The weekend of October 11th brought us to the Hyatt Chesapeake resort in Cambridge, Md., which is roughly midway between Washington and Ocean City on highway 50. We picked it, or rather I did, because Pat still has top-tier status at Hyatt from her multiple trips to Denver. It is a nice property on the water with a golf course and plenty of pools and other activities. In season it has the reputation for being overrun with children, which we can imagine given a sizable contingent of families for this off-season weekend. It is also wedding central for this region; there were three on our arrival day on Saturday, which unfortunately for the wedding parties and guests involved was rainy and dreary. We were fine because we had no particular plan for the day, but we did watch one outdoor ceremony from our room. That bride was determined to have an outdoor ceremony no matter what.
There isn’t much to Cambridge itself; the town is small but we did enjoy two good meals there. On Saturday we went in for a once-monthly “art walk,” though there weren’t that many venues. We did sample some small-batch coffee made by a guy who was roasting it up at home but plans to open a small roasting outlet in town. We’ve tasted wine all around Europe and the Americas, and small batch wiskies and vodkas, but this was a first for coffee. Just goes to show there are potential discoveries wherever you go.
As for the food, our anniversary dinner was at a place called Bistro Poplar, which as the name suggests served traditional French bistro fare. Pat had steak and I opted for lamb sirloin. Everything was very fresh and the preparation was as good as any place we’ve been to. The second night we went to a locals’ place called Jimmie and Sook for seafood. (A Jimmie is a male blue crab and a Sook is a female, hence the name.) The bartender/waiter was overly frazzled — the place wasn’t that busy on a Sunday — but he was friendly and the food was good. Basic shore town grub; we had stuffed shrimp and crab cakes.
Briefly, the golf course River Marsh was a good venue and we overlooked the finishing hole from our room, pictured below along with a couple other scenes from the property. Pat managed to finish off by parting this Par 5 hole; I didn’t fare so well. Our plan to play another nearby course on the way home was done in by more rain, so we went home and ended by playing Makefield Highlands, a local venue we had never been to. Overall, a decent getaway.
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