Hello Friends and Family,
Link to this year's index by clicking here.
Eastern Shore Serendipity |
We had visited there on a previous trip and really enjoyed it. Of course, that trip was during the summer months. This time we were there in March. It was almost a ghost town. We stopped at the restaurant that we had enjoyed on that previous visit only to be greeted by a sign saying that the restaurant would open for the season in mid-April. We found a small inn — but they were only open on weekends. I asked a jogger if any of the restaurants were open — maybe the one on the way into town. Wrong! |
Before returning home, we decided to visit nearby St. Michael's, another one of these older bay-side towns that is going upscale from its former waterman working-class roots. And what a piece of serendipity it turned out to be. Not only was it every bit a cute and quaint as Oxford — it was open. And one of the treats was the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum — which I had never visited and which my parents had not seen in ages. The entrance is past this old drawbridge which used to span the gap over to Tilghman (pronounced "TILL-man") Island. They moved it to this driveway and fixed in the open position as a reminder of the "old days". But this was just the beginning. |
They actually lifted it in sections onto a barge, sailed it to St. Michaels and reassembled it. Now we have the opportunity to tour the inside and obtain an idea of what it must have been like for a lighthouse keeper. The interior was spartan and the privy was outside on the balcony. It would have been a rough life, especially in the cold Chesapeake winters. |
Not only is the museum trying to preserve artifacts, they are trying to preserve the crafts such as demonstrated in the boat-building building (right). Master boat builders use traditional techniques to make authentic reproductions of the boats that used to be part of everyday life. People can sign up to be an apprentice for a day and see the work up close with hands-on activity. |
Below right is a small shanty that a waterman might use as temporary shelter when staying out on the marshes for days on end.
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All in all, quite a remarkable museum. Some of my older relatives probably remember some of what was on display from when it was part of the daily life of the Eastern Shore. For the rest of us, this museum is doing a remarkable job of preserving those memories. |
Life is good.
Aloha,
B. David
P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com