The property was in Virginia’s name, but we always thought of it as “Jack’s.” A weathered barn stood along the two-track that served as the driveway. The property included waterfront along Crab Creek, a tributary of South River, which flows along its wide path into the Chesapeake.  My father-in-law Bernie kept his 30’ Cheoy Lee at the dock. Their home, a small two-story affair with a screened in front porch and no air conditioning, rarely had us inside, not for any unfriendly reason, but because we either went straight to the boat, or we gathered at an outdoor table in a glen bordering the woods and garden where the kids could run up and down the hill.

We went there every time we vacationed in Maryland and although he was well into his 80’s the last time we saw him, Jack aged less than any of us and was more of a character than the rest of us combined. Jack and Virginia sold the property and moved to Florida. I am told a developer bought it and I am certain the property is unrecognizable today. Then again, their place, the friends and family who gathered there, and the sailing trips that started on Crab Creek, are the way I will always remember Annaopolis.