Party Weekend

This weekend was full of excitement!  We kicked it off Friday night at Honey's Harvest's Biergarten--great food and drinks, good times with our neighbors, and well-behaved kiddos (thanks to Netflix!).

Saturday morning (after a touch too much pumpkin pie liquor, I might add), we were awoken by the bilge pump running continuously.  And salt water in the bilge.  Uh oh.  A quick trace of all through-hulls revealed no major issues and finally a leaky intake to the forward a/c unit.  Frank had been wanting to replace the bleed valve anyway, so it became a project day!  All was fixed in short order and we were able to enjoy the beach bonfire.  I really enjoyed it with my new wine baggy!

After striking out at a used paddle board sale, we shopped Annapolis for a few more Halloween decorations and headed home to deck out the boat.  Love it!  Can't wait to get underway!

Showing off her good side!

While the guys from Offshore Pix were hanging out at our marina and around the bay this summer, it seems they got some great shots of the boat underway!  We saw them flying around one day and wondered if they were taking random shots of the boats.  Frank checked their website a few weeks later and here we are!  http://offshorepix.smugmug.com/OntheWater/Lehe-Paine/i-JxpLVMP

We may just have to order one!

End of summer, Cambridge style!

Winds were perfect for a trip to Cambridge for their end-of-summer BBQ Street Party!  Just like last year, we were right in it with a bunch of racers heading to Oxford, and we anchored right in the inner harbor by Snapper's again.  We were bummed to find that the German baker wasn't back, but we did enjoy a nice dinner at Jimmie and Sooks and had a few drinks while checking out the shops along the street.  It was a great weekend for sailing!

Shawapalooza! A new experience on the bay.

Before I get to just what that title means, I have to mention the antics of Friday night.  In anticipation of a rocket launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at 11:27pm (for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)), the dock crew imbibed rum and "rocket fuel" and amazingly all made it to the launch (though the kids and I snuck in a 2-hr nap before it).  It was pretty cool to see it on such a clear night!

While at the party, one of our neighbors told Frank about "Shawapalooza," an afloat concert put on by the Eastport Oyster Boys out on Shaw Bay every year.  It sounded fun so we changed plans!  Light winds Saturday morning gave us a chance to use the spinnaker again (success!) and the weather for the concert was perfect for this fun show.  Lessons learned for next year--bring Natty Boh to pay the band, bring snacks to pass, and bring more booze to the dinghy raft-up!

On the return trip Sunday we had decent wind for a little while and our little Mate did a great job at the helm!  It's so great seeing her excited about driving!

Final stop was, of course, the pool.  It's only open for one more weekend so we're trying to get in as much time as we can!

Holi-/B-day fun

The rest of the long weekend was quite enjoyable!  We parked ourselves at the pool for most of Sunday, and took a little sail to celebrate my birthday (and get more practice at the helm!) Monday.  The best gift a girl could ask for is time with the people she cares about most, and I got it!