Are you thinking about your next move? Maybe you’re empty nesters and you hardly use half the rooms in your house. Maybe you want to move, but not too far from your kids and grandchildren. Or maybe you’re thinking ahead and want a place that offers independent living with more care in the future. Luckily our area offers plenty of choices.

Purchasing A CCRC
Former astronaut 75-year-old Mary Cleave had a very exciting career. She went into space twice on Atlantis, and worked at NASA-Goddard and NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “When I went to work at Goddard, my cousin suggested I move to Annapolis,” she says. Cleave lived in her house for 30 years. “I would have kept living there, but one night my hearing aids were out when the low battery on the fire alarm kept beeping, and I never heard it. My sister happened to be visiting and said, ‘You can’t live alone anymore, it isn’t safe.’”

“Since I love the water, I knew I wanted to stay in Annapolis,” she continues. After visiting several communities and talking to people at each, Cleave decided on Bay-Woods of Annapolis, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

“In the morning I sit and watch the sunrise over the Bay Bridge. . .”

Cleave moved in 2017. What attracted her to BayWoods is that it is a resident-owned-and-run co-operative community where residents provide vital input on operations. (In Maryland there are only two co-op CCRCs.) Also a must for Cleave was that it was pet-friendly. “I think for people who live alone, a pet is very important,” says Cleave, who lives with her dog Brinx.

“In the morning I sit and watch the sunrise over the Bay Bridge,” says Cleave, who has a one-bedroom with a patio. “It’s a great way to start the day.” Although downsizing can be difficult, Cleave found getting rid of a lot of her stuff to be liberating. And when she has company, she reserves a guestroom at BayWoods.

Elizabeth O’Conner, director of marketing and sales at Blakehurst, says, “Today’s residents are very active.” A gym is a must-have, and many CCRCs have more than equipment and classes. They may offer trainers, indoor pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, walking trails, a putting green—even gardens where residents can grow flowers and vegetables.

BayWoods has plenty of activities and amenities, some unique to that community, such as swimming in the bay off their dock. Cleave says, “With the gym right here, I take classes three times a week and do tai chi once a week. And Brinx, my ‘trainer,’ makes sure we get out and walk,” laughs Cleave.

Is a CCRC Right For You?
A CCRC is a type of retirement community that is part independent living, part assisted living, and part skilled nursing home. Today, many communities offer memory care too, and on-site rehabilitation therapy. According to AARP, a CCRC offers a tiered approach to the aging process, accommodating residents’ changing needs. Upon entering, healthy adults can reside independently in single-family homes, apartments, or condominiums. When assistance with everyday activities becomes necessary, they can move into assisted living, memory care, or nursing care facilities. These communities give older adults the option to live in one location for the duration of their lives, with much of their future care already figured out.

“I came in needing a walker, graduated to a cane and, thanks to the in-house physical therapy, I now need nothing.”

When you choose a facility, it’s also important to know what type of contract it offers. These contracts can be very complex; treat this decision like you would any major investment, including seeking assistance from a lawyer or someone very knowledgeable. In addition, you should determine that the finances of the CCRC are healthy so that your present and future services are safeguarded.

Ray, 83, and Phoebe Sachs, 80, are no strangers to moving. “We’ve lived in New York, Chicago, Delaware, D.C., and moved about 10 or 12, times,” says Ray. While living in a Baltimore condo, with their three children living all over the country, the couple decided a CCRC would give them the future security they wanted. Their children agreed.

“We are very active and decided we’d make the move while we could participate in the activities and be part of the community,” says Ray. After checking out several CCRCs, they chose Blakehurst. “It had what we wanted—care if we need it, attractive surroundings, lots of activities including woodworking (where my wife is the only woman), walking trails, and we were able to make changes to the apartment.”

Making changes was very important to Phoebe, who was a builder and does interior design. “We made our second bedroom into a library and totally redid the kitchen,” she says. “We can cook, but they do such a remarkable job with the food and it’s so convenient, we don’t.”

“Our new appliances aren’t getting much of a workout,” admits Ray.

Typically, residents in independent living get at least one meal a day. In assisted living, memory care, and nursing, there are three meals provided. “At BayWoods the food is fabulous and healthy,” says Cleave. “I’m eating better than I ever did. And I don’t have to think about what I’m going to make for dinner, shop for it, and cook it.” Many CCRCs offer a variety of dining options beyond a dining room, including informal choices such as a café, bistro, deli, or pub. Some even have outdoor dining.

A Rental CCRC
Kathryn Lewis, age 72 and retired from working for the State of Maryland, was living with her son and his family. But after she had a knee replacement and ended up in rehab, she knew she could not return to her son’s house and its stairs. “The staff at the rehab facility suggested I consider moving to the Atrium Village in Owings Mills,” she says. Lewis moved there in 2021.

“I came in needing a walker, graduated to a cane and, thanks to the in-house physical therapy, I now need nothing. What was so great was that I didn’t need to leave Atrium Village and didn’t need family to take me to therapy,” says Lewis. As an ordained minister, Lewis loves volunteering at Atrium Village and doing activities: Bible study, choir, trivia, happy hour, movies, games, discussions, and exercise classes including Zumba and yoga.

At Atrium Village there are no entry or buy-in fees, or a commitment of retirement assets, as with most senior living communities. The cost of an apartment, dining options, all activities, fitness, housekeeping, and other services is included in a monthly lease.

Atrium Village has independent, assisted, and memory care. And it just underwent a $13 million renovation. Angela Spence, senior divisional director of sales and marketing for Senior Lifestyle, the company that manages Atrium Village, was involved in the renovation. According to Spence, the multimillion-dollar renovation is part of a 20-year anniversary transformation to create a next generation senior living experience.

“There are still some people who think of senior living communities as nursing homes. We need to overcome that stigma. Since COVID and with the renovation, our goal is to have programs that help residents get back into life and find a purpose. Living well is all about having a purpose,” says Spence.

Anyone visiting many of today’s CCRCs would never think of them as nursing homes. Many who live there say it’s like living on a cruise ship; it just doesn’t move.

Part of the renovation at Atrium Village included an array of new services and upscale amenities. In addition to two restaurant-style dining venues, there are two new bistros, a library, wellness center, salon, art studio, hospitality lounge, movie theater, and family center.

Happy hour is also big at many CCRCs. Spence says, “We added more happy hours after the residents requested them.”

Many of the CCRCs have continuing education. At BayWoods there are lectures given by neighboring St. John’s College scholars. Atrium Village partners with the Community College of Baltimore County to offer instructor-led classes.

CCRCs arrange trips, art classes and, yes, the list of activities and amenities goes on and on. But don’t worry, you can be as active as you want, or if you prefer a quieter experience, you can have that too. It’s all up to you.

An Over-55 Community
The Weidmans, Hope, 70, and Tim, 69, were no strangers to life at a 55-and-over community. They had lived in one in New Jersey for seven years and loved it. “When I retired after 38 years of teaching, we decided to move to a place that would be fun. A 55-and-over community fits the bill,” says Hope.

But trips to visit their son and his family in Virgina became too much. “So we started looking. We checked out Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland. When we visited Four Seasons on Kent Island it was everything we wanted.” There were single-family units and condos, walking trails, a pool, pickleball, and, best of all, there were other people their age for socializing. The Weidmans moved into a two-bedroom, two-and-half-bath home with a den and screened-in porch in 2021.

According to Veronica Lawson, an associate broker at Real Broker, LLC, these communities are ready-made for like-minded individuals for whom physical and emotional well-being are key.
Things like social activities and planned trips to local events create a strong sense of community that in turn create a fun and safe environment. Fifty-five-plus communities are becoming more and more popular as many healthy retirees look for active communities once retired.

And for some, buying before they retire is part of their long-range retirement plan. That was true for Gamini Dharmasena, 62, and his wife Desilva, 59, both scientists living in New Jersey. “We aren’t planning to retire for five years but thought prices would only keep going up. For my wife, who grew up in Sri Lanka, being by the water was a must. We checked out several places on the East Coast but were afraid of hurricanes in North Carolina,” says Gamini.

After filling out information online for Four Season on Kent Island, they got a call from a realtor. They visited and fell in love with the area and were attracted to a 55-plus active community with lots of activities and opportunities to be social.

The Dharmasenas purchased a single family, 3,500-square-foot home with the master bedroom on the first floor and a screened-in porch. It backs on trees and is a five-minute walk to the water. “Our 5,000-square-foot home on five acres is a lot to look after. When we retire, we’ll be ready to downsize,” says Gamini. Plus, they love to travel and won’t have to worry about the house. For now, the Dharmasenas plan to use it as a vacation home twice a month until it becomes their permanent home.

 

To learn more about retirement options check out these helpful websites:
• aging.maryland.gov
• continuingcarecommunities.org
• aarp.org/caregiving/basics
• seniorliving.org/continuing-careretirement-communities

Bay Watch 

Spring has brought with it a flurry of good news about the bay. First, using sonar technology, scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center found that the Choptank River has more river herring in it than previously suspected. Then, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources found that reproductively viable female crabs are at their most plentiful since 1990 and that the amount of underwater grass in Maryland’s portion of the bay reached a record high of 59,277 acres in 2016. Furthermore, in late April, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeded 3 million baby oysters in the Patapsco River, hoping to return oyster shoals to the urban waterway. All of these rehabilitative milestones indicate that federally overseen pollution control programs are stabilizing the bay after decades of environmental decline. And though it briefly looked like funding for those measures would be threatened by the Trump administration’s proposed EPA budget cuts, Congress decided to maintain program funding for the coming fiscal year. 

Following such a streak, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science issued a report this week awarding the bay one of its highest-ever health grades. Though on its face an unimpressive C, the grade represents drastic improvement since the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science began evaluating the bay in 1986 and a 1-point improvement over last year’s score. As with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation scorecard—another important third-party bay evaluation—the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science grades the bay in several categories and then aggregates those scores into an overall mark. 

“I really believe we’re at a tipping point,” Nicholas DiPasquale, director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program office in Annapolis, told The Sun. “Once you reach a point where you’ve overcome the inertia of the system, these indicators start building on each other.”

A third regional water quality scorecard, this one measuring the health of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and its tributaries, will be released on Monday by Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. 

On Your Bike 

National Bike to Work Day is next Friday, May 19, and the Central Maryland Metropolitan Council has collected a handy list of nearly 40 official events on its website. The events range from bike safety checks to commuting convoys led by experienced cyclers and designed to introduce newbies to the ins and outs of bike commuting. Though Baltimore City is hosting the greatest number of events, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Carroll, and Harford counties are represented, too. Bike to Work Day grew out of National Bike Month, which began in 1956. It promotes the benefits of cycling, which include physical fitness and reduced vehicle emissions and air pollution. 

In The Air 

Speaking of reduced vehicle emissions, The Sun has a good rundown of where the Baltimore region stands in terms of air quality. In short, the Maryland Clean Air report found that, overall, air quality was better in Baltimore in 2016 than it had been in previous years, but that ozone levels ticked up. Ozone is ground level smog created when particles from vehicle and power plant emissions interact with sunlight. It can be harmful to humans—particularly the very young, very old, and very sick—and is the cause of the Code Orange and Code Red air quality alerts that are sometimes issued. 

“We’re making clean air progress with strong partnerships and steady investments, but more is needed regionally and nationally to sustain our pace and protect our health,” Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said in a statement. “Marylanders’ hearts, lungs and waterways will benefit from smart actions at home and in upwind states to keep improving our air quality.”

Birdcam Season Soars 

And now, as they say, for something completely different. Naturalists from all over the world delight each year in the Chesapeake Bay’s springtime birdcams—and this year is no different. The Chesapeake Conservancy hosts live streams of three of the most popular:

The peregrine falcon cam atop 100 Light Street in Baltimore City, which is capturing the growth of four furry fluffballs.

The great blue heron rookery on the Eastern Shore

And the osprey cam on Kent Island 

There is also another osprey cam, this one following a nest with three eggs at Severna Park High School

Follow along as the birds raise their families and the chicks eventually fly the nest. Happy spring and happy birding! 

Given nature’s perversity, what are the odds that this summer will be a scorcher? Well, we know just the place to escape—an island. Islands are offshore cooling centers, oasises where we go for beaches and breezes, then stay for the chance to disconnect. And they’re as close as the Eastern Shore.

We’ve picked five islands well worth visiting, each with bona-fide credentials (e.g. tiki bars, sandy beaches, native seafood, and more). We’ve also rated them on a “separation-from-civilization” scale, awarding an Order of the Palm Trees for remoteness, water vistas, number/size of beaches, personal space, and freedom from e-mail, with four trees denoting the top getaway. 

KENT ISLAND 

Nearest City:Annapolis (15 miles)Island Cred: Dock bars and tiki huts.

Our closest island, Kent, is known for the lively strip of seafood restaurants, dock bars, upscale marinas, and wholesale fish operations lining either side of its eastern channel, Kent Narrows. But in between rearview glimpses of the Bay Bridge and the Narrows’s chockablock summer revelry, Chesapeake Bay’s largest island also offers scenic cycling, Fido-friendly beaches, a historic hamlet, and a Joe Biden-approved sub shop.

Stay
Several hotel chains serve the Kent Narrows waterfront. Hilton Garden Inn rooms have private balconies suited for gazing at endless Bay views (hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com). Prefer greater isolation? Stay at the Historic Kent Manor Inn, an elegantly restored 1820 manor house amid 200 undeveloped acres hugging Thompson Creek. Beloved by bridal parties, the inn wows with water vistas, lush gardens, and luxury service (kentmanor.com). Island rentals: Expect to pay about $2,000-2,500 a week for a four-bedroom condominium.

Feast
Crab is king (natch), invariably served with mesmerizing water views, especially at Kent Narrows. Perennial fine-dining favorite The Narrows Restaurant earns raves for its cream-of-crab soup, jumbo-lump cakes, and lengthy wine list ( thenarrowsrestaurant.com). Frosty pitchers of beer pair best with steamed crabs at nearby Harris Crab House (harriscrabhouse.com). In a sea of crowded dock bars, seek out Big Owl Tiki Bar, a little oasis prized for its family-recipe crab cakes and Parrothead vibe (thebigowl.com). For lunch, try Capriotti’s in Chester, a branch of the popular Wilmington, DE, sub shop (reportedly a fave of the Veep’s). Its best seller packs Thanksgiving into a bodacious “sammich” featuring roast turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing (capriottis.com). And get your steamed crabs to go at Mr. B’s Seafood, a family-run market in Stevensville.

Do
Begin your odyssey at the Chesapeake Exploration Center, a visitor center/nature museum near Kent Narrows. From there, bike or hike at least part of the super-scenic Cross Island Trail, a paved six-mile passage through woods and over wetlands. Benches along the way invite lingering. At the trail’s west end, Terrapin Nature Park features more trails, one leading to a small public beach with spectacular views of the Chesapeake Bay and its iconic bridge. Leashed dogs are permitted to roam Terrapin’s sands, but for unbridled doggy paddling, visit Matapeake State Park, where dogs have their own beach (parksnrec.org). Shopping opportunities range from the small art galleries and gift shops in historic Stevensville’s Arts & Entertainment District (stevensvilleartsandentertainment.org) to major retailers at Queenstown Premium Outlets on the mainland, where Tommy Bahama and Izod stores can outfit you for the islands (premiumoutlets.com).

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TILGHMAN ISLAND

Nearest City: Easton (23 miles)
Island Cred: Boats have the right-of-way at the drawbridge. 

Minutes away, but a world apart from swanky St. Michaels, Tilghman has aged like sea glass into a burnished reflection of its vibrant past. Workboats still putter through Knapps Narrows, the busy-yet-bucolic channel separating the island from greater Talbot County, but old cottages built by farming and fishing families increasingly shelter newcomers lured by Tilghman’s natural serenity.

Stay

The unpretentious Tilghman Island Inn offers deluxe rooms overlooking picturesque Knapps Narrows, special dog-friendly accommodations, and nouvelle-cuisine dining. Its tree-shaded deck/bar makes a placid perch for boat watching (tilghmanislandinn.com). Gloriously remote, Black Walnut Point Inn lies between a gated bird sanctuary and open water at Tilghman’s southern tip. Comfy lodgings include riverfront cabins with kitchens, plus guestrooms in a mansion where Truman Capote once stayed (blackwalnutpointinn.com). Island rentals: A three-bedroom house goes for about $1,500 a week.

Feast
Visiting anglers dined and dreamed of seafood at lodges that were abundant during the steamboat days. Only one survives. Harrison Chesapeake House, a fourth-generation country-inn/fishing-charter empire, serves the real deal, from family-style Shore dinners (plump crab cakes, fried chicken, and local veggies) in its dining room to fresh steamed crabs at dockside picnic tables (chesapeakehouse.com). Mike & Eric’s Bay Hundred Restaurant at the Tilghman Island Inn provides a fine-dining experience with dishes like grilled duck breast and seared rockfish. Don’t miss the chocolate-chip pancakes at the breakfast mecca Two If by Sea Café. The retro-looking BYOB eatery also serves dinner on Fridays and Saturdays (twoifbyseacafe.com). Select a fine bottle at the Tilghman Island Country Store, where Friday evening wine tastings highlight the social calendar. Also recommended: its delicious local ice cream and house red-velvet cake (410-886-2777).

Do
View authentic Tilghman workboats and listen firsthand to their former skippers, who drop by unannounced at the must-see Tilghman Watermen’s Museum. New this summer: an exhibit of carved trail boards (ornate bow embellishments) rescued from abandoned bay workboats (tilghmanmuseum.org). Continue your cultural enlightenment at another locally run nonprofit, Phillips Wharf Environmental Center, popular for its aquatic touch tanks, oystering exhibits, and environmental tours (pwec.org). See Tilghman the way islanders do—from the water. Sail into the 19th century aboard the Chesapeake’s oldest skipjack, piloted by veteran waterman Capt. Wade Murphy (skipjack.org), fish with the patriarch of Harrison’s charter fleet (captnbuddy@chesapeakehouse.com), book a lighthouse cruise (chesapeakelights.com), or enjoy a romantic sunset sail aboard a 1935 Bay-built ketch (ladypatty.com). To create your own Tilghman souvenir, register for a weekend landscape-painting workshop with noted artist and instructor Walt Bartman at his island studio (yellowbarnstudio.com/classes.htm).

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SMITH ISLAND 

Nearest City: Crisfield (9 miles)
Island Cred: The school bus is a boat for some local students.

There’s only one way to reach the group of islands called Smith—by boat—making this Maryland’s most isolated, inhabited island. Its 240 hard-working residents harvest crabs and oysters from the Chesapeake, welcome visitors but spurn automobiles and alcohol, speak with the dialect of their ancestors, and live in an achingly beautiful place slowly surrendering to the waters that surround it.

Stay

Day-trippers hop an air-conditioned cruise boat or traditional passenger/supply ferries leaving nearby Crisfield to spend several hours on the island. To enjoy an overnight getaway, take the ferry serving Tylerton, Smith’s most isolated village, and unplug at the waterfront Inn of Silent Music. This edge-of-the-world B&B (a former waterman’s cottage) offers gourmet breakfasts, multi-course seafood dinners, and boundless peace (innofsilentmusic.com). Island rentals: You can get a three-bedroom cottage for about $600-800 a week.

Feast
Crabmeat doesn’t get any fresher than from Smith Island, where the crustaceans are caught, picked, and processed. Island dining options are somewhat limited, with only the Inn of Silent Music offering regular evening meals. You don’t have to be an overnight guest, however, to enjoy the inn’s three- and four-course dinners, featuring locally sourced produce and entrees such as fennel-crusted rockfish. For lunch, try Drum Point Market, a sub shop in Tylerton that serves one of the best crab cakes around (410-425-2108), or Ruke’s Seafood Deck in Ewell, noted for its cream-of-crab soup, crab cakes, and frozen-in-the-1940s ambiance (410-425-2311). Top off any meal with a slice of the famous Smith Island cake, a wondrous, architecturally impressive confection of nine layers. Smith Island Baking Co. sells the cakes to go (smithislandcake.com).

Do
After disembarking at the county dock in Ewell, head for Smith Island Cultural Center, a cultural museum/visitor center. It features enlightening exhibits and a short film that examines island life (smithisland.org). And be sure to engage island residents as you explore their home territory on foot or a rented bicycle or golf cart. Chat up the local ladies picking crabs at the Crabmeat Co-op in Tylerton (410-968-1344). Hire a guide (many of whom are retired watermen) to go fishing, bird-watching, or “progging,” an Eastern Shore term for foraging the shoreline for arrowheads, old coins, and other partially buried treasure. Kayakers will fall in love with the island’s miles of marshy water trails. (Ferryboats will haul your kayak for a small fee.) Birders take note: Don’t miss the island’s offshore pelican rookery, where hundreds of the big-billed birds raise their young.

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ASSATEAGUE ISLAND (MD)

Nearest City: Ocean City (9 miles)
Island Cred: Number of residents: 0.

Known for its sugary-white beaches and abundant wildlife, this more-than-37-mile-long barrier island spanning Maryland and Virginia has been entirely preserved as parkland. On Maryland’s end of the island, compact Assateague State Park and the expansive Assateague Island National Seashore offer visitors swimming and sunbathing, fishing, hiking, camping, kayaking, and chance encounters with Assateague’s shaggy celebrities, wild horses.

Stay

With peach-colored sunrises and waves whispering good night, camping is the best way to experience Assateague’s primal beauty. Tent and vehicular ocean-side campsites in both parks are highly coveted. Reserve them early (reservations.dnr.state.md.us), (recreation.gov). Several backcountry tent sites serve backpackers and kayakers. Tent rates range from $20 to 30 a night or $40 a night for campsites with electrical hookups. If you prefer a Serta to sand, the restored Victorian-era Atlantic Hotel (atlantichotel.com) and B&Bs in nearby Berlin offer comfy snoozing.

Feast
Channel your inner hunter-gatherer: Dig for clams in Assateague’s shallow coastal bays. It’s fun, you don’t need a license, and with minimal effort or luck, you’ll have a super-fresh meal steaming away on the campfire. Ask park rangers about the best clamming spots and where to rent rakes and buckets. National park nature programs include clamming and crabbing classes.

Not into Survivor tactics for dinner? Three miles away, Assateague Crab House (assateaguecrabhouse.com) serves local delicacies like steamed crabs and clams, crab cakes, and fried chicken in a festive, family atmosphere. The Atlantic Hotel’s casually elegant Drummer’s Café also features fresh local seafood. Grab a table on the screened porch overlooking Main Street, prime seating for sampling the chef’s flash-fried soft-shell crabs and seared scallops with local succotash.

Do
Swimmers and sun worshippers love both parks’ windswept, lifeguarded beaches. They are the island’s main attraction, so arrive early (before 10 a.m.) or late (after 2 p.m.) to avoid parking gridlock. Anglers can try surf-casting for bluefish, summer flounder, red drum, and other species anywhere outside the swimming beaches. If beachcombing is your thing, you’re allowed to gather up to a gallon of seashells. (“Empties” only, please.) Get acquainted with local sea life in aquariums at the national park’s visitor center and the state park’s nature center. Pony peeping? A fence at the state line separates Assateague’s wild-horse herds. Maryland’s steeds roam freely. Look for them in marshes, on the beach, even in campgrounds. People once lived on Assateague, too. Tour the restored Rackliffe House, a lovely 18th-century plantation house overlooking Sinepuxent Bay (rackliffeHouse.com).

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CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND (VA)

Nearest City: Ocean City, MD (52 miles)
Island Cred: Walk to the beach.

Home to one of the nation’s “happiest” seaside towns (says Coastal Living magazine), this marsh-lined island is the commercial portal to beautiful Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia’s portion of Assateague Island. Visitors to the refuge’s undeveloped shores will find lodging, dining, guided tours, and horse lore galore in the charming town of Chincoteague, host of July’s famed wild-pony roundup.

Stay
Check into Miss Molly’s Inn, the lodgings where Misty of Chincoteague was written. Besides historic cachet, enjoy the B&B’s porch views and British touches, like afternoon tea (missmollys-inn.com). Sheltered by woods, Refuge Inn offers modern amenities (indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center, and whirlpool suites) in a rustic setting near Assateague bridge. The hotel boasts its own herd of Chincoteague ponies (refugeinn.com). Island rentals: Weekly rates go from $1,400-2,200 a week for a four-bedroom, pet-friendly house. (Expect to pay 20 to 25 percent more during pony-penning week in July.)

Feast
Surfboards, potted palms, old workboats, and a rooftop peace symbol festoon Woody’s Beach BBQ, a funky ’cue shack serving wood-smoked pulled pork, barbecue ribs, and barbecue chicken. Slather on some Memphis- or Carolina-style sauce and chow down at picnic tables amid the islandy décor (woodysbeachbbq.com). A more upscale option, AJ’s on the Creek, specializes in seafood dishes such as bouillabaisse made with fresh local shellfish, crabmeat Alfredo, and oysters Rockefeller. For maximum romance, dine on the screened porch overlooking a languid creek. Mix with the locals at AJ’s Lounge, which features live acoustic music (ajsonthecreek.com). Don’t let the queue daunt you: The homemade ice cream and waffle cones at Island Creamery are worth any wait. Try densely chocolately Marsh Mud or the Kentucky-sweet treat Bourbon Caramel Crunch (islandcreamery.net).

Do
A short bridge separates Chincoteague from the refuge’s attractions. Don’t miss the still-active Assateague Lighthouse with its spectacular views (assateagueisland.com/lighthouse). The refuge has two visitor centers. Register there for guided marsh walks, photography hikes, and talks about local pirate lore. Enjoy the lifeguarded beach. Watch for ponies and other wildlife along hiking/biking trails (fws.gov/refuge/chincoteague). For even closer critter viewing, book one of the guided boat trips leaving Chincoteague. Assateague Explorer (assateagueexplorer.com) offers pony- and bird-watching trips into the refuge. Outfitter SouthEast Expeditions (southeastexpeditions.net) leads kayak tours and rents kayaks. If you miss this year’s pony swim, parade, and auction (July 26-31), you can still get your pony fix anytime. See Misty-the-movie-star’s hoof prints in the sidewalk outside Chincoteague’s recently renovated Island Theatre, where the 1961 film premiered (islandtheatres.com). Or watch Misty’s descendants at Chincoteague Pony Centre’s evening horse shows (chincoteague.com/ponycentre).

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More Islands

Three smaller Chesapeake islands are worth a visit as well.

HOOPER’S

Nearest City: Cambridge (25 miles)
Island Cred: The most vital infrastructure is a seawall.

The birthplace of the Phillips seafood empire, Hooper’s consists of three low-lying islands that still live and breathe fishing (Upper, Middle, and the now-uninhabited Lower Hooper’s).

Feast on fresh seafood and homemade pie at Old Salty’s, serving locals and tourists in Fishing Creek (oldsaltys.com). The Hooper’s Island Lighthouse lies off shore, but view it and five other beacons via tour boat from Upper Hooper’s (sawyercharters.com). For longer visits, rent a house for about $600 wee. 

JANES 

Nearest City: Crisfield (2.5 miles)
Island Cred: Main Street is a water trail.

Part of Janes Island State Park, this marshy island is laced with 30 miles of shallow-water trails, perfect for kayaking.

Paddlers can enjoy bird watching, fishing, crabbing, or swimming and sunbathing on a remote sandy beach accessible only by boat. Park lodging includes serene waterfront campsites and family-sized cabins on the mainland or three backcountry island campsites. Full-service cabins are about $88 a night or $520 for a full week. Camper cabins are about $55 a night on weekdays and $56 a night on weekends (dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/janesisland.asp)

TANGIER (VA)

Nearest City: Crisfield (13 nautical miles)
Island Cred: Its motto is “Crab City, USA.”

The Crockett family and Methodists first settled this southern Chesapeake Bay fishing community reachable only by boat and airplane.

A mini Smith Island, tiny Tangier offers tranquility, island hospitality, and crabmeat everything. Hilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House, a B&B/restaurant, serves family-style lunches and dinners featuring crab cakes, clam fritters, Virginia ham, and all the fixings (tangierisland-va.com/cheshouse/). You can stay the week in a three-bedroom house for about $1,000.