Main Page > 2015 Having a Riot in Bonamore, Mikeyland !! Intro >
Waking early, Bone took Mike for a brief walk up Federal Hill for some great bagels and coffee at Sam's Bagels, showing him all the very cool brownstones that make up so much of Baltimore. After the brief fast-relief, The Boys headed down to the current capital of the Commonwealth of Maryland, Annapolis!
See the idea was that the Boys should adventure Friday and maybe the Curfew would be lifted for Saturday!
Annapolis situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, and was only as short 40 minute ride from Bone's. Founded in 1649, it was originally named "Providence" and was founded on the north shore of the Severn River in 1649 by Puritan exiles from Virginia led by Governor William Stone (1603–60). The settlers later moved to a better-protected harbor on the south shore. The settlement on the south shore was initially named "Town at Proctor's", then "Town at the Severn", and later "Anne Arundel's Towne" (after the wife of Lord Baltimore who died soon afterwards.
Driving through Annapolis there are revolutionary war era buildings throughout the Downtown. The city served as the seat of the Continental Congress in 1783–84 and was the site of the 1786 Annapolis Convention, which called for the Constitutional Convention held the following year. Driving into the City you see that Annapolis is the home of the United States Naval Academy with their Football stadium just outside of downtown. Driving to the Seaport, Mike and Bone got out to check out the scene.
The Quaint Annapolis Seaport
Alex Haley, being a "slave" to his passion: Reading Roots to the kids in Annapolis!
As Mike and Bone walked down by the waterfront, Annapolis’s dark past could be found in statues and plaques. Not only was it a major port of trade, it was a major port of trade for slaves. Alex Haley’s (author of Roots) famous ancestor Kunte Kinte’ came ashore from Africa in Annapolis. Right at the water (shown above) they have a statue of Haley reading to the children the story that captivated the US on TV in the 1970's.
From the Waterfront, Mike and Bone walked up the hill on Main Street past all sorts of touristy type shops to the Maryland State House.
The Awesome Maryland State House
The very cool and famous Maryland State House is the oldest in continuous legislative use in the United States. Construction started in 1772, and the Maryland legislature first met there in 1779. It is topped by the largest wooden dome built without nails in the country. The Maryland State House housed the workings of the United States government from November 26, 1783 to August 13, 1784, and the Treaty of Paris was ratified there on January 14, 1784, so Annapolis became the first peacetime capital of the US. It was in the Maryland State House that George Washington famously resigned his commission before the Continental Congress on December 23, 1783.
Walking around it certainly gives one the sense of Revolutionary period history ! As it approach 11:00, the Boys decided to hit the road. but where to go? One idea was to go to the original settlement in Maryland St Mary's then Mary Surratt's House, but that seemed like there was "Something about Mary" that Mike, Bone, nor Ben Stiller could figure out, so Bone had a Boneheaded idea. " Lets drive the entire Eastern Shore through Virginia"!
Trail of Stupidity: All in One Day!
In theory, it sounded like fun load up the Hall of Shame (which they did from a very cool Micro Beer Store in Downtown Annapolis, drive along the ocean and enjoy the day!
Sadly, theory and reality are often unfriendly siblings as Mike and Bone were to find out !
One Rainy-Assed Day
So the Boys headed over the Bridge onto the Eastern Shore with the objective of driving down to Ocean City, then to Chincoteague then on through the Chesapeake Tunnel Bridge maze into Norfolk.
Thank God for the Ubiquitous Hall of Shame!
The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia is the land between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay, and is as flat and boring as a Waffle House Pancake at 3:00 AM! Fortunately the Hall of Shame and the animated banter between Mike and Bone whiled away the miles between Annapolis and Ocean City.
Oggling Ocean City
Finally! Mike and Bone hit the Ocean after 3 hours of driving through the flatlands at the resort town of Ocean City. Ocean City is a Resort community with an amusement park on the water. It is pretty old and somewhat remenicient of New York's Coney Island . However the driving wind and rain, dissuaded the Boys from checking out the Beach.
Besides, they were hungry and saw a little crab shack just out of town they wanted to hit. Stopping for crab cake and fish sandwiches, Mike and Bone got directions to Chincoteague and dire warnings in that the Virginia part of the Eastern shore is essentially a depressed area with boarded up buildings and houses littered throughout.
Hoping for a ride along the water, Mike and Bone were subjected to more flat lands, except with the aforementioned dilapidated buildings and houses as warned with the depressing drizzling continuing into the afternoon.
The irony is that the rain was in fact a small front hovering over the Eastern Shore ! Baltimore was sunny and warm!
Crappy Chincoteague !
Chincoteague is a town on a island just over the Virginia border that is famous for its beaches and wild horses. While the scenery is beautiful, the town is crap! With the wind and rain, the Boys were hoping to find a little bar to have a beer in and take a break from the road, however the entire town was pretty beat up and appeared still closed for the season!
By now the Boys had seen enough of the Eastern Shore and decided to boogie down to Norfolk and back to the "real world." After 40 more excruciating miles the Boys hit a bridge?, or a tunnel? both?
The Chesapeake Bridge, Tunnel, Bridge!
When you grow up in the Midwest and see the huge opening where the Chesapeake Bay joins the Atlantic on maps, you know it is a good distance! For the first 350 years, ships and ferry systems provided the primary transportation from the Eastern shore (or the Delmarva Peninsula.) to the Virginia Mainland.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel completed in 1964 is a 23 mile fixed link crossing at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. state of Virginia. It connects the Delmarva Peninsula with Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Light at the End of the Tunnel!
The bridge–tunnel originally combined 12 miles of trestle, two 1-mile-long tunnels, four artificial islands, four high-level bridges, approximately 2 miles of causeway, and 5.5 miles of approach roads—crossing the Chesapeake Bay and preserving traffic on the Thimble Shoals and Chesapeake shipping channels. Going through it was very cool, on the bridge, the Boys could see the open Atlantic Ocean, all frothed up from a winds and rain, and could clearly see the shipping channel that the tunnels left open for the big ships!
Crossing onto shore was good, Mike and Bone were in desperate straights ! the Hall of Shame was empty, their bladders full, and they had one thing in mind, the York Town Pub!
The always cherished Yorktown Pub !!!
Just under the cliffs where America won its independence from the British is a local pub that Mike and Bone have frequented in the past. Arriving around 6:00 the Boys ordered a couple of locally-brewed brown ales (truly a local specialty) and crab cake dinners! The brews were delicious and washed away the Eastern Shore!
Sadly, they only stayed for time for one more round, Bone had in the past spent whole Saturday evenings up that bar, dickering with the locals !
Back on the road I-64 West takes you through Yorktown Jamestown, Williamsburg in the Historic Triangle on to Richmond where they linked up with I-95 north when they realized that passing through DC meant they were in the vicinity of two important things: Bone's daughter Katie, and the Dubliner !
Re-Bar, Part Deux, The Dubliner and Katie !
The Boys swung through Alexandria to pick up Katie and head down to one of the Boys favorite watering holes on the East Coast. There are many places and bars that one can say "been there, done that" and never need to go back to, the Dubliner is not that !
Ordering the for-ordained Guinness goodnesses Mike and Bone shared Bone-head stupid Eastern Shore tour with Katie and generally caught up . After a few rounds, the Boys took Katie back around 11:00 PM only to have sneak back into Baltimore since it was past curfew. Luckily they snuck back into Harbor Place without getting busted !