Once we were settled in our slip at Cambridge Municipal Marina, it was time to tackle some boat projects, make some trips to Connecticut for doctor appointments, and have some fun!

Our first priority was to bring the car down from where we were storing it in Connecticut. Cambridge is very small, and we didn’t have a car when we were here for Covid summer which was pretty constraining – even without the separate issue of Covid! This time, once we brought the car down, we were free to roam and see if the Eastern Shore of Maryland was someplace we could settle down some day (Spoiler alert: it’s not. It’s too small for us.)

The marina is very protected which basically means that an AC is mandatory once July rolls around, so we bought a small window unit and Jeff made a frame out of plywood so we could install it in the companionway. Last time we installed it in the hatch and didn’t really care for that location. Fortunately, the companionway worked out much better even though it’s a bit of a stretch for me to step over it.

For the rest of the summer we basically traveled to Annapolis or Baltimore every week or two, taking in the larger city vibe.

Jeff did some metal detecting at Sandy Point State Park:

Cambridge had its annual Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race which we enjoyed watching from the docks at the marina. Skipjacks were traditionally used on the Chesapeake for oyster dredging, and less than 20 still sail:

We also hauled out the boat at the Yacht Maintenance Company in town. We had a list of things to take care of including preventative maintenance on our dripless shaft seal by replacing the bellows a year before what is recommended. We weren’t sure when we would be hauling out again, and we did NOT want that part to fail. Basically, water would start gushing into the boat and we’d be lucky to avoid sinking. Better safe than sorry when it comes to that particular maintenance item. Between the PSS, new bottom paint, and several coats of wax that Jeff put on, Pegu Club was spiffy and ready to go by the time she went back into the water.

Yacht Maintenance Company was great and VERY reasonably priced. You can tell it’s a small community because when it was time for us to leave, they said they hadn’t written up the invoice yet so we could just go and they’d e-mail it to us! Typically, a yard won’t let you leave with the boat until you pay. Needless to say, we were surprised and charmed. We wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.

Once our boat projects were done, it was time to have fun again. And the highlight of the summer was yet to come.

Unbeknownst to us, Maryland has a large Renaissance Festival every year on the edge of Annapolis. It’s held on permanent grounds over nine weekends that are chock-full of performers. It’s actually one of the largest Renaissance Festivals in the U.S., covering 27 acres with 1,300 participants. There are more than 130 craft shops, 42 food outlets, 8 major theaters, 4 smaller stages in taverns, a children’s area, and a jousting field with seating for 3,000.

We had never been to one, but my sister and her husband have been to several. It sounded like a blast, and after talking to her we decided to give it a try. What followed was a day of laughter, entertainment, revelry, and merriment. We weren’t dressed up, but we enjoyed watching the people who were. And the amazing thing is that although there are usually 15,000 attendees each day, everyone was having a good time. No one was drunk, there weren’t any fights. It was just pure joy and pleasure. The food was good and very reasonably priced, and so was the beer and mead. Huzzah!

The costumes were wonderful:

The Piper Jones Band was great!

And we finished up the day watching the jousting match:

All in all it was a great time, and VERY reasonably priced for a full day of entertainment. As we drove back to Cambridge, we agreed that we would need to make it an annual event if at all possible. Huzzah!

Next up: heading north to head south.