I was fortunate to spend nearly a week in Cambridge, Maryland. For those of you who don’t know where it is located, it is located on the eastern shore of Maryland, on the southern shore of the Choptank River, about 2 hours from Washington, D.C. It is definitely a fun area and I hope to have more time to go back and explore.
Cambridge is a wonderful eastern town located amongst rolling fields of small family farms that is trying to find a way to grow its economy. It has a great history and was once a bustling hub of agriculture (Tobacco), and fishing (Oysters).
The drive out was beautiful on Sunday, March 30. I landed in Washington, D.C. about 5 P.M. and headed east through the twilight past Annapolis and over the Chesapeake on the Bay Bridge. I stopped for a quick dinner at the Harris Crab House (see my separate review) and then continued through the darkness to Cambridge.
I saw the resort I would be staying at for my conference as I drove over the bridge into Cambridge. There it was off to the left, my home for the next five days, Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay. This hotel, opened in 2002 is a wonderful resort and they take great care of you.
My room was quite nice and it overlooked the resorts golf course’s 18th hole. The River Marsh Golf Course looks like a wonderful place to play a round of golf, but I didn’t have the time when the weather was good and when I had time, it was pouring. Oh well, I’ll have to make another trip to play golf.
Since I was attending the conference and also working at it, I was working about 18 hours a day, so I didn’t too much time to get away. But I did enjoy some nice restaurants and got to see some of the countryside.
My first meal was at the Water’s Edge Grill. We had four groups of about 15 people each and we staggered those groups every 15 minutes. The chef told us they could accommodate all these people, no problem. Famous last words.
The food was good, but it took us over 2 hours to finish dinner. The drinks and salads came quickly. But nothing else did. They could have done a better job at handling this and getting our food out quicker. We ended up missing most of the evening social time out at the fireplace. (Gotta have time for s’mores.)
Dinner the next night, Tuesday, we skipped the resort and headed into town to Snappers Waterfront Cafe. Snappers is a nice local place and it has a little bit of everything. They have Mexican, Jamaican, and local seafood. They have something that fits everyone’s pallet. The beer was good and the tortilla chips are made fresh when you order them.
We then took a drive around Cambridge and it is a wonderful little town. Most of the houses are historical and their owners take good care of them. The interesting tradition. Usually it is just at Christmas only, but more people are doing it throughout the year. It is a sign of welcoming.
Wednesday brought a tough day for me. Having a cold and working 18 hours a day caught up with me and I ended up in my room most of the day. I finally kicked it by the end of the day and was able to catch part of the conference and head out to grab some dinner. (Didn’t eat too much during the day). I found the best restaurant on the resort property. It was Blue Point Provision. The food was great, service excellent, and atmosphere fun. If you are in the area, make sure you stop by. (Reservations recommended)
Thursday brought the final day of the conference and it was quite busy trying to get everything concluded and people off to their flights. We made it. After getting everything tied up, the entire group of us headed for Suicide Bridge Restaurant in Secretary, Maryland. The history of the area is quite dark, but the restaurant was excellent. The service was prompt and the ribeye steak was perfect.
We then headed back to the resort and hung out in the lounge just visiting with everyone. It was nice to be done with the conference and visit with everyone over drinks. A fine way to end a long week.
Friday morning, got up and headed on back to D.C. for my flight home. The wonderful planners in DC who decided to do road work in the middle of the day made the trip crazy and I almost missed my flight, but I made it.
Overall the week was great and the Hyatt is a great place to stay. The staff is always pleasant, working to make your stay memorable and perfect. I would like to take my family back for a long weekend or something if we are ever back there. They have wonderful things to do and keep everyone busy. I would recommend it.
Of course, I need to go back and try my luck on the golf course.
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