Sightseeing...this time with visitors.

Recently we had an amazing visit with daughter-in-law and our granddaughter.  They came to our place for a visit, while our son ended up on an extended out-of-town assignment for work.   And since we had lots of time together, we did some basic sightseeing here on the Delmarva.

Cambridge is a picturesque town on the Choptank River, with lots of old houses and churches, a replica of the Choptank River Lighthouse near Sailwinds Park, close to the dock where Liberty Ship John W. Brown (one of two operable Liberty Ships from World War 2) was temporarily berthed for a local event.

We arrived in Cambridge at lunchtime, and everyone was hungry.  So we visited one of the local “non-chain” eateries, for some local fare.  (I was dressed in women’s shorts and a women’s polo, with purse, bare legs,  patent flats, and my usual long hair and nails.  No jewelry.)   Accordingly, we were all addressed as ladies at the eatery.   And no comment about that from wifey or D-I-L

Anyone familiar with Liberty Ships would be proud that a dedicated group of volunteers can keep this relic in good repair, and seaworthy.  It’s beautiful and extremely interesting to visit.  The 3 of us went on board for a while, to see as much as one can see in a short time, with the almost-3-year-old little girl (who by then was definitely needing her nap) in tow…making the total "3-1/2."

I’ve been on board the Brown several times previously, including while it was under steam, but took the opportunity to visit the engine room - alone.  Since my last visit, it hasn’t changed, but this time I was treated to a full description of the workings of the triple expansion steam engine by a friendly elderly male volunteer, who addressed me as “Ma’am” a number of times, as did the other on-board docents I had reason to converse with.    It’s probably a good thing that the rest of the time, my 3 companions mostly walked in front of me “taking in all the sights,” not particularly paying attention to what greetings docents had for me.

BTW, both wifey and D-I-L were wearing skorts, a good thing given the number of ship’s steps they had to climb.  I’m liking skorts more and more as time goes on…

Following that, we drove a short distance to Long Wharf in Cambridge, where a faithful replica of the Choptank River Lighthouse is located.   Built in the "screwpile" style of many Chesapeake Bay lighthouses (pilings have a spiral apparatus on the end and are "screwed" into the river bed), it’s a copy of the earlier beacon which guided sailing vessels on the river.   A very interesting structure, even though it’s not the refurbished original.

A marina along US-50 on the northern shore of the Choptank river was formerly home to the old carferry Hampton Roads, my visit to which which was covered here: 

(http://mandysherman.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-hampton-roads.html). 

From my archives, here is a picture of the remaining decks of the carferry, and yours truly, which appeared in that 2017 post:

And a picture of what was left of the interior  (not previously posted):

Note that autos drove into the covered area (eventually driving out the other end), and passengers went up the steps to decks above which were removed years ago.

I pointed out its former location to D-I-L as we passed by on our trip, but that portion of the marina was now empty.  Little did I realize in March of 2017 that only 3 months later, in June of 2017, the decrepit hulk would meet its Waterloo.   It was “scrapped in place” that month.  (I looked on-line when I got back to the house.)   My 2017 visit apparently came “just in the nick of time” to archive pictures of a piece of history.

So sad…

While our guests were here, I had an occasion to visit the doctor’s office - wearing womens’ shorts, a womens’ tank top, bare legs, and patent flats, with my purse, hair and nails.  When I arrived, a man was in line in front of me, waiting to sign in.  And shortly after I arrived, another woman came in and joined the line.  We waited a few minutes for the clerk to put out unused sign-in sheets, then he motioned to let us ladies go ahead, saying “Ladies First!”  

Not wanting to embarrass the man, the lady, or myself, I simply said “Thank you, Sir” in my best femme voice and went ahead, as did the other lady.  Once we all were seated, he was called in first, so there was no chance of him hearing any exclamation of “Mr. _________.”  A new aide eventually called me in, and I requested that in the future he call me by my given name, since “my dad,  Mr. ______ “ passed away years ago.” 

We’ll see if he remembers…

Till next time…

Mandy