We spent the next two days reexploring Solomon’s. And enjoying the Zahniser’s pool. We borrowed bikes from the marina and went to the grocery and the hardware store. We walked around town and enjoyed ice cream on the boardwalk overlooking the Patuxent River. We then headed to the pool. It is a beautiful pool area overlooking the harbor. We swam, then relaxed in the shade for awhile.
We had arranged to meet our friends Paul and Cheryl from Wanderer at the pool after they finished work. We first met Paul and Cheryl the very first time we went to Solomon’s when we were bringing Josie from Annapolis to Cape Charles (August 2023). We were both first time large boat owners. They had sold everything to live on their boat and had then spent several months with a hired captain learning how to sail her. They planned to go to the Bahamas that year. When we left Solomon’s they were still there, having had engine and electrical problems. They stayed for several months, then started heading south.
They reached the Bahamas but had trouble anchoring in Bimini. The way Paul puts it, “we got to the Bahamas, bounced off Bimini(literally) and headed back to Florida.” We communicated with them when we made our trip up the bay last year in May. They were still making their way up the ICW in May but were back at Solomons when we returned from Herring Bay and we had dinner with them. Paul had started a job at the marina where we met and they were going to stay there. Paul was finished with sailing.
Now they both are working at the marina and have enjoyed the community there. They still live on the boat with their dog Diesel but have not taken their boat out since last May. They introduced us to some of their friends from F dock, a boat family that plans to sail to Europe next year. The kids are 14, 10 and 7. The 14 year old is on a sail racing club and sails a small boat around the harbor all day. The kids were very friendly.
After our visit, we took Fat Tuesday for a little explore and ended up at a nearby restaurant for some fish tacos. A boat pulled up and a woman we recognized stepped off the dock. It was Brook from the shore and her husband. They had launched their motor boat from Crisfield and motored to Solomon’s in a little over an hour. There is a holiday inn with boat slips on the Patuxent River where they stay. They will travel to Kent Narrows for the rest of the weekend. We ate dinner together, great to see them.
We forgot our running lights but had a flashlight to return to our boat. Rusty we are.
The next day we were going to sail to Herring bay where we have our engine appointment but the wind again did not look good for sailing our direction. It was supposed to change to southwest on Sunday so we decided to spend another day at Solomons. There was a concert at the pool, Don Connelly, who plays guitar and sings covers. We had heard him once before. Paul and Cheryl came to listen with us. Jimmy Buffet sounds good in a pool. We listened to a good conversation of boaters talking about people they had used for boat work. We wrote down the name of a local rigger that everyone seemed pleased with, Ben Willett. So many boaters with a wealth of knowledge. Off grid electric also recommended.
