Weblog 2003

St. Michaels, MD

I landed in St. Michaels, Maryland, along the Chesapeake Bay. In a comfortable ground floor room of the Parsonage Inn, I relaxed against fluffed pillows and blue floral linens, grateful for time to relax. I stumbled into this inn by accident, as I often do. Stopped because the door was open and the sun had already slipped below the horizon. I was greeted by Bill Wilhelm, the innkeeper, and shown a room just off the entry - large, nicely decorated and immaculately clean. Victorian in style, blue moulding around the door, windows and fireplace (set with candles only) hearth. Travel magazines in a brass rack by a wing back chair. Tiffany lamp. White lace curtains. At Bill's suggestion, I walked over to The Crab Claw, a leisurely stroll through the grounds of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, across the street from the inn. Passing under a raised drawbridge that once connected Tilghman Island with the mainland, I continued to the waterfront restaurant and took a corner window table with a red checked tablecloth. This is about when the confrontation began. I stared at him. He stared at me. I stared back and so did he. It was a standoff, to be sure, so I did the only reasonable thing. I hit him with a sledgehammer. Just a little one, of course, made of wood and imprinted with the name of the restaurant. You know, a mallet-thingie. This was the right thing to do, I was assured, when face to face with a hot, steamed and seasoned Maryland Blue Crab. Once I took assertive action, of course, the staredown was over. He rolled over as any good little crab would do, shed his shell and became dinner. I have my waitress, Judy, as well as Charlie Meyer of Long Beach, NY, to thank for guidance and instructions on the proper tackling of Maryland Blue Crabs. Judy was extremely helpful regarding menu choices, too, as other delectable options included Crab Imperial, Lump Crab Cocktail and Crab Cakes, in addition to other seafood selections - oysters, clams, shrimp and more. Seated at the next table, Charlie and his wife, Schatzie, offered excellent suggestions for additional adventures along the Atlantic Coast, having just returned from a trip to Savannah themselves. This, of course, is one of the joys of travel - meeting friendly people like the Meyers along the way. Post-crab and pre-slumber, I returned to the inn and bootlegged the guest phone line for a laptop connection, checked email and turned in for the night. Little did I know the treat I was in for the next morning. Bill and his wife, Char, have been at the Parsonage Inn for a year and a half, bailing out of corporate jobs and into the innkeeping role, which they find preferable. It turns out Bill is a chef who studied at the Culinary Institute in NY. The beautiful place settings at the breakfast table were my first clue that this wouldn't be just an ordinary meal. Fresh coffee and tea waited in the sitting room before breakfast, along with a plate of scones and other assorted homemade breads. After being seated in the dining room, small dishes of melon and strawberries were served, lightly covered with fresh cream laced with nutmeg and (yes, really) cracked pepper. Just a trace, enough to bring out the other flavors, but not enough to know it was pepper without being told. A fresh flower graced each fruit dish. This was followed with Eggs Venetian, an egg served inside a thick slice of bread (a la Moonstruck,) with sauteed peppers and sausage. Orange juice and grapefruit juice were provided in chilled decanters. Coffee and scones seemed to migrate by magic from the sitting room to the dining room. After a meal such as that, there seemed nothing better to do but relax some more, which is exactly what I did. I took my time getting ready to check out, read through some of the bed and breakfast guidebooks in the sitting area and visited with Bill and Char, discussing mostly photography and business. Eventually, I dragged myself out to explore the nearby business district. Much of this charming town was built in the late 1800's. Known as "the town that fooled the British," this waterside village is now filled with quaint shops and cafes. Antiques, books, and ice cream can all be found along the main street. I headed straight for the ice cream, myself. Ordered a single black raspberry in a sugar cone at Justine's Ice Cream. As if that didn't fill up my sugar quota, I ended up at St. Michaels Candy Company, drawn in by their quaint storefront. Here I fell, not for the sweet confections in the display case, but for some glass bottles from Spain. Four of them, in various shades of blue, green and rose. Small enough to line up in a row and to display in a window. Nice glass, pretty colors. There are more gift choices than candy choices in this cute shop, all beautifully displayed and reasonably priced. A shopper's paradise. For those with a sweet tooth, even better. This was a good first night for me. I love little towns and, though I can tell St. Michaels gets busy with tourists on weekends, a midweek stop held to a small town feeling. I did not drive out to Tilghman Island, an additional eleven miles west. According to the innkeepers, that short distance makes a big difference in area feel and culture. I did drive out to take a look at the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, six miles away and the nation's oldest operating ferry system, but took land routes back to Easton, catching Rte. 50 toward Berlin, MD. Photo Gallery: View Here If You Go: Parsonage Inn 210 N. Talbot St. St. Michaels, MD 21663 (800) 394-5519