While sipping our morning coffee, the song “Reveille” was heard on bugle from the direction of the Naval Academy. It then was followed by the National Anthem. What a way to start your day!

We have been to Annapolis a few times before, once as guests of Ryan & Kara and the other time by boat 30 years ago. We’ve always had fun before and this visit was no exception. Places to see. Food to eat. Drinks to drink. And exercise — something that is often in short supply while traveling by boat. Annapolis is a great place to walk, and we did as much as we could.

We had our share of good food in Annapolis. For convenience, we enjoyed the Mission BBQ right on the docks, an obligatory dinner at the greasy-spoon Chick and Ruth’s Delly ordering Country Fried Steak, battered deep fried steak topped with sausage gravy. Why not? You just had to try it once and get it over with.

We visited the William Paca House & Garden, the five-part Georgian mansion built in the 1760s, one of Maryland’s four Signers of the Declaration of Independence and the state’s third Governor. We opted for the guided tour of the house, which features period furnishings and paintings, reveal the inner workings of an upper-class household in colonial and revolutionary Annapolis.

I really wanted to see the Naval Academy but all the walking tours are closed on Mondays.  We settled for a boat tour to see the Academy from water instead. We boarded a harbor cruise; very nice just to get onboard and let someone else do all the work. We cruised by the Naval Academy, awed by the historic landmarks and learned about things like: George Washington’s ship ran aground in front of the Naval Academy in 1791; the Academy was moved to Newport RI during the Civil War; they have been admitting women since 1975, and applicants must receive a nomination from their local congress member or the vice president in order to to apply. WOW!

Next we do something not so much fun. We’re taking an Uber to CVS to get our Bivalent Covid booster vaccine. We’ll be seeing our granddaughter in about a week. Need to be extra careful and vigilant for the little baby. Hopefully we won’t be too sore tomorrow.