Great Loop: Solomons Island, MD

Day 115-117: May 12-14, 2023

We cruised over to Solomons Island, Maryland, to spend a couple days. The first order of business was to celebrate Steve’s birthday.

The day started with coffee, then a Hawaiin-themed meal at an Italian restaurant, and finally some cocktails at the Tiki Bar.

On the way out to the restaurant we ran into a boat that just dropped anchor. They were getting in their dinghy and quickly exclaimed they just finished their loop! They had just crossed their wake that morning. Pretty cool.

The Italian restaurant we chose was La Vela. And it lived up to the day with great tasting food. They had a crab bisque that I would definitely recommend.

After dinner we were back in the dingy and headed to the Tiki Bar. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, and it started getting windy and raining. We did find a nice, sheltered area at a back bar though the management decided it wasn’t busy enough to keep open. The front bar was so windy that we decided to call it a day after a couple drinks.

Walking About

After multiple discussions with the Tiki Bar staff, they said it’s possible to stay on their dock and that nobody cared. Therefore, we decided to spend the last night on the Tiki Bar dock. It gave us the opportunity to get out and walk around the area without the dinghy ride.

Mother’s Day

Mayli wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day at the Sculpture Garden & Arts Center. Her, the kids, and Tonia dinghied to just below it and found they could not get ashore. However, the trip was not a bust as they saw a fever of rays (meaning a large group of them). While the photos cannot really do justice, the sight was pretty amazing.

They decided to pivot and check out the Calvert Marine Museum, which had everything from boat exhibits to fossils to live animals in aquariums and otter rehab. Plus there was the Drum Point Lighthouse, one of four surviving screw-pile lighthouses left in Chesapeake Bay.

While not exactly what Mayli had planned for, it turned out to be a pretty fun stop. Check out the googly-eyed fish!

Googly-eye puff-cheek fish in action

Seahorses and a shrimp

Glow-in-the-dark jellies

Otters in rehab

How many takes to get a photo with kids…? 😉

Tiki Bar

After the outing, Tonia and Mayli went up for a Mother’s Day libation at the Tiki Bar. There they struck up conversation with what turned out to be fellow loopers Darlene & Rusty from Bama Breeze, who we’d all get to know further along our upcoming travels.