The past week on the Loop looked a little different than most of our other weeks, but it was still a wonderful time, nonetheless. As mentioned last week, we had aimed to arrive in Annapolis by Friday, May 16, so I could fly out of Baltimore, but we made good time and arrived the previous Sunday, giving us a week of productivity and exploration!

Our week in Annapolis was spent on a mooring ball, which are available on a first come, first served basis. We chose the mooring ball route to save money of course, but especially so in Annapolis, as I couldn’t find any marinas that charged less than $3 a foot. And with Evan being alone for the weekend, I didn’t want him to have to worry about a dragging anchor. 

Before my Friday flight, we checked off several restaurants, including Davis’ Pub, which came highly recommended for its crab pretzels. In addition we tried out Forward Brewing, Vida Taco Bar, Storm Bros Ice Cream Factory, Latitude 38, Oscar’s Coffee Truck and Dry 85. Evan went on to also try Chick & Ruth’s for its famous malts! There is no shortage of food and drink to try out in Annapolis, and we only scratched the surface.

We even made an afternoon trip to Washington, D.C., where I had never visited before! Some Loopers choose to cruise with their boats up the Potomac River, but because we go so slow, we decided it made more sense for us to just make the drive over. Ripley even made the trip with us, which I think was her biggest city visit yet!

Evan kept himself busy while I was gone by spending some one on one time with Ripley (see photo at the brewery) and checked out a local boat store that specializes in used/surplus boat parts. His exciting purchase there was a spare water pump for $40, normally selling brand-new for $300! That was something he’d been wanting to purchase for some time now because if our water pump were to break, we would be without any running water…not fun. 

Of course, even while I was gone from the boat, I couldn’t stay away from the water and found myself fishing with my sisters on my parent’s lake and even took a spin in their new pontoon. As refreshing as it is to spend time with family, I’m excited to be back with Evan and Ripley this week and hopefully cover some ground as we round out the Chesapeake Bay over the next week or so. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the weather from here on out until we reach New York Harbor.

Wish us luck as we continue this grand adventure!