We made it

Washington DC, here we are! After a long but unforgettable journey, the four of us made it and are so glad to be here. Our journey was to start off in Galesburg, IL. We arrived as we were supposed to 1 hour before our train was to leave, the lady at the ticket counter says "Change of plans, no train to Chicago now until 6pm." Some how they forgot to relay that message to us. We had to improvise and brave Chicago traffic to get to Union Station so we still made our train headed to DC at 7pm. Union Station was pretty cool, the boys loved sitting outside watching all of the traffic wondering how all those taxis keep from running into each other. Watched the last 2 innings of Cubs game- beat the Sox in the 9th!! The train ride was so much fun, the boys spent most of their time (and alot of money) in the snack car. Kerri and I played marathon Rummy card games, I won, don't let her tell you any differently. Boys slept fine, Kerri slept pretty good, I am running on about an hour of sleep. No fair. The scenery was great, I'm glad we took the train. Union Station in DC is much larger than the one in Chicago. Dad and Steph met us there and we all rode the Metro subway together back to the marina. September Song is even more beautiful than I imagined, I'm so proud that Dad and Steph are enjoying the rewards of all of their hard work. We walked just past the marina to this fish market for fresh seafood for dinner. I've never seen more fish in one place, the picture does not even show a fraction of booth after booth of fish. We relaxed and I finally got to see and take a picture of my own sunset off the boat. Tomorrow we are taking a trolley tour all throughout DC to get an overview of what fun things we have in store in the upcoming week. Making wonderful memories with the six of us that we will cherish forever. This blog is my contribution to that.

In the words of a wise man, "September Song Out!"
Patti (on behalf of myself, Kerri, Austin, and DJ)



Fish, fish, and more fish.
Can you believe this?

Here ducky, ducky, ducky!

Patti's 1st September Song Sunset-
Just as pretty as Dad's

Dessert on the front bow,
Austin and DJ

We left our anchorage after enjoying a beautiful sunrise and headed for Washington. The trip on our last leg on the Potomac was spectacular. We passed tons of beautiful homes, Fort Washington, Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington (but he wasn't at home), beautiful hills and the view coming into Washington was a sight that gave me chills. The view from the pilot house at our marina is of the Washington Monument . Tonight as I blog I can see the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial all lit up from where I sit (way cool!) While we were sitting out on the aft deck enjoying happy hour the President flew over in his helicopter on his way home from Andrews Air Force Base. We waved and I am sure he waved back. Our marina is located on the the Washington Channel ,which is the path that they take to and from the White House.
Kerri, Patti and the boys will be here after lunch by train. Stephanie and I will meet them at the station.

Soooo much to see and do. Can't wait!
As you can see by the time I blogged this, it is past my bedtime. Spent too much time out on the front deck enjoying the views and the beautiful evening.

September Song out and off to bed.



Mount Vernon

Fort Washington

View from the pilot house, Washington Monument

The president's fly over to welcome us

Sunrise over our anchorage

Hills along the Potomac

Who lives here?

For you Patti

Enjoying sunset with the kids

Calm before sunset

Steph playing on half note

I was talking to Patti on the phone earlier and told her how beautiful it was in the anchorage at sunset, so I told her I would send some pictures.

Breton Bay anchorage

View from the pilot house

So throw it!

Another Dog Gone Good Beach

Yesterday we anchored in the St. Mary's River in front of St. Mary's College, also the first capital of Maryland.
Today was a short trip to our next anchorage on Breton Bay just off the Potomac River. We arrived at 11:30 and put the tender in the water and went exploring and played on the beach just off our bow - well, depending which way the breeze is blowing. What a great lazy play day we had. I don't know what we did to deserve all this beautiful weather but we will take it. (upper 70's and light breezes) Would you believe it, I had to put on a sweat shirt for a while this morning.
Tomorrow we head for Mattawoman Creek, our last anchorage before Washington DC.

It's not only 5:00 somewhere but it's 5:00 here!
September Song out

Farewell Pete

Another beautiful day on the Chesapeake

View from the pilot house

St. Marys College from our anchorage

Today started off on a sad note. We received a call from Donna, Stephanie's dad's wife to tell us that Pete, Stephanie's dad had past away last night. We stopped on the way back to the boat Friday to visit with him because he wasn't doing well. I am glad we did.
Pete, like Stephanie an I, loved the sea and the adventure of cruising. He started out sailing including racing to Bermuda. Latter in years He moved to a trawler and He and Donna lived on it for several years exploring, meeting new people, and seeing this country from his second love, the water. You will be missed Pete.

This one is for you Pete
Sailing into the sunset

September Song out

We are back :-)

Cassie and Godiva's island

The calm after the storm

Exploring the area in Half Note (the tender)

View from the pilot house at anchor

We cast off the lines today at 6:30 and said good-bye to the York River and Sarah's Creek and made our way into another beautiful day on the Chesapeake, bound for our first of four anchorages up the Piankatank River making our way to the Potomac and then to Washington DC to meet Kerri, Patti and the boys.
The Bay was calm and the weather was beautiful as you can see from the first two pictures.
We arrived at the mouth of the Piankatank River around noon and wound our way up to our anchorage which is behind an Island. No name for the Island so the girls wanted to name it. Cassie said Cassie Island, and Godiva said Godiva Island. They settled on Dog Gone Good Island because it was so much fun. Cassie chased the fish in the shallow water while Godiva chased what ever we threw out. It was a great afternoon playing in the water on Dog Gone Good Island.
We grilled out, ate dinner on the fly bridge and enjoyed the view. After dinner a thunder storm came up and lightning hit a tree on shore about 200 yards from us and scared the you know what out of us. After the storm we were treated to a full rainbow over the anchorage.

It's great to be back!
September Song out

We are back :-) #1

Godiva taking the plunge

Cassie Chasing fish

Fishing must be good

Another beautiful day on the Chesapeake