I headed back to Maryland’s eastern shore, this time deliberately heading north. I was not sure if I had missed peak bloom, but the lotus flowers make quite a show on the Sassafras River every summer and I hoped to kayak in them. I got to the Sassafras Natural Resources Management Area to start my search of the blooms or kayak rentals, but the unpaved road did not seem to have an end. I circled back to the visitor’s center, which was closed due to Covid. Fortunately, a staff member lives on site and she was celebrating a birthday, so I got some good advice from the assembled group. She could not say if the flowers were in bloom, but I would have about an hour’s hike to see them once I reached the end of the dirt road, and there were no kayak rentals around–a real shame as the this tributary of the Chesapeake is very enticing. It was another very hot day, and I was hungry, so she suggested that I head into Georgetown to the Fish Whistle for a meal overlooking the river. I was able to enjoy another crab cake and share a toast to absent friends with some scattered loved ones as we remembered a friend and brother who was lost to us years before on this day. I would be lying if I did not admit that the anniversary was weighing on me, as it does every year, and a kayak excursion would have been a welcome diversion. Instead, I walked around charming Georgetown, grateful I had come away for the day.
It was early enough for a visit to Mt. Harmon Plantation in Earleville, a historic home that would have filled me in on a bit of local history. The site was closed for the day, but I was able to drive around the grounds. I was just about to wind my way back out to the road when an old friend called to check in on me and, as I sat in the car chatting with her for an hour, foxes and deer came up to visit. I rejoined the highway and followed Amish buggies with playful kids, marveling at how far I felt from Washington.
On my return home, I stopped at the Blackwater Distillery tavern on Kent Island to taste and buy some rum, but wound up with some delicious vodka instead. I was able to watch a stunning sunset with lightning illuminating the new dark as I crossed the Bay Bridge back into western Maryland.