New York & the Mid-Atlantic Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

and head south on I-97 for 18

miles. Keep left at the fork,

and follow signs for 50 E/301

to Annapolis/the Bay Bridge.

There’s convenient parking at a

garage on the corner of Colonial

Avenue and West Street.

2 Annapolis

The state’s capital is

a city of yachts and

pleasure boats as

opposed to commercial

fisheries. The city docks

off Randall and Dock

street are where you

can see the ships quite

literally come in.

Nearby is the country’s

oldest state capitol in

continuous legislative

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

use, the stately 1772 State

House (%410-974-3400;

91 State Circle; h9am-5pm

Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun,

tours 11am & 3pm), which

also served as national

capital from 1733 to 1734.

The Maryland Senate

is in action here from

January to April. The

upside-down giant acorn

atop the dome stands for

wisdom.

Probably the surest

sign of Annapolis’ ties

to the water is the Naval

Academy, the officer

candidate school of the

US Navy. The Armel-

Leftwich Visitor Center

(%410-293-8687; http://www.

usnabsd.com; Gate 1, City Dock

entrance; tours adult/child

$9.50/7.50; h9am-5pm) is

the place to book tours

and immerse yourself in

all things Navy. Come for

the formation weekdays

at 12:05pm sharp, when

the 4000 midshipmen

and midshipwomen

conduct a 20-minute

military marching

display in the yard.

Photo ID is required for

entry.

5 p214

The Drive » Get on US 50/

US 301 and head east over

the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

(commonly known as the Bay

Bridge), which extends 4.3

miles (7km) over Chesapeake

Bay. Once you hit land – Kent

Island (p214) – travel 12.5 miles

eastbound on US 50/US 301,

then turn right onto Carmichael

Road. Go about 5 miles on

Carmichael and cross the Wye

Island Bridge.

3 Wye Island

Our introduction to the

Shore is a wild one –

specifically the Wye

Island Natural Resource

Management Area (Wye

Island NRMA; %410-827-

7577; 632 Wye Island Road,

Queenstown; hsunrise to

sunset).

This small, marshy

island encapsulates

much of the soft-

focus beauty of the

Eastern Shore. It’s all

miles of gently waving

sawgrass and marsh

prairie, intercut with

slow blackwater and

red inlets leeching

tannins from the

thick vegetation. Six

miles of easy, flat

trails run through

the NRMA, weaving

under hardwood

copses and over rafts

Maryland goes gaga for blue crabs – they even

appear on driver’s licenses. Here, the most hallowed

of state social halls is the crab house, where crabs

are steamed in water, beer and Old Bay seasoning

to produce sweet, juicy white flesh cut by cayenne,

onion and salt. Crab houses also offer these favorites:

crab cakes (crabmeat mixed with breadcrumbs

and secret spice combinations, then fried); crab

balls (as above, but smaller); soft crabs (crabs that

have molted their shells and are fried, looking like

giant breaded spiders – they’re delicious); red crab

or cream of crab soup; and fish stuffed with crab

imperial (crab sautéed in butter, mayonnaise and

mustard, occasionally topped with cheese). Join

the locals in a crab fest – eating together in messy

camaraderie can’t be beat.

MARYLAND CRAB

FESTS

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:

WASHINGTON.DC,.MARYLAND.&.DELAWARE.TRIPS.

17

(^) MARITIME MARYLAND