Smith Island Cruise
A few weeks ago while spending a week in Ocean City, my husband and I decided to take the Smith Island Trip advertised in the Ocean City local papers. I have always been intrigued by the idea of living in a place surrounded by water and so far-removed from the hustle and bustle of city life...I am now cured and definitely prefer all that comes with living on the "mainland!"
It took us about an hour and a half to drive from Ocean City to Crisfield where we stopped at the Paddlewheel Motel to purchase our tickets. A very friendly woman took our money - $24 per person for a round trip ticket to Smith Island and pointed us down the street to the Somers Cove Marina where we would board the Twister for our trip to Smith Island. The ferry leaves at 12:30 pm every day and returns at 4:30 pm.
The Twister was the fastest ferry to Smith Island. The ferry was clean and you could sit either on the very top, inside or on the bow. The trip took about an hour. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery on the Tangier Sound, while chatting with other passengers.
The boat docked at the pier of Bayside Inn Restaurant and we all went inside for lunch. It's a large family-style restaurant with a gift shop. We had great service and everyone was very friendly. I ordered the crab cakes and although good and mostly crab meat...I was disappointed that there were no lumps of crab in the cakes. My husband enjoyed his prime rib, small but tender.
I was really eager to explore the Island, so after lunch we went to the carry-out and picked up a map...which we found not to be necessary. We were told we could rent a golf cart or bikes to explore the Island, but decided to walk. There was another little sandwich shop, a small museum, a couple of antique shops, and a gift shop. Not exactly a lot to see! We also had company...some of the biggest flies I've ever seen and lots of them!
We decided to go back to the carryout and rent a golf cart, hoping we could outrun the flies. Luckily, we rented the cart for only a 1/2 hour because within 2o minutes we had seen the whole Island. No one was outside, (because of the flies?) and other than the few public places I mentioned, a church, graveyard and elementary school were the only buildings besides private homes to see.
We stopped in the gift shop and had a very nice conversation with one of the Islanders. She loves living on the Island and said there is no crime on Smith Island. They don't have a police department and any little problems that occur are handled by the preacher. There are a little over 200 people living on Smith Island. Crabbing is the only way to make a living and that is becoming more and more difficult, so many are moving to the mainland for jobs.
We stopped back at the restaurant and had a piece of the famous Smith Island Cake made by one of the residents. It is made with 10 thin layers of cake with icing on each layer. Delicious! Then we sat on the porch and had a nice chat with other people waiting to board the ferry for our return trip. Most everyone agreed that while we enjoyed the ferry ride and the hospitality of the Islanders, there was not much to do or see on Smith Island.
If you'd like to go to Smith Island, the ferry departs daily at 12:30 pm, Memorial Day weekend through mid-October. You should call first to be sure the ferry is running that day (they may cancel a trip due to inclement weather or not enough people to take the boat out) and to make reservations. 410-425-2771.
