We covered a lot of ground last week! 160 miles to be exact. Heading into the Chesapeake Bay, we had no set itinerary in terms of dates. We only had locations we would cruise to, and the rest would be entirely up to the weather. Well, the weather turned out to be pretty favorable, so we took full advantage of the forecast!

As we left Norfolk, Virginia, early Tuesday morning, I knew there was a chance the winds could pick up in the afternoon. Because of that, I researched three bailout points between Norfolk and Deltaville where we could anchor for the night if necessary. As we were passing our third and final bailout spot, the weather had picked up, but we decided to push through and finish our day in Deltaville as originally intended. In hindsight, I should have gone with my gut and called it a day, but alas, we did not and, of course, got stuck in some good-sized waves for the last two hours of the cruise. The galley became a pinball machine of items sliding around, so everything ended up in the sink or on the floor. To say we were exhausted and thrilled to be anchored at the end of the day would be an understatement.

Despite the rough afternoon, the weather looked perfect the next day, so we raised anchor before sunrise and set out again to Reedville. The entire 22-mile cruise was absolutely glorious. The water was so calm and glassy that we were almost tempted to cut the engine and take a quick swim, but work was calling, so we pulled into Reedville and spent the day working at anchor. 

Yet again, you guessed it, the forecast was looking impeccable the next day, so we decided we had better make the most of it. This time, we set our alarms for 4 a.m. (it was rough, I won’t lie) and attempted to cover as much ground as possible before noon. Our efforts were rewarded because I’d dare to say the conditions were even better than the day before. We pulled into Solomons, Maryland, and let out a deep breath as we would finally settle down for three full days. 

Solomons was an adorable town and a must-stop on the Loop, in my opinion. We ate the best ice cream on the Loop yet at Brrr (yep, that’s the name haha!) and even rented a Catalina 22 sailboat with our friends Josh and Haley, where they gave us a mini sailing lesson. I must admit…we might be hooked. But we still have 5,000 miles of the Loop to finish.

To round out the week, we had one more great weather day on Sunday, so we started the engine and made our way up to Annapolis. Although I said we had no dates on our itinerary, Annapolis was a goal by May 16, as I will be flying out of Baltimore for a family event. Now that we’ve made it to Annapolis, we can spend the week ahead recharging and getting ahead on work. 

Cheers to continuing the adventure!