A Birthday, Stingrays, and Mother’s Day in Solomons Island, MD

May 13, 2023

Solomons Island is surprisingly fun with so much to do. We anchored in a peaceful spot around the corner from the main town that allowed space for kayaking and a quick dinghy ride to many different areas.

The island is a major boating center located at the mouth of the Patuxent River in Maryland. It reminded me a lot of Gig Harbor with restaurants and docks along the water and a lot of small pleasure boaters zooming around.

The 13th is Steve’s birthday. We started the morning with coffee on Steve’s boat and presented him with his gifts. The day continued with dressing in Hawaiian theme clothing and Leis while taking Steve to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. The celebrations continued with drinks at the Tiki Bar. Unfortunately, it started raining so our festivities were cut a little short with a wet dinghy ride back to the boats.

While anchored out, we also met a few other Loopers. Fika was in their dingy and came over to say hello. They have two kids a little younger than Annette and Michael. The kids all hung out for a bit while we visited.

While leaving for lunch, we noticed another dinghy in the water with Fika. They had just completed the Loop and were coming to say hello. We joined them on the water for a quick meet and greet.

May 14, 2023

It’s Mother’s Day. We pulled anchor and moved the boats to the Tiki Bar dock. The boys had projects and work to do and I wanted to see the sculpture garden. The garden was a long walk away, but Boris found a possible dock we could take the dinghy to. The kids, Tonia, and I loaded into the dinghy and headed out. Unfortunately, the dock was private and not in great shape so we had to nix that idea. Feeling bummed, we turned around, only to be surprised by a fever of sting rays swimming.

After some oohs and ahs, we went to the Calvert Marine Museum, explored their exhibits, and toured the Drum Point Lighthouse. Drum Point Lighthouse is a screw-pile cottage-type lighthouse and is only one of four remaining from forty-five that once served the Chesapeake Bay. It is complete with furnishings of the early twentieth century. It’s incredible imaging what it would have been like living in one. After our tour, we returned to the boats and we had drinks at the Tiki Bar where we met another Looper (Bama Breeze)