July 2007
Back in the Chesapeake Bay we settled into our summer cruising with the intentions of visiting our friends Ed and Tina from Merlin and also visiting Annapolis.
Our first stops were at Rhode River and Galesville in the West River to the south of Annapolis. The Rhode River gave us a shallow sheltered anchorage between three islands. One, named High Island, is now no more than a sandbank with some tiny lumps protruding!
Galesville was a busy yachting centre with a convenient and inexpensive marina with an excellent restaurant. Our berth was just below the race officer’s box for the Wednesday racing. The table in the restaurant gave us the perfect view of the finish on a beautiful light airs evening.
The town had a few original wooden buildings but was very quiet indeed.

This sign caught our attention because William Penn had an estate in Chorleywood where we raised our family
An old wooden house in Galesville
Tina and Angie by Baltimore Harbour
The old US Coastguard vessel Taney
An old submarine preserved in Baltimore Harbour
The USS Constitution dates back before the Civil War

We next went up to just north of Annapolis and left Lady in the tiny marina which Ed and Tina use for Merlin. Our main anchor needed attention and so we took it to Baltimore to be re-galvanised. We replaced our anchor chain as well since this was rusting generally.
Baltimore has a number of historic boats preserved in the main downtown harbour area and as well as marinas you can anchor here if you wish. After a little sightseeing we were taken back to Ed and Tina’s house about 20 miles north of the White House in farmland. Tina has horses and maybe Angie will ride...
In a beautiful public park we were able to visit a butterfly farm. Here we wandered in a green house structure surrounded by butterflies and moths with all the visitors trying to get that perfect photograph. We were quickly mesmerised in spite of the tropical heat and the smell of rotting fruit.

Another view of the USS Constitution
An enormous moth in the butterfly farm
Butterfly
Another butterfly
Yet another butterfly
And another
And what's this?

The efforts to take photographs became increasingly disorienting and there came a moment to call it a day. Outside it was a perfect summer day with little of the humidity and excess heat that can plague this part of the East Coast.
We wandered in the beautiful parkland looking at the plants and trees and the wildlife amongst them. As lunchtime approached we decided on a chinese meal and were not disappointed!

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