Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [101]
Lodging
Hilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House offers rooms in two old homes for $40 a night that includes family-style dinner and a full breakfast the next morning. Open late April to mid-October. (Main Street, tel. 757-891-2331, $)
In 1904, merchant Sidney Wallace opened an inn on the island to accommodate visitors. Nearly a century later, his grandson, Wallace Pruitt and his wife Shirley now operate Shirley’s Bay View Inn Bed and Breakfast. You can stay in the main house, one of the oldest on the island, or in one of seven private cottages. Guests get both sunrise and sunset views from the manicured grounds from swings, hammocks and a double-decker gazebo. Coffee’s ready at 7 am; breakfast served when guests are ready on “grandma’s” century-old china. Children welcome. (tel. 757-891-2396, www.tangierisland.net, $$)
At the Sunset Inn Bed & Breakfast, “Ms. Grace” Brown will be happy to acquaint you with what there is to do on the island. Her 10 cottages have views of the bay and are close to the beach where there’s great surf fishing, swimming or just strolling and watching the spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Children under 12 stay free with an adult. (tel. 757-891-2535, www.tangierislandsunset.com, $$)
PETS: They are allowed on the ferry over and to walk on a leash on the island, but none of the lodging establishments accept pets.
Getting Here
From Onancock
The Capt. Eulice passenger ferry departs for Tangier Island 10 am daily Memorial Day Weekend to mid-October. It’s just a 12-mile trip, five of it on Onancock Creek, returning at 3:30 pm. Fares are $20 per person round-trip, half-price for children ages six-12 (under six get in free). Pets allowed on a leash. No credit cards accepted. They also rent golf carts and bikes on the island. Tangier-Onancock Cruises. (tel. 757-891-2240, www.chesapeakebaysampler.com/tangierisland)
From Crisfield, Maryland
The Courtney Thomas is owned and operated by Rudy and Beth Thomas, and named after their daughter. captain Thomas is the fifth generation in his family to run the mail route from Crisfield to Tangier Island. He gives a narrative of Tangier during the trip. Day excursions run mid-May through mid-October. Year-round ferry service departs Crisfield daily at 12:30 pm, leaving Tangier at 8 am, requiring an overnight stay. $20 per person round-trip; children free when accompanied by a parent. No credit cards accepted. (tel. 410-968-2338)
From Reedville
Daily ferry departs from the Northern Neck on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, May-October. (tel. 804-453-2628)
To fly into Tangier, contact Accomack County Airport in Melfa, Virginia. (tel. 757-789-3719)
Information
Eastern Shore Visitors Center & Tourism Commision, tel. 757-787-2460, www.esvatourism.org.
Tangier-Onancock Cruises, tel. 757-891-2240, www.chesapeakebaysampler.com/tangierisland.
TRAVEL TIP: Tangier is a “dry island,” meaning no alcohol is sold or served. You can bring your own, but keep it out of public sight.
Onancock
Around Town
Onancock bills itself as the “Gem of the Eastern Shore” and, thanks to a new generation of imaginative shop owners, it has achieved legitimate “must-see” status. As you pop in and out of fine antique and jewelry shops on Market Street, you might notice a theme take shape. Tom Thumb features herbs and crafts. Bizzotto’s Gallery and Café, tel. 757-787-3103, combines good food, handcrafts and art. Dining table bases in Truffles Bakery, tel. 757-787-8440, a café and antiques shop, are old treadle sewing machines.
Combining two or more businesses under one roof is one way that Onancock entrepreneurs survive the off-season. Karen Tweedie, owner of The Spinning Wheel Bed and Breakfast, tel. 888-787-0337, and Evergreen Antiques, tel. 757-787-1905, operates a mail-order jewelry business in the back room of her antiques store on North