MD: Rock Hall

Day 358
NM Today: 23
NM To Date: 5867

We enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the marina in St. Michaels again today. Lurking in the hallways of the Harbour Inn, however, we found some unusual men.

Greeted us at entrance to the breakfast room

Hangin' by the Men's Room

After a very filling breakfast we immediately went back to the boat to pull in our lines and get underway. Given Sea Moss was tucked up in a corner and surrounded by other boats, it made leaving the dock a bit challenging. Fortunately two guys came over to help us get off the dock. I fended the stern of the boat watching to be sure we did not get too close or hit another vessel. They worked the bow line for us. Clark had to turn the boat and back out slowly to avoid hitting all the boats surrounding us. Of course he managed it like a champ.

One last look at St. Michaels, Maryland

Our trip to Rock Hall took us through the Kent Narrows and under a double bridge. The far bridge is for the highway and does not open, but the closer bridge opens and had an 18 foot vertical clearance. We dropped our antennas and sailed through the very narrow opening in the bridge.

Approaching Kent Narrows Bridge

Kent Narrows -- Restaurant we saw in passing

Being a Saturday, we noticed a bit more traffic on the water than during the week.

Boat Traffic coming our way at Kent Narrows

We arrived in Rock Hall, Maryland around 1:00. The Waterway Guide said that Rock Hall is named for a white sandstone mansion located in the town that was incorporated in 1908. Also according to the guide, Rock Hall is an active fishing village.

Normally we eat lunch on the boat underway, but with the over-sized breakfast, we decided to hold off and eat after we docked. We checked in and ate lunch. Then, after lunch, we grabbed our bikes and rode into town looking for the three different Rock Hall museums we read about in the Waterway Guide.

For our first stop along the way, we visited the Rock Hall Marine Consignment Shop. Clark loves to sort through old boat parts to see if there is anything he might need. Fortunately they had nothing in stock of interest to him! While browsing the store and waiting for Clark, I found a little plaque with a saying I liked.

 Life's journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Cow! What a ride!"

While at the consignment shop, we met their dog "Chessie" -- a boxer named for the Chesapeake. They had a bucket of treats with a sign telling customers to ask Chessie to sit and give her a treat afterwards. Of course I could not resist following the instructions. Only problem was I felt guilty giving her such a little treat for such good behavior.

Rock Hall Marine Consignment 

 Next door to the consignment shop, we found the Rock Hall Restoration and Heritage Center. This museum has only been open for one year, so it is in the early stages of pulling exhibits together. We did see a log canoe currently being restored. Glide is a Chesapeake Log Canoe built around 1864. It is 27 feet long and is the oldest Chesapeake Log Canoe known to be in existence, and according to the museum, it may be the oldest pleasure boat in the United States.

GLIDE - Chesapeake Log Canoe c. 1864

The restoration center tour took ten minutes maximum to see all they had to offer. From there we went in search of the Rock Hall Museum located at the Rock Hall Municipal Building.

Rock Hall Museum Site

The building was open but only because the Rock Hall police station shares the building with the museum. We peeked in the window of the museum and decided it was similar in content to many other museums we have visited in other towns. A couple of quick pictures and we were on our way to our next stop.

On our way to see the next museum we passed a rather unusual sight on Main Street.

Bow of boat coming out of on one side of a store

Stern on the other

Clark wanted to find the Dolchester Park Revisited Museum but had difficulty finding it with the map provided by the marina. He asked in a local shop where he was told the museum moved. A customer, who came out shortly after Clark exited the store, told us the museum was just down the road less than a block away. With her directions, we managed to find the nearly hidden walkway that took us back to "Oyster Court" and the museum site.

Oyster Court in Rock Hall, MD

Dolchester Beach Revisited - Amusement Park Museum

Unfortunately the Dolchester Beach Revisited museum was closed so we could not learn more about what they had to offer. Clark insisted on visiting every museum in town, so our next planned stop was the Watermen's Museum on the other side of town. On the way we passed a carved man standing next to his sea shanty.

Carved Fisherman with his Sea Shanty

From the guide boat I learned that fishermen lived on a small cottage on a flat bottomed boat in the Chesapeake. During the cold winter months these shanties would be frozen into the water. I was surprised to see an example of a shanty on display on Main Street in Rock Hall.

Next to this display a plaque commemorated the brave acts of Captain Lambert Wickes during the Revolutionary War. Using his sloop he made daring raids on British shipping. He even took Benjamin Franklin to France in his sloop in 1776. .

Continuing down the road, we made our way to the Watermen's Museum. Before we got there, however, we passed another carved man. It was certainly the day for wooden carved men!

Carved Fisherman with his Net
as tall as the house

Entrance to the Waterman's Museum
(Sign on door says - No Pictures Please)

While I popped my head in to verify it was open, Clark locked up the bikes. I found the museum open, but no one occupied the building to greet us upon our entry. Given the building was closed up with no air conditioning, I did not last long in there. Before running out to get some fresh air, I did see one carved wooden blue heron that I liked, but of course Clark could not take a picture for me.

Clark did not last long in the very stuffy building either, so we left there and headed into town for a much-deserved ice cream at Durding's Store that used to be a pharmacy. This ice cream store had as much interesting historic artifacts as the museums in town.

Durding's Store - old cash register

Apothecary Jars at the Pharmacy (now ice cream store)

The owner said that they can change nothing with the building without the historical society approval. The discussion started because she told us she could not turn on the overhead fans because they would blow away the table settings. Of course Clark offered a suggestion to increase the wind resistance, but she said she could not add even a washer to the fan blades because that would not be true to the time period.

Clark found an old phone in his exploration of the ice cream store. Of course, with our Bell Labs / AT&T background, we needed to include this great artifact in the blog.

Local and Long Distance Telephone
Instructions say -- "Have your nickel ready!"

American Telephone & Telegraph Logo on side of  phone booth

 After refreshing ourselves with our ice cream treats, we stopped into the local food market for some supplies. Once we had the provisions from the store, however, we had to "hightail it" back to the boat to get them into the refrigerator.

On our pretty comprehensive tour of town I did not see the white sandstone house mentioned in the Waterway Guide nor did I see significant evidence of Rock Hall being an active fishing community. At least I did not see obvious evidence of commercial fishing like I have seen in many other towns along our trip. What I did see was a lot of pleasure boats in the area - many of them used for fishing.

TripAdvisor, the Waterway Cruising Guide, and our boater friend, Kenny from Day Break, recommended the Mainstay Performing Arts Center for great Saturday night entertainment. We decided to take advantage of this musical treat as something out of the ordinary from our norm. Given this decision, we no sooner got back to the boat and stowed our food than we were heading back out again to find a restaurant before attending the show.

We walked up to the marina office expecting to get the town tram, but even though we called multiple times, no one answered the phone. As we repeatedly called the number, we watched the skies. We could tell a storm headed our way. The question on our minds ... could we get a ride to town before the storm hit?

Storms a brewin'

Clark explained the tram situation to the woman that owns the North Point Marina. She told us to get in her car, and she drove us into town herself. We chose the Four Sirens restaurant for its proximity to the arts center. The restaurant is situated right next door to the arts center. We sat at our table in the restaurant watching the weather as we ordered and ate. First the winds came and the waitress had to chase down a table umbrella outside, and then the rains came slowly at first and building to a downpour.

Fortunately, by the time we had finished eating and paying, the storm had mostly passed and we had a very short walk next door to see our show. Tonight's performance was by "Low Lily" who used to perform under the name Annalivia. This foursome played folk music and performed with a cello, a fiddle, two guitars and a mandolin. I enjoyed the show and purchased a CD afterwards.

The Mainstay Performing Arts Center
in Rock Hall, MD

"Low Lily" on stage

Fortunately when we called the phone number for the tram, they answered this time,  and we were able to get a ride back to the marina from the show. When we stepped up to board the tram, we heard shouts of "Hey we know you! You're Sea Moss. We helped you with your lines this morning in St. Michaels!" Frequently in boating the same boat may appear multiple times along our chosen path as there are only so many places to go within a day's travel time.

For example, when we docked here in Rock Hall, we noticed that the boats in two slips near us were both Mainships. At the marina office Clark checked the boats names for those slips and found that one was occupied by our new acquaintances from Oxford, Arnold and Donna on Chesapeake Pearl. Since we last saw them, we spent two nights in St. Michaels; they spent two nights elsewhere, but then we came together again in Rock Hall.