A really nice day, getting onto the hot and humid side. New England winters notwithstanding, we all appreciate not living in this weather.

Across several more bridges including the still spectacular Chesapeake Bay Bridge – a expanse of truss and suspension bridge that goes from near Annapolis to the eastern shore.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Photo by Ben Schumin

We arrived at our hotel – The Hampton Inn – only to find that there were two of them and we were at the wrong one. Reverse – back down Route 30 – to a southern version of the same Hampton Inn we first arrived at.

The folks here are very friendly and helpful. Gave us a detailed map of Wicomico County and recommendations for lunch.

— and Into Crab Country

We found our dinner site on Yelp – and what a dinner place it was. The Old Mill Crab House (!) was a typical southern crab house – where they dump the crabs (blue or snow) in the middle of your table and you go at them with a mallet. We didn’t order the “all you can eat” crab (although many around us had) – but 2 “steamed dinners” which included crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, potatoes, and corn on the cob. In a quest to be responsible tourists and try all the specialties of the house we also had the hush puppies (served covered with powdered sugar–I would have preferred Parmesan, to keep it savory) and funnel cake fries – deep fried strips of funnel cake served with raspberry and vanilla icing dipping sauces.

OMG. You could have rolled us out. But it was an experience – a truly Maryland experience – and quite wonderful.

Of course, on the way there we missed our turn-off twice and wound up riding up and down the same country road surrounded by fields of young, growing corn and rye. Echoes of our childhood, except this time we blamed Google maps — a different one on Yelp and the I-Phone. Thanks to the I-phone we made it.