Annapolis to St. Michaels

In September of 2009, we spent the weekend in Annapolis, MD. Saturday morning we took a 90-minute ferry ride from Annaplolis harbor to the small town of St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. It was a beautiful day for boat watching from the ferry. We spent a few hours in St. Michaels, ate at the Town Dock Restaurant, walked and browsed the shops in town, then took the ferry back to Annapolis where we had dinner on the porch at Middleton Tavern, which a colleague and native of Annapolis had recommended.

There was no shortage of sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay that day, from small ones to large ones and everything in between.

Sailboat in the bay at Annapolis

Sailboat in the bay at Annapolis

Sailboat in St. Michaels

Sailboat in St. Michaels

There were engine-powered vessels of all sizes and kinds, too.

Trawler in the bay at Annapolis

Trawler in the bay at Annapolis

This Bayliner Sedan Bridge looks like it’s been mounted with a sailing mast, but really that’s just the mast on a sailboat that’s hidden behind the vessel in the foreground.

Bayliner Sedan Bridge in St. Michaels

Bayliner Sedan Bridge in St. Michaels

When we arrived at St. Michaels, a bagpiper was waiting on the lawn in front of the lighthouse. He was there to help a ferry guest celebrate her birthday.

Bagpiper at St. Michaels Lighthouse

Bagpiper at St. Michaels Lighthouse

Snowdenville, PA

The tiny forgotten village of Snowdenville, PA sits at the intersection of Saylors Mill Road and Baptist Church Road, in what is now East Coventry Township, northern Chester County.

The village’s original log house, its logs now plastered over, is to the east of the intersection.  Here is a photo.  Part of the plaque on the cabin reads “Land Grant from William Penn.”

The area was settled during the Revolutionary War.  Mills and agriculture were primary industries.  From the township’s website:

The water power of the Township provided industrial opportunities for early settlers. There were several mills in operation in the early to mid 1800’s. In addition, the early settlers found opportunities in agriculture. The land area adjacent to the Schuylkill River and Pigeon Creek provided exceptionally productive land for farming. It should be noted that a vast portion of these areas of the Township are still utilized for agricultural purposes.

Not far from Snowdenville is the modern ghost town of Frick’s Lock, which lies abandoned along the old Schuylkill Canal, in the shadow of the Limerick Nuclear Power Station.