Historic Waterfront Town of St. Michael's

The Chesapeake Bay area keeps calling to us and we return year after year exploring new towns. Just 3 1/2 hours away from New York and about 2 hours from Washington, DC is the wonderful waterfront town of St. Michael's that welcomes you with open arms. During a mid-week visit the streets were not too busy with tourists, so shop-hopping was comfortable without the weekend crowds. Many shops typical but many more having displays that were quite artistic with much creativity. Many art galleries and jewelery shops. We enjoyed bottles of A&W Key Lime soda purchased in the Market House Gourmet Grocer where we sat and cooled off on their wrap around porch. A bottle of wine from Mendoza, Argentina that we planned to bring to a friend born in Mendoza was quite good. On a Wednesday several shops and restaurants were closed. We found a delightful coffee house where you could sit inside or on the porch to enjoy your favorite blend.

Many folks highly recommended the Chesapeake Maritime Museum which we are saving for a future visit. A ride to nearby Tilghman Island about 20 minutes away showed another small waterfront town not nearly as attractive nor as wealthy as St. Michael's but depicted typical boating, fishing, and farming area.

A two hour sail boat ride in the afternoon was a delight with Captain Iris Clarke at the helm.

For a whole lot less you can take a 25 minute tour on Harbour Tours Water Taxi leaving from Town Dock at Mulberry St. on demand every 1/2 hour. We enjoyed visits to nearby town of Oxford where we traveled on the oldest privately owned ferry in America. We had the best crab cakes ever in Oxford at the Robert Morris Inn (also highly recommended by the locals).

On our way home we stopped in the artsy town of Easton, shops, art galleries. The Plein Air Competition & Arts festival was being held 7/22-29. Easton is a much larger city than St. Michael's, friendly and charming but not the same charm.

Quick Tips:

Most shops close about 5pm mid-week. Restaurants serve till 9 or 9:30. No problem getting in to eat mid-week but I suspect there might be a wait on weekends.

There were some galleries and a vintage poster shop that were closed so I will have to add these two stops on my next visit.

Explore the side streets and discover wonderful Victorian homes neat as a pin with lovely gardens and flowers.

Ask the locals where to eat.

Best Way To Get Around:

Our B&B was less than 10 minutes away from the downtown area of St. Michael's. Parking was not a problem, on main street, two hour limit but plenty of parking in the Maritime Museum Parking lot.

Many folks rented bikes to get around and this would be fun if you like to ride.

The town is really small so everything is close-by and there is much to see if you wish to explore.

Royal Oak House Bed & Breakfast was a great place to stay and discover St. Michael's. Our hosts, Hugo & Carol Rizzoli immediately welcomed us to their lovingly restored home (circa 1883) with ice cold glasses of lemonade. The house was immaculately cared for with nicely landscaped grounds. An old-fashioned swing in the back-yard made us chuckle like kids as we took our turn on the swing. The welcoming front porch with rattan furniture was perfect to enjoy our evening sherry (included with our nightly rate.) We selected a midweek sail-crab package for two nights, total cost $369 + tax for two people. The package included a beautifully presented breakfast two mornings, a two hour sailboat ride and a $50 certificate to a waterfront restaurant for crabs or whatever.

There are two bedrooms with private baths. We stayed in the larger Linden room. The clean and nicely appointed room had a sofa and coffee table books, hair dryer, bright white fluffy towels, central AC, 4 poster bed with antique furnishings. Room was bright and furniture not stuffy. We did not miss having a television. The quiet was blissful as we enjoyed reading, talking, and relaxing.

Breakfast choices were offered either in the dining room or a lighter breakfast basket delivered to your room if desired. We ate in the dining room at a table for two, nicely set with blue theme dinnerware and served by Carol. A very tiny vase of fresh flowers was set out daily. Hugo prepared a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit topped with mint from his herb garden, croissants filled with strawberries and cream, maple glazed ham, coffee and juice the first morning. We were so full from this delicious breakfast that we skipped lunch.

The second day, he asked if we preferred eggs. A variety of different fresh fruit topped with fresh mint was served. We were the only guests and were served poached eggs with toast points, bacon, potatoes with bay seasoning and a small salad, topped with fresh herbs. Everything perfectly seasoned and served with loving detail and eye appeal.

A key was provided to the front door leading to a small living room with piano where we sat and enjoyed the paper and our evening sherry. Our bedroom was upstairs.

We explored the grounds and was delighted to find a huge cornfield right out behind the house.

We loved our stay at Royal Oak House and cannot wait to return. The small touches made the difference and make huge points with us. The hosts are quite interesting and engaging to talk with. Hugo is a transplanted book store owner, trained chef, and caterer. Carol, a journalist and book editor is in the process of writing a book about B&B experiences called "White House Yellow Field."

The hosts were quite helpful giving us ideas of things to do around St. Michael's and they directed us to many area restaurants. Service was good and not obtrusive.

www.copages.com/oak  

We really enjoyed spending time poolside during a sweltering hot spell in July. Usually B&B's do not have swimming pools and we welcomed the beautiful 20'X40' pool at George Brooks House. The original house dating back 100 years was lovingly restored to include 8 guest rooms each with private pathrooms. It was quite pleasant to sit around the pool and enjoy the lovely landscaped and well kept VIctorian style garden. The owner had a very interesting photo album detailing the restoration process. The restoration was unbelievable and the house had a very interesting design with lovely details. The house was designated a historic site by the Talbot County Historic Preservation Commission in 2001 and the State of Maryland Preservation Award in 2002.
If you were a movie fan you could select from a host of DVD's to play in your room on the 25" TV and DVD player. A hot tub was also on site but was uncovered just one day probably due to the heat and was not in use. Free soft drinks, water and ice were available in a refrigerator where you could also store your own drinks in the covered patio where you could sit under a cooling fan. A covered container would have been more attractive for the used soda cans rather than the open plastic basket. Once emptied the container didn't appear to have been washed clean but was put back dirty. I noticed tiny, tiny ants on the counter top probably due to the soda and it didn't appear that the counter was wiped often.
Wine glasses were also available for your personal use. The breakfasts were just okay. I thought a bit one the skimpy side. The second morning the food was cold and my sausage patty was burnt. Coffee service and orange juice was available about 30 minutes before breakfast; coffee was very good. The brochure indicated baked pastries and fresh fruit was available on the sideboard. There was no fresh fruit and just one day only cakes and muffins were on the sideboard. The cake was very good.
The service was fine not overly friendly. I think the innkeeper just left folks to entertain themselves and chat amongst each other. It was a lovely home but I don't think I would make a return visit; something was missing but I can't quite put my finger on it.

The B&B was a good value with the mid-week special for $399 for two including tax and included a 2 night stay, breakfast for 2 days, 2 hour sail boat ride on the historic Rebecca Ruark, the oldest skipkjack, $40 food certificate to a nearby restaurant and admittance for two to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

This was an interesting find in the middle of Cheaspeake area of Maryland situated down the street from our Bed & Breakfast. This was a lunch stop. We shared two sandwiches. One huge Panini sandwich of roasted figs and Brie ($10) and the soup of the day New England Clam Chowder ($5). The other combination of 1/2 smoked turkey sandwich with small salad ($10). Both were tasty. Finished off lunch with espresso.

The lunch menu was mostly soups, appetizers and salads and offered two entrées, a seafood marinara over homemade fettuccine and a sausage and sun dried tomatoes in rosemary cream (both $14) each. The menu offered but was out of quail eggs and pancetta over greens. I don't know they I would ever order quail eggs; interesting!

Cute spot with colorful pottery style dishes and was a combination restaurant with a market selling Italian foods, cheeses, etc. I thought pricey for the area.

We took a brief stroll across the street to two old barns selling antiques. We found an antique metal mask for our garden fence and dancing figures carved out of one piece of wood for our collection of dancers.

Casual dining on the dock. Relaxed atmosphere. Not being very hungry we had crab egg Benedict sandwiches with a mediocre salad and fries. The sandwich should have been better. I found it just a bit dry and over-cooked.
Local Tap beer was good to wash the sandwich down with.

Situated right on the dock, you can eat inside the restaurant or if you prefer you can sit outside on picnic tables and benches. We enjoyed being outside watching the boat activity in the water. The restaurant is known for steamed Maryland blue crabs which are priced according to size and availability. A dozen crabs was $30.

This was the restaurant that we had received a $50 certificate from Royal Oak Bed & Breakfast to use towards our dinner.

The atmosphere was pleasant and casual, and the server was attentive. I had tossed salad and soft shell crab platter of three crabs and crunchy vegetables. My husband had a fried seafood platter of shrimp, fillet, soft shelled crab, scallops and clam strips. All washed town with draft beer.

Food was good. I would certainly go back to try something else on their menu. The daily specials seemed very inviting.

The $50 certificate covered the meal with a few dollars for the tip.

This area of the Chesapeake Bay is known for steamed shrimp and crabs in bay seasoning served hot and spicy. We decided on the special all you can eat shrimp for $12.95 per person. I believe we were served at least 3 if not 4 pounds of shrimp and could barely finish the last few. You have to be willing to peel your own; not such a big problem.

We ordered a cup of the crab vegetable soup for $4.25. It was savory but not too much crab although the flavor was there.

We each enjoyed a delicious house salad with served with a nice house dressing for $4.25 served with very good hot rolls and homemade cornbread.

They offered nice shellfish sampler enough for two for $19.95. Entrees average $19.95 served with two vegetables, hot rolls and homemade cornbread.

Crab prices vary daily. All you can eat crabs were about $22.95 per person.

The restaurant was relaxed and comfortable and enjoyed by the locals as well as visitors to the area as the prices were good. Chesapeake Landing Restaurant is located about 10 miles outside of downtown St. Michaels. We would certainly make a return visit to try something else on the menu.

What fun! This ferry takes about 9 cars and walk-on passengers and was established in 1683. It is one of the oldest privately run ferries in existence. The fare for a car and driver is $14 round trip and $1 for vehicle passenger round trip. Walk-on-passengers pay $2 each way. Bicycles, motorcycles, and large trucks pay different fares. The ride takes about 10 minutes to cross the Tred Avon River to the tiny town of Oxford. The ferry runs seven days a week with continuous crossings every 15-20 minutes and the last trip at sunset. The ferry is closed in December, January and February and opens for the season in late March. Schedules are subject to change.

If you are walking onto the ferry, the sign indicates you should walk to the end of the dock and raise the flag. When the ferry arrives they'll lift the gate for you.

Late in the day if the ferry doesn't see anyone at the dock they make a u-turn and head back to the other side. Pretty relaxed way to travel and ferry boat rides are always fun to me. Landing in the little hamlet of Oxford is a treat to discover another way of life on the Chesapeake.

www.oxfordferry.com

Captain Iris Clarke, the granddaughter of the original owners, of Selina II was our captain. She was quite a character having been around boats her whole life.

The sailboat was built in 1925 as a family yacht. The captain told us everything you wanted or didn't want to know about the 42' long sailboat with a 16' beam which is the largest surviving of the New England catboats.

The boat leaves daily from St. Michael's Harbour Inn about 3-4 times a day at a cost of $50 per person + tip. The two hour sail was included as part of our package with the Royal Oak Bed & Breakfast. During a Wednesday afternoon my husband and I were the only passengers sailing so we enjoyed a private sail. There was no wind when we first left the harbour however on the way back in the winds picked up and the Captain set sail. You could help hoist the sail of you wanted to which I elected to don a pair of work gloves and pitched in with the captain's assistant. Along the way the captain filled you in about the local history, pointing out different mansions along the waterway. There was even a castle built by a German expatriate that he built to protect he and his wife. It was hidden away and built very securely to ward off invaders.

The maximum passengers is six. Very comfortable and enjoyable sail. Sunset champagne cruises for $65 and Saturday nights for $75 (which include drinks and hors d'oeuvres) are available, as well as wedding ceremonies and private sailing lessons.

It was a fun time and highly recommended.

Sail the Chesapeake Bay out of Tilghman Island just about 12 miles from St. Michaels on the Rebecca Ruark, a National Historic Landmark. The ride was most educational as Captain Wade informed you about the ecology, culture and situation the watermen face and the effect overfishing has caused to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay area. His knowledge is unsurpassed in bay history as he tells of the dredging for oysters and crabs. He is quite humorous and engaging. Interesting is the history and restoration of the Rebecca, its' sinking in 30' waves in the bay and then being restored once more. His love of the sea and the waterman's way of life is very apparent and it was a real hoot hearing his sea stories. I think he would have liked to keep talking and talking as long as he has a willing audience.

While he talks, he solicits volunteers to steer the boat and hoist the sails; there is never a shortage of helpers eager to jump in for the thrill of working on the ship if only for a few minutes. At the end of the journey he'll dredge for oysters and explain the selection process.

Besides catching a lovely sunset on our sail the it was very enlightening to hear the history of the watermen especially told by Captain Wade. HIghly recommended and very educational.

The cost for adults is $30/ $15 children. www.skipjack.org