Washington D.C.

 The rain has subsided, the tide is flowing in our favor, we've moved debris from around our slip, been given a "Bon Voyage" from the friendly folks at Tantallon, and now it's time to head further up the Potomac River.

As we approach the capital city, Captain Eddy is reminded of his years of flying into Washington National's busy airport. 

We are overcome with emotion when we spot the Washington monument on the horizon!

Captain Eddy is busy focusing on staying in the channel while the First Mate is singing patriotic songs.

Our excitement heightens as we see the United States Capitol!

The Capital Yacht Club will be "home" for 8 days.  WOW!  What an upscale, friendly, well-located facility.

Well located . . . . referring to it being located adjacent to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Shop!

Of course the First Mate wasted little time to taste their wares!

A nearby courtesy shuttle dropped us at the Smithsonian on the National Mall where we spent several days visiting museums and memorials.

Linda says Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream gave her the strength to hold up this iconic monument.

It is nearly impossible to get same-day tickets for the African American History Museum.

We were determined to be the first people in line, so we carried our boat stools and waited 2 1/2 hours to insure that we'd get in.

The African American History Museum is our new favorite! All four floors have powerful exhibits, videos, sculptures, and artifacts that ignited all of our emotions.

At the National Portrait Museum, we felt honored to see the Obama's amazing portraits.

The Newseum provided an awesome view of the U.S.capitol.  

The American History Museum displayed these antique toys.  Really?!?!?

We viewed some "antique" big boy toys at the National Air and Space Museum.

Sadly, Eddy's Northwest Airline company is part of history.

Our marina was adjacent to the Wharf's famous Seafood Market.

It was difficult to make a decision because the fresh fish choices were endless!

Chef Eddy prepared browned butter & garlic shrimp over pesto pasta aboard Spiritus!

A highlight of being in D.C. was surprising sister Brenda for her 60th birthday.

The sibs and spouses arrived either by plane, R.V., boat, and car for a most memorable celebration!

Goddaughter Elizabeth baked and decorated a delicious home-made carrot cake, Brenda's favorite, and now ALL of our favorites!!

Our family has the best of times together and are so grateful for the close, loving bond we share.

Brenda was only 10 years old when Eddy & Linda started dating.

 Back then, she always requested 2 songs when he was around; "Gitchy Goomy" and "Sunny Skies".

  Eddy played and sang both songs to her and we all cried!

It was a fun-filled, laugh-filled, toast-filled 3-day party!!

The four Pennington kids never tire of sharing stories, smiles, and hugs!

There was magic in the air as we watched the Memorial Day Parade and listened to the patriotic music.  

This swing was located directly in front of Spiritus' slip.  It provided a perfect place to drink coffee, talk story, watch people, and give thanks for the best week ever!

Up the Potomac

The sun had barely risen when we departed Deltaville, headed for the Potomac River.

Numerous lighthouses on the Chesapeake mark the channel and break the monotony of the seemingly endless view of water.

Our first Potomac River anchorage was in Horseshoe Bend in St. Mary's, Maryland.

St. Mary's was the original capital of Maryland and St. Mary's College is the oldest university in the state.

 

The college has a boat facility that provides sail boats, kayaks and SUPs for student's use.

Proudly, they trained many competitors who qualified for the Olympics!

 

 Linda rowed the dinghy to shore but failed to qualify for any Olympic medals.

After getting ashore, we explored the quaint, charming campus,

From Spiritus we could hear the historic church bells ring every hour.

For Mother's Day, Linda created a banner so we could send a boatload of love to our dear mothers!

We shared a spectacular sunset with another boat but they provided their own wine!

 Maryland Dove is a re-creation of a late 17th century vessel which accompanied Lord Baltimore's original expedition to Maryland.

St. Clements Island's 40 foot high commemorative cross marks the location where religious tolerance in America had its foundation.

A creek off St Clements Bay provided us with the perfect place to dive in!

This was the first time in 2018 that the water temperature was warm enough to swim.

The next morning's fog required us to slowly pick our way out of the creek and into the channel.

A depth-finder malfunction caused the Captain to do his "Gumby" imitation!

"Shumansky's Marina and Restaurant" on Cobb Island gave us free overnight dockage in return for partaking in their famous seafood buffet.

Our hike around the island taught us that a milestone in radio history occurred here.

Spiritus was happy that we took the time to clean her up at Belmont Bay Harbor on the Occoquan River.

The First Mate was happy to relax with a liquid refreshment . . . .

. . . . while the Captain tried to convince her that his frozen refreshment was better!!

Even on the Potomac River, it's not uncommon to see ospreys in their "day-marker" nests.

What IS uncommon is to see two bald eagles soar from their nest right toward Spiritus!  Unfortunately, our camera was not readily available but the scene is etched in our memories.

But nothing compared to the excitement we felt cruising by George Washington's Mount Vernon.

We dreamed of doing this someday and today was that magical someday!

We spent 5 days at the friendly Tantallon Marina across the river from Mount Vernon.

Here Eddy is wheeling all our provisions, including our new computer, down the dock to Spiritus.

Tantallon Marina was only a bike ride away from Fort Washington State Park.  

We rode our bikes through the park and explored the fort.

The First Mate claimed that she earned ice cream after riding her bike more than 15 miles!!

But more importantly, she claimed ice cream makes her strong.

We all know it makes her happy!!