31. Bike the Bay and Beyond
Picturesque seaside towns, wooded countryside and rural tobacco farms are just some of the hidden Bay country treasures awaiting your discovery. But whizzing by at 60 miles an hour is not the best way to see these gems.
Hop on a bike, though, and you'll be pleasantly surprised to see what you've been missing.
The Chesapeake Bay area offers some of the best cycling in Maryland. Plenty of documented bike routes offer rides averaging 15 to 50 miles. Many of these are short loops that can be joined with other loops for a longer ride.
Rides along the Western Shore visit such places as Annapolis, the Deale waterfront, Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, Broomes Island, Calvert Cliffs State Park, St. Mary's Amish community, historic St. Mary's City and Point Lookout State Park (the most southerly point in Maryland).
The Chesapeake's Eastern Shore has its share of scenic tours including stops in St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.
When setting out on a cycling adventure, it's important to remember some key safety tips:
- Always wear a helmet - better safe now than sorry later.
- Ride with someone for safety.
- Avoid heavily traveled roads; traffic is a biker's biggest danger.
- Bring water or a sport drink; drink before you feel thirsty.
- Carry a map.
- Bring snacks, extra money and identification.
- Let someone know your plan for your trip.
Great resources for beginning and experienced cyclists alike are the Cycleways books by Gail and Charles Helfer, bicyclists' guide to the back roads of Maryland. Cycleways III: Bicycling Central and Southern Maryland offers 36 routes. Each ride is fully described and includes a detailed map with information about starting places and interesting facts about each area.
Cycling is great exercise and a fun way to keep in shape. So take a break from your hectic summer schedule and enjoy a relaxing bike ride.
32. Get Cool in the Pool
Summer means swimming and splashing and diving. For those of us not lucky enough to have our own pool, there are a few local options that can satisfy our taste for swimming without jellyfish.
Gather up the family and head to a public pool or water park for a game of Marco Polo or a spine-tingling ride down a slippery flume. There you'll find good company for lawn chair lounging and water-winged pals for your youngest swimmers.
If you're looking for options, Paradise Island Waterpark at Six Flags America in Largo has 13 ways to get wet - from its Monsoon Lagoon that blasts four-foot-tall waves to the inner-tube flume (get in w/regular park admission, $34.99: 301/249-1500 www.sixflags.com/america).
Chesapeake Beach Water Park, a local favorite, features two big water slides, water volleyball and a children's activity pool (11–8 daily; $8.50, $13.50 out-of-county: 410/257-1404).
Annapolis has two public pools. Swim indoors at Arundel Olympic Swim Center on Riva Road (6am–10pm M-F, 8–8 Sa, 10–6 Su; $2, $4: 410/222–7933) or outdoors at Truxtun Park Swimming Pool (11–5 SaSu & holidays, 12:30–4:30pm M–F, 5:30-7pm MWF; $1.50: 410/263-7928).
Severna Park Swim Association operates a pool at The Community Center at Woods (call for open swim times, $3.50, 410/315-7779 www.spyswimming.org).
Anyone age 16 or older can dip in Anne Arundel Community College's indoor Olson Memorial Pool now through August 10 (11-12:30 MWF; 12:30-1:50pm TuWTh thru July 6 & August 3-10; 4:30-5:30pm TuTh; 5:30-6:30pm F; $30/summer pass: 410/541-2316 410/777-2316 after July 1.)
Chill out in Calvert's outdoor public pool at Kings Landing Park in Huntingtown (1–8pm daily; $3: 410/535–3321).
33. Make a Hero of a Tomato Sandwich
Nothing says summer to me like a tomato sandwich. Not a sandwich with a few thin slices of tomato playing second fiddle to ham or turkey. Not a sandwich where tomato shares the bill with bacon and lettuce. I'm talking full-fledged tomato sandwiches, where the tomato is the star.
As a kid, I ate tomato sandwiches every day from the time the fruit from my dad's 75 plants ripened until the first frost. I'd wander in Dad's garden, find the biggest and ripest red beauty, slice it up, then eat the sun-warmed tomato with white bread and mayonnaise.
Over the years, I've perfected the art of the tomato sandwich. Now I'll share it with you.
The most important ingredient is, of course, the tomato. If you grow your own, pluck the tomato from the vine just before you eat it. If it's still warm from the sun, you're approaching perfection. You can usually find good alternatives to home grown at farmer's markets and roadside stands. But don't waste your money on those pink plastic tomatoes at the grocery store.
Any slicing tomato will make a good sandwich, but I prefer the beefsteak varieties. They are juicy and meaty and often big enough to fill a sandwich with one slice. Cut the tomato into 1/2 inch slices.
Next, you'll need some moderately dense white bread with a soft crust. (Stay away from squishy white bread; a juicy tomato will demolish it.) Toast the bread slightly, so that the outside is barely browned and the inside is still soft.
Spread both slices of bread with good quality mayonnaise. Don't use salad dressing or you won't taste the tomato.
Place your tomato slices on one slice of bread and sprinkle salt on the tomato. Grind black pepper onto the mayonnaise on the other slice of bread and place onto the tomato-laden side.
Now I'll let you in on my number one secret for the perfect tomato sandwich, passed down to me from my grandfather: Cut the sandwich vertically, then horizontally into fourths. You'll be able to easily pick it up and eat it without standing over the sink.
Caution: may be habit-forming.
34. Make Pilgrimage to Historic Churches
One way to learn about Maryland's beginnings is to explore its first houses of worship. They stand on back roads and in cities, waiting for you to marvel at their architecture and enjoy their tranquil setting.
Every county has some. Anne Arundel is our destination this year.
- Consecrated in 1860, St. Mary's Church on Duke of Gloucester Street in downtown Annapolis exemplifies the Victorian Gothic style. Its interior displays rib vaulting and hand-carved altar screen are typical of the Gothic Revival.
- St. Anne's Parish and Episcopal Church, located at 199 Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis, was built in 1859 as the third structure built by St. Anne's parishioners on the site. A silver communion service presented by King William III in 1695 is still in use.
- St. James' Parish was established in 1692, but the church that exists today was built in 1765. Located at 5757 Solomons Island Road in Lothian, its graveyard contains two of the oldest known tombstones in Maryland.
- At All Hallows Episcopal Church on Route 2 and Brick House Road in Davidsonville, the current building dates from 1730. Mason Locke Weems, who wrote the fictionalized biography of George Washington that popularized the story of the cherry tree, was once rector here.
Learn more about these churches on the web:
These are just the tip of the iceberg. Discover your own. Let us know where they're located and a bit of their history, and we'll share them in next year's Summer Guide.
35. NJFK: Build Your Own Oven and Bake
Summertime outdoor cooking yields some scrumptious meals. The only things missing, perhaps, are hot bread, a brimming blackberry cobbler or chewy black-walnut fudge brownies fresh from the oven.
Don't you wish you could have these baked treats without making your kitchen hot and messy?
You can with a cardboard box oven. It's simple to make, travels well, needs no maintenance and uses no electricity.
To make a cardboard oven, you'll need a heavy cardboard box with an attached lid (liquor boxes are best), heavy-duty aluminum foil, duct tape, a small rack (anything that fits inside the box will do), a couple of empty food cans with labels removed, an aluminum or tin pie pan and charcoal.
Cover the box with several layers of aluminum foil inside and out. Be sure no cardboard shows. Duct tape all outside seams and corners. Extra tape should be added to the bottom and to the lid where it bends for sturdiness. Make sure your lid fits snugly. If needed, you may prop something against the lid to help form a seal when cooking.
In the pie pan, place one charcoal briquette for each 50 degrees your recipe calls for. Ignite. Center the pie pan on the bottom of the prepared box. Place the cans on either side of the pan; put the rack on top; pop in your favorite treat and bake. Most recipes will follow true to oven directions. You'll need to add additional briquettes for prolonged cooking.
Set the oven on the ground, on a picnic table or anywhere you can gain quick access to your baked treats when your main meal is complete.
When time comes for dessert or hot bread, you can sit back, pig out and enjoy.
36. Tour Lighthouses
The sea's guiding lights are more than lonely floating bulbs that have led the way for sailors since the 1800s. They're part of history. This summer, tour some of Chesapeake's lighthouses and learn the inside story.
Start with Sandy Point Shoal Light, described as "one of the prettiest caisson lighthouses built on the Bay" by Lighting the Bay author Pat Vojtech. It sits near the Bay Bridge, 3,000 feet from the easternmost point of the Broadneck peninsula.
Head south to the mouth of the South River to find Thomas Point Light. In 1995, his old screwpile lighthouses was designated a National Historic Landmark, one of six in the country.
The coffee-pot-shaped, cast-iron caisson Bloody Point Light stands on Bloody Point Bar off the southern tip of Kent Island. That's where it started to lean shortly after it was lit in 1882. It tipped five degrees, but workers pushed it back up and dumped 760 tons of rock around its base to keep it in place. It still leans slightly.
Hooper Straight Lighthouse, a restored three-story cottage-style house, has lived at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's since 1966. It descends from an 1867 original constructed on the north side of the entrance into Tangier Sound. It marked the shipping channel for 10 years before it succumbed to moving ice. Open daily 10am-5pm: 410/745-2916.
Sharp's Island Light, sitting at a 15-degree angle and appearing to be Bloody Point Light's twin, once marked one of the biggest islands in the Chesapeake Bay. That island washed away, but Sharp's Island Light, located off Black Walnut Point near the entrance of the Choptank River at the end of Tilghman Island, is still standing as Maryland's Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Cove Point Lighthouse, a 173-year-old conical tower, is the only working lighthouse left on the Bay and is in excellent condition thanks to constant maintenance. It recently became part of the Calvert Marine Museum family. The Marine Museum is still working out details of their plan for daily tours during summer via shuttle bus from Solomon's Island. Call for information: 410/326-2042.
Also at Calvert Marine Museum is the screwpile cottage-style Drum Point Lighthouse built in 1883 to mark the entrance to the Patuxent River. Museum admission gains you full access to this entirely restored treasure.
Point Lookout Lighthouse, known for its ghostly visitors (see Way 87), stands at the end of St. Mary's county where the Potomac River meets the Bay. It once marked the north entrance of the Potomac River. The diminutive white house with red roof and black lantern is closed to the public but can be viewed through a high chain link fence.
See history unfold before your eyes at Piney Point Lighthouse, a squat conical tower built in 1836. During World War II, the Navy tested torpedoes in nearby waters and brought a captured German Black Panther submarine to the point for study, then sunk it. An on-site museum fills in the details. Piney Point also served as summer White House for presidents James Monroe, Franklin Pierce and Teddy Roosevelt.
Located 14 miles up the Potomac River, this lighthouse marks a sandbar on the northern bank known as Piney Point. To get there, drive south on Route 5 to the sleepy little town of Calloway. Make a right at the town's only traffic light, and before long the lighthouse appears through the cedars. The museum is open daily from noon-5pm, closed Wednesday; the park and museum grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset: 301/994-1471 or 301/769-2222.
To learn more read Lighting the Bay: Tales of Chesapeake Lighthouses by Pat Vojtech; Bay Beacons: Lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay by Linda Turbyville; Lighthouses of the Chesapeake by Robert de Gast; or visit www.cheslights.org.
37. Take up Horseback Riding
Maryland is horse country, so why not saddle up this summer and learn to ride? Whether you choose Western style or English, race, jump or hunt, it all starts with basic horsemanship.
Several are stable teach those basic skills, from handling and caring for your horse to getting up and riding. Prices range from $25/hour for group lessons to $50/hour for private instruction.
Anne Arundel Community College offers lessons on horsemanship and English riding in group sessions at Navillus Farm in Davidsonville: 410/541-2243; www.aacc.cc.md.us.
Equilibrium Horse Center in Gambrills teaches classical riding principles to adults and children. They offer group or individual lessons, summer camp, scout programs for every age and badge requirement and adult getaway weekend day camps: 410/721-0885 www.toad.net/~equilibrium.
Clay Hill Stables in Springdale (near Landover) has courses in all levels of English riding for children and adults. Their students are encouraged to compete in in-house and league shows. It's not too late to sign up for their summer day camp: 310/773-0444 www.wizard.net/~clayhill/sum.htm.
Hunter Ridge Stables in Upper Marlboro is a full-care hunter/jumper stable that offers huntseat lessons: 301/782-7474 or www.hunterridge.homestead.com/hunterridge.html.
Camp Letts, the YMCA overnight camp for kids in Edgewater, gives riding lessons as part of its regular program and has a Horsemasters camp for experienced riders: 301/261-4286 www.campletts.org.
38. Catch a Crab (but not more than Two Dozen)
The crabs you buy at seafood markets and in restaurants have been caught by commercial watermen who work hard at the job, crabbing from boats with hundreds of submerged crab pots or hundreds of yards of trotline.
But if you've got access to the water, you can catch your own crabs, save some money and have a lot of fun.
You can always wade out into the water with a net and try scooping crabs out of the water. This is good sport, especially for kids. But crabs are swift swimmers and quite elusive. Other methods are more accurate, so you'll be eating rather than fooling.
Begin with bait. Crabs eat just about anything, most of it things you'd never want to eat - and it doesn't have to be exactly fresh. Try chicken necks, which lend their name to the most accessible way to catch crabs.
Next you'll need some string, a bridge or pier overlooking the Bay or a tributary and a basket or bucket to store your catch. You might also want some thick gloves to grab the crabs that invariably scramble out while you're dropping in a new catch. And be warned: these suckers pinch like the devil got a hold of you!
Tie your bait securely, drop your line, and wait. When you feel a tug on your line, slowly pull up your catch, hold it over your basket and jiggle the line. With any luck the crab will drop off. Otherwise you can try prying open his claw - be careful! - or try shining a flashlight in its eyes. Believe it or not, this often works.
Crabs are a resource we all share, so do your part to keep the fishery healthy. Keep only legal crabs: for hardshells, that's five inches from point to point across the shell. Crabs are a scarce resource nowadays. Throw back the females so there'll be more crabs next year. They're the ones with red-tipped claws and a rounder underbelly.
To renew this great resource, recreational crabbers who go for two dozen or more must buy licenses this season. If you catch less than two dozen, you can still take your crabs without a license.
The next steps are fun, too: Call your friends. Cook some crabs. Drink some beer.
Cooking a problem? Read on.
39. Cook a Crab
The first decision is whether to cook your crabs inside or out. If you're the one in charge of cleaning the kitchen, you'll know what Bill Burton means when he says "If you know the answer, it's not a question."
To cook outdoors, you need to be well equipped. With practice, you can cook crabs in a steamer atop a really hot charcoal grill, but a propane cooker's a sure thing. If you, like us, don't have a propane cooker or a summer kitchen and want your crabs sooner rather than later, you'll come inside and heat up two burners on the kitchen stove.
On the heat, set the bottom section of your steamer filled about two-thirds with water. Some cooks add a can of beer or a cup of cider vinegar. Put on the lid. As the pot comes to a boil, prepare your crabs. Here's where cooking wet, crawly crabs gets messy.
To shorten their suffering and keep legs attached to bodies, a careful cook will kill each crab with an icepick before throwing it in the pot. Use a long tong to grab your crabs, and keep a heavy glove handy for retrieving escapees.
As you put crabs in the steamer, sprinkle spice on each layer. Pop the steamer on its boiling bottom half and go have a good time.
The length of steaming depends on the size of the pot and how full you've stuffed it with crabs. Usually, it takes about 20 minutes, or until the crabs have turned pink. It's a good idea to let them steam without a lid for the last five minutes to get rid of some of the moisture.
Now's when you enjoy your reward. Sit down. Drink a beer. Enjoy your friends' company. Instead of juggling a balanced meal, crab feast cooks get to party - for you don't have to serve anything but crabs.
Drinking is another story. The beverage of choice for crab feasting is beer, in cold cans. Light beer is good, because it's less filling, leaving more room for crabs. Iced tea is fine for teetotalers and kids.
When you can't resist the smell any longer, the cook gets the honor of testing for doneness. By now, fragrant steam will be wreathing the pot, so you'll want to grab a potholder. With it, remove the lid, and with a tongs, extract a now-brilliant red crab from the tangle. Careful not to burn a finger, break off a swimming leg and its accompanying chunk of backfin meat (you'll read how to do this in the next section). Eat it. Is it done? If so, share the pleasure.
Find full details in our on-line archives for issue 8 volume 22: June 1-6, 2000: www.bayweekly.com.
40. NJFK: Sell Your Own Lemonade
Lemonade makes your mouth water and your lips pucker. On a hot summer day, there's nothing better than a tall, cold glass of homemade lemonade.
Your neighbors probably feel the same way. That's why a lemonade stand is a great idea: You can make extra money and satisfy your thirsty neighbors while having some summer fun.
To start, find a good spot for your stand. A place near the road under a shady tree is best. That way, the sun won't chase you inside before your first customer arrives. See if you can borrow a small picnic table to use.
Next, make a colorful sign with an arrow pointing the way and place it on a tree or telephone pole near the road. This way people will know about your stand before they actually see it. Another sign on the front of your table telling what you're selling and the price per cup is a must.
Speaking of cups, don't forget them. You'll need a good supply of paper cups for the day. Keep a money box handy for making change and storing your profits. Keep ice in a cooler by the table.
Now you're ready to go. Oops! Almost forgot the lemonade.
Fresh-squeezed lemonade beats store-bought any day and it's easy to make.
First make a syrup: combine two cups of sugar with one cup of water and boil this mixture for five minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the juice from six lemons and stir.
You then mix this lemony syrup with cold water to make the lemonade. For each cup of ice water, add 1 tablespoon of syrup and stir. You can also make a big pitcher by adding about 1 cup of syrup to a gallon of water. Add more or less syrup to taste.
Good luck and have fun!
Copyright 2001
Bay Weekly
