Monday, September 25, 2017

Cruising the Chesapeake: June - September 2017

 One of our favorite areas along the Chesapeake is the Eastern Shore of Maryland where the Choptank River and Tred Avon slip into the Chesapeake Bay.  Up the Tred Avon turning toward Town Creek sits the little town of Oxford, Maryland.



Running north coming from Norfolk, Virginia, we stopped over at Solomon Island at Zahniser's Marina which is on the western shore.  There are so many things to do and see.  The restaurant at Zahnisers is pretty outstanding.



We bought a new bed spread for the master stateroom on The Last Hurrah.   We just love those whales!  Now if we can keep from messing up the "white" background.



I guess you can say that this is the local Walmart here in Oxford.  But in reality, this is the only market in Oxford.  And it is just "keen".  I love this place.



Oxford is simply the prettiest town on the Eastern Shore.  There are 7 boatyards and 700 boat slips and therefore, more boats than people.  One market, one shop, one museum, and that's it folks!



Here is a little house at Cutts and Case Shipyard.  They specialize in yacht restoration and everyone is invited to take a walk through.



The Oxford-Bellevue Ferry is the oldest privately operated ferry in the U.S.  It crosses the Tred Avon at Oxford taking the traveler on a short cut to St. Michaels.  St. Michaels is the town that fooled the British and it retains the look and feel of a 19th century seaport.



Hunter and Rylan made a surprise visit flying all the way from San Antonio.  Rylan wanted to see-for-himself that Grandad and Nonnie really did live on a BOAT.  I mean, "who really lives on a boat"?




Rylan drove both the dinghy and "The Last Hurrah"  taking the helm with expertise, for sure.


Today, we got to see a log canoe sailboat race.  Originally made of 3 to 9 logs by the Powhatan indian tribe, the early English settlers, of course, propped up a sail.  Now there is no keel and no ballast, so yea crew members best hop merrily out on those hiking planks with finesse or "over she rolls". 



Look at these great anchorages that are all around here.  This little jewel is in Goldsborough Creek.  That crab boat is the kind that runs a crab trotline, which is somewhat unique to the Eastern Shore.  You run the trotline by pulling it in over the propstick (board attached midship) and dip your crabs from the red sack attached to the snood which are filled with razor clams.



Maryland crabs are very sweet and clean.  They are distinctively different from blue crabs from other regions of the U.S.  We made some crab cakes on board and they were "soooo" rich that we couldn't eat them all.  

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