Where/what the heck is the Eastern Shore? The term refers to a peninsula in Maryland on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Getting there from Virginia involves crossing the four+ mile long Bay Bridge (once the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure) up by Annapolis and then heading south along the water. The area comprises a third of Maryland’s landmass but less than 10% of its population, so by east coast standards it’s semi-rural and not heavily populated, so it offers a nice change from the hassle, hustle, and bustle of the city. There is a series of quiet coastal towns formerly known for ship building, fishing, and agriculture but now home to quaint shops and restaurants, B&Bs, small resorts, restored old homes, nature trails, bike paths, and so forth. The 90 mile drive is beautiful, flat, and picturesque with fresh produce stands all along the route.

Destination: Harbourtowne Golf Resort in St. Michaels, a small town that sprang up around a church of the same name that was built there is 1677.

Why have an adventure there?  Dan’s business unit had an offsite there and plus ones were  included. Having been before, I knew that we’d get a small suite with a private deck overlooking the water. I also knew there would be other fun significant others to hang with, most of whom I’ve gotten to know pretty well over the years.

Tuesday, the 4th, was an optional day of golf or resort-based activities. I decided I’d subject the others to the resurrection of my very sad golf game by participating in the best ball tournament. I had not picked up a club in at least five years and then just to play once a year or so. There were three foursomes, each with a strong player, a medium player, an erratic player, and then someone new to the game or just plain bad. I filled out the just-plain-bad spot on my foursome. We had a great day for golf with full sun and a soft breeze to take your mind off the nearly 100 degree heat. The three men on my team were loads of fun and easily flabbergasted by the inconsistency of my spontaneous brilliance (occasionally chipping and putting better than the others), unabashed dumb luck (bouncing a ball off a tree with the necessary precision to position it right in the center of the fairway), complete ineptitude (“Anyone see where that went?”), and cheerful suaveness  (“Wow, Oreo brownies in our sack lunch.”). No matter … we came in second place and each got a $50 gift certificate for the pro shop. (A complete aside: Dan’s team came in first. Really?) Dinner that night was at a quaint place downtown St. Michele’s, a five minute drive. I tried relentlessly to bring the conversation around to how bad-ass the just-plain-bad golfers had done earlier in the day but no one was having it.

The tag along plus ones and I started the second day with a leisurely seven mile bike ride in and around the resort. The terrain was flat so the going was easy. After a quick lunch downtown we went sailing. Captain Iris is the 3rd generation guardian of the 42 foot Selina II, the wooden sailboat we were on. Her grandparents had it built to spec and after 30+ years passed it to her parents who enjoyed and looked after it for 30+ years and now it is hers to enjoy. Frosting on the cake was the perfect weather and the cherry on top was the bald eagle that kept circling behind the boat as we sailed along. A delicious crab cake dinner was a great way to end the day.

Thursday was full and fun also. Three ladies and I squeezed in a game of make-up-our-own-rules horseshoes before lunch. With a stroke of dumb luck, I won! Note to self: It really pays to play with people who have never seen a horseshoe. Everyone said their goodbyes around three and we headed to the airport in Baltimore to pick up Murphy who was coming into town to spend the weekend with college pals. The three of us headed to Barb (adventure #11) and David’s for dinner and a fun evening of reminiscing about fun times we’ve shared over the almost 30 years we’ve known each other. After a fun dinner we dropped Murphy off at his friend’s place and drove the hour south to get home.