good stuff!



















Next stop was Doyle sails. Chuck gave me a tour of the loft as we talked all things sails. Calibers are outfitted with Doyle sails from the factory. He has some great suggestions for cleaning and sailing care.



















Lee Ann at North Sails was wonderfully warm and friendly as we chatted about all things North Sails including their super high tech sail loft in Nevada of all places. She loaded me up with two North Sails DVD as well as offering up their head and water as I was hoofing it all around Eastport.














The history in Weems & Plath was amazing. Pictures of Commander Plath with Charles Lindbergh! None of him with Amelia Erhart - explains alot doesn't it. Just kidding! A nice chat with the receptionist or as I like to call her...."my new best friend at Weems and Plath"....taught me a simple way to test the barometer on s/v Honey Ryder to see if it's working - put it in a zip lock bag. If the barometer changes, then yes, it's working. If not, then no it's not and it needs to go back to Weems and Plath to be fixed. How kewl is that little insiders tip!














Finally there was multiple visits to the Eastport city hall aka The Boatyard Bar and Gill. Sorry no pics. Too much to see, hear and observe. ALL the racers, cruisers, crews, owners, industry sailors go here. We stopped in the first time Sunday after class. I overheard the following from a group of hardcore sailors "And this bastard just came back from the Sydney to Hobart race where he was responsible for them having to turn back to the start to secure the life raft and the SOB's still finished among the top group of yachts." OMG! And the pics on the wall - Dennis Conner, Gary Jobson, Terry Hutchinson, Paul Cayard, etc.... And the yacht burgees from all the various clubs. And the food. OMG! We met Bill and Pam here and ended up having dinner with them a few nights later. He's originally from KCK - Strawberry Hill and she is from Oklahoma.
The other Eastport must is Daves Pub. We had found this little gem in 2007 when we where at the boat show. Cap10 Tom ate there both days of his level 2 class. I joined him the second day. YUM -crab cakes and Maryland crab soup. Again - overflowing with sailing industry folks grabbing a quick lunch.

Planes, Trains and Automoblies Cont.

New advice to those trying out various modes of transportation. When calling for a taxi, be sure it's a taxi and not a shared ride. Clarify how many are in your party and call early.
I didn't do any of these - except I thought I was calling early enough but no.The car (Lincoln town car) finally arrived at the Oyster Shack to take us to the airport (after I called 3 times) with the driver, two paying passengers (we found out later) and very, very, very larger fellow co-worker ( think John Candy size in the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles) in the front passengers seat. *I am not passing judgement, just stating her size because it meant no one else could squeeze in the middle of the front seat. "Ya all didn't tell us there would be more than one." We couldn't wait for another taxi as we would miss our plane. We threw our stuff in the trunk and pile in the back. I sat on Cap10 Tom's lap with my neck cranked sideways and head smashed against the roof the the town car. The fellow co-worker in the front passengers seat told painfully uninteresting and non-funny but tried to be funny stories. The first passenger, a teenage kid was dropped at his job at Winn Dixie. He didn't have the fare so we had to wait while he ran in and got the $ from the ATM. Our plane leaves soon. I am stressed inside but now have room to move. Second passenger is dropped at her job at Wendy's. Now we head to the airport but take the back roads supposedly because of traffic. I start to panic. I don' t know this route. It seems longer. Our plane will leave soon and it's the last one on this Sunday night. Seconds become minutes and the stories are even less interesting and so NOT funny. Oh god, where is my Greyhound bus when I need it. I might actually need it tomorrow if we don't get to the airport soon. Finally we reach the airport and then our cab driver and fellow co-worker pull a fast one by hemming and hawing on the cost for us - no meter on this fun filled shared ride. The other passengers each paid $5 each. I am trying to get out of the back so I can rush to the gate but my side is locked. Cap10 Tom shoves a $20 at them and we bolt out his side just making the deadline to get our boarding passes. If you are in Brunswick GA DO NOT use Affordable Cab! Call Island Cab. He is kewl, on time and plays Bob Marley tunes.

Roatan to KC via Houston

The trip home from Roatan Honduras involved a three day detour in Houston to see relatives. Our nephew Graham is freshman at Rice University. We wanted to check out the whole college scene. Unfortunately, Graham and his suitemates are just too devoted to their studies to take any breaks. When they are not in class, they are studying. They even grab their food and take it back to their suite so they can continue studying. The only break from studying is when they go to bible study or call home daily to thank their parents for being such wonderful parents and allowing them the tremendous opportunity to go to Rice U!

NAH! Turns out college life hasn't changed much. They are typical college kids having the time of their lives. They sleep as late as their class schedule will allow. They socialize on a monumentous level. They pull crazy pranks, torture the lesser colleges (dorms), stay up up super late and parting like Rock Stars. Very Kewl! They are all great guys and we sleep better now knowing they will be in charge in the coming years!

We also had the chance to get caught up with two different cousins. Cousin Shawn, Julee & Bre moved there last fall. Cousin Ellis has been Houston for ages. We met him at a really terrific little joint that had fabulous food. A fusion of Central & South American food. Yum-O as Rachel would say!

And by the way....if you live in the Houston area...pay your damn taxes so you can expand the light rail or at the very least get some additional street signs. Traffic SUCKS in Houston. OMG! Seriously people, you need to do something!