Tangier Island: A Brief, Quiet Visit
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| The watermen's crab traps present a colorful view of Tangier Island. |
Our last full day on the Eastern Shore Thursday presented LindaK and me with the opportunity to sail out to Tangier Island for a brief visit. A longer visit than our two hours would have been wasted because this is a tiny island. It has 400 people--most of them watermen and women and with a school that houses K-12.
There are very few automobiles on the island. Most of the people get around in golf-type carts or bicycles. It is an easy ride of about 20-30 minutes around the inhabited portion of the island. There are a couple of adequate restaurants, a museum and a lot of opportunities to take good photographs, which appealed to me.
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| Linda and me on the boat over from Crisfield, MD, to Tangier Island. |
I talked to an old guy who has lived there most of his 90 years and he wanted to tell me that the island would be gone in 50 years-- "and so will I." It is, indeed, slowly sinking into the sunset. The old woman who owns the only grocery store on the island said that getting resupplied is often a challenge. Her shelves were about 75 percent bare. Those wanting to go to Crisfield or a couple of other villages on the mainland to shop have to pay the same price a tourist pays to ride the boats making regular trips ($20, $30 or $40, each way, depending on the boat).The island does not have a lot of amenities, not much to do and, frankly, not a lot to see. But if you're looking for solitude, it's easy to find. In fact, if a grave is the ultimate in solitude, Tangier has plenty of them, a lot in front yards of the homes they owned when they were alive.
Interesting place, this Tangier Island.
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| LindaK found a nice spot on the boat. |
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| These were the other boats that shuttled to Tangier from Crisfield. |
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| The old captain and his dog, Homer. |
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| The old captain and the young leg. |
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| Entering the harbor at Tangier Island. |
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| More of the crab traps that populate Tangier Island. |
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| A rustic view of a rustic place. |
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| Yes, the onion rings were good. So was the flounder. |
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| Nice views everywhere. |
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| Contrast of colors on the shore with oyster shells littering. |
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| Everywhere you look, there is a photo waiting to be taken. |
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| Yet another bright spot for the watermen. |
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| This boat seems to have been used up. |
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Bicycles are a primary form of
transportation, especially for the tourists. |
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| This was a church cemetery, but some graves are in people's front yards. |
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| The scourge of America seems to be everywhere, even Tangier Island. |
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The paint peeling from this house gave
it an interesting look. |
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| Hey, you decorate how you can, sometimes more colorfully than other times. |
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| That's LindaK in the overalls. I love overalls. Find them especially sexy. |
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| Mimosa, one of my faves. LindaK thought it was a drink. |
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| LindaK couldn't find the Cheetos in this grocery store. |
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| No, she's not taking her pants off. She's adjusting them. |
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| This was our ride. |
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| The sun was warm on the fore deck, but the wind chilled. |
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| The old cap'n taking it all in. |
