Travel: Smith Island

Photo by Jennifer Diamond

This past weekend, a friend and I visited Smith Island, one of the islands in the Chesapeake Bay. Even though I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I had never been to the island before (nor heard of it, actually). So I was excited when my friend invited me to go with her.

In order to get to the island, you have to get on a ferry that leaves from Crisfield, MD. So we spent some time wandering around Crisfield before the boat left at 12:30. There's not much to do or see in Crisfield, but we did get to meet the mayor, Kim Lawson! While we didn't get the warmest greeting (he "jokingly" shut the door behind him and said something to the effect of "Ladies, now you're mine!"), he did give us a good history lesson of Crisfield, Smith Island, and its neighbor Tangier Island in Virginia. He told us little tid-bits that we wouldn't have learned elsewhere: that there were many crab houses in Crisfield, and each one had its own whistle sound to let people know there were crabs to pick for work; that people from Smith Island can order groceries from the mainland and have the food delivered by the mail boat in a banana box; that on Smith Island in the general store, there is a back room with a checkerboard, and that is where watermen would gather and play checkers until all of the watermen were back safely. Although he talked our ear off, we got quite the insight!

Here are some photos from Crisfield. They sure love their crabs!

There's a little community garden area in Crisfield. It's nice to support the locals, but be warned: as a young woman, I was pretty creeped out by some of the local men who were selling food and other things at this garden. Run away!

This is the ferry that took us to the island. It's $26 for a round-trip ticket, and it takes about an hour each way.

 

Crisfield has not one but TWO water towers that feature crabs on them!

This is the mail boat, and it still delivers groceries to Smith Island!

Even the street signs have crabs on them!

Since we had an hour on the boat, we just chatted, looked out on the water, and saw lots of birds!

The cormorants and gulls all had the same idea!

An osprey with its nest!

Then we arrived and reached Smith Island! The island is only a few miles long with fewer than 250 inhabitants. There are actually more cats on the island than people! There isn't too much to do, since it's mostly residential. But you can choose to rent bikes or golf carts to explore the island if you'd like. My friend and I just walked around and enjoyed an authentic Smith Island meal.

The boat docks right at the Bayside Inn Restaurant, so all of us got off and went straight in for lunch.

The Bayside Inn Restaurant has a warm, homey feel to it, and the staff members are very nice. We ate some of the best crab cakes (I'm from the Eastern Shore, so I would know!), and their french fries, macaroni salad, and coleslaw are yummy, too!

The reason we visited this place: to eat real Smith Island Cake*, the state dessert of Maryland! It is so good, and so rich!

After our huge lunch, we walked around the island to try to walk off our "food babies." We visited the cultural center, where you can see old photographs, model boats, and watch a short video about the island. It's just $3 for entry, and it's fun to walk around the center, even just for a few minutes. Then we spent the rest of our time on the island just wandering around.

This pretty cat greeted us at the cultural center. Photo by Jennifer Diamond.

There are lots of fruit trees on the island, including pomegranate trees!

Some driveways are paved with oyster shells, showing how plentiful these bivalves used to be. Photo by Jennifer Diamond.

Methodist is the main (only?) religion on the island.

Ruke's is another restaurant on the island, but the owner died somewhat recently, so it's closed (at least for now).

The Post Office, which gets its mail via boat!

There was a little house that was an antique shop, and they had a shelf of unicorns! Of course I had to buy one!

Then it was time to leave (the boat leaves at 4pm sharp), and we both enjoyed a nap on the ride back (although we were woken up by the spray of the boat!). It was such a lovely day, and I definitely recommend Smith Island as a nice day trip! Since it's quite a drive from DC, I recommend booking a room at a cute bed and breakfast to spend the night on the mainland before heading back the next day. We spent the night with my parents, but not everyone has such a local connection!

*Click here for a recipe for Smith Island Cake. Note that while the original recipe features yellow cake with chocolate icing, you can make the cake in many flavors: orange, strawberry, coconut, Devil's Food, etc.! Whatever your heart (and belly) desires!

Los Lonely Boys at the Birchmere

Image found here.

The other night I went to the Birchmere to see Los Lonely Boys perform. I had only ever been to the venue once before in 2012 (to see comedian Stephen Lynch), so I wanted to check it out again! Plus, my friend said Los Lonely Boys are really good live, so I was excited to see them!

 

The venue has a cool look about it both inside and out, and it's one of those places where you're seated to have dinner as you watch the show. I should warn you that the menu items are pretty expensive; that's how the venue makes its money! So be prepared to spend $17-$20 on all main dishes, including salads and sandwiches. Ouch! But keep in mind this venue does not require a minimum purchase, so I recommend eating at home or somewhere else beforehand and then coming over to enjoy the show. It's not a huge venue, so there really isn't a bad seat in the house!

Image found here.

The concert started late (as concerts usually do), and Aaron Stephens opened the show. His band was pretty good! His band consists of five young guys from Texas, and they had great energy, especially the keyboardist! Stephens had a great voice; his sound reminds me of someone, but I couldn't place it. For some reason his voice made me think of the Lovely Actually soundtrack. Random! You can listen to some of his music on his YouTube channel.

After they had played a few songs, it was time for Los Lonely Boys to come on stage. They are such a great group! All of the brothers are so warm, and they kept thanking the audience for coming out and supporting them. They also mentioned all of the hate in the world and asked us all to love one another, which I thought was really touching. They aren't only good people: they are amazing musicians! I love their sound: it's romantic and fun and soulful, all at the same time! All of their voices are incredible and sound great in person. There were lots of guitar solos, Carlos Santana - style; this isn't really my thing, but all of the music sounded awesome! Check out their music videos on YouTube here.

Of course they saved their biggest hit "Heaven" for last:

Two things that soured the night for me (which I realize are First World problems and rather silly):

1. The restaurant does not offer tap water. You HAVE to buy bottled water. As an environmentalist, this bothered me immensely. How many hundreds of plastic bottles do they go through each month?! And you know they have tap water: they have to wash the dishes somehow! You know there's a sink in that kitchen somewhere...Tap water is better for the environment and cheaper for everyone!

2. While the Birchmere does have a wifi connection, it is password protected. When I asked the waitress what the password was, she said the wifi was only for the bands' use, and even the staff didn't know the password. That is ridiculous! If the restaurant is already paying for the wifi, why not get as much use out of it as possible? Plus, if customers are already paying about $60 to see a show, I think they deserve to use the wifi to send a tweet or two (especially if they are trying to promote your business!).

Maybe I'm just picky, but I'm all about good customer service. I didn't get it here, and I wouldn't go back. But I would see Los Lonely Boys again!

Fourth of July in Seattle!

My first view of Puget Sound!

For this year’s Fourth of July holiday, I visited some friends in Seattle. I didn’t have the chance to go to their wedding earlier this year, so I thought I’d make it up to them by going out to see them!

I had hoped to get in around 4:30 that Friday, but due to multiple delays, Southwest didn’t get me there until 8 o’clock. I took the link train to Capitol Hill, a hip LGBT-friendly neighborhood in Seattle. My friends picked me up, and we immediately went to Dance Underground to go blues dancing. My friends had never been blues dancing before, but I love it, so I wanted to introduce them to the dance! We had a nice lesson, but because of the small crowd and late hour, we left pretty early. But it was still fun, and my friends were happy to branch out and try something new!

The next day we checked out Pike Place Market. It’s well-known, and I liked checking out all the local produce, crafts, and other goods. And we enjoyed a very yummy pumpkin cookie from Cinnamon Works!

We got to see the first Starbucks! There was quite the line to get in!

Of course Washington state is known for its seafood, and there was plenty of it at the market!

The market had beautiful flowers!

There's a gum wall near the market. This isn't even that bad, because the wall was recently cleaned off!

That night we went to a Mariners baseball game. The Orioles happened to be playing them that weekend, so that was fun for me as an O’s fan! We had perfect weather for the game, and even though the Orioles lost, it was a high-scoring game and quite exciting! 

Me and my friend Lauren at the game

The Mariners have some of the fanciest stadium food I've seen, including chocolate covered strawberries!

I caught a glimpse of Mount Rainier from the stadium!

After the game, we checked out Unicorn, a colorful bar that serves drinks like “Unicorn Jizz” and "Hellicorn." Actually, we oddly saw lots of unicorn-related things; Seattle knew I’d be visiting!

"Unicorn Jizz" is delicious, by the way.

Random chalk unicorn near the market

This funny looking unicorn is named Pablo, and he was all over the city!

The next day we took an underground tour of the city. Seattle wasn’t built in a great location due to flooding and such, and it actually had to be built up extra high. So now there are tunnels beneath the city. Our tour guide was funny and very knowledgeable as she told us about the many problems the city had throughout its history. And while this was the family-friendly tour (they offer one specifically for adults), we did get to hear about some of the scandals of Seattle in the time of the wild West, including all of the "seamstresses" (i.e. prostitutes) in town; taxes on their profits totaled 87% of all the taxes collected by the city! It was fun learning about big players in Seattle's history, from the founders to the mayor who would pardon himself for his own wrongdoings. Definitely worth the money ($18 per adult).

So many poop/toilet jokes on this tour...

There was even a bank teller down there at one time! (Hi, Max!)

There are skylights in the tunnels to allow for light to come in. You can see them from the streets above (see next photo).

From the streets the skylights look like purple ceramic squares. I had even noticed them the day before!

Lou Graham and her most profitable "seamstresses." Notice anything interesting about a few of those women?

Then we stopped in for a walk-in yoga class at 8 Limbs. The class seemed to me more like physical therapy than yoga. We did a few poses, but very few vinyasas or sun salutations; instead we rolled foam balls along our backs to work out the kinks in our muscles. I guess since I do yoga regularly it wasn’t my cup of tea, but my friend enjoyed it, so that was good.

We were planning that night to go to a music festival in West Seattle, but after our busy day we just wanted to chill out. So we made dinner (using some fresh dill and rosemary from their front porch!) and watched The Wedding Singer. They had never seen the movie before, and I was so happy they liked it!

For the Fourth, we went hiking with a couple of my sorority sisters to see Teneriffe Falls. I thought it was fitting to go hiking on Independence Day, since nature is one of America’s greatest assets. We heard that there had been a black bear on the trail, but we didn’t see it. But we did see some beautiful flowers, a couple of slugs, and the lovely falls at the top! Here are some photos:

This little guy was eating a leaf right at the start of the trail!

Anyone know what kind of flowers these are?

My friends (L-R): Lauren, Cat, and Marisa.

The very green view from one of the overlooks

The falls!

On the way back we found this big guy!

And this slug was hanging for dear life!

The night of the 4th was just as fun!

We could see the Space Needle across Lake Union.

Ivar's Salmon House is beautiful on the inside!

Of course we had to see fireworks that night. We thought about going to Gas Works Park and setting up a picnic so we could watch from the grass. But we decided to have our picnic early at home, and waited until later to head out, since the fireworks show wouldn’t start until 10:20pm (higher latitude and all). So we went to Ivar’s Salmon House around 9 o’clock, where we could sit outside on the deck to see the fireworks. We enjoyed some salmon chowder and a seafood medley so I could try the great seafood that Washington has to offer. The food was good (the shrimp were delicious!), and we had the perfect view from the restaurant looking right out over Lake Union. A helicopter flew over the lake with a huge American flag, and then the fireworks show began! I was very impressed, and they seemed to go on forever! And it was fun to see other sporadic fireworks from other parts around the lake. PLUS we got to see a couple get engaged right there on the water! What a fun night!

It was a great vacation, and I had such an amazing time! A huge shout-out to my friends for hosting me!

And of course I must mention their dog, Hoshi! He accompanied us throughout the trip.

Best of Serenade! 2016

For the past few years, I have made it a point to see the Best of Serenade! concert organized by Classical Movements at the Strathmore each June. The concert is a mixture of a capella groups and choirs from around the world, and each year is different. Here's a break-down of this year's concert.

Image found here.

Tucson Girls Chorus
The first song this group performed was Christine Donkin's "Magnificat," which was really beautiful. The soloist had an amazing voice, and I was really blown away! Next up as Moira Smiley's "Si Verias a la Rana" ("If You See a Frog"), which was fun; the program didn't include a translation of the lyrics, which was odd since they included translations for several other songs. Simon Wawer's "Keep on Singing" was their last song, which they performed well, too.

Image found here.

Koris Logos
This all-male group from Latvia was your standard male choir. Their performance was kind of boring, and I have to admit I fell asleep during parts of it. They changed their program at the last minute, so I cannot tell you which songs they did or did not sing (since none of them were in English). But you can get the general idea from this video:

Image found here.

Kobra Ensemble
This group gave the most...shall we say, unique performance. I was glad that someone came on stage beforehand to prepare us for the odd show we were going to see, otherwise I would have turned up my nose at the whole thing. All of the women wore matching black bobbed wigs and black onesies (not a good look). They walked in from the back of the concert hall, and that song was okay. But once they got on stage, all of that changed. They put red lipstick on in front of us, making odd noises with each movement. Then they started "arguing" in nonsense sounds, the most memorable being the "angry" one making vehement "vroom vroom" noises. Then they all sat down on chairs on stage and started talking like Valley Girls (their impression of American women?). I think they called what they were doing "sound poetry," but really, it was just plain weird.

Although I could not find any videos of the performance I saw, you can listen to their music on the group's YouTube channel.

Image found here.

Ensemble Planeta
After the intermission, this group from Japan was next. They sang "Sakura Sakura," a traditional Japanese song about cherry blossoms. They also sang pieces by Bach and Brahms. They weren't particularly memorable, but each woman definitely had her own unique sound, which I appreciated.

Image found here.

Morgan State University Choir
I will admit that I was hoping for a true Gospel choir when I heard that the choir from Morgan State University would be performing. While they did sing religious songs like "You Must Have that True Religion" and "Jesus Will," they did not have the energy that I was expecting. They had one singer who sounded like she should be performing in an opera!

Ensemble Musicaficta
This group from Italy also changed its program, so I cannot tell you what songs they sang. But here's a video so you can hear what they sounded like:

After all of the groups performed, they all returned on stage to sing together (although the group from Morgan State was not included for some reason...), with some people wearing leis (why?). They sang "Untraveled Worlds," which included lyrics from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses.  And although they had only just learned it, the group sang "Bogoroditse Devo” from the Rachmaninoff Vespers as if they had been singing together for a long time! It was quite impressive and a nice culmination for the entire performance.

Here's an article about the event from the Washington Post.

Click here to read my blog post about last year's performance.