Entertaining our Grand Daughter

[Ashman]

We are British grandparents sailing up the Eastern seaboard of the US (currently nearing the Chesapeake). Our 14 year old grand daughter is flying out to join us for two weeks later in July.

We think it would be good to find a marina resort anywhere from the Chesapeake to Long Island where we could moor up having all the facilities (primarily a very good swimming facilities) to amuse our darling grandchild whilst retaining our sanity. She last joined us in the Trinidad/Tobago and the mixture of sun and swimming worked very well for her. We also always enjoy a good restaurant.

We would appreciate any of your experiences, suggestions or ideas.

[Panope]

My daughter is a bit younger than your grand daughter (she is 6) but she absolutely loves a hammock stretched between the mast and a hard point aft. She spends hours lazily swinging back and forth or napping.

And welcome to the forum.

Steve

[Captain Bill 3]

Herrington Harbour South in Rose Haven, at the south end of Herring Bay has a large pool, 2 places to eat on site. Herrington Harbour North at the north end of H B also has a smaller pool, an on site restaurant and several others a short drive away. HHN is 1/2 hour drive from Annapolis, MD, and Washington, DC, both cities with great site seeing and historical interest. Taxies and rental cars are readily available. Both marinas are very clean, excellent head facilities, secure, are in a country setting, full repair facilities at HHN.
There is Baltimore, MD, another 40 miles up the bay if you would like a big city experience instead.
Welcome to Maryland, have a enjoyable visit!
Capt. Bill

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ashman.

[sailorboy1]

I bet the granddaughter will be MUCH more entertained by having good internet than a pool.

[4arch]

Herrington Harbor South is a very good suggestion. Rock Hall, MD would also be a good choice. It has several marinas with nice pools either in its main harbor or around its backside in Swan Creek. It’s a small, quaint little rural town with a very relaxed pace of life. It’s fun to walk around, and has a handful of restaurants. Also there’s a tram to get you around town that charges $1 per ride per person. I generally prefer the Swan Creek side as it’s a little quieter and it can be fun to explore the creek by dinghy.

If you did come to Baltimore, Baltimore Marine Center at Lighthouse Point is the only marina that comes close to having the amenities you’re looking for. Its neighborhood is a world away from the recent unrest in the city but it still has a very urban feel. Great pool and a few restaurants immediately adjacent to the premises with several more good restaurants within a few blocks. There’s also a Safeway grocery store right across the street. For the city’s museums and attractions you’d be best off getting to them by water taxi.

All that said, the Chesapeake tends to be brutally hot, humid, and windless in late July. If you don’t have air conditioning on your boat I’d look to be at anchor or on a mooring for air circulation or to find a way to borrow a portable A/C unit. Otherwise, best bet is to hightail it out of here and head for Long Island Sound where it will be cooler and less humid (but also more expensive!).

[MIRELOS]

Anchorage Marina in Baltimore also has a pool an amenities as does BMC

[Cowboy Sailer]

A 14 year old for two weeks!? Do I need to start a prayer chain? I have grand children from 23 to 4 years old. 14 is the absolute worst!


Good luck.

[4arch]

Other options that came to mind... Mears Point and Castle Harbor Marinas on Kent Island, MD. A lot easier logistically than Rock Hall to retrieve someone coming in by air. Both have great pools. Castle has a Thai restaurant on premises and their transient dockage is very reasonable. Lots of restaurants around Mears, mostly seafood. But Kent Island definitely lacks the charm of Herrington Harbor or Rock Hall.

[Ashman]

Thank you all for your helpful and welcome responses .......and some great comments!

[Cormorant]

Any chance you'd go farther than Long Island? I think Cape Cod in July is pure heaven. You could visit Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Provincetown, etc. Maybe Block Island along the way. They're all quintessential beach towns in high summer.

[Moody46CC]

There are several marinas in Deltaville, VA, at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. They have pools. Fishing Bay Marina probably has the largest pool and there are lots of kids. The marinas have courtesy transport but if you are there for two weeks, get a rental car. Why? You'll probably have to drive to Washington to get her at the airport, and with a car you are but 40 minutes (in Deltaville) from Colonial Williamsburg and Busch gardens, which any kid will love. Near Richmond (an hour) is King's Domain (another amusement park) and you are 2-3 hours from Washington and all its museums on the mall. Can't pry the kids out of the museums there with a shoe horn!

The locations other folks have mentioned above are nice, but Busch Gardens and Williamsburg are worth a serious thought. Also, rates are reasonable in Deltaville.

[cheoah]

I sailed offshore one year around hatteras to Chesapeake. I had a great adventure, then my wife drove the kids up to the Yorktown area and we went to Busch gardens and water country USA, or whatever it's called. The kids had sooo much fun at those two parks. The water park can be done over and over again for a fourteen year old. We docked at York river yacht haven and I anchored there in Sarah creek after my singlehanded adventure waiting on the family.

Fourteen can be tough, but she may be easy. I know my kids remember that "sailing" trip as one of the best. Colonial Williamsburg is doable since you're there for two weeks. You might enjoy it more than she does, but all kids are different. One of mine is a history buff, the other no.

Get her an apple gift card for iPad content if she has one, and some treats both healthy and decadent. If you do a bunch of stuff she really likes to do, you can count on her wanting to come spend time with you. My in laws are fools. They want my kids to do the stuff they like, all the time, and no surprise my kids loathe going there. If they even split it half and half it would be better, but as I think about being a grandparent, I'd like to do stuff my grandkids want to do about 80% of the time, and the balance is stuff that they may not love right then, but is culturally significant and makes some kind of impact. I'm being a little flippant but you get the idea. Time with my grandparents had the most impact of any experience growing up, and guided my professional life and values.

If I were you, and had two weeks, I'd split my time between Yorktown and the amusement parks, and Washington DC and perhaps Annapolis. That way you get some sailing in, or at least some traveling. If she happens to love sailing and cruising, then you can head across the bay and hit some beaches. Do avoid afternoon thunderstorms and scaring her. Or you Also do your best to keep some AC going. You can do a day at the beach by driving from Yorktown to virginia beach.

I'm not going to disagree that 14 can be difficult,,but if you play your cards right, it can be a piece of cake. She may be about to have the time of her life. Grandparents are in a position to spend money and time on their grandchildren, build some good rapport, and then influence them.

You guys are lucky - have a blast! I'm only 42 and I'm secretly eager to be a grandparent. My oldest is only 20 and headed to med school, so I neither wish or expect kids any time soon. But conceptually I can't frickin wait. My grandparents made me feel important, and taught me so much. They were brilliant...


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[Bjooste]

Florida

[CarlF]

The Chesapeake is horribly hot and humid in July/August. Powerboats often run gensets to keep their air conditioning on while underway. The water is full of stinging jelly fish.

Make the effort to get to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket!

There's no need for a marina or resort (nor are there many). Instead you'll get a mooring with launch service. You'll want a reservation for Nantucket:

Nantucket Moorings

The towns are quaint. The sailboats beautiful. The celebrities stand in line for ice cream cones with everyone else (well, it gets a little tense when it's the Obama family).

No need for a pool. You'll ride rental bikes to the glorious warm water beaches (and fair warning - those beaches will be well stocked with 14 year old young men who will be quite attentive to a young lady with a British accent!).

It's easy for your grand daughter to fly into Boston (4 BA flights a day) and then take a 45 minute Cape Air flight to the islands (they leave about every 30 minutes).

Sailing there from the Chesapeake is really not hard. With the prevailing summer southerlies, it's an easy overnight from Cape May to Block Island. From there it's a day sail to Martha's Vineyard and another to Nantucket.