Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [147]
On the other side of the road there’s a string of waterfront restaurants, all with views. For seafood there’s the Lighthouse Inn (tel. 410-326-2444, www.lighthouse-inn.com); Catamarans Seafood and Steaks (tel. 410-326-8399, www.catamaransrestaurant.com); and The Wharf Restaurant & Lounge (tel. 410-326-3261). For authentic Italian, there’s DiGiovanni’s Dock of the Bay (tel. 410-394-6400). The Tiki Bar (tel. 410-326-4075) on Charles Street is a popular hangout for cocktails and evening entertainment with its open-air Polynesian atmosphere.
Across the bridge on the mainland, waterfront restaurants include The Dry Dock Restaurant (tel. 410-326-4817); Captain’s Table (tel. 410-326-2772); The Naughty Gull Restaurant & Pub (tel. 410-326-4855, www.naughtygullpub.com); and Stoney’s Kingfishers Captain’s Grill for breakfast and lunch (tel. 410-326-1036).
If you’re not looking for a waterfront seafood restaurant per se, there’s Boomerangs Original Ribs (tel. 410-326-6050); Bowen’s Inn for steak, pasta and all-you-can-eat tacos on Thursday nights (tel. 410-326-9880); innovative cuisine and espresso at The C.D. Café (tel. 410-326-3877); and the New Orleans-style fare at Harbor Sounds Restaurant (tel. 410-326-9522, www.harborsounds.com).
Lodging
Back Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast is an 1880 waterfront inn with a private pier and seven suites furnished with antiques (Alexander Lane and Calvert Street, tel. 410-326-2022, www.bbonline.com/md/backcreek, $$). Next door is By-The-Bay Bed and Breakfast, another Victorian with two rooms, a suite and a dock (14374 Calvert Street, tel. 410-326-3428, www.chesapeake.net/~bythebaybandb, $$). Nearby is Kathi’s Cottage with two rooms and a deepwater pier (250 C Street, tel. 410-394-1939, www.kathiscottage.com, $$).
Down near the tip of the island is Solomons Victorian Inn overlooking Solomons Harbor, with eight guest rooms, some with whirlpool tubs and water views. (125 Charles Street, tel. 410-326-4811, www.solomonsvictorianinn.com, $$)
TIP: Note that most of the B&Bs listed above indicate they accept children ages 12 and over only.
Pet-friendly: Locust Inn Rooms welcomes children and small pets. Facing the Patuxent River, the inn has eight rooms and a pool. (14478 Solomons Island Road South, tel. 410-326-9817, $)
Motels include the watermen’s favorite, Bowen’s Inn with a bar, restaurant and dock (14630 Solomons Island Road South, tel. 410-326-9880, $). Comfort Inn Solomons has 60 rooms on the waterfront with marina, restaurant, pool and hot tub (Lore Road, tel. 410-326-6303, $$), and Island Manor Motel has 10 rooms and is located behind the Tiki Bar and 77 Charles Street restaurant (tel. 410-326-3700, $).
Holiday Inn Select Solomons is a nine-acre waterfront complex with 326 rooms, a health club, pool, tennis, marina, and The Maryland Way Restaurant. (155 Holiday Drive, tel. 800-356-2009, http://solomonsmd.hiselect.com, $$)
Information
You’ll practically drive right into the parking lot for Solomons Island Information Center as you exit Route 4, just before the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge. Open daily, 9 am-5 pm. (tel. 410-326-6027)
Solomons Business Association, tel. 888-580-3856 or 410-326-1950, http://sba.solomons.md.us/.
Calvert County Tourism, tel. 800-331-9771, www.co.cal.md.us/.
TIP: The Chesapeake Biological Lab near the tip of Solomons Island has a Visitor Center where you can check in on their research on the ecology and status of the bay. Open April-December, Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-4 pm. (1 Williams Street, tel. 410-326-7443, www.cbl.umces.edu)
TRIVIA: The boardwalk, known as Riverwalk, features historic markers about the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge that looms before you. It was named for the first governor of Maryland and opened in 1977. Another marker draws attention to the river’s nickname, “Watery Grave.” But it’s not as morbid as it sounds. An S49 submarine lies at the