I made a short solo trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to see a concert by Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar in Easton. I stayed the night and found some nice places to eat.
Friday, March 24
My little trip to Easton for the Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar concert got off to a good start. I took the Friday to explore a bit of the Eastern Shore, stopping first at Frix’s Fire Grill in Grasonville, just over the Bay Bridge, for lunch. It’s a quasi-Brazilian restaurant where I had Bife Acebolado, basically beef and onions with an egg on top, with rice and beans. It was just right, sort of a breakfast, sort of a lunch and not too filling. I also had a white sangria that I didn’t really need at that time of day, but it was tasty. Other dishes on the menu, especially their range of grilled items, looked good and worth another try someday.
From there I headed to the nearby Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center where I took a short hike to see the birds. I spotted two heron, an osprey, lots of geese, ducks, cardinals and other songbirds, and a fox. It was a drizzly day, getting colder as the day went along. The nice thing was there was no one else at the park, but it was not a very pleasant day to walk around. It was also a little disconcerting to continually hear the whine of traffic on Route 50, just a mile or two away across the flats.
From there I headed to the Wye Island National Resources Management Area, taking the road all the way to the end to the Ferry Point Trail. Along the way I saw an osprey sitting on a fence post with a fish. He eyed me suspiciously as I drove slowly past, just a few feet away. I wasn’t a threat to his fish, but he was making sure. I should have tried to stop for a photo but I doubt he would have posed there for long. The Ferry Point Trail at the end of the Wye Island road looked nice but I decided I didn’t have time to walk out a two mile loop. Maybe another day.
I also checked out the Pickering Creek Audubon Center which also has some trails. It was raining a bit harder and I was running out of time, but it looks like a decent prospect someday.
I found my way to my Hampton Inn at Easton, checked in and got ready for the evening. I had dinner at Legal Assets, opting for the evening’s specials: potato and leek soup followed by a blackened snakefish over green beans and rice. Both were very tasty, a quality restaurant.
The concert was enjoyable but hardly transcendent (see longer review). In general, I just wish Sonny and Cindy put on a more energetic, engaging show. We were encouraged to stay after to get merchandise signed, but I didn’t feel compelled. I was tucked back into my room by 9pm. Rock and roll!
Saturday, March 25
I got a good night’s sleep, woke up early and had some time to write before getting my Hampton Inn breakfast (their pre-made airplane-style cheese omelet with a sausage patty). I got on the road by 9am with the general intent of heading to Tilghman Island and maybe getting brunch at the highly rated Two If By Sea. The day was even cooler and more rainy, not at all conducive to getting out of the car. I drove to the end of Tilghman Island, hoping to wander around the park at Sharp’s Island Light, but the weather discouraged that. I could hardly see a half-mile into the grey, cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay, much less the three miles to the lighthouse or across the bay to North Beach or Chesapeake Beach.
I poked around the town of Tilghman, such as it was. I was impressed by the little development of Tilghman on Chesapeake, an upscale cluster of homes that looked like an appealing little retirement destination if one wanted to be a long way from urban diversions. I was less impressed by the Tilghman Island Inn, though the newer Wylder Hotel looked interesting. I decided I didn’t want brunch after all and shifted my sights to having lunch in St. Michael’s, so I headed back up the road, killing some time by wandering down Pot Pie Road to see what I could see. The answer: not much, though I was a little freaked out by several hunters’ duck blinds set up on a pond near the road. I hoped no one would take any pot shots as I drove by. I learned later that Pot Pie is a nickname for a type of boat used on the Chesapeake, distinctive to Talbot County…not just a delicious pastry encrusted meal.
I got back to St. Michael’s with the rain really coming down and about an hour until restaurants opened for lunch. I scoped out the St. Michael’s Harbor Inn which looks like a prime target for a stay sometime. I parked just by the harbor and read Telex From Havana, determined to finish it before Laurie arrived on Monday.
At noon, I headed to Limoncello, the Italian restaurant I’d chosen for lunch. I had a very nice grilled octopus appetizer that turned out to be a full salad, larger than my entree of seafood risotto. The octopus salad was by far the better of the two dishes and I was able to bring some of it home for dinner. The risotto was decent but not very creamy and the shrimp were clearly frozen little fellows. Still, it was a very nice lunch. I was pleased to learn later that there’s also a Limoncello in Baltimore with much the same menu.
The rain settled into a fine mist that still discouraged window shopping around town. Instead, I parked near Hollis Park and finished reading Telex From Havana (see review). When the rain finally let up, I wandered around the harbor near the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and the Crab Claw Restaurant (a tourist trap in a great location, still closed for the season, opening mid-April). As it neared 4pm, I reconsidered my original plan to have an early dinner at Ruse, another well-reviewed restaurant. I was still full from lunch and decided it was time to head home. But I also resolved to return to St. Michael’s sometime relatively soon with Barb to have a nice getaway and try more of the restaurants in and around town. Maybe next time I’ll take some pictures, too, when it’s not raining.