DESTINATION GUIDE Contents Easton 2, 17-22 Bellevue 16 St. Michaels 4, 27-31 Bozman 16 Oxford 6, 24 & 25 Claiborne 16 Tilghman Island 8, 32-34 Cordova 16 Trappe 10, 35 Royal Oak 26 Wye Mills 11, 35 Sherwood 26 Green Talbot 12 Wittman 35 On the Water 13 Calendar of Events 36 On the Table 14 Talbot County Office of Tourism • 11 S. Harrison Street • Easton, MD 21601 410-770-8000 www.tourtalbot.org Written by Kessler Burnett Design by Eclectic Graphics, Easton, MD www.eclecticgraphics.com Photo Credits: Linda Farwell Photography, Richard Dorbin www.paragonlight.com, HARB_1059_Talbot county visitor 2/14/08 3:19 PM Page 1 Kirsten Beckerman, Dave Harp/ChesapeakePhotos.com, Bill Thompson, and Scott Suchman/Photographer. Harbourtowne, St. Michaels, MD • 111 Waterfront Guest Rooms • Weddings • Waterfront Suites with Wood Burning Stoves • Massage Services • 18-hole Pete Dye Championship Golf Course • Waterfront Dining • Pool/Tennis Courts • Meeting Facilities Romantic and Golf Getaway Packages Available Call for Additional Information 800.446.9066 | harbourtowne.com 1 We’re teeming with incredibly talented chefs who spoil their food- loving locals and guests with some of the most inventive menus on the East Coast, so say restaurant critics from the likes of Travel + Leisure and The New York Times. From Thai to Tidewater delicacies, Sushi to steakhouse staples, we have a memorable fix for every craving. Feel the need for (moderate) speed? Several of our cozy inns treat their guests to bikes, a playful way to explore our charming setting. Pedal past the Historical Society of Talbot County’s lush Federal gardens, down our residential streets canopied by rows of towering oaks, or take a spin through town and break for a frothy cappuccino. See what our local artists are up to at any of our eight galleries, where we display our fair share of celebrated national and international artists, too. Be sure to peruse the halls of the Academy Art Museum, where works include those by Frank W. Benson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Mary Cassatt. Our Plein Air Competition & Arts Festival in July attracts artists from all over the country. Easton Believe it or not, it exists: A town that’s a hybrid of historical and hip, alive with an Eastern Shore- meets-Manhattan pulse. Spring through fall, our streets hum with music at outdoor cafe´s and Clothes horses can stop their search for greener pastures: Easton’s boutiques are smartly stocked with chic styles, traditional togs, and chatter from art lovers soaking up the creative inspiration found on our First Friday Gallery Walks. great gifts for friends back home, who’ll be sorry they missed this We encourage you to pocket the car keys and let your legs lead you on a romantic stroll through shopping outing. our circa 1711, village-like hometown. You’ll soon understand why Easton is considered one of the best places to live in the nation—a fact we locals have known for centuries. 2 3 Our innkeepers know what you get when you mix lavender oil with weary muscles: very, very happy guests. Travel + Leisure recently rated our Linden Spa one of the top ten to watch in its World’s Best Spas 2007 list. Book an appointment at any of our spoiling retreats, which specialize in unknotting every inch, from head to toe. Whether you prefer to be tucked in surrounded by the frill of Victoriana or the crispness of contemporary décor, we have a variety of inns and B&Bs that will make your nights in St. Michaels just as dreamy as your pool-side days. Casual chic reigns in our Talbot Street boutiques. From current trends to vintage finds, our shops stock labels to thrill visiting fashionistas. But don’t forget to leave enough room on your credit card for the antique shops… St. Michaels In 1813, the British unsuccessfully tried to take St. Michaels. And one walk through this twin- This is one family-friendly town, with a host of events, where to-Nantucket, and you’ll want a piece of it, too. Filled with brick-paved streets lined with cozy little ones can have their very own St. Michaels experience. Draw shipwrights’ cottages, this 1677 town has gracefully adopted everything modern travelers crave: skipjacks at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Saturdays for Kids, shake your tail feather at the outdoor concerts at Tolchester memorable restaurants, plenty of shopping, and a smattering of spas. Make the most of your Beach Band Stand, or watch the Jack Russell races at the Fall Into trip by chartering an evening sail on the Miles River. We’re certain that a sunset and a sip of St. Michaels Festival. champagne is all the coaxing you’ll need to plan your return visit. 4 5 Ever tried chocolate donut ice cream? What about Old Bay sorbet? At the Scottish Highland Creamery, the flavors are as inventive as the lines are long. Kill the calories with a jog in Town Park or along our beachfront Strand. Summer is a great time to enjoy our al fresco restaurants, where menus offer everything from steamed crabs to steak frites. Catch a quiet, breezy moment at an outdoor bistro and toast to a romantic evening well spent. Grab your sunscreen and shades and find a spot on the shoreline to watch the log canoe races. Adapted from the single-log dugouts used by the native Powhatan Indians, these boats are fashioned from loblolly pine or tulip poplar trees and have been raced on our waters since 1885. Oxford Come along for a spin through Oxford. Founded in 1683, this town on the Tred Avon River was Prefer privacy? Book a vacation rental overlooking any of our sleepy an international shipping port until the American Revolution, when the British brigantines ceased creeks and rivers. Choose from cozy cottages to elegant 100-acre arriving, and tobacco was replaced by wheat as the county’s cash crop. Since its colonial heyday, estates, available with every amenity you can think of, from an in- locals have fought to preserve the town’s peaceful personality and architectural integrity—with house chef to a classic yacht. Our intimate B&Bs also offer plenty of peace and quiet—and waffles in the morning! stunning results. Oxford represents small-town life at its best: quiet, safe, and sooo picturesque. 6 7 From briny oysters on the half shell to roasted rack of Australian lamb, our menu offerings are wonderfully varied, celebrating both the simple fruits of the Bay and our guests’ gourmet palates. And don’t worry about finding a waterfront table on the island, there’s a view from every seat in the house. Our inns have that tucked-away appeal, far removed from the madding crowd—unless you count the herons and ducks along the shoreline. After a good night’s sleep, enjoy an early game of tennis, kayak on a local water trail, or simply sit back and smell the roses. No one knows where to find striped bass, bluefish, or shad like our fishing captains. From the waters north around the Bay Bridge south to Hoopers Island Sound, our half-day and full-day charters take anglers wherever the fish are biting. And who knows, this time you might catch up with the one that got away… Tilghman Island Light and fast, skipjacks are said to be named after the flying fish that break the surface of the water and leap effortlessly over waves. Tilghman Island is home to the last commercial fleet of Watermen aren’t the only ones who’ve made their nest here. A these vessels, designed in 1886 for oyster dredging. In 1900, the Bay brimmed with 2,000 of host of bird species, from raptors to herons, call our pristine marshes and tidal flats home. Every spring and fall, birders flock these craft, but today, their numbers hover around 12. Experience the speed of the nation’s last to see the likes of broad-winged hawks, tundra swans, and hooded working boats under sail on a sunset cruise leaving from Dogwood Harbor. mergansers during their annual migration. 8 9 Trappe Wye Mills If this town was good enough for Robert Mitchum, it’s good enough for us. The movie star and If you like carbs, you’ll love Wye Mills. Back in the day, the centerpiece of this 1665 village was his wife raised their three kids on a 300-acre farm here back in the early 1960s. You can pay the circa 1682 grist mill, which produced barrels of flour for the Continental Army, earning homage to this leading man at the upscale Mitchum’s Steakhouse. (Filet mignon or three-baked the Eastern Shore the moniker of “the breadbasket of the American Revolution.” Today, the oysters with crabmeat, spinach, and sherry-spiked cream sauce anyone?) Bibliophiles can lose mill is open on weekends April through November and grinds twice a month. For those more themselves in the aisles of the Unicorn Bookshop just down the road, where you can find more interested in the finished product, stop at Orrell’s for a bag of Maryland beaten biscuits. than 30,000 classic, used reads. 10 11 Green Talbot On the Water Did you know we have more than 600 miles of shoreline? Or that river otters live along our What do sunsets, sea ducks, and lighthouses have in common? They’re all accessible on our quiet river banks? Learn more about our amazing ecology at our many “green” destinations: water excursions. Whether you prefer living the luxe life aboard a Hinckley yacht, roughing Take a hike on the nature trails at Pickering Creek Audubon Center, kayak along our many it in a canoe, or cruising on a rugged sport fishing charter, boating tours allow visitors to water trails through salt marshes and wooded freshwater streams, or enjoy the fruits (and experience Talbot County from countless winding waterways, one of our most attractive veggies) of summer at our farmers’ markets.