St. Michaels, MD

Technically, we are still in San Domingo Creek, so the boat hasn't moved. But for the past three days we have gone ashore and wandered around St. Michaels which is a popular tourist spot on the East Bay. Saturday it rained all day but then right around dinnertime it looked like it was going to clear up so we got in the dinghy and headed to shore. Of course the skies opened up just as we were landing the boat, so we got soaked but the sun came out a few minutes later and we were able to explore and grab a bite at the local saloon. The town is the epitome of small-town America -- one main street with shops, restaurants, etc. Most of the shops sell knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, and various other hyphenated-type craftwork. We window-shopped until it started to get dark, then headed back to the boat to discover a minor flood. We had left one of the ports open in the bathroom to keep airflow going through the boat (kind of a stupid thing to do when it's RAINING OUTSIDE) and the water just trickled in to the bathroom filling it with about an inch of water. Of course that is one of the few compartments in the boat that doesn't drain directly into the bilge, so I waded in there and started sopping things up with a towel. It was dry in no time, so it wasn't too big of a mishap. Lesson learned.

Sunday was a sunny day so we hit the local Maritime museum (pretty much every small town on the Bay has one) and oohed and ahhed over the (now very familiar) exhibits on crabbing, oystering, and fishing that seem to be the staple of all of these museums. We have promised each other that this was the last, the absolute last, maritime museum we will visit for a while. You can only look at so many pairs of antique oyster tongs before enough is enough. On our way back to the boat we also hit the local grocery store, "Acme", a name that for me conjures up images of Wile E. Coyote strapping on Acme brand rocket roller skates in a vain quest to catch the Roadrunner. Meep-meep!

Today was more of the same, looking in at some of the shops, picking up a few more groceries, and having dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants. It's been a pleasant couple of days but we are in for more rain this week. This time we'll remember to keep the ports closed during the downpours.