Biking

It's kinda' dragging in, but I think Spring is finally coming to Maryland. Temps for the past couple of days have at least been in the 50s. I took Dianne's bike out yesterday evening for a few miles on the Baltimore-Annapolis bike trail. It's a nicely paved level trail that's about 15 miles long. You can acutally ride the trail from the BWI airport to the Annapolis City Dock. I didn't have enough daylight yesterday to see much more but the section between Severna Park and Arnold. It travels mostly through backyards and beside highways, but there are a few sections of woods and creeks. I stopped on my way home tonight to look for a bike because Dianne's is too small for me. I'll try to find an inexpensive one on Craigslist. We found a boat we liked last weekend. I don't want to say too much so I don't get my hopes too high, but if the bank cooperates, we might have something moored beside our dock in a couple of weeks! -S

Bluegrass & Boat Shopping

Computer issues and very little time has slowed down my blogging over the past week. Just to catch up, we spent last weekend bluegrassing and boat shopping. Friday night we caught Del McCoury in Baltimore (that's Del on the right picking with the 1963 Blue Grass Boys). Then we met some new friends for a jam session which lasted until after three in the AM. Dianne wasn't too happy with me after that, but it was fun and I picked with a very good dobro player. Incidentally, I've had the good fortune to jam with the some of the best dobro players in the world including Jerry Douglas and Phil Ledbetter. A band is starting to take shape here. I'll keep you posted. Saturday we visited some boat dealers and wound up about 40 miles north of Baltimore in a little town called North East, Maryland. A dock there had an open house with many boats to look at and FREE BEER! I've narrowed my searh down to a 21-26ft cuddy/cruiser with a respectable fishing deck. I'd much prefer a Sea Ray but we're also looking at other makes. After the boat show we had steamed clams and more beer at an Oyster Bar in the town's antique district. I resolved to get some hip waders and a clam rake and try to scrape some up around our dock.

In other news, we're back into a winter weather pattern of gray, windy and cold days. Tuesday night I tagged along with Dianne to a dinner centered on treating wildlife rabies. Since Cornell has a very active ag program a lot of her lobbying concerns farm and outdoor issues. I had an amazing steak and learned a lot about how they're treating foxes, racoons, and coyotes in the wild. Ironically, last week I visited our local vet and spent way too much money on flea treatment for the cats. When I learned that our dinner was sponsored by the same company that made that treatment, I felt a lot better about that purchase!

Settlin' in - Sunrise

"Are ya settled in yet?"

That's the question I'm asked frequently by my friends back in Tennessee. My answer is usually, "Oh, I'm gettin' there," and the truth is, I really am! Several things happened this past week that make me think I've started putting together a social life. Which reminds me of the most frequently asked question before I moved to Maryland, "Why are you moving?"

It probably seemed that I had things pretty good in Tennessee, a beautiful wife, plenty of friends to hang out with, a successful band, and a good job with a very adequate income. But the truth is, I wasn't really happy. I noticed that the only time I was truly satisfied was when I was with the boys, Dianne, or with my brothers and their families. Oh, Mountain Soul was great fun, but managing a busy bluegrass band is not an easy thing. Music has to be about release for me, it's how I blow off steam And above all, it has to be fun. Most of the time it was, but sometimes, it just added more work and stress. Truthfully, the band often brought me great pleasure, but I'd settled into a lifestyle where most of my recreation involved neon lights and bars. I was successful in my job, but there was no avenue for advancement, and because of their growing commitments, my time with the boy was getting harder and harder to come by. It occured to me that my lifestyle - late nights performing, socializing, and drinking followed by early mornings of managing a busy sleep lab - just might kill me. It wasn't healthy. I wasn't healthy. It was time for a change.

This past week I met some musicians and starting jamming a little and easing into the local acoustic music scene. I know I have to play music in order to be happy. The great thing about starting new is that this time, I've resolved to do it right. I'm sure there will be an element of bar rooms and nightlife to my life here in Maryland, but it won't be what everything else revolves around. Here, I'll be enjoying beautiful sunrises like the one above, fishing the Bay, cooking the perfect pot of crab stew, and enjoying quality time with Dianne and my boys. This afternoon I sat out on my deck and read. I looked up a few times when a sailboat floated by or the Canadian Geese got noisy. A couple of times I picked up my rod and reel, now perpectually standing-by on the deck, and made a few fruitless casts. I had no desire to go anywhere or do anything other than stay right here at home. It's probably the first time I've felt that way in ten years. -Shawn

Wet a Line!

I've been passionate about a lot of things in my life, but other than the people I love, my two most passionate subjects have been music and fishing. Oh, I still go occasionally nuts about indian artifacts and Civil War relics, but I never would've found those passions if not for fishing. I've lived here on the bay for two months now, and I haven't wet a line.

Until Today!

A cold but sunshiny day, I hurried home from work in time to replace the 8lb test on my medium action spinning reel, and tie on a chartreuse Beatle Spin. I pulled on a blue fleece over my scrubs and set out across the little beach to the rock jetty beside our house. My first cast landed just short of the rocky point on the far side of the canal that leads from the Magothy River into Lake Placid. I clicked over the bell spring and gave the rod tip a little jerk to activate the blade on the Beatle Spin and started a slow steady retrieve. About halfway back I felt a little bump. I didn't set the hook thinking I might have been reeling too slow and bounced the lure off the bottom. Still, it seemed worthwhile to cast again to the same place. The lure had just started to sink when, WHAM! This time there was no mistaking the strike of a fish. Excitedly, I set the hook way too hard, but fortunately felt familiar resistance of a fighting fish on the other end. The fish fought pretty hard and I grimaced thinking I might lose it before I knew what I'd hooked, but fortunately my tackle held up and I landed a long thin greenish-brown fish.My first thought was Walleye, but it looked more like a small Musky. I took a picture with my cell phone camera then released my first Chesapeake Bay catch back into the water. After a few more casts I hooked another one, this one a bit smaller, and reeled it in to my perch on the rocks. Even though the days are getting longer, it still gets dark early here. Much earlier than it did in Tennessee. I had some reel problems and missed a few more strikes before it got too dark to fish. I'm sure I had a new swagger in my walk as I headed back across the beach to rinse off my reel on the front porch. Later, I identified my fish as Chain Pickerel, a hard-fighting game fish known for an early spring spawn in the brackish areas of the Bay. It's ON now! It's no longer just a hope. I have the smell of fish on my hands. I am a Chesapeake Bay fisherman. FEAR ME! -Shawn

Rambling Thoughts on Washington

It's easy for people who live and work in Washington DC to take it for granted. We live about 35 miles from downtown Washington, but I haven't been there much since we moved. In fact, the only times I've been to town are to pick up Dianne or shop for furniture. I expect that we'll go much more when the weather gets warmer. About 15 years ago I loaded up the family for a vacation in Washington DC. The boys were very young, perhaps too young to enjoy it, but they still remember it. Dianne works across the street from the Capitol building. Whenever I'm near her office, I'm reminded of the feelings of majesty and power I felt the first time I visited the monuments and museums around the National Mall. Ironically on that trip, we chose the route up the coast of Maryland from Virginia Beach, passing within 3 miles of our present home.

Last night I joined Dianne for dinner with some of her collegues and people who were in town to lobby for the beef industry. They were from all over, cattlemen and women from Iowa, New Mexico, even Georgia. I really enjoyed it. We've been a bit low on funds since the move, so it was really great to go to a very nice dinner on someone else's dime. But it also made me realize how much I've been missing social interaction here. Tonight we're driving back through Washington to pick up an aquarium I purchased through Craigslist. (I like Craigslist, it's also also where we found our house.) It's very cold and windy, so I'd doubt we'll visit any of the monuments. Still, there's something really kewl about driving by the brightly lit Capitol Dome on the way anywhere. I can see how Dianne became attached to the town. There isn't anywhere like it. -Shawn