Spring Cove Marina, Solomons, Maryland

The little solar powered car/golf cart that took us to the grocery store yesterday. It had just clouded over so the driver had put up the plastic sides just in case.

The lightkeeper and his family lived in the lighthouse; one lighthousekeeper and his wife had 5 children, hard to think they raised 5 children in that small space. Kids were asking their parents what this was.

Maryland's (or many just the Solomons) version of don't drink and drive

Magnolia tree in bloom at the marina

Solomons is a deep water port just inside the mouth of the Patuxent River. This area is known for recreational boating, fishing and crabbing. In the past there were several boatyards in this area, but they have not survived to the present day.There is the town of Solomons, and Solomon's Island, a small island connected to the town by a car length long causeway (easy to miss, we rode bikes over it twice without realizing we had done so). There are marinas everywhere you look here, some more for sailboats and recreational boaters, some more for fishing boats. Right now, people are fishing for rockfish, and of course for crabs. When we arrived yesterday, we wound our way among the crab pots, both leaving Tangier Island, and coming in here.
Went to the Calvert museum today, a good display of the history of the area and of local animals, plants and fish. There is also a large paleontology exhibit. The Calvert Cliffs are in this area, and many fossils, including a whale jawbone, have been recovered from the cliffs. Storms wash out the base of the cliffs, and of course eventually the top of the cliff breaks off as well, so fossils are continually appearing. It also means that land mass is disappearing; the museum posted an interview with one lady whose house is getting closer and closer to the cliff edge; they can neither sell it nor save it, so will soon have to just abandon it.

Screwpile Lighthouse

We also toured a "Screwpile Lighthouse". These are short squat versions of a lighthouse, built in areas where the bottom would not support a regular lighthouse. It was built by screwing piles into the bottom of the waterway, then building the living quarters and light on top of the piles. This one is no longer in use, in fact where it used to sit is now beach because of the shifting shoreling. After it was decommissioned, it was moved to the museum. There used to be several of these lights in use, but there is only one currently working screwpile, and that is at Annapolis.

Out for dinner at a local restaurant. Beautiful day today, warm and sunny. It's starting to look more like home, we are seeing robins and swallows, and maple trees, but also magnolia and palm/palmetto trees.   Gloria and I got a chance to try out the pool here, first time in a long time that we have had access to a pool on a really warm day (and time to use it).  We plan to travel north to Annapolis tomorrow.