Dylan and his studies...

Dylan is a thoughtful dog. At home, he'll watch birds and squirrels for hours. He studies their movements and occasionally gets to chase one. But here there are no windows. For Dylan, he gets to experience nature up close and personal.

While we've been busy in Solomons meeting people, having dinner out on other boats, having people over to our boat, and enjoying a variety of other social events, Dylan has been watching ducks. Here at the "Solomons - 2" anchorage they cover the water. They swim all around the boat and can't understand why we're not throwing food to them. Dylan studies their every move, quietly standing watch and hoping they'll move closer. If degrees were ever given out to dogs, Dylan would be due a PhD in ducks.

The people onboard aCappella have been very busy too. With the end of TrawlerFest yesterday, we were finally able to do some normal errands and household tasks. This included laundry, walking to the large grocery store that is further away, walking to the closer grocery store (for ice cream reserves), walking to the fish market, and walking to the pet supply store who carries our special dog food in 30 pound bags saving us shipping costs later. It was a lot of walking but it was a beautiful day with crisp, cool 70 degree sunshine.

It's funny how little walking is done any longer. While cruising, we're forced to walk often. I have to admit that we were offered cars by 5 different people here in Solomons over the week - the cruising community is small and friendly and we know a lot of people here. We appreciate the offers and would make use of them in a heartbeat in an emergency. For normal needs though, walking is OK with us.

We have these two wonderful Rolling Carts that carry groceries and fit well in the dinghy. We bought a fair amount of food today, filling the carts. Arriving back at the boat we were greeted by two wagging tails. Given the choice between fresh food and ducks, even Dylan goes for the food.