Washington DC and Annapolis (4-2001, 5-2001, 6-2001)

	This is Buster. He lived on the boat docked next to us while we were staying at Port Annapolis Marina (PAM). He kept us entertained for hours! Some of his favorite things to say were "Hey, Jeff!" and "Pogo! Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty..." Jeff was his owner. Pogo was their cat. (Duh!)
	During our stay at PAM we still had our car with us. We took advantage of this and made several trips into Washington. We'd drive to a Metro (subway) station on the Beltway and ride into town. One day we visited the National Zoo and saw the Pandas. They sleep a lot but we were fortunate that they were up and playing while we were there.
	Here's Attitudes in the stepping well at PAM where they step (put up) the masts. Our forward mast is right behind the anchor chain so we had to take out all 170' of chain so the mast could be lowered into position. Sort of looks like we dropped anchor too close to land.
	Sometimes you have to squeeze into some pretty tight spaces when working on a boat! This is Karen in the very after part of the boat. She was holding a wrench to the nuts for the bolts Ross was tightening that are holding our SAILOMAT wind vane steering system onto Attitudes' transom. More on the SAILOMAT in future updates.
	Other side trips took us to Shenandoah National Park, about 120 west of Annapolis. This is the home of the Skyline Drive and some remarkable hiking! We went there twice and did about half a dozen hikes. This was a short one to "Betty's Rock" and a great view of the valley below.
	Ross working at the computer. The yellow case is a waterproof Pelican case that the computer is stored in. The computer is on the table behind the case in this picture. This is how we're creating and maintaining this website. We get the pictures and HTML done offline and then upload everything at once. It saves on connection time. The power to recharge our laptop's batteries comes from either a small inverter or from our AC (120V) system when the generator is running.
	Karen bailing out the dinghy. Our dinghy serves the same purpose for us as a car does for land dwellers. We use it to get from Attitudes to shore and other boats, carry groceries and supplies, and pretty much anything related to getting around. When we're at anchor or on a mooring we usually leave it tied up to the back of Attitudes. This makes it easy to use but when it rains we have to bail it out.
	Ego Alley with our dinghy in the foreground and Fawcett Boat Supplies in the background. Ego Alley is the nickname for the cut leading to the dinghy landing in downtown Annapolis. It gets it's name due to the boats parading up and down during weekends. It can get very crowded in there! Fawcett is a wonderful store. Everyone who works there is very knowledgable and they have been a much appreciated source of help and information.
	Ross in the dinghy in Annapolis harbor where we spent a week on a mooring buoy. The boat behind him is "Early Out" owned by Fred and Debbie, another fulltime cruising couple. We met them the last couple of days we were there and became good friends. Bonds form quickly among fulltime cruisers because everyone eventually goes their own way and it may be a long time (if ever!) that you see them again.
	Wednesday night races in Annapolis. The finish line is on the opposite side of the mooring field so the last part of the race is right in the middle of all the moored boats! We had several of the racers pass us within inches. No collisions, but we did see some racers fending off from moored boats. What a crazy way to run a race! Why not just made the finish line a few hundred feet earlier and avoid the potential problems? Nah, that wouldn't be half as much fun!
	Annapolis is home to the United States Naval Academy. You can tour the grounds and see things like the remains of naval hero John Paul Jones in an alcohol filled crypt and a truely amazing collection of wooden ship models, some of which are over 300 years old.
	Attitudes anchored in Weems Creek. Weems is a beautiful creek just up the Severn River from Annapolis. We anchored here before discovering that you can use the Naval Academy hurricane buoys for free. After making that discovery we up anchored and hooked up to one of the buoys.
	Some of the residents of Weems Creek took a liking to our dinghy. Cute, but cleaning out their "calling cards" the next morning wasn't so cute.
	While aboard the boat of Warren and Bobbi, 2 more new friends we met while taking the dinghy from Weems to Annapolis, we saw "Early Out" sailing by. We had parted company almost a week before and they were back to pick up family for a visit in a couple of days and looking for a good anchorage. We told them about the buoys in Weems and then spent a great couple of evenings with them. Here they are coming over to Attitudes for a visit. Fair winds guys!
	Our first crab! We went "chicken necking" from the dinghy near shore. Chicken necking is tying chuncks of chicken necks (really!) to weighted strings and dropping them in the water. The crabs will then try to walk off with the necks. When you feel them tugging on the string you gently lift up and slip the net under them before they realize what's happening and drop back off. Easier said than done! We lost 3 or 4 before getting this one. It was too small (they have to be at least 5" across to keep) so we released it after taking this picture. The net is home made and worked pretty good!