Heading South

Or, more likely, the title should be, Meandering South. In our usual fashion, we've stayed a long time in one place. Annapolis is one of those places that's very easy for a sailor to get comfortable in. There are lots of other sailors, good shopping for new and used gear and waterfront bars where sailors can talk (think heated debate here) about all that gear.
The annual Annapolis Boat Show took place this past weekend. It's the largest in-water boat show in the world and it's quite a spectacle. We met some cruisers who are part of the work crew every year and learned a lot about the workings of the set up and take down involved in such a big show. There are about a mile of floating docks assembled off site and towed in and then the vendors start bringing in the boats and setting up in the tents.
This year the weather was perfect and the crowds were big. We went on Friday looking for a few specific things and spent a whole day getting information and taking pictures of new ideas. We went back today to do our volunteer hours at the SSCA booth and look at water heaters, which we need as of yesterday. Ours isn't entirely kaput but it's the original 33 year old one and it's leaking rusty water into the bilge. Steve discovered this when he was at the bottom of the sail locker, doing something entirely different, we call this the Domino Effect. (I actually want to rename the boat 'Domino Effect', because we literally can't make coffee without moving something else first. Our daughter, Hannah, watched us putting away the groceries once, and after we had to ask her to move for the 3rd of 4th time and she was now perched on the back corner of the settee, remarked "you live in a puzzle".) Anyway, a great time was had at the boat show, we ran into friends on every other corner and spent a lot of time talking and catching up, my favorite part.

So now, it's getting chilly in the evenings and the leaves on the bank are turning red and yellow. The Canada Geese are going through in big incredibly noisy flocks and it's time to follow them to where it's warm.