Here's Lookin' at Ya

What an absolutely fabulous gift!

Mitch Mitchell, noted craftsman and all around good guy, helped hang a one-of-a-kind, hand made and hand etched mirror behind the bar of the Lantern Queen today. Yes, I said hand etched...as in free hand! It is truly a most treasured gift from a very generous family. (Thank you Kit, for your patience and support of Mitch's "projects.")

And of course Mitch has a wonderful gift of craftsmanship. At one time I would have said he was a "woodworker" but I would have been wrong. I'm not sure there's any material Mitch can't master.

Thank you Mitch! Words simply cannot express how appreciative we are.

Boo! Cruise

A great time was had by all! Food was great! People were fun! Stories were spooky! And when the submarine dive klaxon started it's "ah-oog-ah-ing" several folks jumped out of their seats! Thank you, Jeff Miller for a wonderful original tale that kept us feeling creepy for the rest of the cruise. And thank you Tom & Kathy Eikenberg for yet another marvelous meal - I particularly liked the "mummy fingers" (nut encrusted chicken tenderloins)....yum!

W. L. Gore - Logistics Cruise

Although a gray day with periods of rain and drizzle, the W. L. Gore folks had a great crabfeast and cruise aboard the Lantern Queen last week. We're so glad they had a well-deserved day of fun and relaxation.

Captain Kids

Not only are there U.S.C.G. licensed captains aboard the Lantern Queen on every cruise, but we often have guest captains. Here are some photos of our most recent "Captain Kids." It looks like Jackson & Eden Lied, children of Captain Fred Lied, may be our next generation of Lantern Queen Captains. Alex & Andrew Fitzgerald, niece and nephew of the Lantern Queen owners take a first try at the helm. Little Katherine Weber, granddaughter of the Lantern Queen owners finds the wheel house counter a favorite perch.

Captains

As the Lantern Queen paddles churn along the Susquehanna, passengers often wonder who's at the helm. Who are the captains of the Lantern Queen? Currently there are FIVE Lantern Queen captains, and two of them are on duty on every Lantern Queen cruise.

Captain Fred Lied is our "Senior Captain," serving aboard the Lantern Queen for a number of years under her previous owner. You can also find Fred doing fiberglass work at Tidewater Marina when he's not at the Lantern Queen helm.

Captain Tom Donahue's day job is captaining a boat for the Army Corps of Engineers, Captain Dave Gainey also captains the Duck boat in Baltimore, Captain Gary Foster captains the "Chessie," and Captain Bob Morrow teaches at the Annapolis Sailing School.

We're really fortunate to have such a talented group of Captains!

Coming Soon - Full Bar aboard the Lantern Queen

The State Liquor Board inspected the Lantern Queen last week and approved our application for a liquor license! So, the next step is the State Liquor Board interview on Thursday. Assuming the liquor board interview goes well, we will shortly have our license to begin serving alcohol at a full service bar. We're also looking forward to some great wine tasting cruises.

Lantern Queen & Martha Lewis - First Party!

An appreciation party for the volunteers of the Martha Lewis was a fitting start to the Lantern Queen's return to Havre de Grace. Forty-two skipjack volunteers took the night off and enjoyed food, friends and fun aboard the Lantern Queen. It was fun for the sailboat crowd to experience the stern-wheeler. And when we announced that the Lantern Queen was approaching the Amtrak (or old Pennsylvania) Railroad Bridge, Skipjack Captain Greg Shinn raced upstairs to the upper deck to see the wonders on the north side of the bridge - since the Martha Lewis' tall mast doesn't fit under the bridge!

Lantern Queen Captain Dave Chaney offered an interesting blend of stand up comedy and safety information. It's sure different for the Skipjack folks to have to look up to find lifejackets! (The Martha Lewis' life jackets are stored below.) Meanwhile Lantern Queen Captain Tom Donahue was at the helm.

We were honored to be able to host this wonderful group of volunteers. We hope our Martha Lewis buddies had a GREAT evening!

First Public Cruises Scheduled

Come on along! On October 19, we will begin a regular schedule of public dinner cruises, every Friday and Saturday, from 6:30 to 8:30. We're really excited! Our first cruises will be able to take advantage of the beautiful fall foliage and autumn sunsets.

Health Department Visit

This morning we had our Harford County Health Department inspection, and....wait for it...YES! We passed! We now have our Health Department license to serve food aboard the Lantern Queen. While that's important, even crucial to our operation, the process of getting licensed brings a lot of good stuff with it that will make cruising on the Lantern Queen even nicer. For instance, the restrooms have been upgraded, and both the bar and galley completely renovated. Stand by for the next step...the liquor license!!!