You know those moments when you were planning on doing one thing, but then …
There we were, husband, kid and I, driving down the road, heading to St. Michaels when we passed the sign for the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. I said, “we haven’t done that for a while.” Husband responded with, “turn around – let’s do it.”
A beautiful drive led us to the ferry dock in Bellevue. A sign stated the ferry leaves every 20 minutes and since we didn’t see it, we parked and walked around the small marina, home to mostly workboats. There was also an adjacent beach, which would be a great place for young kids to play.
The ferry service began operating in 1683. Yes, 1683. Do you know of any privately-owned business which started in 1683 that’s still around today? For this reason, the Oxford-Bellevue ferry is thought to be the oldest operating, privately-owned ferry service in this country. The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry in Connecticut started service in 1655, making it the oldest ferry service in the U.S. in continuous operation – it is run by the state of Connecticut.
20 minutes after we arrived, we saw the ferry heading towards us. It took only a few minutes for the other cars to disembark and for mine to load. Yes, for our crossing – we were the only ones on it. The crossing over the Tred Avon River takes 10 minutes. $12 includes the car and the driver and it’s $1 for each additional person. Do yourself a favor and take a ride on the ferry sometime, especially if you’ve never done it before – it’s part of Maryland’s history.
One other tip for you and also in this same area of the Eastern Shore – when I was asked what I wanted to do on Mother’s Day, or more specifically where I wanted to eat, I said Scossa.
In my humble opinion, I’d say it’s one of Maryland’s best restaurants – definitely in my top three. The people of Talbot County are probably going to be upset with me for letting this secret out of the hat, but so be it.
Located in downtown Easton, just across from the courthouse, Scossa offers indoor and outside seating – we always sit outside.
What makes Scossa so good is Giancarlo Tondin, who has a pretty remarkable history in the restaurant world that goes well beyond Maryland. Read about that here – http://www.scossarestaurant.com/story/
That was my Mother’s Day and thank you to my family for a great day. I hope yours was wonderful too.
If you’re going to have a sidecar, you have to have a sidekick.
