The Adventure Begins

Starting a new chapter of life is never easy, but I'm excited nonetheless. I expect we're already known to most everyone who is reading this, so I won't bore you with lots of biographical details. To make a long story short, Dianne and I are moving to Arnold, Maryland near the mouth of the Magothy River in January, 2006. Our house sits on a little peninsula about two miles upstream from the Bay Bridge. If you want to see pictures of the house and environs (way too many), you can check out the slide show here. I'll post additional pictures with future blogs.

Since I know virtually nothing about living on the Chesapeake, I thought it might be fun to blog the experience. The first step in learning the area has been to purchase a book called, "Life in the Chesapeake Bay," by Alice & Robert Lippson. It breaks down specific areas of the Bay and outlines the wildlife and plant species there. From the book, I've learned that the water where we live is mostly fresh, but that crabs are plentiful. I love to fish, so my first order of business is to get a boat and find out what I can catch. The Lippson's tell me there are sunfish and perch which I think I can catch off the dock, and that this area of the Bay is especially good for striped bass and rockfish. Further upstream I should find largemouth bass and other freshwater species with which I am more familiar. Once we move in, I hope to make friends with the neighbors so I can learn more about the fishing from them.

I think our house is located in what is probably the most scenic area of the Chesapeake Bay. From our front deck you can see the Magothy Lighthouse and just around the bend is the Bay Bridge. It should be an easy boat trip to Annapolis where there are great restaurants and eclectic shopping. I'll keep you posted on the boat acquistion and the steps along the way. Your suggestions are appreciated and encouraged!

So, here we go! Watch this site for frequent updates on the experience. Maybe I'll love it, maybe I'll hate it, who knows. Right now though, it's a clean slate and I'm completely open to the experience. So..... let's start the adventure!