Driving east towards the coast on a sunny Sunday a few weeks ago, I made my way to the Eastern Shore of Maryland stopping over in Kent Narrows at a hotel to spend the night. I awoke the next morning eager to head out to my first destination of the day, to visit the beautiful, quaint seaside town of St. Michael's, Maryland. Not only did I want to walk about exploring this adorable little town I'd seen so many photos of in tourist pubs, but I also wanted to pay a visit to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
It was a gorgeous sunny day with beautiful blue skies, although rather hot and humid. Walking around the museum grounds, I encountered displays of all sorts of maritime artifacts and equipment housed in various buildings. I also snapped a few images of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's octagonal lighthouse which I'll share in another post. Off to one side of the museum grounds was a large building filled with artifacts. As I neared this particular building, I discovered an artist painting a landscape. I soon learned that St. Michaels was hosting an arts festival for Plein Air artists from around the United States and perhaps abroad later in the week. Luckily I was able to snap a few images of the artist intently painting her landscape with the beautiful harbor and grounds surrounding her. This is one of my favorite images from my trip. I so love the composition with it's surreal look and feel as the artist stands painting the blue skies, the fluffy white clouds and the boat moored in the harbor. I took several angles of this same image, but found I loved this one most because it shows the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum placard on the building.
After talking to the artist for a few minutes, while at the same time encountering a tourist who just happened to be from Louisville, I continued touring the museum and snapping more images. If I were to tell you how many times I have daydreamed about visiting St. Michaels, you surely wouldn't believe me. It is true though, as I have longed to visit this seaside town for many, many years. I promise to show you images of the town in another post very soon. Before I left the museum, I snapped this image of a lone sailboat moored in the bay near Waterman's Wharf. What is it about lone sailboats sitting idly out in the harbor that tugs at my heart. Perhaps its a deep longing to set sail and venture out into the bay, albeit very, very early of a morning when the fog is hanging close to the water's edge, or perhaps to view a beautiful sunset as I make my way back to the dock. A lone sailboat can conjure up such glorious thoughts.
Speaking of Waterman's Wharf, I fell in love with this beautiful old wharf with its clapboard boathouse and rusting metal roof. As I stood looking over at it and snapping photos, I wondered just what stories it could tell. I'll bet it has many stories of cold, blustery winter days, and of course, there are those stormy nights with the wind howling into the wee hours. Surely, there's a story or two of many a day spent watching the fisherman hauling in their catch, many a boat dropping anchor at day's end, and no doubt, many, many sailboats setting sail for the harbor to spend the day enjoying the cool bay breezes. As I walked towards the little town of St. Michael's, I knew much history was staying behind at the museum. Perhaps I'll visit again one day, but for now Assateague Island was calling me. So off I went for a quick trip into St. Michael's and then on to my next destination for the day. I truly loved everything about the Eastern Shore. It was a beautiful place to spend some time this summer. Have a fantastic weekend whether you are on the coast or on a mountain top or at the lake or in the big city. ENJOY!
It was a gorgeous sunny day with beautiful blue skies, although rather hot and humid. Walking around the museum grounds, I encountered displays of all sorts of maritime artifacts and equipment housed in various buildings. I also snapped a few images of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's octagonal lighthouse which I'll share in another post. Off to one side of the museum grounds was a large building filled with artifacts. As I neared this particular building, I discovered an artist painting a landscape. I soon learned that St. Michaels was hosting an arts festival for Plein Air artists from around the United States and perhaps abroad later in the week. Luckily I was able to snap a few images of the artist intently painting her landscape with the beautiful harbor and grounds surrounding her. This is one of my favorite images from my trip. I so love the composition with it's surreal look and feel as the artist stands painting the blue skies, the fluffy white clouds and the boat moored in the harbor. I took several angles of this same image, but found I loved this one most because it shows the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum placard on the building.
After talking to the artist for a few minutes, while at the same time encountering a tourist who just happened to be from Louisville, I continued touring the museum and snapping more images. If I were to tell you how many times I have daydreamed about visiting St. Michaels, you surely wouldn't believe me. It is true though, as I have longed to visit this seaside town for many, many years. I promise to show you images of the town in another post very soon. Before I left the museum, I snapped this image of a lone sailboat moored in the bay near Waterman's Wharf. What is it about lone sailboats sitting idly out in the harbor that tugs at my heart. Perhaps its a deep longing to set sail and venture out into the bay, albeit very, very early of a morning when the fog is hanging close to the water's edge, or perhaps to view a beautiful sunset as I make my way back to the dock. A lone sailboat can conjure up such glorious thoughts.
Speaking of Waterman's Wharf, I fell in love with this beautiful old wharf with its clapboard boathouse and rusting metal roof. As I stood looking over at it and snapping photos, I wondered just what stories it could tell. I'll bet it has many stories of cold, blustery winter days, and of course, there are those stormy nights with the wind howling into the wee hours. Surely, there's a story or two of many a day spent watching the fisherman hauling in their catch, many a boat dropping anchor at day's end, and no doubt, many, many sailboats setting sail for the harbor to spend the day enjoying the cool bay breezes. As I walked towards the little town of St. Michael's, I knew much history was staying behind at the museum. Perhaps I'll visit again one day, but for now Assateague Island was calling me. So off I went for a quick trip into St. Michael's and then on to my next destination for the day. I truly loved everything about the Eastern Shore. It was a beautiful place to spend some time this summer. Have a fantastic weekend whether you are on the coast or on a mountain top or at the lake or in the big city. ENJOY!
Hi Carol, You visited and photographed my old stomping grounds. We lived on the Chesapeake for awhile in the mid 90's, and would visit this area by boat. Your snaps are idyllic. I do remember it as very humid on the Bay - but perfectly gorgeous, too.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like an awesome place to go shooting.
ReplyDelete