days twenty-two and three - friends, oysters and baseball

It's the usual routine in Rock Hall.  Walk the few blocks on a chilly morning to Java Rock for some iced tea and the chance to catch up on the news.  Back to the boat to straighten up some gear, then back to the Mariner's Motel to clean and dry out some other gear, charge batteries and all those little tasks.  Then a walk to the grocery for supplies.  Back to the motel to do some laundry.  Three weeks into the trip and there's some catching up to do.

In the evening I walk over to Waterman's, the waterfront restaurant, to meet long-time friends Fred and Mary Lou.  They have been very kind to me on all my stops over the years to both Rock Hall and Chestertown.  We have a great dinner and talk about the trip and the sailing grounds.  They have cruised most of the bay over the years in both sailboats and power boats and I really enjoy hearing their experiences.  Dinner is a treat!  As we are saying goodbye after dinner Mary Lou mentions that it is crab cake night tomorrow night at their yacht club, and why don't I join them?  Sounds good to me.

Morning comes clear and cool as I begin carrying gear from the motel back down to SPARTINA, try to get as much back on the boat as possible.  Off to Java Rocks mid-morning where I meet my long-time friend and former colleague Vicki.  She's taking the day off from her organic flower farm to say hello.  We chat for a while then head to lunch at Waterman's, our usual tradition of oyster, oysters and oysters.

Rockerfeller, on the half-shell and fried, we enjoy them all.  And then some lemon-blueberry cake for dessert.  Talk about a great lunch.  Then we taking a driving and walking tour of Rock Hall.

We say goodbye as she drops me off at the grocery store so I can pick up a couple snacks for the boat.

Fred picks me up in the evening and then we pick up Mary Lou on the way to the yacht club.  We get there and it feels like "Cheers" more than a yacht club, just a bunch of friends having a good time.  And tonight they are all watching the Phillies and Padres play in game two of the National League Championship Series.  It  is made known to me that I'm the only Padre fan in a crowd of Phillies fans.  Oh well.  Things are going fine as Philly takes a 4-0 lead in the top of the second.  We are all enjoying dinner as the Padres scored back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second, Philly still ahead 4-2.  In the fifth Padres get a couple singles and then a line drive ties the game at 4.  A dark mood settles over the Phillies fans.  A batter hit by a pitch loads the bases and then a two-run single puts the Padres ahead 6-4.  Fred starts speculating out loud how far it would be for me to walk home from the yacht club to the motel, several miles at least.  So I go to the bar for a couple glass of wine to smooth things over.  One more rbi single in the fifth and then the Padres wrap it up with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.  

  

Mary Lou and Fred, after a great evening, consent to give me a ride home.  How nice of them.  We say goodbye and make plans to see each other in Chestertown in a few days.