Venture Bound to DC part 2. One Year On The Boat Days 3-7

Days 3-7

Day 3… May 1, 2024

On to Washington DC. May Day!

We left Oxford, MD at 7:15 a.m. The day and wind could not have been any better. 80 degrees, 5 mph winds and the humidity was high at 95%. Early in the year to have that type of humidity but then again, we have had a lot of rain. We were planning on stopping in Solomons Island, but it was so nice we decided to cruise a bit longer. One must take advantage of that as much as you can when you are traveling by water. Although we are embracing adversity when needed. We sunned, had lunch, and shared captain’s duties on the way.

We anchored around 3:30 p.m. in Wicomico River off the Potomac River. The river has several fish traps and many, many crab pots. We had to be on the look to make sure we stayed in the  channel to avoid running into or over those. We took a nap, made dinner on the grill and enjoyed our evening. It was an incredible day on the water.

Day 4-7….May 2,-5 2024

Up and early continuing to DC……

As leaving the Wicomico River we were hailed by the coast guard for us to stay close to the Maryland side of the Potomac River because the Gunnery Range was “HOT”. Which means they were ready to fire something off. As we were cruising, we heard a few bangs that we actually felt on the boat. It was a bit disturbing and intense. We made it through. ;)

We past interesting things along the way on the Potomac river. One was Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. Which has remnants of WWI wooden steamships known as the “Ghost Fleet.” We were on the look out but never saw anything. A few others were Mt Vernon, the Gaylord Center, Alexandria, US Naval Research Laboratory and the Ronald Reagan-Washington National airport. Click the links to go more info.

We docked at the Capital Yacht Club. The location is incredible. It’s at the Wharf in DC. It’s one mile from the National Mall, 3 miles from Georgetown, 3.5 miles to Reagan Ntl. Airport, 2.5 miles to Kennedy Center, it’s just close to everything. You can bike, walk, taxi, or metro your way around.

The Wharf is a fun place to spend a day or an evening or two. It has great restaurants, concert venues, and small shops. And you can rent kayaks or paddle boats too. They have several rooftop bars/restaurants which offer fantastic sunsets.

 We spent a few days there. We put Mini Venture in the water and cruised to Georgetown for lunch to celebrate my sister’s birthday, Tisha. She happened to be in town due to her exhibit at the Watergate Gallery. Lunch was amazing at Fiola Mare. The cruise allowed us to see many monuments from the water’s perspective. It was beautiful. That night we hosted my sister and friends from the gallery for a late happy hour. It was a lovely day.

One day we took a walk around the Wharf and found a small park, a farmers’ market where I finally found a geranium I wanted to have on Venture. It was a rainy day, but we didn’t mind. It gave us a day to chill. Tried Bar Taco before heading to the exhibit which was a huge success. Followed by Kilwin Irish Pub to watch the Kentucky Derby and then dinner at Kilawa. Amazing dinner!!! I recommend all three of these. Girls, if you like to wear heels, be careful! There are a lot of cobble stones at the Wharf and even with wedges I twisted my foot.

Last day there was Cinco de Mayo. We did not do too much celebrating since we have been celebrating retirement the whole week. But managed to try one more restaurant before we headed out the next day. Moonraker in the Pendry hotel. It’s a rooftop bar and has amazing mixologists. We met a couple that it seemed like everything we talked about we could relate too. We exchanged info and hope to see them somewhere this summer.

We had a great time in DC even though it rained for more than two days. We were not able to explore everything we wanted to (especially some historic things) but that’s life sometimes. I love DC! And before we left we hung our AGLCA flag. YES!!!! We are doing “PART’ of the Great Loop!