Calvert Cliffs State Park

While we're waiting to get on the crane schedule to have our old engine hauled out and the new one lowered in, we decided to take the afternoon and explore an area we hadn't seen.  Calvert Cliffs State Park is about 30 minutes south.  It was an uncharacteristically warm day -- 60*F with weak sunshine.  Lots of people were enjoying the day.

Water at the docks gets turned off for the winter.  So when our tank gets low, we have to haul 5 gallons at a time back to the boat.

Last of the slush-bergs from the blizzard 

The melting snow washed Virginia Dare right down.  No more bird poo!

David installed the new control panel at the helm.

Nice!  Much easier to read than the old dials.

There it is.....the new engine!

Scenes from Calvert Cliffs:

Slushy trail

Thousands of holes "drilled" into this tree by the birds

Ruffles on a log

Several beaver lodges......David told me a funny story about a beaver that scared him out of a fly fishing stream.  Did you know that beavers have giant orange teeth?  Neither did I!  Take a look at this photo.

Old dock

Yellow clay discolors the snow

Can you spot the recent handiwork of a beaver?

Today's selfie

Hmmmmm....

Apparently people find fossils along this beach.  We weren't that lucky.

Chesapeake shells and rocks (no fossils)

David studied the striations.

I've never seen anything like this.

Rubble on the beach at the bottom of the cliff

Snow + new engine = too much excitement!

If you haven't already heard, a blizzard came through these parts last weekend.  So, delivery of our new engine was delayed by an ice storm in Virginia which was immediately followed by The Blizzard of 2016.  So, we prepped Virginia Dare and accepted an offer to stay with a friend to weather the storm.

Friday afternoon when the storm arrived: the snow slid right off the tarp (folded the bimini down).

We had great homemade meals, fun times, and plenty of libations over the weekend.  It's fair to say that a fun time was had by all!

Let the storm begin!

We are the blue dot in the center.

Smoked bluefish

Swedish meatballs

Plenty of beverages

The three of us shoveled 18" on Saturday and 6" on Sunday.

Time to warm up after shoveling :)

We ate very well during The Blizzard.

A little 8 Ball, a few games of darts, a lot of fun

Warm and toasty with a roaring fire

Hearty stew

Woke up to sunshine and blue sky on Sunday morning

The pond is frozen and snowed over.

Caution, hazardous turn

Hopping bird tracks 

Birds must have been looking for food

I finished my knitting project!

We ventured out on Sunday afternoon to avoid going stir-crazy :)

Monday morning found Virginia Dare just fine!  Most of the snow blew off her.  The cockpit was bone dry.  The water in the marina wasn't solid, just a slushy mess.

This evening (Tuesday), our new Volvo Penta engine finally made it to the marina (happy dance)!  Temperatures hovered around 50 degrees today, so much of the 8-10" of snow that had fallen here had melted by this evening.

There it is, the package we've been waiting for.

And so it begins......

.....prepping for the arrival of our new engine.

David's feet -- the rest of him is in the engine room.  I can hand him tools and hold flashlights, but two of us can't fit in there.

Thankfully, I have a new knitting project!

It was 17*F this morning when we woke up and there was a skim of ice on the water.  Inside our cabin, it was a cozy 67*F :)

Frost on the dock

I know, these aren't balmy, blue water photos.  Oh well, we're just as bummed as you.