On the islands

Tylerton, Smith Island, MD

Three Juvenile Osprey on channel marker 11

First View of Tylerton, Md. on Smith Island

TylertonThe “Port of Entry” is at the dock by the crain.

We’ve left Virginia behind and headed to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This stop is on Tylerton one of three villages on Smith Island, Md, a small cluster of islands on the Maryland Virginia border. Smith Island lies about 9 miles east of Crisfield, the currently the only place to catch a boat that will take one to Smith Island. The other half of the cluster of islands is Tangier Island, Va. about 10 miles south. Listening to native familys takes one back in time, the dialect comes from Cornwall, the language is English but at times can be hard to understand. “Smith Island” consists of many pieces of land, the largest town is Ewell, then the town of Rhodes Point, and the smallest is Tylerton. Each on its own island.

The necessities

The “Welcome Center”. It’s the first stop after after fetching baggage from the “Caption Jason II”, the only way on and off the island.

Tylerton does have its own Market and Post Office.

The Drum Point Market supplies the necessities of life as well as delicious sandwiches for made to order.

Yes, those antique PO Boxes are still used.

What’s in Tylerton

The main “industry” of the island is crabbing, though crabs are not as plentiful as they once were. Almost everywhere one looks you can see “crabpots“. Crabpots are one of the methods used to catch crabs.

Oyster tongs, used to pull Oysters from the bottom during the open season.

Getting around in Tylarton

With a population of about 50 the longest street, Tylerton Rd is less than 1/2 miles long. Two Firetrucks, One Ambulance, and one Pick-Up truck make up the fleet of vehicles. However, Golf Carts abound, as well a bicycles. Most of the bikes I saw were “Beach Bikes” , one speed with coaster brakes. Long distance biking just isn’t done in Tylerton. The few I saw up close were wearing a Huffy Logo.

Outside the Drum Point Market at lunch time, plenty of parking space

Crowded parking at the dock just before the morning run to Crisfield.

Not a Yellow Cab, or even an UBER Car.

Staying on the island

Before I take a photo stroll I want to mention, there are places to stay, one is “The Inn Of Silent Music“. The inn, a B&B serves wonderful breakfasts and dinners. Lunch are available at the Drum Point Market. If you time your visit right the Inn might serve a Smith Island Layer Cake. On the night I was lucky enough to have a piece, one of the layers included Peaches.

Smith Island Cake

Sunset from the Inn Of Silent Music

Sights while just walking around Tylerton

Are there any OLD ships here?

So far my wanderings have been on the Western shore of Maryland, and into Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For this month’s article I’ve ventured into the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Chestertown, the county seat of Kent County. The latest census counted a bit over 5000 residents. Chestertown sits on the Chester River and is home to Washington College. Chestertown has a rich maritime history. What follows is a small collection of photos that show the some of the town when it is not having one of many festivals.

Chestertown

Downrigging

In the fall Chestertown is home to the Sultana Project’s Downrigging Weekend, one of the largest annual Tall Ship and wooden boat festivals on the East Coast. The Pride of Baltimore II‘s home is just across the bay, in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor also makes it’s annual appearance, taking time off from visiting other ports of call. The Downrigging has become a celebration of maritime culture, wooden boats, and everything else that makes the Chesapeake Bay great.

The Priode of Baltimore II in the Chester River

The Sultana under sail in the Chesapeake Bay

What’s next?

I’m not sure where my travels will bring me next, but I’m planning on somewhere more inland. Anyone with suggestions is encouraged to send them along as a comment.

I guess I could sign off with TTFN (who knows what that means?)

Point of Rocks

My last article focused on Lucketts, Virginia. Driving north on US-15 from there we cross into Maryland at the Potomac River, just over the river we come to Point Of Rocks. Before turning onto MD-28 into Point of Rocks take a quick look to the left and you can see the original tunnel that bears the name of the town.

Today the town has spread northward to a few subdivisions, another of the many bedroom communities surrounding Washington. But as usual I’m concentrating on the old towns and one of its raison d’être, the railroad station. The other reason is that it is located on the C&O Canal, but more of the canal in a later article.

As seems to be the habit of small towns, Point of Rocks has a fair number of churches and one convenience store/gas station, and of course a small town park.

But what is most important, a railroad station. This station has the reputation of being one of the most photographed station in this part of the country, and I’ve contributed to that reputation.

Many freight trains pass through here, both from Washington to the south and Frederick a few miles north on their way westward. This station is one of the stops on the MARC Commuter Train in southern Frederick County and Loudoun County in northern Virginia.

Twice a day Amtrak’s CAPITOL LIMITED passes through Point of Rocks on its trips between Washington, DC and Chicago.

Take a detour in Detour

This is the next post in a new series I call Small Towns, Tiny Towns. We all pass through some of these when we’re out driving in the countryside. Some readers may actually live in one. Often we just think of them as wide spots in the road. in the past many of them were thriving communities but today they are relegated to just a small dot on the map, if they are even marked. Most if not all of them residents that are proud of the town and do their best to keep its memory alive.

The next couple paragraphs are from the About page.

Small towns, even tiny towns fascinate me – the kind that could be called “wide spots in the Road”. Sometimes they will hardly show up on Google Maps, most of the time they will be villages that earn a dot or circle on maps. I have no schedule but I hope to make a posting at least monthly, but no promises. I will be roaming in Maryland, and surrounding states from time to time and just taking photos, roughly at random. There is a lot to see in nowhere’ville. I’ll be wandering around with no real destination in mind, and taking shots from odd points of view, not the typical tourist view. So get ready to see some different views.

Places that interest me include: Sykesville, Galesville, Chestertown, Queenstown, Stevenstown – all in Maryland, as well as some in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolina’s, and possibly Georgia. If you have a favorite you’d like to see please send me a comment and I’ll see if it fits into my travels.

This trip took me to Detour, Md. A Google search will only lead you to the Detour Winery and a UrbanDictornary entry that isn’t too flatteing, so I’m skipping that.

Yes, there is a community called Detour in Maryland. Detour is in western Carroll County. The eastern edge of the town us bordered by a single railroad track. Trains still pass through, but on a very irregular schedule. The two old warehouses are falling into decay.

There is one Deli, it’s the only place in town to get a bite to eat.

Yes, a Barn-Star

Hardly enough water to float a kayak.

Big Pipe Creek and Little Pipe Creek form the western border of downtown Detour. Downstream from the confluence of the two creeks, and off to the Monocacy River it’s known as the Double Pipe Creek. When I last visited the Double Pipe Creek Park very little water was flowing, and two kayak paddlers, after exploring for a possible put-in, turned and headed north to a lake in Pennsylvania that held plenty of water.

On the map downtown Detour looks like it’s about 1/10 mile square, but the surrounding countryside with colorful farms and at least one old mill.

in the countryside within a couple miles of downtown

Somehow I missed the winery that takes its name from the town. I won’t let that happen again.

Where will I head next? So far I’ve featured both Carroll and Frederick Counties in Maryland. Probably I’ll head more south and see what I can find. If you have any suggestions, leave them in a comment.

A stroll through New Market, Md.

This is the first post in a new series I call Small Towns, Tiny Towns. We all pass through some of these when we’re out driving in the countryside. Some readers may actually live in one. Often we just think of them as wide spots in the road. in the past many of them were thriving communities but today they are relegated to just a small dot on the map, if they are even marked. Most if not all of them residents that are proud of the town and do their best to keep its memory alive.

The next couple paragraphs are from the About page.

Small towns, even tiny towns fascinate me – the kind that could be called “wide spots in the Road”. Sometimes they will hardly show up on Google Maps, most of the time they will be villages that earn a dot or circle on maps. I have no schedule but I hope to make a posting at least monthly, but no promises. I will be roaming in Maryland, and surrounding states from time to time and just taking photos, roughly at random. There is a lot to see in nowhere’ville. I’ll be wandering around with no real destination in mind, and taking shots from odd points of view, not the typical tourist view. So get ready to see some different views.

Places that interest me include: Sykesville, Galesville, Chestertown, Queenstown, Stevenstown – all in Maryland, as well as some in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolina’s, and possibly Georgia. If you have a favorite you’d like to see please send me a comment and I’ll see if it fits into my travels.

Now on to the first of what I hope will be a long running series

New Market, Maryland

New Market once was a thriving village on the National Road and the Gateway to the West. but today it is mainly a mecca for Antique hunters. But in 1954, U.S. Route 40 moved a mile or so south, more recently US-40 was swallowed up by I-70. Most east-west traffic bypasses New Market. The 2010 census counted a bit over 600 residents. Known locally as “The Antique Capitol of Maryland” New Market in eastern Frederick County

Before I get away from the National Pike let me add a few links to its history.

• route40.net,
• Federal Highway
  Administration’s Highway History
• U.S. Route 40 in Maryland on Wikipedia.

New Market is small, but has an important niche in history.

Late in June 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac pursued Gen. Robert
E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia as it invaded the North less than
a year after the Antietam campaign. On Monday June 29, the Federal
Corps marched northward toward Pennsylvania on parallel roads like the
fingers of a glove, after being ordered to tay between and he large
Northern cities.
…
General George Sykes marched northeastward along present day Rte.26 to
Liberty and Unionville. Gen John Sedgwick’s VI Corps, which guarded
the army’s right flank move by here (New Market) to Mount Airy and
Westminster, reaching Manchester on June 30. Then next day the corps
began an epic 34-mile march to Gettysburg and arrived late in the
afternoon of July 2.
—
A soldier in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry, VI Corps, later wrote
that on entering New Market, “two or three young ladies were
discovered standing in front of their home waving small Union
flags. It was an electrifying sight\, and the enthusiasm which had
pervaded the troops in advance was emphasized from the strong throats
of the Thirty-seventh. There was no question that they were in the
land of friends.

The photos are at random, but show some of the old buildings and how they look now. We’ll start at the Town Hall. There’s no order to these, just a photo-stroll one Sunday afternoon.