Weekend Wanderings: The Naval Academy in Annapolis

Another wonderful place to visit as you wander through Annapolis is the Naval Academy. Although the architecture reminds me a lot of Paris (apparently the architectural style got around), it's a place to feel the roots of America. From the row of Officer's housing bedecked with American, Naval and/or Marine flags to the rows of future Naval Officers marching through the Yard, it's a place to feel proud of your country and the women and men who serve to protect our freedom.

If you've never been, I'd suggest trying to catch one of the public walking tours, which can be arranged through the Visitor's Center. A schedule of tours can be found here about halfway down the page. The tour takes a little over an hour, but it gives substantial history of the architecture and history of the Academy. Of course, there are special tours for members or former members of the armed services available as well.

If you don't have time or the inclination to take the tour, it's lovely to just walk through the campus. You'll have to show ID to get on the grounds, but once through security you can walk at will during the day - we had no trouble as we wandered.

The Naval Academy Chapel is at the heart of the campus and the dome of the Chapel can be seen across historic Annapolis. The chapel has incredible stained glass windows and the John Paul Jones - one of America's first Naval heroes - crypt lies inside. You can visit the Chapel from 9-4 Monday through Saturday and then Sunday afternoon except when services, weddings or other special events are being held.

There are many other structures and monuments to explore - including the oldest American military monument, the Tripoli monument. The architecture is a photographer's dream. And during the school year, there's a sea of white uniforms worn by a new generation of Americans committed to our future. "Oh beautiful, for Patriot dream, that sees beyond the years..."

Weekend Wanderings: Wandering in Annapolis

We got the travel bug last weekend. We've been stuck in town for weeks and needed to go somewhere and DO something. It couldn't be far because we were deciding on the spur of the moment and we didn't make arrangements for Corgi girl to stay the night with anyone. That's how we started the discussion.

What are the places we can visit within two hours of DC? North, South, East, West. We threw out places and ideas. We plotted and planned. But in the end, we went with an old favorite: Annapolis.

Without crazy traffic, it's only about an hour from DC. As I've mentioned before, you can take a lovely sailing cruise on the Woodwind lines - which we'd thought about doing, but didn't make a reservation ahead. Instead, we had a lovely lunch at one of the many restaurants in the historic section of the city.

I'd spied the spires of a church as we left the parking lot and headed to the restaurant, and convinced the husband to explore with me. Walking up the hill from the water, we found St. Mary's Church next to the Charles Carroll house and gardens. We had to walk around the church to get to the gardens, but they are such a lovely oasis in the middle of the city!

Charles Carroll was one of four Marylanders to sign the Declaration of Independence. Apparently, he was the only Catholic to sign and was the last to die. The land was eventually purchased by a group of priests and a beautiful church building now occupies the space next to the house. The history of the house indicates there was once a private family chapel as Catholics had to worship privately in early America. This makes me wonder if the remnants of the private chapel became part of the existing church building. His house can be toured by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays (again, plan ahead!) and there's a very interesting history of his long and vivid life here.

As we were walking through, one wedding was leaving the church and another was ready to enter. Because of the weddings, we didn't try to enter the church, but the pictures I've found make me want to go back and see the inside for myself! One bride and several bridesmaids were in the courtyard behind the church taking pictures of this special day. Apparently, we weren't the first to discover the serenity of the garden. This is definitely a place worth exploring further.

Oh well, I guess we'll have to go back to Annapolis!

Weekend Wanderings: Sailing in Annapolis

Annapolis is a great place to explore. You can tour the Naval Academy (fantastic to tour!), you have your pick of specialty shops and the seafood is amazing. But if that's not enough to lure you to Annapolis, sailing the Woodwind or the Woodwind II should.

Piloted by a husband and wife team, the Woodwind or Woodwind II will take you from Annapolis's historic waterfront, past the banks of the Naval Academy, into a two hour tour of the Chesapeake Bay. They leave several times a day from the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel. The crew is jovial as they invite you into the action of raising the sails or chanting to "pull" while others do the work. And most every cruise, someone is chosen to help pilot the vessel through the cresting water... or sometimes past an egret nest or two.

The Woodwind is a 74 foot schooner whose mahogany gleams in the sun. It was custom designed for the owner to sail these waters. Their past life as teachers shine through as they explain the basics of sailing the waters, wildlife you see on the tour as well as sights of interest. Though I've only been on the day cruises, I hear their sunset cruises are wonderful too!

Tour prices are reasonable and you can easily make a day of sailing, shopping and dining in this wonderful city by the Bay.