Farewell Annapolis!

The boat and I have been here too long. The engine and new transmission have been installed. In the process of doing that, a few parts were broken. So we waited for those repairs. My friend Jon Edwards told me to get off my ass and fix it myself. He was right, I could do that. However, they broke it... they fix it! It's a good thing I took that approach too, because another connecting part was also broken. That was discovered when they tried to top off the coolant in the engine. This meant another delay, but I wasn't responsible.

Grace came down for a 10-day visit. She was expecting to sail the boat down the Chesapeake with me. I ended up driving her home. At that time there was no end in sight for the repairs. While she was here, we completely rebuilt the refrigeration system on the boat; including re-insulating the frig! We also did a few other tasks that required two people. I was sad to see her leave.

So... I spent a couple months in Annapolis. I'm sure you are wondering where are the pictures? Everywhere I go, I take pictures.

For me, there has to be a feeling, an emotion to cause me to take the picture in the first place. Now, I obviously take lots of snap shots.. point... focus... shoot. This blog is loaded with them. but I am always looking for that "Good Picture". That's the one where I look at the print, or computer screen later, and similar emotions are stirred up inside me as when I first took it.

While in Annapolis, I took two pictures: one of my boat; one of a dismasted boat. I was worried about the symbolism of the dismasted boat.

A 44' race boat came in... dismasted. I hate the symbolism just before my journey

So, "why no pictures?" ...I wondered to myself. I reversed my thinking hoping to find something to photograph. I asked, "When I leave Annapolis, what will I miss most?" I kept coming back to the same thing. Something intangible, something that was impossible for me to get a "Good Picture".

It was a smile. A smile that would brighten my entire day. A smile so bright, that one rainy day, I turned around to see if the sun had poked through; half expecting to see a rainbow. It had't it was still dreary outside. The brightness was in my head.

The "Good Picture" would be impossible because I could never feel the same emotions stir inside me just by looking at a photo. The smile was from Laura, the Waitress/Hostess at Grump's, where I had breakfast a few times a week.

I will depart Annapolis in about a week, missing Laura at dawn...  Hey! That could be a country music song!

First, I have to rent a car and drive to New Jersey for my cousin's wedding this weekend. I will depart the day after I return.

The next update will most likely be from Bermuda.