What is this trip about? It is about the people we meet and the places we go. As we continued up the Chesapeake Bay, we were lucky enough to be able to visit with some good friends and to discover the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. What a wonderful few days!

A happy reunion for Kirby.  He loves Noi!It was so good to be reunited!  Here are John and Scott.Saying goodbye to good friends, Scott and Noi.

After leaving Galesville on Monday the 10^th, we made the short trip up the bay to the Magothy River. The goal in this excursion was to find our friends from S/V Symbiosis. We met Scott and Noi about a year ago in Grenada and we traveled with them and with Larry and Debbie, on M/V Tropical Blend, for about six months before we parted in St. Maarten. Scott and Noi have since sold their boat and are now living on land near Annapolis, and we were so anxious to see them and spend time together. Our visit was perfect. Noi works at the Magothy River Marina and was there to greet us as we pulled into our dock. Kirby was absolutely beside himself with excitement to see Noi, as she is probably his favorite person in the world. In the Caribbean, it was common for Noi to stop by AfterMath with a piece of chicken bought just for Kirby from the local store. His tail could not have wagged any harder to hear her voice. We had dinner together on Monday night and then, Tuesday morning, they came to see us off after we shared a breakfast of the bagels they brought. Kirby even got doggie bagels to join us in our meal!

From our dock at Harbor East Marina in Baltimore’s Inner HarborThat’s John as we were taking a stroll to see the sightsWe wondered what this strange looking boat was.Soon we found out it is a solar powered garbage collector!  Trash makes its way down the river, but never makes it to the Inner Harbor.Sights around townUSCGC Taney, the last surviving floating ship that fought in the attack on Pearl HarborThe view from our bow at night.  Gorgeous.Domino has a processing plant on the harbor.Baltimore’s World Trade Center with a beam from the NYC World Trade Center on display.One stop with the Water Taxi was Fels Point, a pretty neighborhood of watermen of the past.  We got off and had lunch here.A strange looking vehicle!!Inside the Museum of Industry.  

Our next stop was Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Baltimore has taken what was once a run down, seedy area and changed it into a vibrant and beautiful destination. It was a short, easy walk from the Harbor East Marina to the center of activity. There are also water taxis that transport visitors to most of the attractions. Here we found museums, the Baltimore Aquarium, historic ships, paddleboats, a lighthouse, and so much more, all in lovely settings and all beautifully maintained. We spent two nights there, enjoying everything. We especially loved sitting on the bow of our boat at night, listening to the sounds and viewing the city lights. This area is a pleasure to visit and we would highly recommend it to anyone passing by.

So, in these few days of our journey, we reunited with friends and our eyes were opened to a wonderful harbor. We find along the way, that the people we have met have become part of us, our history, our family. We are sad when we say goodbye, we treasure our time together, and look forward to meeting again. The places we visit blend in a marvelous way. We need to think to sort out, in our minds, which destination carried which feature or sight, but the experience as a whole is wondrous. This vagabond life we are leading is priceless to us. We know that our travels will always be part of our fabric now. And the people we have met and the places we have gone are truly joys that we would have never wanted to miss.