The thing about driving to the beach is that you usually don’t want to stop anywhere until your toes touch the sand. But one warm day last fall, just as the leaves were beginning to turn, Senior Editor Kessler Burnett, photographer Kirsten Beckerman, and I decided to make Route 50 itself the destination. We stopped at all those offbeat places we had always wondered about, those stops and shops that we simply breezed by before, too eager for that first bucket of Thrashers fries. In “Funky 50” we include fourteen of the most unique—from an herb farm that sells blue eggs to the haunted remains of an old church to a cemetery for pets. Who knows? Maybe some of them are regular detours on your own journeys to the beach.
Also, in this issue, we take another road trip through St. Mary’s County in honor of that county’s role in Maryland’s founding 375 years ago. Then we head to Rock Hall and check out the Old Gratitude House Bed and Breakfast. In Traveling Gourmet, our food critic visits Brooks Tavern in Chestertown, and Andrew Evans contributes four authentic Latin American recipes in Andrew’s Kitchen. This issue’s home design story tells the tale of a a rundown mid-century ranch house transformed into a sophisticated gentlemen’s retreat.
In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve added four new blogs. Contributor Mary Ann Treger writes about new restaurants, shops, and the social scene in The Annapolis Insider. Our recipe guru, Andrew Evans, brings us a confidential look at the life of a professional cook in The Fat Chef. Kessler Burnett gives us a feminine take on Eastern Shore living in the Girls’ Guide to the Eastern Shore, and I ramble on about new restaurants, ideas for more offbeat road trips, and all things Chesapeake in Cup o’ Joe. Please use those comment boxes on each of our blogs to let us know how we’re doing.
Oh, and you should know that we working on an issue devoted to pets for September. If you have an irresistible dog or cat, hamster or snake—or whatever—please submit your photos and any cute tales about your pet to our Web site. We’ll publish them online, and the cutest pet will win its picture on a mocked-up cover of Chesapeake Life!
Joe Sugarman
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