Tuesday morning we took the dinghy with ‘Razors Edge’ and ‘Odyssey’ back down Ego Alley (an inlet off the main water with docks & the surrounding streets are the main area lined with restaurants and shops). We went to the Naval Academy where you can walk around on your own but we all had booked a tour for the morning. Our tour guide was very good and we learned a lot about the buildings, student life, history and present day procedures.

Bancroft Hall is said to be the largest contiguous set of academic dormitories in the US. It is home for the entire brigade of 4,000 midshipmen, and contains some 1,700 rooms, 4.8 miles of corridors, and 33 acres of floor space 😲.

After the tour we walked down to the football field along the water. The Blue Angels were doing practice passes and flying right overhead.

When we got back to the boat they started their rehearsal for the air show tomorrow. Though their aerial maneuvers were centered over the Naval Academy, as they came around and set back up they flew right over our boat!

That evening Don’s Uncle, Aunt, cousin and her boyfriend came down to meet us for dinner. We went to the Boatyard Bar & Grill. They offered two different types of crab soup. Maryland crab soup, a beef broth loaded with bacon, veggies and chunks crabmeat. And Cream of Crab, a thick creamy soup, full of crabmeat and laced with sherry. They offered a Ying & Yang serving, portions of both soups in the same bowl. I am not a food mixer, and being two very different soups I wanted to be able to taste them separately to compare. The waitress assured me that on their own they don’t blend too much and only if I wanted to, I could stir them together, which apparently is a popular thing to do.

So I got the duo and could indeed taste each soup on it’s own. Both were very good! The bacon jalapeno jam smash burger I also got was quite delicious as well! Second best burger I think I’ve had on this trip.

Wednesday morning we had plans to go to breakfast with ‘Faith’. They took us to Chick & Ruth’s Delly. ‘Maia’ came with us and then ‘Yachts of Fun’ ended up being sat next to us. It was a super quirky little place but the food was very good.

‘Razors Edge’ had been anchored just in front of the mooring field but wanted to get closer for the actual air show today. They left their dinghy hooked up to their main anchor to save their place and then found a spot to anchor in front of the Academy. They invited us to come out and join them so we dinghy’d out to watch the Blue Angels demonstration.

It was absolute pandemonium out there! I’ve never seen such a gaggle of boats. When the performance started we seemed to be in a prime spot. The planes flew directly in front of and over us! It was incredible to see!

We came back to our boat and then over to ‘Faith’ for a cookout and to play cards.

Thursday we worked on our next bit of travel plans. It looked like we’d get one good day and then the wind was going to pick up again. So after much back and forth trying to figure out the best course of action, we decided to make the short side trip up to Philadelphia. It’s not a very common Loopers side trip, which is surprising because it is only 35 miles from the end of the C&D canal that connects the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River.

After we got that worked out, we went and walked around Annapolis. Saw the Maryland State House and checked out some of the shops. We went into this super eccentric book store and funky souvenir shops. We came back and took the fluff for a walk. The whole town is very charming with immaculate gardens.

That evening we went to dinner with ‘Faith’ and ‘Odyssey’ for our last night here. Everyone was planning on making a run for it on Friday when the weather looked decent. The ice cream shop next door was making fresh waffle cones that lured us in after dinner. Luckily I just got a steak salad so I had plenty of room for Ice cream 😄.

Friday we made our way out of Annapolis and headed all the way to the top of the Chesapeake. It was finally a nice day out there. The water was perfectly calm and it was much more enjoyable. We went halfway across the canal to Summit Marina. This place was huge, and they had a nice restaurant with lawn games and a band that night.

After eating out so much in Annapolis we had planned on making dinner on the boat, but while doing laundry something was smelling amazing! I made the mistake of looking up the menu and the moment I saw pork belly tacos the decision was made. The restaurant was hopping and the wait would be close to an hour. Luckily they did “to go” orders and by the time the laundry was done our food was ready. And it was worth it, the tacos were delicious, I’d put them in a close third place.

There were some locals hanging out on the dock that were interested in the Loop. So we chatted with them a bit and they gave us some local knowledge about the next part of our journey.

Saturday we came up the Delaware River. As views go it was not the greatest. Completely industrial the entire way, factories just lined both sides of the river. It was a little scummy too and I ended up fishing three mylar balloons out of the water. We made it to Philadelphia and came to Penn’s Landing Marina. We had been told by the locals last night that we were lucky to get in there as they are usually booked up.

Penn’s Landing is a very bustling boardwalk. There are permanent food trailers, a green space with hammocks, peddle boats, restaurants and the ferry that takes you across the river to New Jersey. We were told there would be fireworks that night too. They ended up being set off a barge right by the bridge and we were in the perfect viewing spot.

Sunday we went out and about the city. We started at Elfreth’s Alley, the city’s oldest colonial neighborhood. Then over to Betsy Ross’s house. We walked through China Town to the Masonic Temple and City Hall. Both were massive, extraordinarily ornate buildings that were extremely impressive. They just don’t build things like this anymore.

We then went to the Declaration House where Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence.

We went to the site of the first Presidential residence before the Capital moved to D.C. We saw Independence Hall, where the Liberty Bell originally hung, and then the bell itself which is now kept in its own exhibit. Ya know, since we broke it the first time we used it. This is why we can’t have nice things 😆.

We passed by Carpenter’s Hall, the First Bank of the U.S. and the Second. At different significant locations of history around the city there are theatrical speakers that tell you a tale about different important figures. We learned about John Barry, founder of the US Navy as we know it today. Don checked out the Revolutionary War Museum, and then it was time for the main event! 😄

What else could we possibly get for dinner in Philly besides cheesesteaks!? The difficult part was choosing which of the endless different restaurants to try. We ended up at Sony’s Famous Steaks. I got the “original”, with cheese wiz, fried onions and peppers. It was quite delicious!

This morning we started with breakfast at the Eggcellent Cafe, which was true to its name. Then we took the ferry across the river into New Jersey to tour the Battleship New Jersey. It is the largest battleship in the world and the nation’s most decorated battleship. It is 887-foot long and 45,000-tons, built at the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Of the many ships we have toured this was our first battleship. It was impressive to say the least. They kindly had guide lines on the floor in different colors so you could self tour different parts of the ship. It is always fascinating to see the inside of the big ships like this and just how creative they get with the placement of everything. Some definitely had better sleeping accommodations than others. Obviously the higher ranking you are the better bunk you get, but how low on the totem pole do you have to be to sleep next to the artillery shell loader? 🫤

When we came back Don wanted to go check out the other ship docked right across from us and I went to see the sight of Benjamin Franklin’s house. Not knowing just how important he would be to our Nation’s history, his grandchildren, also not wanting to maintain the property, sold it and the house was then torn down to develop a street with a row of modest houses.

Building the road actually preserved the foundation underneath and in more recent years it was excavated. Don and I reconvened at the boat and decided that to get a well rounded experience we needed to try a different cheesesteak restaurant to compare. So tonight we went to Oh Brother Philly. With the same cheese and toppings options, the bread was the noticeable difference. This one was definitely heartier to hold everything together, but we both agreed it was maybe too much and detracted from the filling.

All in all I’m glad we took this little side adventure. If you’ve never been to Philadelphia I definitely recommend coming for a weekend. A lot of history and delicious food!

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!