Seein’ the DMV: Ocean City and Assateague Island
Ocean City and Assateague Island I left home at 1:30 a.m. in order to give myself more than adequate time to reach my scheduled boat tour in Ocean City, Maryland. This was an impulse trip just because I hadn’t been to OC yet and had the opportunity for a relatively inexpensive trip that included about a 4.5-hour drive each way. The weather forecast a partly cloudy day with temps reaching the mid-60s. I dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and knee-length sweatpants, then opted for a hooded sweater instead of my jean jacket (BIG mistake). As I drove out, I wondered why Waze directed me on a circuitous route through Baltimore rather than the more direct route over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge until I remembered that it was using my normal–avoid toll roads–criteria. This was one of those occasions where paying $2.50 to cross the bridge would have been cheaper than…
At the Symposium (Day 1 Pt. 2)
To say I woke up tired would be an understatement. I’d set the alarm for 6 a.m. in a useless exercise. Between that and managing to rehearse with the pianist, I missed the morning sessions. The afternoon ones were primarily geared to choral music, so I’m afraid I didn’t get much out of them. Hopefully, I’ll have lots interesting to report about tomorrow’s (beyond the obvious). I’ve now been on the east coast three days and hadn’t had a single bit of fresh seafood. From what I was told, today’s 72-degree temperature was especially warm and sunny for this area. So–impulsively and without even going back to my room to change, jumped into RB and took someone’s directions to a restaurant called Ches’s. It has been in business since 1951 and very popular around here. Boy, was their famed fish and chips wonderful!! Could see the Atlantic Ocean near Ches’s,…
At the Symposium (Day 1, Pt. 1)
Good morning! After the ship–anything big enough to hold semis is not a ferry, IMO–docked in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, on Sunday morning, RB and I disembarked and started our 809 km (555 miles according to my GPS–btw, those who have been trying to get me to buy one for years now have permission to say “I told you so”) drive to St. John’s. As I learned driving through Maine, it’s not a good idea to let your vehicle gas gauge drop below 1/3 tank since the distance between stations can be substantial. I also discovered that prices here are extraordinarily high. Gas averages $1.30 Canadian per liter, so it cost me nearly $85.00 to fill the RB, and that was regular unleaded gas. Discovered that Newfoundland is surprisingly mountainous. I can see why there’s just one main road around the outer edge. It makes for some great viewing along…