It's Memorial Day.  We are home for a couple of days to collect a few items before we start our cruise north Wednesday, June 1.

We brought MYSTIC ROSE north from Zimmerman Marine the last weekend in March.  Then April provided its typical weather pattern of rainy weekends and beautiful Wednesdays so we only got underway for a few day trips from our slip on Saltworks Creek to Annapolis with friends.

The first weekend in May, the Annapolis Yacht Club had an Ice Breaker Rendezvous at the club with thirty plus boats.  The weekend was full of good sea stories, fine food and a blessing of the fleet.  You can find a picture of MYSTIC ROSE in dress ship in the spring photo gallery.

Friday of Memorial Day weekend we headed for Chestertown, MD for the celebration of their tea party reenacted by the sailing vessel Sultana.  Her picture above finds her peacefully pier side bathed in setting sunlight after after the day's raucous altercation.

We enjoyed the weekend in Chestertown with Sue and Paul Mikulski on SOJOURNER with Ken and Marge Swiecicki and, David Gallitano and friend Kim on STAR.  You want this group with you on cruises because they always bring fine weather and good times.

We will be aboard for the summer starting Wednesday.  Our first stop as we head up the Bay will be Rock Hall on the Eastern Shore.  We want a good weather window off the New Jersey coast and the coast looks lumpy through this week.  We will be sampling stops like Georgetown and Chesapeake City as we make our way leisurely towards Cape May and a flat seas run to New York.