Sue and I recently spent ten days visiting with family and friends on the Maryland Eastern Shore and DC. We had a great time, but after more than a week in that hot and steamy climate, we definitely know that we made the right choice when we decided to settle in Denver more than decade ago; although weather was not the sole or even main reason.
First stop after arriving at BWI airport was a crab feast with Sue’s family, the Roschy Clan (14 of us) at Fisherman’s Crab Deck, Kent Island, MD. Like riding a bike, once you learn to pick crabs, you never forget. After one, though, Sue decided to go for a Maryland Crab Cake—there’s nothing better anywhere, but I stuck with the crabs and managed to clean off more than a half a dozen. Surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of other diners, the atmosphere was incredibly loud, but also convivial. By moving around and switching chairs, we caught up with everyone’s goings on & happenings.
The gathering included Sue’s brother and sister-in-law, John & Bonnie, and other members of the family; Susie & Jerry Kavinski & their daughters, Abby & Evelyn; Dean & Anita Roschy, and Ann & Dusty Eastman & their daughter, Hannah, and finally Sue’s youngest brother, Tim Roschy. Not all of us made it into the post dinner photo below.
Sated and content, we drove back to John and Bonnie’s Eastern Shore Anchor Rest Farm for a restful few days. It’s definitely a place to chill and relax. John & Bonnie were, as always, the consummate hosts. In addition to great in-laws, John & Bonnie are good friends and great traveling companions, as any one familiar with this blog well know. It is always good to be with them, and we much appreciated their warmth and hospitality this time and always.
The Maryland Eastern Shore is made up of mostly small towns and family farms. You drive through miles of flat, but beautiful countryside dotted with green fields of corn, wheat, and soybeans before arriving at their lovely home. Sitting on their front porch on a summer’s eve is a gift of serenity.
One afternoon we decided to visit the nearby Tuckahoe Maryland State Park, which was created more than 60 years ago through the efforts of Bonnie’s father, Robert Dean, who was a Maryland State Senator for many years. He loved this land where he was born and grew up. This summer John & Bonnie’s granddaughter, Hannah Eastman, is working at the camp, and she was delighted to show us around and talk about how meaningful for her this beautiful gift to the people of Maryland is and will be for many generations to come. We were all charmed by her tour and narrative.
Having rested and rejuvenated at the farm for several days, we moved on to Rehobeth Beach, DE, which is a little more than an hour’s drive from John & Bonnie’s farm. Throughout the year, but even moreso in the summer, thousands of city dwellers from Baltimore, Philadelphia and DC, flock to beach towns all along the Atlantic Beach front of the Delmarva Peninsula. Beach traffic often chokes the roads leading from these metropolitan areas to the shore, and wherever you go it is sure to be a topic of conversation.
Rehobeth Beach, with its milelong board walk, lined with restaurants, souvenir shops, and small hotels, is the quintisential Delmarva beach town; caramel corn, saltwater taffy, and ice cream are always necessary purchases you stroll along of an evening. Those who are familiar with famous beaches around the world might find it a little underwhelming–the Atlantic Ocean waters can be chilly even in the summer & the beach with its choppy waves, quickly drops off to deeper water, making it difficult for people of a certain age to venture in and remain upright. But locals love going to beach and having it so close.
The sand is soft, and we enjoyed just lounging near the waterline and people watching–especially the children who alternate jumping in the waves with making sand castles on the shore. We were really impressed with the lifeguards stationed all along the boardwalk; they were ever diligent in monitoring the water and whistling cautions to the swimmers who ventured too far out. On our second day there at about three-thirty, they whistled everyone out of the water, and then a half hour later, we were all told to clear the beach–a thunderstorm was fast approaching, and they wanted to avoid anyone getting struck by lightning.
Another day we found ourselves sitting beside a gregarious and friendly man, Miliam and his family of four. Talking with him, we learned that Miliam had come to the US more than a decade ago, to escape his war ravaged country, Kosovo. He settled in Lancaster, PA and quickly found a job as a mechanic in a factory there. Welcomed by his new friends and neighbors, he decided to return home to marry his childhood sweetheart. They returned to Lancaster where they bought a small home and are raising their two American born children. The entire family loves coming to Rehobeth, which they do every summer.
We all really enjoyed learning Miliam’s story; the story of millions of Americans like him who have added so much to our nation. But this story is now closed off to people around the world. We have let fear and nationalism blind us to the good that immigrants have brought and still could bring to our country. Now we have heavily armed and masked thugs patrolling our streets and intimidating people who don’t look like “Americans.”
Is this really who we are? I hope not.
