tangier island

it was time to get our tangier island fix and see milton again.  our neighbor boat at regatta point, halcyon, had originally planned to join us last weekend at cape charles, but backed out because of the weather.  this time, they were bound and determined to accompany us to tangier island.  we left the marina at 0700h on a friday.  as i had mentioned earlier in this blog, milton's reservation system at parks marina could use some tweaking.  halcyon is a BIG boat, not to mention "dad" depends on his little electric scooter to get around so getting off from the bow on a tiny finger pier was not really an option - this boat needed a bulkhead slip - and WE were the reservation system.  in any case, tom had called milton the day before and was a little worried when milton called him "bobby."  now, milton calls all the men "george" so that he doesn't have to remember their names.  he calls all the women "love." but milton remembers tom's name (and mine) - if he had called tom "george," it would have been one thing, but "bobby?"   who the heck is bobby???  milton turned 83 the end of july this year but still...!!! 

in any case, the Bay crossing was uneventful, "OUR" slip was unoccupied and there was one bulkhead slip left so i made some "RESERVED FOR HALCYON" signs, taped them on the pilings, and tom stood on the dock to shoo away any potential invaders.  so much for the reservation system - not exactly high-tech but it worked and halycon eventually showed up to take the slip.  and milton was just fine and happy to see us :) 

tylerton. 

it rained quite a bit the morning of the next day.  our plan had been to take the dinghy out to smith island so we had to wait for the rain to stop.  tom and i were at four brothers crab deck checking email and the weather and staying out of the rain.  the four from halcyon showed up there one by one in varying degrees of wetness.  it was kind of funny how we all ended up in the same place - impromptu party!  in any case, once the rain stopped, tom, consuelo and i set out in the dinghy.  it was still way before noon and the workboats were out in the waters between tangier and smith.  i'm sure that it's nothing compared to what it was during its heyday, but it was good to see workboats at work nevertheless.  there was no wind and tangier sound was flat calm.  it took us a little more than half an hour to get from tangier island's harbor to tylerton, smith island. 

there are three towns on smith - ewell, which is the main town, rhodes point and tylerton.  you can't get to tylerton from either of the two other towns by anything other than shallow draft boat - it is completely isolated.  it also has, in my opinion, the best crab cakes in all of the chesapeake!  they can be had at the drum point market in tylerton.  anyway, that was our goal - LUNCH!  absolutely, totally, and without a doubt, worth the time and the gas it took to get there.  duke marshall is the proprietor of drum point market which is a combination grocery, deli and greasy spoon cafe.  the crabcake recipe is his mother's.  ironically, she is allergic to crabs and does not eat her own crab cakes!  but they are heavenly - baseball-sized and oh so mouth-watering good.  i challenge anyone who says they have had the best crab cakes ever to head out to tylerton and try these and then talk to me.  there is something to be said about an item that is not so easily procured.  everyone knows that i love tangier island and the islanders make good crabcakes, too, but even the tangier folk will admit that the drum point market crab cakes are truly very special.  seriously, they are, as tom put it after we both finished our crab cakes, sat back and sighed in contentment, "ahhh... phreaking phenomenal crab cake!"  i had a slice of smith island cake, too.  did i really need that?  i am such a pig but how often do i get to smith island anyway??  we brought some back for our friends, milton, and dan, another neighbor boat at parks marina.  no one argued that they were the best crab cakes ever.  EVER. 

now THAT is a crabcake!

smith island cake

on the way back to tangier from smith, there were no more workboats out on the sound but there were long lines of crabpots in the water that almost looked like the road back that you had to follow.  the water was the same color as the sky - it was just amazing!  i thought about how much tom and i love the southern Bay and the Eastern Shore, the salt marshes and tangier island.  and when we bring friends and show them what we see when we come out here and watch their eyes light up in understanding...  well, there simply are no words.  you either get it or you don't.  and if you don't, well...  i'm sure you have other good qualities :) 

the serenity of the salt marsh

leaving smith island

the water having the same color as the sky