Historic Annapolis, Maryland with new and old friends

On Friday, June 5 we left Solomons for Annapolis. The Chesapeake was the calmest we have seen which made for an enjoyable cruise. On the way in we saw the Thomas Point Lighthouse, sailboat races, large cruise ships, and of course the Naval Academy. We stayed at Annapolis Yacht Basin which is in walking distance to  all of historic Annapolis.  After getting settled we walked up Main Street to the Visitors Center to get information for the next days historic tours. We shopped at a Helly Hansen store. (All boaters enjoy their boating rain gear by Helly Hansen). We visited Middleton Tavern which has been there since 1750!  We had a great Irish Meal at Galway Bay. We also went to McGarveys and had amazing oysters. 

On Saturday, June 6 we toured the Maryland State House, their capitol building. It is the oldest state capitol still in use and was built in 1772. It was also the U.S. Capitol in 1783 and 1784! I took a ton of photos naturally so have fun reading the exhibit descriptions below.  What stood out was that Maryland had 4 signers of the Declaration of Independence and that  George Washington resigned his commission there in December of 1783. His original speech in his handwriting is in a case. 

Also on Saturday, June 6, we walked by the shops on Maryland Avenue, the William Paca (one of the Maryland's four signers of the Declaration of Independence) House and Garden, and the Naval Academy.  After that we toured the Annapolis Historical Museum. The best thing about that museum was they had windows facing historic sights and a plaque by the window explaining each sight. They also point out the Annapolis is called "a museum without walls" which is exactly how it feels when you walk around it. We also saw the Waterfront Warehouse and Hogshead Trades Museum. 

Also on Saturday we had breakfast at Iron Rooster, shopped at The Big Cheese and had dinner at The "Choptank" restaurant which is located on the waterway called Ego Alley with our friends Lance and Sue (The Dash) who had arrived that day. Although we got caught in a little rain, we enjoyed a beautiful rainbow after that!

Sunday, June 6, we had the privilege of getting together with 2 of Tim's Marine Officer classmates from The Basic School (TBS), located in Quantico, Virginia, that they all attended 43 years ago when they were young 2nd Lieutenants.  Both Pat and TJ live in the Annapolis area.  Pat picked us up in the afternoon on his boat and gave us a great tour of  Spa  Creek and Back Creek. One interesting thing is that many streets in the Spa Creek area end at the water and have dinghy docks. He took us to Safe Harbor Annapolis where he keeps his boat and to Eastport Yacht Club.  It was an amazing view and tour of Annapolis we otherwise would not have gotten. Later we met up with TJ,  Karen, and her son Zac at the Fleet Reserve Club on Ego Alley waterway.  Then we all walked over to our boat and had a toast. The Marines  had a great time reminiscing about the old days! Our next stop will be Havre de Grace, Maryland!