More Jersey, Delawhere? and Merryland

On Halloween we arrived in Solomon's Island, MD. To get here we had to stop four times without ever leaving New Jersey (Atlantic Highlands, Barnegat Light, Cape May, Greenwich), traverse the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and mostly motor 70 miles over two days down the coast of Maryland.  

We had planned to anchor, but upon further inspection discovered that there weren't many attractive options for a spot to spend three days waiting on the weather. So, we picked up a mooring at Zahniser's Yachting Center and now feel very spoiled. We had what I consider our first real showers since we left Jon's mom's house almost two months ago. Meaning hot water for as long as I wanted in a private, clean bathroom, where stepping out of the water onto the floor didn't immediately make me feel disgusting again. It was heaven.

We rode complimentary bikes over to the nearby West Marine to buy a new inverter so we can charge the laptop, and then had drinks and appetizers at the marina restaurant. By some miracle, the laptop charged within an hour and in honor of Halloween we watched Alien and ate popcorn.  

We had been out of coffee for four days, so in the rainy, windy morning we  got a ride to and from the grocery store to re-provision. Amazing. When we got our groceries back to the boat and prepared to make coffee, our propane tank finally gave out after holding through the entire summer. So no coffee and no "cozy cabin heater." But, we were then able to get another ride from the marina to fill the propane tank. Again, amazing. Unfortunately our tank is leaking, so we will have to figure out what is wrong with it before trying again tomorrow. Still, this is the place to deal with it. Since we can't cook anything on the boat, I guess we will just have to go check out the brewery in town. 

Being here is a reminder that there is nothing like a little deprivation to make the simple things in life that much sweeter. Before this trip I wasn't sure about the need to endure the bad in order to fully appreciate the good. Now I know. Every convenience we would have formerly taken for granted, each time something works out perfectly, and every kindness extended to us seems all the more fantastic and uplifting and helps to smooth over the rough parts. I hope this feeling of gratitude lasts long after this particular adventure is over.    

P.S. I promise less words and more pictures next time.