James
Michener used the Choptank River area as the basis for his novel, Chesapeake.
He did some of his research and writing in the charming village of
Oxford. Settled in 1663 and founded as a
town in 1683 it is one of the oldest towns in MD. In 1694 it along with Annapolis were named as
the only ports of entry for the province of Maryland. It was a booming town up to the Revolution,
but slowly declined afterward as British ships no longer called and tobacco was
replaced by wheat as a cash crop. It has
gone through boom and busts since, but is now a small genteel village with well
maintained houses and little in the way of commerce other than numerous marinas
and a fleet of commercial waterman’s boats.
Situated on a peninsula at the entrance to the Tred Avon River, it has a
very well protected small harbor. It has
the oldest continuously operating ferry in the US transporting goods and people
to Bellevue across the river for 350 years.
Not much to see and do, but a very pleasant place to spend some time.
Cambridge,
on the other side of the Choptank and 13 miles further east from Oxford, is a
larger and more commercial town. It too
has been around since the late 17th century and has its share of
classic old homes. With many more
restaurants and art galleries to choose from it offers more to see and do. It does have its share of vacant store fronts
and offers little for the shopper (much to Debby’s disappointment). We got here just in time for an event filled
weekend. It started with 20th
Annual Skipjack Races. Once ubiquitous,
skipjacks were used all over the bay to harvest oysters. They have been supplanted by power vessels,
but remain part of the tradition of Chesapeake Bay watermen and certain beds in
the bay are reserved for their exclusive use.
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| Skipjack Fleet awaiting race start |
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They're Off!
|
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The Finish Line
(with old "Buy Boat" as committee boat) |
Later
the same day “Crabtoberfest” was held. Another
annual event in Cambridge it is as the name implies a combination crab and Octoberfest
complete with Uhmpa Band, costumed dancers and make shift beer hall with an
emphasis on crabs.
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| Crabtoberfest |
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| Uhmpa/Country Band |
An
art show on Sunday on High Street rounded out the weekend.
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| High St Art Show, Cambridge |
We stayed
at the Cambridge Yacht Club which was very friendly and welcoming. Like LYC, the club was started in 1938 and is
a center of social life in the town. We
spent Happy Hour there most evenings and got to meet some interesting
people. One couple, Russell and Ida
Baker have been married 66 years and their daughter is the current
Commodore. Their son now runs the 2,000
(!) acre farm nearby that has been in the family for generations. They spent the last 47 years vacationing in
Ft Lauderdale renting a place on Isle of Venice during the month of March, and spending time at LYC, so we
had much in common to talk about.
