Girls' Guide to the Eastern Shore

Have Dog will Travel

2009-11-02T16:18:57+00:00

I’ve learned not to be deterred from exploring the region for the sake of a few raindrops, and this past Halloween weekend was no exception—especially since I was babysitting my mom’s dog, Winnie, who requires a lot of exercise. On Saturday, my friend and I packed her up and headed to Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely for a stroll along the trails. It wasn’t the most natural experience, balancing a leash and umbrella while maneuvering over puddles, slick mud, and slippery bridges. Complicating things was the fact that it was nearly 75 degrees outside, rendering the layers of raingear and clothing uncomfortably clammy. But there’s something about Adkins’ canopied walks that are enchanting and calming, and Winnie seemed to feel the same. She led the way, contentedly carrying a muddy stick as she went. Rainy Sunday took Winnie and I to Oxford, where we walked in the rain along the Strand’s beach, kicking my rubber-booted toes through the rough shallows as she rolled in the wet sand. Weekends like this, where it rains for days and you have to entertain the dog, you learn to be comfortable in the same collection of damp clothes and the art of working wet, plastic poop bags. Let’s hope next weekend brings a bit of sun—and the cold November weather that’s perfect for an extended and brisk Eastern Shore outing.

Rainy Date

2009-10-20T15:40:47+00:00

Warning: This type of weekend outing is not for every Shore-loving girl. I think we were the only people on the Delmarva Peninsula who opted for a Saturday at Assateague while in the belly of a four-day Nor’easter. Despite the fact that the rain was cold and consistent, I was psyched about the trip. It had been years since I had seen the ponies, walked the wide, white sands, and gnawed on some taffy. Besides, I find storms make the best beach days. So with the dog in the back of the truck, we headed out from Easton, opting for back roads through towns that even I, a veteran traveler of the Shore, had never heard of. (Raise your paw if you’ve ever been to Wango!) Perhaps the best surprise of the trip was the fact that my friend’s truck radio was broken, forcing us to return to a nearly extinct communication medium: conversation—about five solid hours of it, I might add. While the storm was somewhat mild inland, at the seashore, the winds had tripled and the rain was hurling sideways. I put on my best cowboy face and jumped out of the truck where the wind pushed me around like a gum wrapper. Adding to the misery was the sand storm, which had, within seconds, had covered the poor dog with a wet, gritty, brown blanket. I turned tail and headed back to the truck while my friend pressed onward toward the crest of the dunes, seemingly impervious to rude elements. Now saddled with wet jeans, sand in every exposed orifice, and, did I mention, no radio, we drove out of the park, whizzing past a few rangy horses, their charm totally resistible to wet me. I was calmed by thoughts of a warm fire, dry clothes, and a good meal, but a few wrong turns on the highway detained us even longer, leading us directly to the front door of Frontier Town, which my friend insisted we tour. Somehow we made our way into the heart of the trailer park, which, being it close to Halloween eve, had been converted into FrontFEAR Town. Here, little ghosts and goblins were Trick-or-Treating from homely trailer to homely trailer, supervised by mothers in pumpkin-colored Halloween-theme sweatshirts and strong-arming crippled umbrellas, bent and twisted from the wind and pelting rain. There was no escape: For the next half an hour, we were forced to travel at 5 mph, stuck behind the parade of youngsters being shuttled around in golf carts fashioned with Reynold’s plastic wrap dashboards to shield the driver from the rain. I suppose the disaster that was our day would be enough to end most friendships, but it was just enough to keep us laughing for the entire two and a half hours back home—and probably for days to come.

Farewell, Summer

2009-09-18T17:03:33+00:00

I am one of those gals who regards a tent as a torture devise. To me, it’s just another four-letter word used as an expression of distress and frustration. But there are other ways to enjoy the great outdoors on the Shore—ways that don’t involve being domed in nylon, lying on rocks, and digging holes in the ground for a toilet. I recently spent Labor Day weekend on the Shore reveling in the great outdoors. Friday before sunset, I took at 15-mile bike ride (see http://www.tourtalbot.org/PDFs/talbot_county_bicycle_map.pdf) through the back roads of Talbot County, blaring the likes of Glen Campbell and Mel McDaniel on my iPod to serenade my pure-country experience. Oxford’s public tennis courts are a great place to swing a racquet. On Saturday, I played three sets of doubles—and won. One of the good things about the venue is that there isn’t a dress code, which is why my partner was able to wear his pink swim trunks, green polo shirt, and knee-high socks without being asked to leave… although that might have been a good idea… On Saturday night, I attended a barbecue at a nearly 300-year-old manor home outside of Tunis Mills, where I mc’ed a rousing game of red light/green light on the back lawn for the kids under the hot light of a full, harvest moon.

Skin Care on the Shore

2009-07-29T17:50:30+00:00

Girls who love skin care have a friend in The Shore. First, there’s the Linden Spa at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels. I recently had an anti-aging facial there. Is it just me or do I look 18? I also looove the all-natural skin-care products, which are sold in the lobby—as well as the white marble ladies’ room, complete with sauna. Then there’s my secret skin-care weapon: microdermabrasion with June Mitchell. She’s the skin-care guru with Annapolis’s Plastic Surgery Specialists. She runs PSS’s satellite office in Easton, with hours every Wednesday and Friday. While microdermbrasion ain’t cheap, it’s much less expensive (and heaps more effective) than $300 face cream that’s made mostly of false promises. June has worked miracles with my skin, tattered by years of sun worshiping, as well as that of those friends who have made her services a regular in their regime. One pal in particular, who had a great deal of skin discoloration and masking from sun damage, now has the creamy-white complexion of a doll. If it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. So, if you find yourself on the Shore for a vacation, don’t ignore your skin and give one of these tried-and-true-tips a whirl.

July 4th

2009-03-23T14:00:25+00:00

What a weekend! There’s nothing like spending the 4th on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, one of America’s oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods. We spent Saturday on the boat along the barrier islands, swimming off sandbars and shell hunting near an spot that serves as nesting site for a massive population of brown pelicans. We watched the fireworks off Cape Charles and a nearby campground as well as those going on across the Bay at Windmill Point and Urbanna—4 shows at once. Amazing. Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!