Day 282 – 283
Saturday morning, 06/19/21, dawned hot, sticky, and mostly cloudy. Perfect weather for walking through a hilly, harbor-side town, right? 😐 Before our tour, I Ubered to Great Clips for a haircut and then to the grocery store, while Steve Ubered separately to Best Buy and West Marine. Steve’s trip went fine, while mine was considerably lengthened when my Uber driver to pick me up at the grocery store got caught behind a Juneteenth celebratory street-march right through historic downtown Annapolis. My delayed driver and I texted back and forth while I went back into the store to purchase an insulated bag for my gallon of milk, that didn’t need to wait outside in the heat for an hour and a half. 😐 Couple that with the fact that the Giant grocery store in Annapolis doesn’t have one single bench or chair in front of their store, so I got to stand the whole time. When my driver finally arrived, he apologized profusely and volunteered to request a refund from Uber for my ride. I assured him I knew the delay had not been his fault, but once again I was reminded just how very much I miss having my own vehicle…
Our errands finished for that day, we set out on foot to explore our new digs. As usual I took many, many pictures of this wonderfully historic town. Of course we were trying to explore on a Saturday, so the crowds were thick, but on top of that it was also Juneteenth and a Pride weekend. Great timing on our part – LOL! We stopped in at Buddy’s Crabs and Ribs for an early dinner and people-watched as we ate. Annapolis is a beautiful town, rich in our nation’s early history. The city served as the seat of the Confederation Congress (former Second Continental Congress) and temporary national capital of the US in 1783-1784. At that time, George Washington came before the body that was convened in the new Maryland State House and resigned his commission as commander of the Continental Army. A month later, the Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris of 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War, with Great Britain finally recognizing the independence of the United States. Annapolis was also the site of the 1786 Annapolis Convention, which issued a call to the states to send delegates for the Constitutional Convention to be held the following year in Philadelphia. Over 220 years later, the Annapolis Peace Conference was held in 2007. In addition to being quite significant in the beginnings of our country, Annapolis is also the home of St. John’s College, founded in 1696, and the United States Naval Academy, established in 1845.
Sunday, 06/20/21, was a busy day. I had previously booked two tickets on the Discover Annapolis Trolley tour for noon, so we walked (and sweated) up the very steep hill that got us to Annapolis Visitor Center, from which our trolley departed. Super-humid again outside, it was also sunny, which pretty much melted us by the time we arrived. Fortunately, Steve had purchased each of us a bottle of water at the bottom of the hill, which we were allowed to carry onto the trolley with us (SCORE), and the air-conditioning onboard our ride worked quite well, to our delight. Unlike some of our earlier trolley tours that boasted hosts that served as driver and docent, simultaneously, this trolley featured a driver and a separate tour-guide who stood up front and spoke into a wireless microphone. She did a marvelous job of explaining the history of such an old city in one hours’ time, though Steve thought she went a bit heavy on the corny jokes. 😉 On this tour, we learned that Maryland is currently celebrating 371 years of recorded history in 2021. The oldest house still standing in Annapolis was built in 1671, and was included on our tour as a drive-by. Four signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 lived in Annapolis: William Paca, Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll. One of the most influential people in the original design and development of Annapolis was a British aristocrat named Sir Francis Nicholson. In 1695, the then Governor of Maryland conceived an idealized Baroque city plan of streets radiating outward (like spokes on a wagon wheel) from two circles that were superimposed on the existing colonial grid of Annapolis. His circles created focal points and gave importance to certain key structures. In the center of Church Circle is St. Anne’s, the Episcopal Church, and regarded as the spiritual center of the city. Home to the Maryland State House (the oldest in continuous use in the United States), State Circle represents the seat of government. The Nicholson plan still exists today in a somewhat modified form. The circles are still named State Circle and Church Circle, but have evolved through the years and as the city grew, from pure circles into irregular ovoids.
A thriving shipping industry brought great wealth to Annapolis, which was reflected in quality of life. Prosperous British merchants and “planters” sought to duplicate the amenities of their homeland in the colonies, and built mansions that would rival any in England. These homes, which entertained many of our Founding Fathers, had ballrooms and formal gardens where lavish social functions occurred. Today, Annapolis has more of these original 18th century structures standing than any other city in the United States. Many are open to the public, where their beauty and architectural style are major attractions.
After a wholly enjoyable trolley tour (MAN, we are getting old…), we walked to a waterfront restaurant called Latitude 38 Degrees for another early dinner, this time scoring an outside balcony table with a refreshing harbor breeze. This particular restaurant was located adjacent to one of the entry gates into the US Naval Academy, a place we both really wanted to tour, and planned to do so as soon as we finished our meal. Unfortunately, when we got there, we learned that tours had been suspended indefinitely due to “COVID restrictions”. Grrrr… Instead, we had to be content with walking around the perimeter of the academy and taking what pictures we could from the outside. UGH!
My ears had perked up during our trolley ride when I learned of the historic William Paca House and Gardens, built on two acres of land right there in downtown Annapolis. Even though it was so hot outside, and it had been a long day, my husband graciously agreed to taking a quick walking tour of the Paca gardens, since the house tours had ended at 4:00 pm. Although the place was my absolute dream come true – the lavish acreage is walled for privacy, but still located right in the middle of where the action is – many of the plants were between blooming cycles and the gardens were smaller than anticipated, but those that were in bloom were stunning, and I thoroughly appreciated just being there among all of that thriving flora. 🙂
Position: N 38° 58.483, W 76° 29.070
Total marina nights: 259
Total nights at anchor: 23
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 28