Tour de Loop Scoop: You Had Me At The Harbor

As soon as we entered the harbor we fell in love with St. Michael's. The area exuded a special charm!

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St. Michaels is referred to as the "Hampton's of the Chesapeake". A quiet town with lots of flavors, sites and character! "For lovers of historic architecture, this is nirvana. With few exceptions, all buildings are historic or in period style. In the historic end of town, ardent preservationists enforce stringent building codes that allow no footprints of historic properties to be altered. Even practicality dictates that the town maintain its architectural profile." Another major draw to St. Michaels is the Maryland blue crabs.

Historical marker which you can enlarge to read.

"Local Lore hails St. Michaels for "fooling the British" during the War of 1812 by using lanterns to misdirect gunfire high above the town. It is certain that this shipbuilding village successfully fended off two enemy assaults in 1813."

Brief history of the 3 homes below which overlook the harbor.

Eagle House, c. 1877-1891

Higgins House, c. 1851 - 1861

Dodson House, c. 1851-1861. Can you see the face of a woman on the right hand side of the porch?

She is the face on the figurehead which once adorned the bow of the 88' schooner yacht, Freedom. Read the board above to get a full understanding of her history and to appreciate the pictures below.

Getting closer........

and closer....

There you have it. The lucky nobs.

Cathy and her husband, Tad, the owners of Higgins Yacht Yard where we docked our boat own this home. The home was built in 1750 near Easton airport and in 2004 they had it moved to its current location which was quite an undertaking. It is noted for its glazed brickwork and the 1750 dated bricks! A 7 point glass window is on the side of her home and she told me thus far she has been unsuccessful in uncovering the significance of the number 7.

This is the oldest two-story frame structure home still standing on St. Michaels. Date below.

Like the 2 story tower bay on the left side of the home.

John W. Blades as it states on the plaque was the original owner of this lovely home.

"The building dates back to the Guilded Age of 1883 when Dr. Henry Clay Dodson created this masterpiece to show what could be done with brick. He had started the St. Michaels Brick Company back in 1877 after two major fires had destroyed large sections of the town in 1870 and 1872. From the intricate brick inlays and chimneys, we surmise the building was a "showplace" for his brick yard several blocks away on North Street." This is the only example of a Queen Anne style building in St. Michaels.

Take note of the brick inlays above the plaque!

Take a healthy look at this building. Anything strike you as odd?

Do you find yourself leaning to the left?

A row of one and a half story, small historical homes on a half moon street.

All dating in the 1790's.

This house, "reputedly one of the oldest in St. Michaels, Maryland, is locally believed to have been built in the 1670's by Edward Elliott. It was Elliott who also built the first Episcopal Church in Saint Michaels on the nearby site of Christ Church."

1960 powder blue Austin Healy just hang in'.

German is yet another foreign language I am not well versed in so I am glad they provided the English translation below. Love the fence, too. Can you see the trellis beyond the fence?

Sitting on top of it is a vulture. Can you make it out. We would have liked to have met the owners.

Flowers were in full bloom on St. Michaels. Daisies and

bleeding hearts. Scarlet red against white shaped heart leaves - stunning.

Takes your breath away....

Vibrant color combinations.

Attractive sign to promote nearby shops.

The Old Mill property was purchased back in '76 by the same owners of Higgins Yacht Yard, Cathy and Tad. "The Mill is a restored old flour mill and factory which for 85 years served the flour needs of the community." It has only taken "three decades" (I am being facesious) for the area to blossom to what they had envisioned - an area filled with specialty shops. Some of their wares are pictured below.

A couple of the merchants located at the Old Mill.

Looking down sleepy Talbot Street early one morning. Charming......

Another striking church.

Year built.

Yeah, it's open! This is a side entrance to the church which was added in the early 1970's. See if you can find the images in each of the 3 panes to your left.

Sequentially from the left, a knife cutting a loaf of bread with a slice already fallen, a pitcher pouring water into a glass and in the last window a cloak.

This is the other side.

Above the side door entrance.

The interior of the church on the side walls - gorgeous.

Organ pipes to the left and stained glass behind the altar.

Closer view of the engraving below.

Interesting that they didn't include her date of birth.

Gina's on South Talbot Street. Heard great food reviews but never had a chance to eat there.

Gina's mascot is Molly, the pig. It was love at first sight. It was love at first "bite" when I met Bill. I'll tell you about that later...........

Have you ever seen a cuter face than that? Where's our kitty?..........

Inside Gina's.

Love cobalt blue!

Love how they decorated! Cute, cute, cute.

Slip neighbors.

View towards the yacht office.

View across the bay. Aha! There's the yacht that's been following us from Norfolk, then Annapolis and now here to St. Michaels.

Zeroing in on on her - Abbracci. We marched our bodies over to the other side and immediately introduced ourselves to the superyacht's captain, Joe Tress, and asked him WHY he has been following us? Of course, after having asked the question we all laughed! Joe has been captaining the owner's yacht, Paul Andrews founder of TTI out of Texas, for over 20 years and has loved every minute of it. Their destination is NY where the owners will fly in and join them. It's a rarity Abbracci is found on a dock especially when Paul's wife is on-board since she prefers to anchor out. Abbracci's home port is Palm Beach, FL. so when they head north Joe likes to navigate up the ICW vs. the ocean. He shared a story of traveling north on the ICW and a few miles south of Camp LeJeune when he was radioed from a marine officer asking what were his intentions. Joe explained he was heading north on the ICW to Morehead City. Shortly after signing off on the radio his GPS went dead. The military had commandeered his GPS and radar. He wasn't going anywhere until the marine exercises across the ICW were completed. The long arm of the military.

Crab Claw Restaurant where we ate the first day we got here.

Should of had the crabs like almost everyone else.

That's a lot of oyster shells!

View onto our marina. See our gal in the middle?

Will wonders never cease? We made it to our first museum - Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. The history of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse is above.

This manned lighthouse was used to warn sailors of shallow areas in Hooper Strait. In 1966 an automated light was installed negating the need for the lighthouse.

First sign of the moon.

A closer view.

Puss'n Boots came by to pay a visit. Look at the pink booties on her back claws - precious. I don't think you can see it but she is in a harness attached to a leash. She came running down the dock to check any and everything out.