5/5/2011 CAMBRIDGE TO THE FISHERS' HOME IN OXFORD, MD

THURSDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY:     11 NM

DOCKED AT: JOE AND SUZANNE FISCHER'S

ISLAND CREEK

SUNRISE: 6:02      SUNSET: 8:00

HIGH: 66                LOW: 48

The towering sail above the Dorchester County Visitors Center here in Cambridge is an Eastern Shore landmark and juts more than 100 feet into the air. The sleepy town is charming but suffering, just like so many little towns, from the flailing economy. We walked into town in search of breakfast but found no restaurants open for morning customers.

TOWERING SAIL AT THE DORCHESTER COUNTY VISITORS CENTER

Our luck changed when we ducked into A Few of My Favorite Things and met the proprietress, Carol Levy. She had wines, coffees, teas, chocolates cheeses, gift items and a genuine Smith Island Cake. We had heard of these works of digestible masterpieces but never came into close proximity to one. Carol served us up some coffee, a piece of this lovely cake and chatted with us for a while as we hovered around her sales counter.

SMITH ISLAND CAKE

It seems that this delicacy dates way back. The original recipe calls for pancake thin layers of yellow cake slathered with rich chocolate icing. Although they may have been only four to six layers in the beginning, the Official State Dessert of Maryland towers between six to twelve layers high and comes in a variety of flavors. Our “frosting with the cake” was white cake with beautiful coconut icing. The breakfast of champions!!!

Today is so much nicer than stormy yesterday. We enjoyed walking amongst the historic homes and were absolutely astounded to find these gorgeous blooming peonies. It’s only the beginning of May!!! Guess we for sure aren’t in Vermont!

                                                             BLOOMING PEONIES

Shortly before leaving from the marina this afternoon we saw this odd looking wooden sailing boat come in. It was an old skipjack, a traditional fishing boat used on the Chesapeake for dredging oysters. The HM Krents was built in 1955 and is one of only 46 remaining skipjacks. These sail powered vessels remain in service due to laws restricting the use of powerboats in the Maryland oyster fisheries. These guys were picking up a tour group and giving them a ride on a real, working skipjack.

SKIPJACK HN KRENTZ, STILL WORKING

We ventured out in the afternoon and made our way into Island Creek where we found the Joe and Suzanne waving from their dock in Oxford. We swung in, tied up and easily slipped into our old familiar friendship that has spanned 20 years and many miles. Their new home here has the most spectacular view with most rooms open to sights of the water. They have done lots of refurbishing work and it is almost done now. Who knew that Joe could pull off such a coup while Suzanne headed back to work each week? Nice job!



OUR VIEW OF THE HOUSE FROM THE QUEST



THE VIEW OF QUEST FROM THE HOUSE



We got a quick tour of Oxford then settled in for a good dinner in their airy dining room as we reminisced about past years and many good times.