Waiting for an engine part kept us in Baltimore until Saturday, June 12 a full week longer than planned, but that’s ok. We’ve got nowhere else to be in a hurry. We hit a couple of really fine restaurants, knocked out a zoom call and watched it rain so much that big ol logs were floating by us on the regular.

Nephew Ben met us again and was able to cruise with us from Baltimore back to Deale to dock at the very same marina whence we departed.  We did this leg of the journey on one engine but were still able to move along at a decent pace. 

Since Ben proved himself with the tv installation, we decided to put him to work once again during his one night stay with us. He and Tom tackled that sump pump issue and we FINALLY have a working pump. You know what that means, don’t ya? We are now able to shower on the boat and the water will actually be pumped out the way God intended! Well, maybe that’s not really God’s plan, but I bet He sure is proud of the accomplishment! Tom also wants you to know that he oiled our teak table in the cockpit, buffed out the Navigator logo on the side of the boat and did some hocus pocus with a blue tooth thingy so that we have a fourth option in which to play music on the boat. Because three just isn’t enough.

After staying in Deale another six nights, we left on Friday, June 18th with two fully functioning engines. Thanks to our mechanic, Wade, we took off for Havre De Grace, MD. Yes, I said “Maryland.” We just couldn’t quit it that easily.

 One night in Havre De Grace was not enough time to get a thorough feel for the town that was almost our nation’s capitol. In our very short time there, we managed to find an old-school Italian restaurant, ice cream, an antique store with the coolest stained glass windows, beautiful murals, and a farmer’s market in less than 24 hours. 

We also met a Looper couple from Idaho, Rick and Mira . They have been on the Loop for 5 years. They were a fun couple whose goal this year is to make it up to Maine. While we’re not planning to go any further up the east coast than NYC, some Loopers enjoy getting crazy and checking out those northern-most states. It’s a bit more adventurous as there’s no great option to get there other than braving the ocean waters.

 After our quick stay in Havre De Grace, we exited the state of Maryland and entered the C & D canal (Chesapeake and Delaware if you were wondering what the C and D stand for) to Delaware City. This route included some beautiful river-type scenery and is supposed to be the 3rd busiest canal in the world. 

 We drifted very gingerly into a narrow and shallow canal/creek/inlet to our spot at Delaware City Marina.  We washed the bugs off the boat and took a late lunch at Crabby Dick’s. Crabby Dick’s is supposed to be the most haunted restaurant in Delaware. It’s history states that it started out as a tavern and hotel in 1830. Soldiers from the nearby Ft. Delaware would wander in and drink, of course. These soldiers, along with the original owner’s wife, are supposed to be the guilty culprits. Just FYI, we didn’t encounter any ghosts. 

We left Delaware City less than 24 hours after our arrival so that we could float out on high tide. The thing with tides, see, is they go up and down (as much as 9 feet for us in GA). If your vessel needs 5 feet of clearance to keep it from sitting on the bottom, then you should darn well make sure your path in and out of the marina exceeds that depth at it’s lowest tide and that your slip is also deep enough to keep you floating. No one wants mud running through their air conditioners.

    It was a nice, calm, yet speedy ride to Cape May, NJ. This is where the next adventure will pick up.