Agility is one of the arts of travel -- and finding myself in the Washington, DC, area with a free day to enjoy before a business commitment, I slipped over to St. Michael's, Maryland, a one-hour getaway from DC or Baltimore.
There is nothing comparable to a fall day on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Starting today for this weekend (Oct. 24-26), the "Fall into St. Michael's Festival" tops off what has been a glorious autumn.
The streets, shops and restaurants will be jammed, but the vitality of the tourist parade, mixed with antique, artsy and clothing shops, is quaintly captivating.
You just go with the flow.
From DC or Baltimore, the trip passes by Annapolis and across the Severn River, Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Kent Narrows (with several decent seafood restaurants such as longtime favorites Hemingway's and The Narrows). The highway travels past vast Wye River farms once cultivated by colonial patriots and southern planters, then leaves US Route 50-301 for the official scenic byways that lead into St. Michael's and nearby vintage bayside villages. Soon I was surrounded by bicyclists with the same idea. The wide open spaces of the historic Eastern Shore, interrupted by Chesapeake Bay rivers and inlets, are inviting and welcoming, despite the scattered 20th century subdivisions of weekend warriors and retirees. Stretches of fields and farms, mixed with produce stands, are reminiscent of the landscape that attracted the first English adventurers more than 300 years ago.
Sadly the overfishing and pollution of the Chesapeake Day have placed the famed blue crab harvest in severe decline, down more than 70 percent since the 1990s, like the oyster industry before it. So
local crabs are even more of a luxury at outdoor restaurants like The Crab Claw in St. Michael's. Back in the '70s and '80s we frequently went for "Sunday dinner" in Chesapeake Bay ports to crack mountains of crabs served on picnic tables with buttery dipping sauce on sheets of brown paper. Hopefully new federal and state fishing limits will help preserve the crab business and with it, a way of life that has supported a unique identity for this laid-back region of extraordinary beauty.
Womantraveler's other Eastern Shore, Maryland, faves:
- Tilghman Island, a fishing village that is home to the largest fleet of Chesapeake Bay skipjacks, and the award-winning Tilghman Island Inn
- Inn at Perry Cabin, St. Michael's, gracious and romantic waterside accommodations now offering holiday packages
- Historic Easton, a cultural center with houses of architectural significance dating back to 1711 -- and a host of events through December
- Chestertown, picturesque colonial waterfront ambiance
- Oxford, a small port celebrating its 325th anniversary
