On a trip

I'm behind in catching up with you and my blog site because I've been away since January 16, traveling to Smith Island, Maryland which is a remote island in Chesapeake Bay. The place has no internet connection, no restaurants open, and only a few cars. It has been a great get away.

I went to Smith Island last year and really enjoyed the remoteness. The sole income is basically from commercial crabbing and oystering. The residents have spent most of their life on this island and have an accent that reminds me of Elizabethan English.

This is a simple place where the pace of life is slow and mostly dictated by the tides and what is available for harvesting. I had a good dinner of roasted oysters on my birthday (Jan. 17) that one of the locals brought by the Ewell Tide Inn where I was staying. People there are just like that, kind and happy to have someone from off the island visit.

I bought a couple of paintings by Reuben Becker who painted scenes from the island and Chesapeake Bay. I guess they were a birthday present to myself. It was interesting to see his studio and the house that he lived in with his friend "Hoss".

Although the weather has been very cold and there was snow on the ground, I walked for several miles along the road from Ewell to Rhodes Point. It is a good experience to walk with the snow falling down in a place where there is mostly silence and almost no cars.

There is ice forming in the shallow areas of the Bay and the boat that carried me back to the mainland had some slow travel through the icy waters.Today I arrived back in Crisfield and am heading to St. Michaels to visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I do feel as if I've had a special opportunity to visit this "Island Out of Time" again and meet some interesting people. It is definitely on my Gratitude List for all time.