Fairlee Creek

2 weekends ago, we took the boat ALL the way across the Chesapeake Bay for the first time ever. We'd always heard people talk about Fairlee Creek and how fun it is. Since we didn't have anybody going out on the boat with us, we decided to go explore on our own and figure out where to go... so that if someday we did take other people, we'd look like we knew what was going on :) The ride took a bit longer than we thought it would... and some big boat wakes made it a tad bumpier than we were expecting with the "waves under 1 ft" forecast. But, we made it!

To get there, you have to go through a narrow little channel. There's a tiki bar and some food carts on the left, and a big area of water where lots of boats anchor on the right. We drove through all that and found our own little cove in the back. It was really cool - the shallow, calm cove on one side... a small strip of land, and then the Bay and channel with all the boats on the other side!
We spent a few hours there! Digging, swimming, finding treasure, and relaxing! We even met 2 nice ladies who took the kids for very safe/slow rides in their jet-skis.

Pirate-Fest #3

Almost 3 weeks ago now, we headed across the bay (to Rock Hall) to the 4th annual Pirates & Wenches Fantasy Weekend. I call it Pirate-Fest and it's our 3rd time there. This was our 1st time going on Friday evening instead of Saturday around noon -what a great idea!!
After tying up Mike's boat, we started our walk to town to find some grub. One of the big golf carts they use all weekend to get around town picked us up and we ended up at Waterman's. We finally met up with our ex-neighbors Jenny & Chuckie (who go every year and we always say we'll hook up, but never do...). It was great seeing them, and Lucas proclaimed that the best part of his day was when Jenny held him :) Charlotte spent the entire time dancing (really just spinning around and flapping her arms spastically) in front of the live band with a tambourine they gave her. She didn't care where we were or if anyone came with her... She just wanted to get jiggy with it :)
The kids went right to bed afterwards. We stayed up playing a board game on deck for quite a while. Lots of laughs!

Saturday was the REAL Pirate-Fest day! We got up and into our costumes. Tony & I actually ordered real ones for this year, as our makeshift ones from the thrift stores weren't holding up too well. Lucas wore the same costume we got him 3 years ago, and will probably get still another year out of it. And Charlotte wore the pirate suit that we "conveniently" got her for last Halloween. All dressed up, we headed to breakfast at an eclectic little cafe right outside our marina. It had a little shop, where I got some earrings to add to my pirate ensemble.
Next, we headed to Main Street (via a hayride-type tractor) to see what was happening. There were lots of food vendors, craft tents, and a pirate town. Tony's cousin Audrey, and her boyfriend Rich, met us there for the day's festivities. While in the pirate village, Tony volunteered me to be the pirate "assistant". Which meant that first I got to hold spaghetti noodles while some guy used a bullwhip to snap them while I held them... Then, I was blindfolded and so was the whip-guy. Aaannnndddd, I got to hold the pasta in my teeth this time. There was some trick involved as they were safely whipped out, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. Thanks Tony for volunteering me! Afterward, he said that he never could've done it. Lottie watched the whole thing intently, while Lucas looked downright afraid for my safety!
After that, we headed to the beach, hoping to catch the dinghies ending their race (we missed it last year). Well, we missed it again by about 10 minutes. That's ok - they dinghies were still there so we could see the decorations. So, we hung out for a few hours... Taking in the scenery, drinking a few beers, and chatting on the boardwalk. The kids played in the sand and ate Italian ice.
Later on, we went back to Waterman's restaurant. I was worried about how the kids might fare after having no naps, but they were terrific! Tony enjoyed some crabs and we escaped the one downpour of the day.
Then, back to Main St. Sadly, I guess because of the earlier rain, a lot of things shut down early. So, we ran into some of Mike & Brenda's family and hung out with them before starting the only long walk of the weekend back towards the marina. We stopped at one bar on the way and ran into a really cool older couple that we ended up talking to for a while. They offered to take us to a grocery store if we needed more snacks for the kids, or to drive us to anywhere in town we needed to go :) Super sweet, but we kept telling them that the boat has food and we're only about a block away... We'll be fine!
By the time we got back to the boat, it was after 9 and the kids were BEAT! We got them into pjs and they fell immediately asleep. They were calling for bad weather Sunday, and the water on the Bay was already getting rough... Which was why Tony & I slept inside that night. Good thing, as we had some bad thunderstorms/wind overnight.
Sunday morning, we woke up and checked the radar... Saw we were in the calm between 2 storms. So, we packed up and rolled out asap. No rain and mostly very calm water; nothing like we were expecting!!! We got back to the house just as the rain began... and lasted the rest of the day!

Night at the Fair

Last night we met friends Chris, Sarah, & baby Jeremiah at the MD State Fair. We used to go every year, but didn't make it last year, and with Irene didn't figure we'd go this year either. But, we got Monday, and at least Tuesday, off... so, why not have a late night?!?

We headed up after dinner to see the rodeo at 7 pm. I'd never been to one, and the kids loved it! Most of the cowboys fell off right away, but a few were really good, and some of the bulls were downright mean.
After the rodeo, we played a few games on the way out! I won Lucas a black panther at the dart toss. Then, Tony won the same game 2x and won 2 pillow pets!!! Amazing! And to think I just bought the kids 2 to take to school next week. Grrr... Fun time all around!