The weather forecast for this morning was 'drizzle'. Bleh. We can travel in rainy weather .... it's just not as much fun. You don't get to see everything that you typically would, since the front eisenglass is a mess, and there are no wipers. Drizzle isn't as bad, just not pretty.

We left shortly after breakfast with the intention of heading to Chesapeake City and the free dock (that technically isn't free, but its cheap) because Chris and Lesley were heading there. It was a short day, which I like. I wasn't looking forward to getting out and docking in the rain, but it is what it is. When we got around the river and into the C&D canal (I think that stands for 'Chesapeake' and 'Delaware' canal, but not 100%) we were idling the motors and still cruising at 12 knots. The current was really strong in the canal. Just about the time we were going to grumble about giving up this amazing free ride and stop for the night, Shelley and Chuck - from the boat Chaniel - radioed to see if we were continuing on. Undecided, I said.... She said that they were going to head all the way through the canal and anchor on the edge of the Delaware River so we could head down in the morning. What a great idea! We took advantage of the current all the way to the end of the canal ..... went around up the river a bit to a safe-ish spot with deep enough water. It turned out to be a beautiful evening, and the pictures that Shelley took of our boat were amazing.

Later on that evening, while we were just enjoying the quiet, we started hearing banging noises that were a bit troubling. You know how to sit and think ...each time you hear it ..... trying to figure out 1)where it is coming from, and 2) what in the world it is? We finally went outside on the bridge and lo and behold there was a terrific fireworks display going on! I have no idea why, and honestly not sure I care, but it was sure beautiful!

We slept peacefully at anchor in the shadow of what we called 'Three Mile Island' which is actually the Hope River Nuclear Power Plant. Whatever...... (same idea)

Next morning I got this great picture of Chaniel in the sunrise. We headed down the Delaware River, through the notorious Delaware Bay. I started out pretty calm, and I was looking forward to a quiet, but long, day. Ha! The bay had other ideas. It turns out when the wind blows sideways against the current the chop gets pretty rough, and the waves were slamming us from both sides. Not a pleasant ride, and with the big waves we couldn't even keep the windows open or the water drenched us. We made our way to the mouth of the Cape May canal (where the ferry boats cut through, and the whale watching tours depart from) and went through to stay at our marina. I found a space at Utsch's Marina. I small, out of the way, old-as-dirt marina..... but walking distance to a nice little seafood restaurant, so we went there for dinner. Several of the other folks traveling up the coast are sitting for a few days - waiting for better (read that: less windy) weather to travel in. We shall see in the morning!

Here is a couple more pics from the day