The Chop is not one of those bloggers that likes to begin posts with some variation of the line “Sorry for the lack of posts recently.” So we’re not going to do that. Mostly because we’re actually not all that sorry about it. But it does seem fair to acknowledge that we haven’t posted anything in the last two weeks and we won’t for about another week and a half. It’s because we’re out of town.

Usually when we’re out of town we’re in the middle of the ocean and far, far away from a wifi signal. This time though, we’re at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in beautiful downtown Piney Point, MD. We’re here to study radar and automatic radar plotting aids.

If you’re thinking “Hey Chop, reading radar sounds pretty sexy. Why don’t you write about it?” We would encourage you to have a look at chapter one of the US Government’s Radar Navigation and Maneuvering Board Manual and you’ll see quickly why we’re not eager to bring the finer points of radar to the blog, and why we’ve been too busy studying and watching the Orioles to worry about blog posts.

Instead have a look at some Instagram pictures we’ve taken since we arrived in Saint Mary’s County.

Just before the SIU monthly membership meeting.

Boating on the Patuxent River.

A view of some of the eponymous tall pines.

The Simple Life.

The Training Vessel John Fay.

Crab Pots.