Lessons in Relaxation

Sunday afternoon as I flew across the Chesapeake Bay on the front end of a speed boat, I realized what an unlikely picture this was for someone who is afraid of water! I had my little life jacket on with the instruction as to what to pull if I suddenly found myself pitched out of the boat. And when my friend Ginger told me to just relax so as not to be jarred every time the boat slapped the rough water, I gave up my white-knuckled grip (pictured above) and concentrated on the perfection of this day out on the Bay.

The boat trip with a stop at a local Annapolis restaurant was one of the highlights of our year courtesy of the Temple Micah spring auction. Not only do we get to enjoy good food and things (like power-boating) that we would never otherwise do, but we also get to experience the company of interesting and just plain nice people.

Sunday was a day created just for our outing. The water was rough enough for sailboat races, but not too rough to make our stomachs turn. The sky was that pure cerulean blue without a cloud to be seen. The sun was hot but tempered by a constant breeze.

After winding our way through a half dozen racing sailboats, we ended up in Mill Creek at Jimmy Cantwell’s Crab House. Our hosts had warned us that "parking" was not their forte, so we had to maneuver a bit to tie up next to the dock where we went ashore to gorge on steamed and fried shrimp, crab cakes, and broiled fish. This is when you realize what a difference "fresh" really makes.

After getting back in the boat, we took a historic tour of Annapolis from the water where we saw the largest dorm in the world (at the USNA), we learned that Jews had been given full "rights" in Annapolis in the early 1800's – Annapolis being a largely Catholic town, we saw the multi-million dollar home of the owner of Britches of G’town, and we figured out which boats were houseboats by the laundry hanging out.

The trip back across to Thomas Point was on a much calmer bay. We explored the Thomas Point lighthouse which is now in the middle of the Bay. We waved to their neighbors as we approached their dock.

But the best surprise was saved for last. Their crab trap had 4 big blue crabs, which turned out to be 3 after Ginger released the poor female who was the object of a last attack by one of the males. Then she steamed those 3 big boys and sent dinner home with us.

As we found our land legs once again and felt the warm glow of an afternoon in the sun, we realized just how special it would be to live on the water and have the freedom to enjoy this body of water that is so important to the ecosystems of the area in which we live. Thanks to our TM friends for sharing this afternoon with us.