What a whirlwind 48 hours it’s been! On Wednesday we got word that David’s Thursday case cancelled so with Mema’s help with the girls and a spontaneous attitude, we decided to head north to one of our favorite events, The Annapolis Sailboat Show. Long time readers will know we’ve been quite often to the boat show, beginning in 2012 with baby Hailey strapped to my chest. Good gracious, time flies y’all.
We got lunch in Winston Salem at a fabulous little spot called Young Cardinal. Then we stopped by a RV dealership to quickly check out some fifth wheels with bunks. We aren’t seriously shopping but since we were close by, thought it would be fun to see what they are like.
From there we finished the trek through Virginia and past DC to get to the cutest little town in all the land, Annapolis, Maryland. From our house, it’s just over 7 hours, but since we rarely get away just the two of us, it felt like a day date.
We decided to splurge when I found out the Waterfront Marriott had an available room. We’ve always wanted to stay there, as the it’s literally at the entrance to the show and is walkable to everything in Annapolis. We checked in, dropped our bags, then went to wander the streets in search of dinner.
The town was full, but not slammed how we expected, so we enjoyed poking in and out of a few spots that looked good while trying to decide. Ultimately we decided to try a new spot right near the docks that just opened up called The Choptank. It was bustling but we were able to score a little table on the upper deck. It was a little chilly when the wind blew, but it just felt exciting to be there.
And the food? You guys I fell IN LOVE with this restaurant! It was fabulous. We shared oysters, tried the gumbo and the clam chowder, then each had our own main dishes. We devoured it all while overlooking the boats, chatting about dreams, and taking in the atmosphere, which was buzzing with good energy. We chatted fireside with some folks we met after dinner and it was just such a fun way to end the evening, hearing about others’ adventures and dreams.
We slept hard that night and woke up to a very rainy Annapolis. It couldn’t dampen our excitement though. We got dressed, donned our rain gear (which for me was Hailey’s raincoat I snagged last minute), and walked to the Iron Rooster, a breakfast spot in town.
We took our time with breakfast before heading to the show around 10:30. With the rain, we started off mostly in the tents, but slowly the rain began to dissipate and we made our way to the docks. We headed straight for the catamarans, which despite the new models, felt like saying hi to an old friend.
We poked in and out of the Lagoons, the Fountaine Pajots, the Antares, and others. We caught up with familiar faces, including Mark from S/V Field Trip, currently anchored in Malaysia. Hearing stories from adventurers is so inspiring. We stopped by Outremer to see Sailing La Vagabonde’s boat.
By 1:00 we were ready for some lunch so we grabbed turkey sandwiches and a Pain Killer (when in Rome…) from a stand, then decided we needed more oysters, so stopped back by The Choptank. We ate oysters and chatted with new boat owners and some college kids before making our way back to the docks.
We spent the afternoon catching up with our friends at The Moorings (remember when we took the kids sailing in the BVIs? It’s still their favorite trip!), checking out the new Leopard boats, and appreciating the sunshine that finally started to peek through, rainbow and all!
Another fun highlight of the afternoon was visiting the Youtube Sailing Channels booth, where we got to meet and greet with Brian, Karin, and Brady from SV Delos. We watched Delos’ adventures beginning way back when Josje was part of the crew and have checked in on them ever since. It’s been fun to watch their journey and meeting them in person was great, as they all were as genuine and friendly as they appear on their videos.
We didn’t waste an ounce of daylight, and continued to walk the docks, bounce off and on boats, and when they finally kicked us out, we ended up back at The Choptank. We have to try some of the other new spots next time, but the convenience and caliber of this place was so good, we couldn’t resist capping off our adventure with some pan seared rock fish, wedge salad, chili roasted oysters, and some fun banter with the bartender.
We were up and out early Friday morning, making the 7 hour trek back home in time to hug Mema with a big thank you, change clothes, and head to Hailey’s soccer game. It was quick and crazy, but I’m glad we made it happen. It’s fun to be dreaming again.
