This was the last weekend before the end of summer vacation - or, in the case of ChaseKBH, our soon-to-be kindergartener, this was the last weekend of his ante school life. For the next seventeen or more years, his life will be dictated by the school calendar. Typically, Jamie and I were so incredibly busy that we did not make adequate plans beforehand, and since the beach was pretty much sold out, we decided to venture just over the Bay Bridge and hang out on the Eastern Shore. We spent the morning hiking on Wye Island and visiting the site of the Wye Oak. More in a later post.
The trip to Easton was a little over an hour, but it's a world away from Columbia. Jamie and I visited before kids, for antiquing, shopping, and dining. The kids dislike all except the last activity.
Oysters were of course on the menu, as well as a lot of crab. For lunch, we went to the Washington Street Pub. It was amazingly child-friendly. First, along with crayons and paper, the children were seated with little packets of Goldfish. The list of sides on the kids meals were extensive, and included two types of fruit, three types of vegetables, as well as more standard fare. And they had wifi. And beer for the adults - Heavy Seas Red for me, and blackberry pear cider for Jamie. And oysters. Lots of oysters.
Nap consumed the rest of BeaABH's day, but ChaseKBH and I had a fantastic time exploring the town. Easton was a great place to walk around in, and we had a great time walking (in the rain), exploring old architecture and talking about the history of Maryland. We walked to Rise Up Roasters and ran into a friend from Philadelphia, mom to one of ChaseKBH's greatest crushes. Lemon muffins and hot chocolate made the fact that we were soaked slightly better.
We walked over to Easton Market Square, which was a cool little market and some associated little stores. We checked out tomorrow's coffee plan, and debated a snowball, but the rain was just too heavy. We passed through the historical district and window-shopped, but were too muddy to go in anywhere.
Dinner was at the Tidewater Inn, where we stayed for the night. They, predictably, shared a steak. And even dressed for the occasion, though ChaseKBH took off his jacket immediately after ordering dinner. There was a concert scheduled for the square that night, however, it was rained out, and the overflow seemed to all be in the restaurant. The kids enjoyed the historic hotel, checking out the duck statute and fountain in the courtyard, and really enjoyed the magnificent staircase. And almost 12 hours of sleep after a busy morning hiking on Wye Island.