Baltimore, MD - Master "Plan B"

Greetings family and friends - I type this from Baltimore, MD - we arrived here on Thursday and we have moved to "Plan B." 

I'll start from Wednesday night.  In looking at the weather forecast, Paul figured out pretty quickly that there was no way we would make it to Rhode Island by the middle of next week.  The trip from here requires clear weather, as a majority of if is along the Jersey coast - and if the weather isn't cooperating - it's a really tough trip.

So - we made the call Thursday morning to trek to Baltimore (about 70 miles) from Solomon's Island and keep the boat here for a month.  We rented a slip at this great marina right in the Inner Harbor in the heart of Baltimore - walking distance to grocery stores, great restaurants, great neighborhoods, etc.  Our trip on Thursday was beautiful - not a cloud in the sky and we had a easy and beautiful cruise up the Chesapeake - a far cry from earlier this week! 

The AIS info on our chart plotter.  You can click on any boat on the radar and find out the details - pretty cool.

There were at least 12 huge tanker ships waiting just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for their call into Baltimore Harbor to either unload or load their cargo.

A tug pulling a barge goes by . . .

A typical site in the Chesapeake

The tug and barge head for going under the Chesapeake Bay bridge

We passed this old fort heading into Baltimore Harbor

Downtown Baltimore

Baltimore is a very active port - lots of commercial activity.

Another perspective of this active commercial hub.

I will fly to Providence tomorrow (Sunday) and work all week from our apartment and then I fly to Seattle, WA next Saturday.  I plan to visit my 92-year-old Aunt Charlotte and my cousins who live in Salem, OR (about 3 hours south of Seattle) and spend Easter with them.  Then I have a one-day Clinic in Tacoma on Saturday April 30th, so will drive back to Tacoma on Monday (after Easter) and work all week there leading up to the clinic.

Paul will fly to West Palm Beach on Monday and pick up the van and drive it back.  Our dear friend "Florida" Jack was able to get us parking at his apartment complex - so Paul will fly down on Monday, stay with Jack Monday night, and head north first thing Tuesday.  He will drive to Baltimore, stop here for a few days and do some work on the boat, then head back to Rhode Island and spend Easter with his Mom and brothers on the Cape.  He will fly to Tacoma on Wednesday (April 27) - then we both fly back together late Sunday (May 1st) after the clinic.

Are you keeping up with all of this?  :-) 

Once we get back after the clinic, Paul will head back to Baltimore with someone (still figuring this out) and will bring the boat back to Rhode Island.  I can't join him because I have a big event on May 10th, so our hope is to have Master Plan back to East Greenwich by mid-May.  Obviously, the weather forecast will impact this plan - so we'll see.

Meanwhile, we love Baltimore and we love this marina.  We met up with some wonderful friends last night and will see a few others today.  Below are some photos taken from Master Plan's bow on Thursday evening.

So - we're "busy living" and life is good.  We'll definitely keep you posted as we forge ahead with our Plan B.  Thanks so much for following along!

Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.  - John Lennon