Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): Aug. 18

Day 153 - Welcome to Delaware

Delaware City Marina

It was a little rough in the Chesapeake this morning, but luckily the wind was at our backs and the waves didn’t seem as bad...but it does make steering the boat more difficult. Once we got close to the C & D Canal we were more protected and the ride was much smoother. The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C & D) connects Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River. It is one of only two commercially vital sea-level canals in the United States. The C & D Canal is 14 miles long, 450 feet wide, 35 feet deep and crosses Maryland and Delaware. The canal opened in 1829 reducing the route between Philadelphia and Baltimore by about 300 miles.

We have seen a lot more farm and ranch land the past few days. They look smaller than what we are used to seeing, but they are much prettier. We even saw a few cows today. Once we were in the C & D Canal the shoreline seemed to change from rolling hills to lowland with scrubby trees and marshes...looks more like home.

As we exited the canal we heard someone on the radio calling The Pearl. It was Jim Bertch, the previous owner of our boat. We have communicated with him through emails the past month and have planned to meet him and his wife in Baltimore later in the month. It was fun to run into them on the water.

Once we were secured to the dock in Delaware City we went and got haircuts…I was in dire need of one! Then we walked around town a little…stopping at Crabby Dicks for a beer and free crab balls. We went to a local place called Wiso’s and picked up steamed crabs for dinner. We sat on the flybridge and enjoyed our delicious dinner.

Some of the farms we saw today