Point Lookout Marina, MD back to Steppe's Harbor View Marina (Home Port)
Today was our final day of our Chesapeake Bay Loop. As usual, when we want to head out the next day, we always check the weather on a few different weather apps before going to bed, and we check it again the following morning, just to make sure the winds and water conditions will be favorable for our trip (we like consistent winds to be less than 10 knots, and gusts no more than 15 - although we've been out in wind gusts up to 30 knots on the Bay and said never again if we can help it). So, last night before going to bed, we checked the weather for today and saw that the winds would start getting stronger as the day progressed, along with a chance of rain. We determined that if it was the same forecast when we got up this morning, we would get an early start so that we'd be back at our home marina in Mattox Creek by noon. So when we checked this morning, it was the same, so we left Point Lookout Marina at 7 am. The pictures will tell the story for today. We took a pic when we were leaving the marina, and the sun was sparkling on the water. The next pic is how beautiful it looked when we were leaving the marina. The water was a bit choppy but when we turned to go up the river, the current was with us and the water smoothed out.
We've included a picture of the Chesapeake Bay displaying the significant stops along the Bay. We did not go to all of them, but we will give the order in which we did it so it mainly looks like a circle (with the exception of us having to cross the Bay to go North on one occasion because the trip between destinations would have taken 10 hours). When we left our marina, we travelled East on the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay, then across to Crisfield, MD. Then we went back across the Bay to Solomon's Island, then back across the Bay to go Northeast to Cambridge, then Oxford, St Michaels, Kent Island, Rock Hall, then across to Baltimore, and down the Bay to Annapolis, Galesville on the West River, Deale, back again to Solomon's, then into the Potomac River to Point Lookout Marina near St. Mary's City, then back to Mattox Creek.
A couple statistics - we travelled 386 miles and a total of 60 hours on the water, visiting marinas, seeing beautiful sights, small towns, mom and pop restaurants that have some of the best food, ice cream shops, and historical landmarks. Both of us loved being on the water and we can't wait to do it again. We did miss our family terribly. Kerri met us at the marina as soon as we docked and helped us pack and carry our things to the car. Russ came to see us as soon as we got home, and he stayed and visited with us. This trip was in preparation (a trial run of sorts) for us doing the Great Loop next year. We've included a picture of that as well. It consists of 6000 miles of waterways and typically takes a year to complete. As of right now we are planning for it, but only the Lord knows if our plans will come to fruition. All I know is that despite a few glitches, we had an amazing time on this trip.
