18 August St Michaels, MD

According the to official town website 'St Michaels is a picturesque harbour on Maryland's east shore and was named as one of the Top 10 Best Small Coastal Towns in America by USA Today. Its harbour and some homes date back to the mid 1600s, and is home to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum where you can immerse yourself in our maritime history.'

from flour mill to distillery

With the double accolade one of the one of the top 10 best coastal towns in all America (year unknown) it would be rude not to visit, plus we'd heard very good things about the maritime museum.

From Chestertown to St Michaels it was a long day of motoring in light airs. We'd consulted the tide tables to use Mother Nature to the greatest effect and get lift from the ebbs and flows to reduce the 50 mile trip. If Jackster had a shallower draft we would have been able to take a neat shortcut through the Kent Island Narrows which link the Chester and Wye rivers and would have saved 25 miles on the day. It didn't matter though, we arrived at the anchorage in St Michaels ten minutes ahead of an evening rainstorm.

The next morning we took the dinghy in to the free public dinghy dock which is next to the Maritime Museum to take a first look at the town. We liked the feel of the town straightaway. I don't know why, perhaps it's the old wooden houses with their picket fences and pretty gardens, cobbled lanes called Willow Street and Locust Street, the eclectic mix of local shops or the tempting array of coffee shops and quality restaurants. The place just feels right for us which is good because we plan to stay at least a week.

Out in the anchorage the view is pleasant, holding good, T Mobile service almost non-existent, but there is free WiFi from the museum with enough oomph to watch Netflix. Yes, I think we can keep busy for a few days.