Land Ho!

Another month has passed quickly, and here we are at the end of August. We've spent most of our time since my last post on land.

Our United States Capitol

We started our land-based activities with a day trip to Washington, D.C., specifically to visit some of the Smithsonian museums.  We took the train to D.C.  from the town of Laurel, MD which allowed us to avoid city traffic and dropped us off right at the entrance of the National Museum of Asian Art, one of the places I wanted to visit.

One of the things I learned while preparing for our trip was that the Smithsonian is named for the illegitimate son of an English Duke who bequeathed his estate - should his nephew die without heirs - to the United States for the establishment of an institution for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge".  The Smithsonian Castle is shown in the background of the selfie below. It houses a visitor welcome center as well as James Smithsonian's crypt and information about his life. Unfortunately, the Castle is currently closed for renovations but I would love to learn more about this benefactor, who had never traveled to the United States. 

Red Brick Smithsonian Castle in the Background

The day of our visit was absolutely beautiful, and I think this was the only time I'd ever been in Washington when it wasn't hot and humid. 

The Iconic Washington Monument

I started at the Asian Art museum and Steve set out for the National Air and Space Museum, stopping as usual at a food truck along the way. 

Most of the photographs I took, especially those of paintings, did not turn out well since the objects were encased in glass. I've included a few of them, nevertheless.

The painting below, by Tomioka Tessai, is an example of the Bunjinga style in imperial Japan. The colors in this painting were remarkable and I found it to be quite beautiful.

The Old Site of the Wanchuang Villa, 1917

The ancient bronze sculpture from the tenth century shown below was one of my favorite pieces in the Indian exhibit and is infused with symbolism.

Shiva, Lord of Dance, circa 990

The flasks below, which were used for storage of concentrated aromatic liquids, were from roughly the same time period. The flask on the left, from Egypt, was carved from rock crystal, and the silver bottle from Iran displays symbols of kingship.

Ancient Perfume Bottles from Egypt and Iran

The illustration below is a Persian manuscript illustration, which depicts the king watching as his favorite attendant is sailing away with her lover. Of interest to me was that the sky was painted in gold and the sea in silver - although it is tarnished now - as was the tradition in manuscript illustrations.

 Abduction by Sea, circa 1496

After lunch, Steve and I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The content was comprehensive and sobering, beginning with the kidnapping, transport, and slavery of Africans, and covering a whole range of topics beyond, including military service, religion, segregation, and continued persecution based on race. The museum was also uplifting, as it chronicled the contributions of many Americans of African descent in business, statesmanship, music, fashion, and all aspects of life in the U.S.

We ended our tour of the museum in a gallery of contemporary art. The quilted portrait of Harriet Tubman was the favorite piece for both Steve and I.

I Go to Prepare a Place for You, by Bisa Butler 2021

Our next sightseeing adventure was of the outdoor variety and a bit closer to home but also related to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is within a mile or two of our mooring location, and we chose a beautiful, sunny day to explore. 

We parked at the Woodlawn House, built in 1735, which is the oldest Smithsonian house that is still in its original location.  It houses the Woodlawn History Center, but it was closed on the day we visited so after a brief look around we followed the historical trail whose starting point was there. 

Woodlawn House, built by William Sellmand in 1735

Back Yard at Woodlawn House

The trail took us through fields that were formerly the Sellman family's tobacco plantation in the 1700 and 1800s, and sites of slave quarters. A part of the land is now leased by SERC to raise soy, hay and corn.

View Along the Woodlawn Historical Trail

Farm Land at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

After completing the Woodlawn Trail, we followed a walking path until we came upon the remnants of a mansion which had once been owned by John Contee, a Lieutenant in the U.S. army in the war of 1812. 

He named the property "Java's Farm", in reference to a victorious battle that he led against the British vessel, HMS Java.

Remains of John Contee's Mansion at Java's Farm

View from the Site of Contee's Mansion

We ended our exploration that day with a hike through the Contee Watershed Trail and a portion of the Squirrel Neck Loop. It was a quite lovely walk through an unexpected forest environment. 

In mid-August, Jessie and Will traveled out of state for a conference/week of vacation so Jake and I spent a week or so at their house to take care of my grand-pup, Tito.

My Two Boys, Jake and Tito ❤

 Steve had asked them to think of a project that he could work on for a few days when he came to visit me during my stay. Their top-priority project was a workbench and putting up additional shelving in the garage. 

The previous owner had converted the former carport into the garage but had never painted the walls, so before Steve arrived, I prepared the garage by painting and creating space for him to work. 

New Workbench for Jessie and Will

Once finished with the workbench, Steve returned to Starry Night while I stayed for a few more days to visit with Jessie and Will after their return, since my time with them will be limited during the remainder of our stay in the Chesapeake. I assembled the shelves they had ordered and then Jess and I finished consolidating boxes and organizing the space, while Will refinished the cabinet below the workbench. It's amazing how much more fun it is doing projects with a visible result rather than just "maintenance" work 😄

Getting Organized!

Meanwhile, back at the boat, things are never boring and Steve had the opportunity to rescue a fourth dinghy! It appears we have a calling 😂

This time, Steve was below decks when he heard some bumping on the hull. Although that sometimes happens when waves hit the boat, he went up to investigate and found that someone had been "single-handed" sailing and towing a dinghy behind his sailboat when he managed to get the dinghy tangled in our mooring line. This resulted in the sailboat bumping against our boat (thankfully with no damage!). The man freed his dinghy from our lines, disconnected it from his boat, and left it with Steve to tie it to our boat while he attempted to go to his mooring ball. Steve watched as he unsuccessfully attempted to head upwind to the mooring ball with a motor that looked like a weed-whacker and his jib partially unfurled. Steve jumped into our dinghy and went over to assist, but at this point the sailor ran aground. Whilst stationary he was able to furl his jib and get his lines in order and a larger boat then towed him to his mooring ball.  Maybe he wasn't quite ready for single-handing just yet.

Steve's other pastime during my absence was playing with his new toy - a Sailrite sewing machine. The purchase price was about half the cost of recovering the deck cushions in the Starry Night Lounge, and it can also be used for repairing sails and any number of boat-related projects. We had heard nothing but good reviews of the product, their instructional videos, and their customer service, and had seen a demo of the machine at last year's boat show. He has already repaired the topside deck cushions as a means to learn how to use the machine, and is now in the process of identifying and ordering the materials to make new covers. I think he's going to be on his own with this hobby; I'm still recovering my placemat and napkin project from last summer! haha

I may have mentioned before that we don't like leaving the boat unattended for more than a couple of days, and a few days after I returned from my time at Jessie's it was Steve's turn to spend some quality time with family, while I stayed on the boat. 

Steve's aunt, who is 95, lives in upstate New York and his mother has not been able to visit her since before COVID. Syracuse is a relatively short drive from where we are in Maryland, and so we found a direct flight for his mom and he picked her up at Syracuse airport. From there they were able to visit quite a few of her cousins, friends, nieces and nephews, along with her sister.  It was a bit of a whirlwind trip but absolutely worth it.

Steve's Aunt Tina and Mom, Pat 

Thankfully I don't have any stories about dinghy rescues or strange noises during my time alone on the boat. I did do a few small boat projects, inventoried our provisions, and put together the shopping list in preparation for our trip home. Lest you think that all we do is work, I  also went to the marina-sponsored Happy Hour one evening and their bagel breakfast on Saturday morning, where I socialized with fellow boaters, took walks, read quite a bit and watched some movies.

We have two more land-based trips planned between now and mid-September:  both of us are going to Connecticut to visit more family over Labor Day weekend, and I'll be driving our truck back to Florida the week after that.  Once I return to the boat, it will be time to get underway again and to continue our tour of the Chesapeake!