As the pandemic threatens further, social distanced events are more important than ever. A very nice day trip is from the DC area to Easton and St. Michael's MD. And a beautiful drive fits the bill. Off of exit 19 on 495 you get to a fairly straight high speed road of route 50 until you reach Annapolis area where the speed drops down to a pedestrian 55mph.
After driving past Annapolis there is a nice BBQ place, Red Hot and Blue, and then you hit the Bay Bridge which is approximately 4 miles long and offers some views. But please don't slow down or stop. The toll is $4 for both ways, or $2.50 with an MD ezpass.
Easton has a beautiful downtown area, an old meeting house, the estate where Frederick Douglass was a slave, and the courthouse saw the signing of several important documents by the founding fathers.
Today Easton offers a beautiful park, great dining including Scossa, a gorgeous coffee bar in "Weather Gage" and an after dinner bar where one can sip from an incredible curated collection in the Prager building. Prager also offers a wonderful ice cream shop, which really is fantastic, a salad place, and an upscale dining option.
In St. Michaels there are various dining options, one of my goto's is Carpenter Street Pub. There is a distillery, a winery, some beautiful restoration shops, along with a harbor filled with yachts. Foxy's is the place to visit for a drink. While Crab Claw, The Patriot, and the Maritime museum offer some tourist fun.
The Wedding Crashers was filmed in St. Michaels Inn at Perry Cabin, which also hosts a beautiful car show. Please find below some pictures from their grounds.
There are many great restaurants in St. Michaels including 208 Talbot. St. Michael's is a bit further off of 50 than Easton.
It is said that during the war of 1812 St. Michael's residents knew an attack was eminent, agreed as a city to extinguish all lights in town and instead bring lanterns some distance away. And the British cannons struck the lanterns in the woods, with only one house hit which is known as the cannon ball house.
While a drive to the Eastern Shore is beautiful, a boat trip should be on your todo list. With many interesting sights visible from the water. Driving to Kent Island and taking a motor boat you could hit down town St. Michaels easily, but would miss Easton.
