St. Michael's, Maryland

There was a little more water at St. Michael's than we had expected over the weekend. And, ironically, this kept us from doing any of the water sports we had wanted to try (sailing, kayaking, etc.). The water in the photo above did recede back to the pier in a few hours, enabling us to reach the St. Michael's Crab and Steak House (on the left in the photo) and try its steamed crab. Though I like crab, the messiness involved had me wishing for the crab cakes we'd had hours earlier at Big Al's Market on the outskirts of town.

St. Michaels, on the Chesapeake Bay, is a cute, at times overtly touristy town with old homes, bed and breakfasts (we stayed at the cheapest room in the Old Brick Inn, still not cheap), shops and loads of history. It's also infamous for housing Dick Cheney's vacation home, but we saw no sign of him. Our favorite shop was the Salty Dog Books and Music store, which had free fresh-brewed coffee. For a great overview of the area, check out the New York Times' 36-hours feature.

Oh, and while driving around Maryland in the rain, we found another town, Easton, which was off the bay but felt like more of a lived-in town than St. Michael's (and we bought some silly records at the town's Goodwill for less than $2!).