Mary Burnham - Exploring the Small Towns of Virginias Eastern Shore

Wed like to thank our publisher, Michael Hunter, for the opportunity to write this book, and for giving us carte blanche to present it in our own style and voice. Thanks also to our editor, Lissa Dailey, for her attention to detail on all aspects of this book.

We thank our parents for all their support. Special thanks to Marys mom, Fran Kubick, for driving us around the Eastern Shore, showing us her favorite places.

There are numerous people in every small town we visited who provided everything from lodging to historical insight to the latest local gossip. To every tourism director, innkeeper, historian, shop owner even the proverbial man or woman on the street who aided our discoveries, thank you for sharing what you love best about your small towns.

To everyone who purchases this book we thank you, most of all! Happy trails,

Mary and Bill Burnham
Gloucester, Virginia

Bill and Mary Burnham, of Goucester, Virginia, met as small-town newspaper reporters a decade ago. Since then theyve blended their love of the outdoors and travel with their writing and photography skills into a dual freelance career. They contribute to several regional and national magazines and newspapers, and tour the Commonwealth giving travel-related outdoor talks and slide shows. Other books by the Burnhams include The Virginia Handbook, 2nd Edition (with Blair Howard), by Hunter Publishing, and Hike America Virginia, The Globe Pequot Press.

We welcome your comments, suggestions and even corrections. If we left out your absolute favorite town, restaurant or inn, please contact us, and we may include it in a future edition. Send e-mail to comments@hunterpublishing.com, or visit our Web page, www.BurnhamInk.com, where you can find out where our writing adventures are taking us next!

In memory of Ellsworth Buck, who gave his granddaughter a love of writing, photography and travel.

Getting Here
Regional Information
Chincoteague
Tangier Island
Onancock
Cape Charles Kiptopeke

What is it about small towns? Do they remind us of where we grew up, or perhaps where we wish we had? Bill and I both grew up in small towns. We met in a small town, we now live in one in Virginia, and weve spent most of our 10 years together exploring places where we can avoid crowds. Our home in Gloucester, Virginia, is a place where people wave as they pass one another on back roads. The weekly newspaper might have a photograph of a local kid with the big fish he caught, or a farewell letter to the friendly postmaster.

Our town is just one example of the many where the values that shape us as individuals and a nation are on daily display. The hardware store and bookstore may still be locally owned; the library has an honorary book sale on the porch; the pharmacy may still have a soda fountain. You may still be able buy groceries, shoes, office supplies and even furniture on Main Street, without patronizing the new, nationally owned big box stores. People in small towns appreciate their roots. Old buildings are restored and historic sites preserved as museums or visitors centers. Cottage industries in pottery, quilting, woodworking or artistry support a local populace and attract visitors.

In writing this book, we carefully selected and visited each town for you, the reader. We sought out people, places, and history that shape a unique character. There are fishing villages where most people still derive their livelihood from the waters of the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay, old railroad towns, college towns alive with music and art scenes, and crossroads rich with Colonial and Civil War history. Of the nearly 60 towns included in this book, most are within a few hours drive of the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond or Hampton Roads.

While most towns weve included in the book have populations of fewer than 25,000 people (most far less), we made sure the amenities required by urban or sophisticated travelers were available. Each town typically has at least one quaint bed & breakfast or historic inn. Since we like to travel with our dog, we tried to include at least one petfriendly lodging for each area as well. There is a good selection of locally owned and regionally influenced restaurants, and enough activities to satisfy the on-the-go traveler for a weekend or longer. Interesting local customs and correct pronunciation of unusual place names are also included.

Also included are some of the best outdoor recreation opportunities available just minutes outside the town centers. We gladly accept the label of outdoor nuts." We love hiking and camping in the mountains of the mid-Atlantic region, walking along unspoiled beaches, or paddling ocean, bay and rivers, and photographing everything from breathtaking panoramas to tiny wildflowers.

These getaways are designed for the time-stressed traveler, the individual, couple or family that has only a weekend to spare, without traveling too far from home. Whether discovering a town for the first time, or rediscovering a much-visited one, we hope these pages will help take you far away from your regular routine in just a few hours.

In 2007, the Commonwealth of Virginia celebrated the 400th anniversary of Americas first permanent English settlement. Virginia arguably has more Colonial and Civil War history to share than any other state. There is natural beauty as well, along sparkling white sand beaches, the rich waters of the Chesapeake Bay, or the spectacular mountain scenery of the Blue Ridge and the Appalachians. Virginias small towns combine the best of both history and natural beauty, changing with the times, but retaining their own authentic and special quality.

For general travel information, contact the Virginia Tourism Corporation, tel. 800-VISIT-VA, www.virginia.org, which also has a toll-free bed & breakfast reservation line: tel. 800-934-9184. Staffed welcome centers are located where all major roads enter the state, and are open daily, 8:30am-5pm.

Throughout the book we have listed accommodations that we thought were comfortable, noteworthy, or a good value. To assist you in planning your trip, we have shown price ranges according to the following key. Rates are for one night, based on double occupancy.

$........................ Under $75
$$ ....................... $76-$125
$$$...................... $126-$175
$$$$...................... Over $176

T he Eastern Shore is a place to relax and get away from it all. Prior to the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in 1964, this was an isolated locale, with a ferry the main link to Norfolk. With each passing year, more people discover this quiet gem. New retirement communities and golf courses are signs of things to come, but the Shore today remains by and large a close knit, primarily agricultural and increasingly aquacultural area.

Access to Virginias Eastern Shore is through Maryland from the north, or via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel from Virginia Beach to the south ($10 toll each way). Route 13 runs the length of the DelMarVa Peninsula everythings described as either on 13 or off 13.