Stepping Back in Time

What an incredible day I had at the City of St. Mary's Museum! This place is massive, with multiple buildings, live animals, and folks in historical costumes – I spent over four hours there and still only scratched the surface!

The plantation area really surprised me. I expected something different, but this was a mid-1600s farm where the owner worked side-by-side with his indentured laborers. Their two-room house was incredibly minimalistic, used by everyone. They showed off various crops and explained farm life in detail. I even got to operate a printing press and watch a blacksmith at work.

In their chapel, I learned about the first written regulation on religious freedom enacted right there. Sadly, it didn't last, as the King of England quickly overruled the law. Talk about a historical twist!

But the absolute best part of the museum? Hands down, it was the Dove. She was a supply ship that sailed alongside the passenger ship Ark from England. She was small, but carried a sizable cargo, and guess what? She had tiller steering! As a sailor, that's my favorite way to helm a sailboat, so I was in heaven.

After all that exploring, it was well past 2:00 PM, and I still needed to get to my next anchorage, Tall Timbers. Of course, the wind was on my nose again for a good stretch until I hit the Potomac. Once in the river, though, the wind shifted to my back, bringing nearly two-foot waves (wind against current – classic!). The wind was strong enough to keep me above 4 knots, but my dinghy was yanking hard on her lines. No matter what I did, she just kept pulling! Still, the 15-mile trip flew by, and I was anchored for the night before 6:00 PM. What an epic day of history and sailing!