A Chesapeake Favorite

What can I say except St. Michaels Maryland on the Eastern Shore is still our very favorite stop on the Chesapeake....and by the crowds there this past weekend a favorite of everyone else on the Chesapeake. It is a gem, at once busy and yet quiet and serene.  It just depends on where you walk. Main street, which reminds us a lot of Charlevoix, Michigan, or the back street historic neighborhoods which are quiet and calming.
We spent three days here, this time anchored on San Domingo Creek, also known as "St. Michaels back door".  We have always anchored on the Miles River in the heart of the action but since we are experiencing new places we went, the "back way".

The green arrow is where we were anchored and the pink is the park where you can tie up your dinghy. The water to the right is the Miles river where we have usually anchored.

We got there on Friday morning and there was one other small sailboat....by Saturday night there were 17 boats!  We missed the action of the 'front door' but not the constant rocking your endure being in front row seats.  So it was a pleasant change (mantra, try new things still in play).  A longer dinghy ride and longer walk (we need that) and the birds were incredible in these calm quiet waters.

Canadian Geese were our constant companions...

along with the Osprey which is a Hawk also known as the "Fish Hawk" or "Sea Eagle". We have never seen so many Juvenile Osprey.  They have a high pitched chatter and are interesting to watch now that they are testing their wings and learning to hunt and survive without parents.  We saw at least two to four on a nest and unlike the adults who sit and watch from their nests the young birds we found rather skittish.  When you went by in the dinghy they started chattering and flew off the nest, but soon came back still afraid to get to far from home I guess.

Some interesting facts about the Osprey...

• One Osprey who was tracked in 2008 flew over 2700 miles in 13 days from Martha's Vineyard to South America
• After being nearly extinct, Osprey now number over 500,000 due to the ban on DDT pesticide and the construction of artificial nesting sites, as shown above, platforms on pilings in the shallow water.
• Live fish account for 99% of the Osprey's diet and they hunt their prey in the shallow waters. We saw one fly over us and the home nest (showing off for his siblings or buddies, we assumed), with a big silvery fish in his talons, too cool)

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Then there are the 'Watermen'...those who make their living "trolling" for crabs.  I was lucky enough to catch this Waterman running his line off the stern of our boat.

Here are the technicalities (as I know them, from acquired information, meaning I cannot be held responsible but think I may be somewhat accurate...)

They start the day with a long line on which they tie crab bait (usually chicken parts, crabs LOVE chicken, go figure....I think the cows at Chick Fila have done some awesome advertising there! cause they sure aren't putting meatballs on those lines!)

I digress.....

He has a long line with  his preferred bait.  These lines are tied to several buoys that he places over maybe a mile or so triangle.  The line falls to the bottom (usual depths about 8-12 ft, a lot of the Chesapeake is very shallow) and the crabs say "Wow Chow Time"!!  Then the Waterman, that sneaky guy comes along with his boat that has  a reel that pulls the line back up to the top of the water.

 The unsuspecting crab, who has been feasting on chicken....lets go of the chicken when he gets to the surface and the waterman, waiting with net in hand......

 Grabs that little sucker and plops him into the live box, while looking intently for his next victim!!

This operation goes on for many hours.  They start at dawn and go on until the early afternoon.  Back and forth, back and forth back and forth...etc.

This may sound heartless, but I will say that crabs are pretty tasty, they are the state food and symbol of Maryland and the Waterman has to make a living!

LOVE, LOVE, St. Michaels... It has a long history dating to1677. In the 1700's it became an important shipbuilding community and was also targeted by the British (unsuccessfully) in the war of 1812. As you know from our previous visits they have a wonderful Maritime Museum, probably the best on the Chesapeake.

San Domingo Creek..."back door" to St. Michaels proper.  Just a two block walk and you are on main street.

Note the crab door knocker....( I told you they are everywhere)  and the Circa 1872 sign.  This town is an historical gem.

Shoring up a classic

Downtown

Methodist church on main street circa 1870's

I think I only saw one vacant storefront....highly unusual in our travels.  Then again with the Maritime Museum it is one of the highlights of the bay.  Most of the boats we saw were Maryland boats.

BOB Got to go to town today!!  He was as you can see excited...his tail was even wagging  (I think it may have been the vibration from the dinghy but REALLY it did wag!)

Then he met Abbie and he was in LOVE....

 I know you probably wonder what people think when Bob is in the picture but they love it!


This picture is too far off to be great but this is actually a cemetery on the lawn of a house if you look you can see the headstones and the black fence around the plot.  We also saw a small cemetery in town on a lot next to a house....I would have liked to get the story behind these....interesting....

Then we come to the St Michaels area"House with a House"....

See....Big House.....Little House
 at first we thought garage, but no they also had a garage behind the house.

and another one....

Believe me this was NOT a rarity....the new thing is the "house with a house"...I kept thinking...COOL...not a mother-in-law 'suite' but a WHOLE HOUSE!!  

HINT, HINT!