St. Mary's

This city was the original capital of Maryland. Calvert came here along with other Europeans and settled into Native American villages that had been taken causing the evacuation of the entire tribe to the other side of the river. Being that so much colonial history remains here, there are well preserved and well constructed replicas of buildings and even a ship named the Dove. This archaeological site is known as Historic St. Mary’s which we toured, again dogs allowed even on the Dove. Sarah and Dillon jumped on board like they’ve been living on boats their entire lives. I’d definitely recommend the tour to anyone in the area. Even though the cost is $10 per person. That says a lot considering we’re cruising on a budget and only want to spend money on necessity items. Check out their website http://www.stmaryscity.org/ for more detailed information.

Besides being a historical city, the college, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, is also historical in its own right - around since the 17th century. The area and school are known for permitting religious freedom and tolerance in an error when people came here just for that and were still denied the right to believe in whatever they wished. What we found especially relevant to us was the waterfront, not only the free wifi named waterfront, but the long-standing institution of sailing. Apparently, this school is #1 in the nation. It just so happens that while I type this, a regatta is going on. It began around 10am. It’s about 4pm now and still quite a spectacular sight to see. Schools out there include Virginia Tech, Fordham, Georgetown, Navy, St. Mary’s, Howard University, plus a whole lot more.

We arrived here Tuesday and decided to stay through until Monday morning because of predicted rain. Our next stop was to be a state park complete with nature trails. It’s just not enticing to walk along muddy trails with dogs, but this college town has wonderful paths and walkways made of concrete, brick, and gravel - perfect for rainy days.

On Monday, we’ll skip going further up the Potomac River and go further south. It’s COLD! Easily down to 50s at night because it’s only 60 down below at best in the morning. Our sleeping bags originally purchased when we slept upon our Mandy Lee are for weather down to zero so it’s super toasty at night. Throw in two dogs and it’s down right hot!

We hope to hit the ICW by 10/20. A bit early for insurance coverage due to hurricane window but we’ll just watch the weather. Chesapeake is beautiful but we’re itching to see other states and want plenty of time to visit areas like Ocracoke, Wrightsville Beach, Beaufort, Charleston, Savannah, etc.
Sirius music for this spot was reggae.