Taking an overnight trip on the boat this year was like camping…on the water…it was amazing! My in-laws upgraded their boat a couple years ago and we try to go out on the water with them whenever schedules, weather, and kids permit. It’s challenging to get all of these things to align with enough notice to actually go out. Normally Kristen gets out with her parents more frequently than the rest of the family, but it is a great opportunity to spend time together and spend time on the water. Since they first got the boat, I was initially surprised at just how much the wind impacted our ability to maneuver and dock. If the wind is blowing over 10 mph then we will likely not be going out that day. It makes us very dependent on weather conditions, but in the end it keeps everyone happier and less stressed not having to deal with it. When my mother-in-law proposed a several night stay at a local marina, I was excited about travelling and spending time with family on the boat but I was also a little concerned that weather could stop the trip before it even started. The accommodations on the boat are plentiful with AC, oven/stove, microwave, and refrigerator. It’s also plenty of room for the 6 of us during the day and only a little crowded at night (there is the V-Berth bed up front and the dinette turns into a twin bed, the kids sleep in a cubby/fort under the dinette).
After reading some reviews online and doing some research, my mother-in-law booked a stay at Herrington Harbor South for 4 nights in late June/early July. The marina is just north of Chesapeake Beach and it was only about 3 hours from our “home” marina in Middle River. It was fun seeing all of the houses along the water, cruising under the Bay Bridge, and seeing some of the different styles of lighthouses. We were also having fun looking up some of the houses on Zillow to see how much they were selling for, some were $3-$4 Million but one was a steal at $850k! 😊
The amenities at Herrington Harbor were really nice, we used the swimming pool with diving board and private beach the most (marina stay includes complimentary paddle board/kayak rentals on the beach). The marina had plenty of restrooms, showers, and a small gift shop with clothing and apparel (Hope took the opportunity to get a new sweatshirt). They also have a boardwalk/nature trail that goes around the perimeter of the Marina, it was about a half mile long but because of the boards and some sections that were floating, I would recommend running on the local roads vs. the marina paths. There’s not much of a shoulder to run on but traffic was pretty light and the roads are lower speed limits. I was able to get in a couple of 3 mile runs and never felt concerned over cars or location. The restaurant at the Marina is Ketch 22, I love the outdoor bar and deck seating right next to the pool. They also serve food and drinks to go for the pool area. The orange crushes were delicious, the fries were tasty, and I really can’t recommend the Ahi Tacos enough…they were so good I went back for them a second time over our weekend stay. Across the street is Chesapeake Market and Deli, we didn’t eat in the restaurant at all but we did order carryout a couple times (their “Famous” French Toast and the grilled breakfast burrito were both very good). It was also nice that they had more convenience store items, drinks, snacks, etc.
Most of our time at the marina was spent by the pool, on the beach, or laying around the boat. However, Herrington Harbor offers a free shuttle into North Beach so we took advantage of that one afternoon. It’s a quick 10 minute ride and they dropped us off in the downtown area with a couple of recommendations for food. There was only a few shops to walk around in and not much to see in North Beach. The kids played on a playground for awhile and we found a park/koi pond to walk around for a bit, then found a place for ice cream, “Cold Penguin”. The highlight of our trip to North Beach was when we walked over to the local Nature Center at Wetlands Overlook Park (it’s about a 10 minute walk from the downtown area). The inside of the nature center had some interesting exhibits for the kids; turtles, stick bugs, toads, etc. and the staff were very interactive with the them. There is also a nice trail and boardwalk area and the kids got a scavenger list to find a bunch of wildlife and plants. It kept them much more interested in the short hike. After we were done looking around we called the marina and they were back within about 15 minutes to pick us up…very nice amenity to get people to the local town.
Autumn had made a friend at the pool that we were able to meet up with a couple of times over our long weekend. She’s normally not very social so I was glad to see her branching out and taking a risk to engage someone new to play with. On our last night there we got to enjoy another of the amenities at the marina, “movie under the stars” on their private beach. Autumn’s friend was able to meet us and it was a great chance for them to hangout one last time before saying good-bye’s. We exchanged numbers/addresses with her mom and we hope to keep in touch. Hope also has a couple of friends from distant campgrounds where we’ve stayed and I love seeing Autumn getting the same experiences. I hope they keep in touch and continue to broaden their scope of people to interact with as we continue travelling.
