After spending the entire day on Tuesday in airports (Thanks to delay after delay after cancellation on U.S. Airways… Never again!), I finally made it back aboard Beatitude late in the evening. Most of the day Wednesday was spent working on the head in the port hull (our’s). The smaller discharge hose required by the electric head was almost completely clogged over it’s 8-foot course with petrified poop. I, of course, replaced the hose and took the macerator pump apart and cleaned it. After multiple attempts all new leaks were stopped, and the head seems to be working like new.

Late Wednesday night, Cindy’s twin, Christy, flew in to join us for a week or two. We’ve decided to keep the boat in the marina here in Annapolis for a month. Next weekend, I’ll fly back to Maine for two weeks to work. That leaves us a week to relax here in Annapolis before duty calls. We’ve finally decided on cruising plans for the rest of the year. We weren’t sure if we would sail further north than the Chesapeake this year. But now, we’ve decided that we will continue on up the coast after I return from Maine. We’ll have about seven weeks of cruising time before I’ll need to take another work-break. We hope to be back in the Chesapeake by then. We are thinking we’ll hang around for the U.S. Sailboat Show in October before descending southward. While the boat is here for the next three weeks, we are biting the bullet and upgrading our electronics. We are hoping to have a new Garmin chartplotter, radar, and a working AIS installed before we leave Annapolis!

Thursday, we chilled aboard Beatitude and around the marina. The girls soaked up some sun, and we swam in the marina pool.

This very relaxing day was followed by an arduous, yet wonderful day in Washington, D.C. Christy had never visited our nation’s capital before. Cindy and I are always happy to return. We parked on the outskirts of town and used the subway (“Metro”) to get around town. Our first stop was at the U.S. Capitol where we availed ourselves of a Capitol tour. We then hopped back onto the subway to head over to the White House. After lunch at the oldest saloon in Washington, D.C., Old Ebbitt Grill, we strolled past 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. From there, we walked down to the Washington Monument, and then down the Capital Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. I left the ladies for a little while and took a side excursion on my own to the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the MLK Jr. Memorial.

After being awed by the Lincoln Memorial, we walked across the Potomac River to Arlington National Cemetery, established during the Civil War on the Estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. I would have loved to spend more time there, but, by now, time was short, so I climbed upwards to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where I was blessed to watch the changing of the Tomb Guard. It was a moving experience to look out over the acres of green grass dotted with the bright white tombs of those men who gave their lives fighting for our freedom. It was my fist visit to Arlington, but was reminiscent of my visits to the cemeteries of Gettysburg and Normandy. The same sense of gratitude and thankfulness welled up within me as I took in the surroundings.

By the time we boarded the Metro again at Arlington, we had covered several miles by foot over the course of our day. We appreciated the seated subway ride back to the station where we had parked our car. It was a great day in the city, however, we were happy to be back on Beatitude in the evening to rest. Now, we’ll spend the next six days further enjoying our time in the Annapolis area.