Monthly Archives: July 2011

Annapolis to St. Michaels

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In September of 2009, we spent the weekend in Annapolis, MD. Saturday morning we took a 90-minute ferry ride from Annaplolis harbor to the small town of St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. It was a beautiful day for boat watching from the ferry. We spent a few hours in St. Michaels, ate at the Town Dock Restaurant, walked and browsed the shops in town, then took the ferry back to Annapolis where we had dinner on the porch at Middleton Tavern, which a colleague and native of Annapolis had recommended.

There was no shortage of sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay that day, from small ones to large ones and everything in between.

Sailboat in the bay at Annapolis

Sailboat in the bay at Annapolis

Sailboat in St. Michaels

Sailboat in St. Michaels

There were engine-powered vessels of all sizes and kinds, too.

Trawler in the bay at Annapolis

Trawler in the bay at Annapolis

This Bayliner Sedan Bridge looks like it’s been mounted with a sailing mast, but really that’s just the mast on a sailboat that’s hidden behind the vessel in the foreground.

Bayliner Sedan Bridge in St. Michaels

Bayliner Sedan Bridge in St. Michaels

When we arrived at St. Michaels, a bagpiper was waiting on the lawn in front of the lighthouse. He was there to help a ferry guest celebrate her birthday.

Bagpiper at St. Michaels Lighthouse

Bagpiper at St. Michaels Lighthouse

Boston Whaler 16SL

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Our first powered boat was a 1991 Boston Whaler 16SL dual console design with open bow. It had a 1999 Evinrude 90 hp 2-cycle outboard engine.

Boston Whaler 16SL getting prepped for launch

Boston Whaler 16SL getting prepped for launch

It had a few family friendly features, including lots of seating and bow safety rail. It handled well on calmer lakes, but as any 16′ boat will, it got a lot trickier in bigger water like the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the nicer features included a bimini top, glove box, CD/Radio/Mp3 player, and swim platform with ladder.

Here’s a picture of us bouncing along a deserted Blue Marsh lake in 2010. Dad is driving, while Mom and Tara hold onto the kids.

Boston Whaler 16 SL on Blue Marsh Lake

Boston Whaler 16 SL on Blue Marsh Lake

As we started talking about spending more time on the Chesapeake, it became clear that we needed a bigger boat and, more importantly, a newer and more reliable one that would enable us to spend worry free hours on the Bay as a family. We decided on a 2011 Tidewater 196cc, a center console design with lots of room for the kids to move around.

Foxes in Chester County, PA

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This spring a fox and her four pups took up residence under our shed.

Foxes in Chester County PA

Foxes in Chester County PA

To the rear of the shed is a large horse pasture where we’d see them playing in the mornings and at dusk. They also played down the hill in our side yard, less than 100 yards from the porch that our two dogs occupy.  They lived there for about 4 weeks before moving on.

Snowdenville, PA

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The tiny forgotten village of Snowdenville, PA sits at the intersection of Saylors Mill Road and Baptist Church Road, in what is now East Coventry Township, northern Chester County.

The village’s original log house, its logs now plastered over, is to the east of the intersection.  Here is a photo.  Part of the plaque on the cabin reads “Land Grant from William Penn.”

The area was settled during the Revolutionary War.  Mills and agriculture were primary industries.  From the township’s website:

The water power of the Township provided industrial opportunities for early settlers. There were several mills in operation in the early to mid 1800’s. In addition, the early settlers found opportunities in agriculture. The land area adjacent to the Schuylkill River and Pigeon Creek provided exceptionally productive land for farming. It should be noted that a vast portion of these areas of the Township are still utilized for agricultural purposes.

Not far from Snowdenville is the modern ghost town of Frick’s Lock, which lies abandoned along the old Schuylkill Canal, in the shadow of the Limerick Nuclear Power Station.

Victorian Attic Suite Addition

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Our first house was a 1913 four-square post-Victorian in Bucks County, PA. One of the things that attracted us to the home initially was the huge unfinished attic that ran the length and width of the house, and was 13′ at the peak. It had triple windows front and back, plus two large window dormers directly opposite each other on either side. There wasn’t a framing member in sight, except for the long (original) joists supporting the roof sheathing. It had tremendous potential.

It was no easy job, but we did end up converting the unfinished attic into a huge master suite, with large walk-in closet, cathedral ceilings (yes, 13′ at the peak), central air conditioning, a large bath, knee-wall storage, skylights, provision for a kitchenette, wiring for home theater and surround sound, and projector and screen mounts.  Here are some pictures we took just after it was finished.

Victorian attic suite window bay

Victorian attic suite window bay

The photo above shows the front window bay. We replaced the original 1913 windows with modern double-hung windows. The window molding we chose was a simple wide square molding, a departure from the rosette-based molding in the rest of the house. The full-width window seat (here and in the bathroom, which ran along the back of the house) hid the air conditioning ducts serving the 2nd and 3rd floors of the house.  Running the width above the windows is the box-in that hid a 77″ diagonal home theater projector screen.  The projector was mounted to a false beam that’s just outside this picture.

Victorian attic dormer

Victorian attic dormer

The dormers were tricky to frame and drywall, but turned out OK in the end.

Victorian attic suite bathroom

Victorian attic suite bathroom

The bath ran the width of the back of the house. We ran the ceilings all the way to the peak for a big, open feel. We framed in a brick chimney that ran up the center of the back wall. We installed a 4-piece fiberglass shower.

Victorian attic suite sink

Victorian attic suite sink

We installed a simple single bowl sink with drawer storage at the bottom, and a recessed triple-door mirror/medicine cabinet over top.