Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [129]
See also The Crazy Swede, below.
Lodging
The Crazy Swede Restaurant and Guest Suites has 10 suites in three historic buildings. All have private bath, phones, central air, refrigerators and many have sitting areas. The main building has four suites and houses the restaurant, where lodging guests receive a 20% discount on their meals. The restaurant serves fresh seafood and beef specialties for lunch and dinner daily, and a Sunday champagne brunch. (400 N. Union Avenue, tel. 410-939-5440, www.crazyswederestaurant.com, $$)
The Currier House Bed & Breakfast overlooks the Susquehanna where it meets the Bay. Matthew Currier’s original 1861 modest home has been enlarged several times over the years, with a wrap-around porch added. It is operated by the builder’s great-granddaughter. Each of the four guest rooms has a private bath and is furnished with antiques and Currier family heirlooms. (800 S. Market Street, tel. 410-939-7886, 800-827-2889, www.currier-bb.com, $$)
Vandiver Inn Bed & Breakfast is a sprawling 1886 Victorian mansion with nine exquisitely decorated rooms, many with fireplaces. The adjacent Murphy and Kent Guesthouses offer another eight rooms. Four of the suites have Jacuzzi tubs, and all rooms are air-conditioned. (301 S. Union Avenue, tel. 410-939-5200 or 800-245-1655, www.vandiverinn.com, $$)
La Cle D’or Guest House is the 1868 home of the Johns Hopkins Family, yes, the Johns Hopkins of the famous Baltimore hospital. There are two suites appointed with antiques, chandeliers, and fabulous fabrics. Outside there’s a Jacuzzi and a brick-walled “secret garden.” (226 N. Union Avenue, tel. 410-939-6562 or 888-554-8378, www.lacledorguesthouse.com, $$)
Pet-friendly: Spencer Silver Mansion Bed & Breakfast has four guest rooms in the main house, and a carriage house that sleeps four, where guests with well-behaved pets can stay. Fresh fruit is served daily in rooms, and a full breakfast is served until 10:30 am The biggest decision you’ll have to make is where to sit and relax: on the wrap-around porch, in the garden on the four-seat glider or Adirondack chairs, or on a hammock under a grape arbor. (200 S. Union Avenue, tel. 410-939-1097 or 800-780-1485, www.spencersilvermansion.com, $)
Information
The Havre de Grace Tourism Commission, 224 North Washington Street, tel. 800-851-7756 or 410-939-3303, www.hdgtourism.com.
The Web site for the City of Havre de Grace, www.havredegracemd.com, provides information about the city’s government and has a section for visitors that features a calendar of events, points of interest, and history of the town.
Event
The annual Decoy & Wildlife Art Festival is held the first weekend in May at the Decoy Museum and the middle and high schools. (tel. 410-939-3730)
PRONUNCIATION: Simply say Havre de Grace as it’s spelled – HAV-ray de GRACE – don’t try any fancy French pronunciation.
Ellicott City
Around Town
A full-grown man dressed in tights and a medieval cap blows huge bubbles outside a celestial-themed gift shop. Up Main Street a few doors, another man puts the finishing touches on an oil painting, working on an easel set up on the sidewalk in front of his studio. Meanwhile, a uniformed volunteer fireman raises the American flag outside the Firehouse Museum, a cute carriage house-turned-fire station perched on a triangle-shaped ledge high above the main street.
Is Ellicott City tragically hip or simply taking advantage of a great location between Baltimore and DC? That’s for the individual to decide. Suffice to say, a word-of-mouth reputation draws thousands who seek that unusual buy, the rare or eclectic, the whimsical, the mystic, and the historic, all