Annapolis

We have been able to spend a day and a half in Annapolis and we love it.  It seems like it is the home of sailing and all things naval.  The Naval Academy is here and we went on the campus to have a look around.  The American propaganda machine was in high gear and glorified the navy and it's accomplishments.  They have reason too, there have been two Nobel Laureates that have graduated from the Academy, one being Jimmy Carter and another a physicists in the early 1900's who helped discover the speed of light. Many of the pilots for the astronaut program were graduates of this institution. We watched a movie about the program for the candidates who enter the academy and
then were allowed to wander around the campus.

It was amazing, the most ornate buildings I have ever seen on any campus.  We also got to see the plebes, or new recruits in action. 

Here is one of them doing a 200m repeat in a weighted vest and carrying her weapon. 

We were given a map which explained which building we were allowed to walk through but once again we did not take notice of that and ended up in the Physics building where we glimpsed laboratories and ensigns at work.  When we walked out another door there was a sign that said this building is not open to visitors. 

The chapel on campus was quite the structure as well, it was huge and had wonderful stained glass windows designed by someone who worked at Tiffany's and I would have loved to hear the pipe organ being played. 

We spent some time in the museum which had a superb collection of ship's models.  The exhibit explained that way back in the day when a new ship was commissioned a ship wright was pulled off the job of actually building a ship and made to produce a model.  They were given a separate building or space in which to work and the model was presented to the new owner once the ship was finished. Some of the models dated back to the 17th century.  

We went to the state legislature, a very impressive building.  At one time the US Congress met here for awhile.  We were allowed in after the backpack search, the presentation of picture I D and the scan through a metal detector. 

The Maryland State Congressional Chamber.

The Maryland State Senate Chamber. 

Taking note of the weather we have more time than we anticited before we do our ocean passage to NYC so it was really nice to just relax a little here and wander about the city on foot.  I got my hair cut and Barry went off in search of a boat part.  We actually ran out of diesel the other day, the first time in nine years and Barry thought it was the lift pump, the very piece of equipment that we had given way a couple of weeks ago. Not to worry, Barry had another spare so he put that on and we tried to get going again, which was when we figured out that we had sucked the tank dry.  We sailed to a spot to get more fuel and Barry very efficiently took the garbage in with him.  After we got going again he was rethinking his repairs and decided that perhaps the lift pump may have not been the problem, you can't lift fuel when there isn't any!  BUT the old pump was gone with the garbage. Such is life, we will have to get on with it because his mission to purchase a new one failed.