Be still, my trembling liver....

Lord help me, I'm back in Annapolis less than 24 hours - hell, I wasn't here an hour when my good chums Mike and Dennis me - there's a Christmas Boat Parade party, get my butt in gear, they're picking me up in a half hour. Cripes, I take more time than that to set the anchor, and Aduana (the Wonder Puppy®) hasn't been walked yet, the outboard is still on the rails....oh man!
"Poop quickly, pup", I command as we walk out on the grass, quickly tossing the poor pooch back into the dinghy when she's done. 
The outboard fires up first pull and I'm off to meet Mike in front of Davis' Pub, one of my favourite dens of iniquity.
Well, talk about a great party - more than 100 people crammed into an apartment, all talking, eating (great food) and drinking (free wine and beer!)....gawd, I so love Annapolis...and then we were off to the Rockfish (another great den of iniquity) for more drinking and some dancing...and then downtown to McGarveys and Middletons (two more fine dens of iniquity, and historic ones too!). Does the fun never end? Not in Annapolis it doesn't.
Woke up this morning remembering why I had to flee Annapolis all those years ago - my liver simply wasn't up to the demands of this drinking town with a sailing problem! For those who knew me back in university, you can imagine how savage it must be here. I was a champion back then....up to it all....anytime, anywhere.....(post now subtitled: How the Mighty Have Fallen"...)
Monday, I'll complete my rounds with a visit to the Boatyard Bar and Grille...sigh! You know, had I not gotten a proper tune up in Chesapeake City just prior to arriving here, I might well not have been up to last night's revelry. Many thanks to TR, Kim, Harry, Chris and all the rest of the CC party crowd who provided me with such intense pre-Annapolis training. 
As for more mundane things, like sailing, that this blog is supposed to be about - I motored the entire 50 miles from CC to Annapolis since there wasn't a breath of wind - and didn't see a thing the entire way due to fog. Nothing like getting waked by someone you can't even see...and I was deliberately a good couple of hundred yards off the channel for safety.
At one point early on in the day, the Coast Guard came on and advised that the C&D Canal was closed due to fog - not something one wants to hear when one is in the middle of said Canal, which I was. On the other hand, it pretty much guaranteed that a 500 foot freighter wouldn't come out of the mists right in front of me. That can spoil your day - and ruin a good pair of boxer shorts too!

Here are some videos of last night's fun in Annapolis....does anyone wonder why I love this town - liver damage and all?

 

Kids dancing with a Boat Santa after the parade... 

 

Can you see the frog leaping up to kiss the mermaid?

 

Party On!