MAY 23-24: PLAYING TOURISTS IN ANNAPOLIS

May 23:  Before we could play tourists, we had one major boat project to undertake.  Yes, we did think all those big projects were behind us...but boats being boats..The Captain noticed that the stuffing box was leaking a little too much so the challenge today is to remove the old stuffing material around the shaft and replace it with new.  Does not sound like a big deal, right?  Well, yes if you are doing this in the water.

So the crew prepared everything ahead and attacked the problem.  Admiral was charged with stemming the water that would pour into the boat, while the Captain removed the old shaft seal and packing material and inserted the new.  After a few breathless minutes, the process proceeded quickly and completed without any mishap thanks to the Admiral and a well functioning bilge pump.

We were now free to leave the boat and head to downtown Annapolis.  We scouted out the local transportation options and chose to take the bus to the nearest shopping mall to stock up on supplies.

May 24:  With all our boating chores done.  We spent the next few days truly relaxing and exploring Annapolis.  What a neat town-it has the highest concentration of 18th Century houses.  The names of the streets-King, George's, Prince George's, Hanover, Duke of Gloucester date from Colonial days.

A few examples of the well preserved historic houses.

Monument to Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice of the US Supreme Court who was formerly a Maryland lawyer.