July 17, 2024 • 21 mins
I think it’s time we head back over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. There’s this term, ‘Fly Over States.’ That term represents the states in the middle of the country that people fly over when they’re on their way to somewhere else. Places like Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, you get the idea. For me, there is a similar thing here in Maryland. I call them drive through counties. These are the areas you drive through to get to your destination. When I think about it, I’ve been to most counties in this state. But I haven’t really stopped to check them out. I’ve just been on my own little mission.
This week’s show is about one of those drive through counties. I’m speaking with Cassandra Vanhooser. She’s the director of economic development and tourism for Talbot county. Talbot County is a beautiful area on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There’s water, tons of outdoor recreation, a big arts community and so much more. But so many people just drive through it on their way to Ocean City, or down further south.
Cassandra is here to tell us more about the wonders of Talbot County and why you should take some time to explore the area.
This week’s show is about one of those drive through counties. I’m speaking with Cassandra Vanhooser. She’s the director of economic development and tourism for Talbot county. Talbot County is a beautiful area on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There’s water, tons of outdoor recreation, a big arts community and so much more. But so many people just drive through it on their way to Ocean City, or down further south.
Cassandra is here to tell us more about the wonders of Talbot County and why you should take some time to explore the area.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hey, everybody, what's going on. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. This is
episode eight. My name is JeffSaint Pierre Delightful Destinations. It's a show
designed to give you an inside ormaybe a deeper look at vacation locations around
Maryland, at the mid Atlantic andother spots. My hope is to speak
with people who know these areas bestand inspire you for your next trip.
I think it's time that we headback over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. There's
(00:23):
this term that you may have heardbefore. It's flyover states. That term
represents the states, you know,in the middle of the country that people
fly over when they're on their wayto somewhere else, places like Iowa,
Arkansas, Oklahoma. You know,you get the idea. For me.
There's kind of a similar thing herein Maryland. I call them drive through
counties. These are the areas youdrive through to get to your destination.
(00:43):
When I think about it, I'vebeen to most counties in this state,
but I haven't really stopped to checkthem out. I've just been on my
own little mission to get from pointA to point B. This week's show
is about one of those so calleddrive through counties, I'm speaking with Cassandra
van Hooser. She's the director ofEconomic Development and Tourism for Talbot County.
Talbot County is a beautiful area onthe eastern shore of Maryland. Just a
(01:06):
stunning and beautiful place. There's water, tons of outdoor recreation, a big
arts community, and so much more. But I do feel like a lot
of people just drive through it ontheir way to Ocean City, or maybe
on their way to go down furthersouth. Cassandra, though, she's here
to tell us more about the wondersof Talbot County and why you should take
some time to explore the area.Hi, it's so wonderful to meet you
(01:26):
too, Thanks for having me.Of course, of course I got to
hear more about your life because lookingat your bio, it seems like you've
had a heck of a wild timeover the years. So I want to
first find out tell me a littlebit about yourself. Where'd you Where did
you come from? So I'm fromTennessee originally, but I like to say
I got here say as I discoveredTalbu County. I was a travel writer
(01:49):
at Southern Living Magazine. I coveredVirginia, Maryland, Telaware, and DC
was my last assignment for them,and when I got ready to make a
place of our list of places whereI wanted to be permanently, Tamback County
made it to the top five list. Ironically, there was a job open.
I had known the previous tourism directorhere because I covered all of Maryland
(02:13):
and specifically Tambu County, and herjob came open about the time that I
was looking to settle down after havingbeen a travel writer for a long long
time, and we always said Iwould come and take her job, and
sure shooting, that's what happened.I love it. I think this is
exciting too, because a lot ofpeople I've spoken with, especially on the
county level, they're folks that grewup in that county, so they know
(02:36):
that county and I'll say, whatattracted you to work for the county.
They're like, well, I grewup here. Well I want something different,
and I get that from you becauseyou are not from here originally,
but you covered the area and therewas something about Talbot County that stood out
to you, So tell me moreabout that. So I fell in love
with Tama County the very first timeI ever came here, and I had
friends in visiting last week and Isaid to her, do you remember my
(02:59):
first visit to Tambus County was toTilman Island in the wintertime, and I
stayed at the Tilmanland the end,and I remember the chain on the boat
outside my window, clink all night, clean, clank, clink, And
I woke up to this magnificent viewof the Chesapeake Bay, and I was
sold right then and there. Idid not grow up on the water,
(03:20):
but I love it here. Itis incredibly beautiful, and the Chesapeake culture
is so engaging and interesting to me. And so I say, I've been
all over the world. I knowhow Tambac County compares, and it rates
really high. I love to hearthat. And I think it's one of
those areas in the state where atleast a lot of the folks here in
(03:43):
central Maryland, like around the Baltimoremetro area, when they drive over there,
they primarily are driving through Tabat Countyto get to the ocean. And
I hope that people are starting todivest, are diverge a little bit more
to check out other areas, becausethere is so much beauty in that area.
Well, the Eastern Shore is avery special place, and it's different
than the rest of Maryland because itwas so isolated for so long. And
(04:05):
that's from top to bottom nine counties. It's a really amazing place. And
I can tell you the federal governmentagrees with us because just a couple of
years ago we won the All AmericanRoad designation. So you can drive the
All American Road through the eastern shoreof Maryland from Chesapeake City all the way
down to Crisfield. It comes rightthrough Taalboth County. So if you're looking
(04:29):
for a great road trip, theAll American Road is a wonderful way to
do that. I can tell youhave passion for what you do. So
this is going to be a trickyquestion for you. But give me the
give me the highlights, like thetop three of Talbot County. Oh my
goodness, that's a trick question.Let me reword it. What are the
biggest like areas that seem to attractthe most people. I think that our
small towns out and I always sayif that's east of Oxford, Saint Michael's
(04:55):
tim and Island also Trap, Soyou know, Trap is one of those
towns that you might miss if you'rejust driving Homy fifty, but you know,
it's worth a detour. There's youknow, a couple of really great
restaurants there. There's some wonderful historythere. So Easton is the economic and
cultural center of the county. That'swhere the courthouse is. We have one
(05:18):
of the oldest courthouses in America,never burned, and so we have a
really beautiful old courthouse. There's thestatue of Frederick Douglas. Frederick Douglas was
born in Tabath County. People comehere from all over the world looking to
find what made Frederick Douglas into thismagnificent orator writer. He's the best selling
(05:41):
author by age twenty seven, andthen he went on to be a statesman,
and of course he was one ofthe most influential abolitionists. So people
come looking for Frederick Douglas and we'reworking to tell that story. Then you've
got Saint Michael's which is a harbortown. You know, there's you know
water there, there's the wonderful ChestapeakeBay Maritime Museum. There's beautiful homes.
(06:02):
It's a spectacular place to spend aweekend or even a week or for some
of us who live there, it'syou know a lifetime. So and then
there's Tilmanland, which is a workingwaterman's community and there it sits right in
the Chestapeake Bay, and that's whereI was talking about. You see that
view of the bay and you arein the bay on Tilman Island. And
(06:26):
then there's Oxford, which is thispicture perfect little town of about you know,
six hundred people. And there's theone of the top five ice cream
shops in America there it's called theScottish Island Creamery and the trip Advisor tells
us it's ranked in the top five. And then to get there, you
can get there by car easily.But there is the Oxford Bellvue Ferry and
(06:48):
it's the oldest, continuously operating,privately owned ferry in the country. So
all those things together make Talback Countya really spectacular place to visit. You're
painting a beautiful pic. Saint Michael'shas been on my list of places to
check out, primarily because I liketo take part in running events throughout the
state and Saint Michael's has this beautifulrunning festival that I've heard so many incredible
(07:11):
things about. I just have notmade it yet to pull the trigger.
But gosh. I just hear fromeverybody that takes advantage of that or takes
part in it that it's just anamazing experience. We have some people who
are really invested in promoting the sportof running, and so when people come
to Saint Michael's it's by and largestflat, yes, but we do a
(07:31):
basis of it's appel flat running.We do a great job of routing you
through the neighborhoods and right through thetown, and the town just loves own
the runners when they come. Andso I think it's a great event and
it's a good place for people toexperience both sides of it. And I
(07:53):
like to see the runners coming.Cassandra something that kind of pops up in
a lot of these conversations because Ipersonally, when I'm working, I'm thinking
about drinking here usually. But breweriesare a big thing over there on the
Eastern Shore, and I'm sure it'sTalbot has some highlights for us. So
actually we have one great brewery andthat's the Eastern Shore Brewing Company, and
they're the oldest on the Eastern Shore. So they're right on the main street
(08:13):
there, Talbutt Street in Saint Michael'sand then adjacent to them is the Saint
Michael's Winery, and there's then Windeddescending and they make Lion Run and so
they've really made a name for themselvesas rum makers. So you can do
all three of those right there together, and then we recommend that you don't
drive, that you book a roomat one of our beautiful you know,
(08:37):
lodging options there. But it isit's great to experience those. And what
I really like to see is makersat work and the people there are making
the product and sharing that with peopleand their passion for those products, and
so it's really nice experience. Youknow, you just mentioned makers at work
(08:58):
and I've stopped at Rise Up Coffeemakers over on that area before and I
love when I go in and youcan see them in the back, like
in the roastery doing the work thatthey do. I'm like, this is
great. I'm getting the coffee ina show at the same time. That's
right. The roasting facility is herein Easton. When we say we're the
worldwide headquarters for Rise Up Coffee,they started here at that little kioskin Saint
(09:22):
Michael's and then they're now in Eastonwith their roasting facility and they've expanded across
the road there. It's easy todrive through and grab your Rise Up coffee
when you're coming to Tullbock County gotI tell you a couple of years ago,
I gave up caffeine at the requestof my doctor, and the saddest
thing was not buying Rise Up coffeeall the time I used to. They
started getting into our stores here onthe Baltimore Are and I was like,
(09:43):
this is amazing. I'm so gladI can buy this here. But you
know, not drinking much caffeine,I've had to cut back on my coffee
and dick a lot. But it'soh gosh, they make a great product.
Cause Andra, I know you've gotan event going on. Really when
this is going to be running,when we're going to be airing this and
posting it for everybody. But it'scalled the plan Air Easton. Yes,
Planair Easton Art Festival and Competition,and it's one of the most prestigious outdoor
(10:09):
painting competitions in the country and paintingendplan Air is French for painting outdoors,
and so we have artists come fromall over the world. Literally, I
think there's only one continent we haven'thad represented and that's Antarctica. So we
have, you know, people fromRussia, we have people from Europe.
We have some of the most talentedartists in that medium well, and in
(10:33):
that realm of plan air painting.There's multiple mediums, but they come here
and it's because it's such a beautifulplace and that's such a well known festival.
It'll be twenty years old this year, and so we've got lots of
it's ten days of an art festivalplus the competition, so the big reveal
(10:54):
of who the winner is. Artistscoming here to make their and this event
runs from win until whin. Yeah, it's July twelfth through the twenty first
this year, so it's again thereare ticketed events. But then one of
the most exciting events is the quickdraw. So if you've got ten dollars
(11:16):
and some ambition and a little bitof painting. I'm a stick figure painter,
but if you have a little bitof a painting ability, you can
come and compete in the quick draw. And we have two or three hundred
artists come in and pay their tendollars and then they spread out all over
Easton from ten to twelve. Whenthey blow that horn, you come in
(11:37):
display your painting. People buy thosepaintings, they are judged, and then
there's a winner of the quick drawcompetition. So that's a free event and
so the town fills up with peopleto meet the artists and to try their
hand at winning. You're speaking mystyle now when you're talking about turning painting
into a quick competition. I amdown like that sounds exciting to me.
(11:58):
I know it's well, what Ilove about plannair paintings is you're standing there
talking to the artist while they're creatingthis magical view of what you're looking at.
You can see what they're looking atto paint, what they're what they're
putting on canvas. And so it'sthat triangulation between the artists, the place
(12:22):
and you that really makes it work. To me, where can people go
to find more information about pretty mucheverything we're talking about today? Is there
a good central location? Yeah.We have a great website toward Talbot dot
org and we list all of thecounty events there, and we also talk
about all those beautiful towns and thingslike biking and Tabout County, all the
(12:46):
things that there are to see anddo, including our Frederick Tegla's birthplace website.
You mentioned Planair and it just kindof brought to mind how big artistry
is in Talbot County. Like theartists come from all around the world,
as you may for this event,but it's a big area for artists in
general. We have a lot ofreally talented, really well known artists who
choose to move here because of thearts that are located here. Also,
(13:13):
you know, when I was atSouthern Living and was a travel writer,
I asked that question to some artistsbecause I did a story about the Eastern
Shore and I was like, whatmakes this place so appealing? And I
think the longest short of it isit's the light. And the light reflects
off of the water and gives thisbeautiful color, and it saturates the green
(13:35):
and the golds of our farm fieldsand agricultures very much live and well here
on the Eastern Shore. And thenit reflects off of the sky and you
get these amazing blues that are justreally incredible. So I think it's the
light and the natural beauty. Allthose things together make this a very special
(13:56):
place. And those places, Imean, you think about all the places
where are artists are drawn to likeItaly the same thing if he said for
Italy, that's why people come here. That's why people love it here,
and that's why people love to visithere and experience. You've take home a
piece of artwork with you that remindsyou of this place. I love that
(14:16):
we've talked a little bit about youmentioned ice cream earlier. We've talked about
some events. We've talked about somebeverages you can consume, But what about
the food. I imagine seafood's abig deal over in your area. Yes,
you cannot talk about Talbot County orthe Eastern Shore without talking about Chesapeake
cuisine. And we are really fortunatehere in Talbot County to have I call
(14:37):
it an embarrassment of Bridges. Interms of restaurants, I mean, there
are incredible restaurants here and if they'renot good, they don't say this is
here very long. So all ofour restaurants are extraordinary. But we have
one chef here who was just namedthe best chef in the mid Atlantic by
the James Beard or he wanted JamesBeard a word for that. His name
(14:58):
is Harley Pete. He said,Bob raise here and he oversees the blue
paint hospitality properties there and so verytalented and right out of culinary school,
he came here to Domin Island andnow has risen to a star in the
food world. And he's just oneof many very talented chefs who live and
work here. So when you cometo Talbaut County, you better plan to
(15:24):
eat well. And you know,we talk about the trifecta of seafood,
which is rock fish, crabs,and oysters, so you know you want
to you know, all of ourplaces typically will serve some sort of seafood,
but we do have you know,crab houses and places you know that
specialize in seafood. So, yeah, you've got to come and experience the
(15:46):
chesapea culture here. Part of that'sfood. You've mentioned a little bit about
the historical impact of Talbot County fromFrederick Douglass to some other locations. But
you've also got the National Maritime Museum, correct. Yeah. The Testa Pak
Bay Maritimes is located in Saint Michael's. It's an eighteen acre property right there
on the harbor and very very beautiful. Gives you water access and also they
(16:08):
tell the story of the Chesapeake Bayand the people who lived and worked and
played on the Chesta Peak Bay,and so it's a fantastic experience and I
highly recommend that for anybody who comeshere, particularly if you're looking to understand
the bay and what it means nationallyand internationally, you need to go there
(16:30):
and have that experience. It seemslike Tabat County has got a little bit
of everything, and one thing wehaven't really touched on too much is just
the outdoors aspect of it. I'msure there's plenty of places for people to
enjoy a good hike, a goodbike or whatever, because there just seems
to be this beautiful land that peoplewant to see and experience. Absolutely,
we have bikers literally who come fromall over the world to bike here.
(16:55):
And I don't say that lightly becauseliterally I have met pe from all over
the world. And one of thereasons is, you know, it's flat.
You know, we're on a coastalplane here and it's flat, but
you know, it doesn't seem flatwhen you encounter an eastern shore hill,
which is the wind. So sometimesif it's really windy, I'll see bikers
(17:18):
struggling, But by and large,you know, it's road biking, but
people can get on their bikes andzip through our countryside here. We have
a bike map that's very popular.We have six routes that take you one
hundred and eighty miles around the county. There. We have a lot of
bike providers, so you can renta bike, you can buy a bike,
(17:41):
and they'll even deliver wherever you're stayingif you want to have them.
If your lodging establishment doesn't have biking, a lot of them do, they
will deliver for you. So there'sbiking, but there's also wonderful kayaking here,
and we have some kayak maps thatwill have you figure your route.
And if you want the Chesapeake Bayin the Chesapeake Bay experience, that's on
(18:07):
Tilman Island. If you want theriver experience, you've got the Harbor in
Saint Michael's, you've got San DemingoCreek in Oxford, and in Easton you
know you've got the treada Von River. So there's all kinds of different options
and it's for every ability. Soif you're a novice, we can tell
you where to go, what's thebest option for you. And again we
(18:30):
have many people who ran kayaks orwho will deliver them for you as well.
And you know it's it's just agreat place to come and kayak and
experience that Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries. Cassandra, I'm realizing that I have
wildly underutilized Talba County in my timein Maryland. Oh my gosh. Absolutely,
I've been in Maryland. I thinkI moved. I moved to the
(18:52):
DC area in two thousand and seven, so I've been here for about seventeen
years now, and I think it'sbeen a drive through spot for me for
the most part. But I thinkthe families got to make a trip out
there and experience it. Well,you know, that is the funny thing,
and you know I experienced that inother towns. Until you stop and
explore, you are missing a lot. And if you have just driven through
(19:15):
Tamba County, I mean you needto detour and you need to stay a
while because you know, you can'treally see it in about twenty minutes.
You need to come and explore.I'm realizing that you're the third interview that
I've had with a county over thereon the eastern Shore, and I just
I knew that it was beautiful.I knew there were great options there,
(19:37):
But until I hear it talked aboutby someone like you that knows how to
really paint the picture, I justI don't think I realized how much I
was missing out on. So ifyou're sticking to Route fifty, you know
it's going to take you over somebridges, and some of them are rather
large bridges. But you know,our promise is the Chesapeake. So that's
Chesapeake Country, all American Road,and you know Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
(20:03):
Our promise here is that you willsee the Chesapeake Bay. And so you
have to get off of the beatenpath to be able to do that,
and you have to take those littlesidetracks that take you to Tillman Island,
that take you to Oxford, thattake you to Saint Michael's. Even Trap
has water and Easton, so youknow there's water. You know. One
of the great ways to do thisis to get up in the air and
(20:26):
we actually have a gentleman here whooffers rides on a pet Steerman pteen thirteen,
and it's at the Easton Airport here, which is one of the busiest
general aviation airports in the state.But he'll take you up and show you
and what's amazing is to see allof these fingers of water that are so
(20:48):
close in. And again, ifyou're just passing through on a strip of
asphalt, you are missing the picture. Well make sure I turn off on
some of those side roads next timemight come through. Cassandra van Hooser.
Again, where do people go ifthey want to find out some more details,
they want to follow up on someof the things we talked about today.
Absolutely the best place to go istour Talbot dot org. Wonderful,
(21:11):
Cassandra, it was such a pleasureto talk to you. Thank you so
much for the beautiful imagery that you'vepainted for us here today. And I
hope people head out there and checkout Talbot County. Always say y'all come
big. Thank you to Cassandra vanHooser. She's the director of Economic Development
and Tourism for Talbot County. Again, if you want to find out more
details or start planning your trip,you can do that at tor Talbot dot
(21:33):
org. Thank you so much forlistening today. I appreciate your time and
until next week, take care,
Hey, everybody, what's going on. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. This is
episode eight. My name is JeffSaint Pierre Delightful Destinations. It's a show
designed to give you an inside ormaybe a deeper look at vacation locations around
Maryland, at the mid Atlantic andother spots. My hope is to speak
with people who know these areas bestand inspire you for your next trip.
I think it's time that we headback over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. There's
(00:23):
this term that you may have heardbefore. It's flyover states. That term
represents the states, you know,in the middle of the country that people
fly over when they're on their wayto somewhere else, places like Iowa,
Arkansas, Oklahoma. You know,you get the idea. For me.
There's kind of a similar thing herein Maryland. I call them drive through
counties. These are the areas youdrive through to get to your destination.
(00:43):
When I think about it, I'vebeen to most counties in this state,
but I haven't really stopped to checkthem out. I've just been on my
own little mission to get from pointA to point B. This week's show
is about one of those so calleddrive through counties, I'm speaking with Cassandra
van Hooser. She's the director ofEconomic Development and Tourism for Talbot County.
Talbot County is a beautiful area onthe eastern shore of Maryland. Just a
(01:06):
stunning and beautiful place. There's water, tons of outdoor recreation, a big
arts community, and so much more. But I do feel like a lot
of people just drive through it ontheir way to Ocean City, or maybe
on their way to go down furthersouth. Cassandra, though, she's here
to tell us more about the wondersof Talbot County and why you should take
some time to explore the area.Hi, it's so wonderful to meet you
(01:26):
too, Thanks for having me.Of course, of course I got to
hear more about your life because lookingat your bio, it seems like you've
had a heck of a wild timeover the years. So I want to
first find out tell me a littlebit about yourself. Where'd you Where did
you come from? So I'm fromTennessee originally, but I like to say
I got here say as I discoveredTalbu County. I was a travel writer
(01:49):
at Southern Living Magazine. I coveredVirginia, Maryland, Telaware, and DC
was my last assignment for them,and when I got ready to make a
place of our list of places whereI wanted to be permanently, Tamback County
made it to the top five list. Ironically, there was a job open.
I had known the previous tourism directorhere because I covered all of Maryland
(02:13):
and specifically Tambu County, and herjob came open about the time that I
was looking to settle down after havingbeen a travel writer for a long long
time, and we always said Iwould come and take her job, and
sure shooting, that's what happened.I love it. I think this is
exciting too, because a lot ofpeople I've spoken with, especially on the
county level, they're folks that grewup in that county, so they know
(02:36):
that county and I'll say, whatattracted you to work for the county.
They're like, well, I grewup here. Well I want something different,
and I get that from you becauseyou are not from here originally,
but you covered the area and therewas something about Talbot County that stood out
to you, So tell me moreabout that. So I fell in love
with Tama County the very first timeI ever came here, and I had
friends in visiting last week and Isaid to her, do you remember my
(02:59):
first visit to Tambus County was toTilman Island in the wintertime, and I
stayed at the Tilmanland the end,and I remember the chain on the boat
outside my window, clink all night, clean, clank, clink, And
I woke up to this magnificent viewof the Chesapeake Bay, and I was
sold right then and there. Idid not grow up on the water,
(03:20):
but I love it here. Itis incredibly beautiful, and the Chesapeake culture
is so engaging and interesting to me. And so I say, I've been
all over the world. I knowhow Tambac County compares, and it rates
really high. I love to hearthat. And I think it's one of
those areas in the state where atleast a lot of the folks here in
(03:43):
central Maryland, like around the Baltimoremetro area, when they drive over there,
they primarily are driving through Tabat Countyto get to the ocean. And
I hope that people are starting todivest, are diverge a little bit more
to check out other areas, becausethere is so much beauty in that area.
Well, the Eastern Shore is avery special place, and it's different
than the rest of Maryland because itwas so isolated for so long. And
(04:05):
that's from top to bottom nine counties. It's a really amazing place. And
I can tell you the federal governmentagrees with us because just a couple of
years ago we won the All AmericanRoad designation. So you can drive the
All American Road through the eastern shoreof Maryland from Chesapeake City all the way
down to Crisfield. It comes rightthrough Taalboth County. So if you're looking
(04:29):
for a great road trip, theAll American Road is a wonderful way to
do that. I can tell youhave passion for what you do. So
this is going to be a trickyquestion for you. But give me the
give me the highlights, like thetop three of Talbot County. Oh my
goodness, that's a trick question.Let me reword it. What are the
biggest like areas that seem to attractthe most people. I think that our
small towns out and I always sayif that's east of Oxford, Saint Michael's
(04:55):
tim and Island also Trap, Soyou know, Trap is one of those
towns that you might miss if you'rejust driving Homy fifty, but you know,
it's worth a detour. There's youknow, a couple of really great
restaurants there. There's some wonderful historythere. So Easton is the economic and
cultural center of the county. That'swhere the courthouse is. We have one
(05:18):
of the oldest courthouses in America,never burned, and so we have a
really beautiful old courthouse. There's thestatue of Frederick Douglas. Frederick Douglas was
born in Tabath County. People comehere from all over the world looking to
find what made Frederick Douglas into thismagnificent orator writer. He's the best selling
(05:41):
author by age twenty seven, andthen he went on to be a statesman,
and of course he was one ofthe most influential abolitionists. So people
come looking for Frederick Douglas and we'reworking to tell that story. Then you've
got Saint Michael's which is a harbortown. You know, there's you know
water there, there's the wonderful ChestapeakeBay Maritime Museum. There's beautiful homes.
(06:02):
It's a spectacular place to spend aweekend or even a week or for some
of us who live there, it'syou know a lifetime. So and then
there's Tilmanland, which is a workingwaterman's community and there it sits right in
the Chestapeake Bay, and that's whereI was talking about. You see that
view of the bay and you arein the bay on Tilman Island. And
(06:26):
then there's Oxford, which is thispicture perfect little town of about you know,
six hundred people. And there's theone of the top five ice cream
shops in America there it's called theScottish Island Creamery and the trip Advisor tells
us it's ranked in the top five. And then to get there, you
can get there by car easily.But there is the Oxford Bellvue Ferry and
(06:48):
it's the oldest, continuously operating,privately owned ferry in the country. So
all those things together make Talback Countya really spectacular place to visit. You're
painting a beautiful pic. Saint Michael'shas been on my list of places to
check out, primarily because I liketo take part in running events throughout the
state and Saint Michael's has this beautifulrunning festival that I've heard so many incredible
(07:11):
things about. I just have notmade it yet to pull the trigger.
But gosh. I just hear fromeverybody that takes advantage of that or takes
part in it that it's just anamazing experience. We have some people who
are really invested in promoting the sportof running, and so when people come
to Saint Michael's it's by and largestflat, yes, but we do a
(07:31):
basis of it's appel flat running.We do a great job of routing you
through the neighborhoods and right through thetown, and the town just loves own
the runners when they come. Andso I think it's a great event and
it's a good place for people toexperience both sides of it. And I
(07:53):
like to see the runners coming.Cassandra something that kind of pops up in
a lot of these conversations because Ipersonally, when I'm working, I'm thinking
about drinking here usually. But breweriesare a big thing over there on the
Eastern Shore, and I'm sure it'sTalbot has some highlights for us. So
actually we have one great brewery andthat's the Eastern Shore Brewing Company, and
they're the oldest on the Eastern Shore. So they're right on the main street
(08:13):
there, Talbutt Street in Saint Michael'sand then adjacent to them is the Saint
Michael's Winery, and there's then Windeddescending and they make Lion Run and so
they've really made a name for themselvesas rum makers. So you can do
all three of those right there together, and then we recommend that you don't
drive, that you book a roomat one of our beautiful you know,
(08:37):
lodging options there. But it isit's great to experience those. And what
I really like to see is makersat work and the people there are making
the product and sharing that with peopleand their passion for those products, and
so it's really nice experience. Youknow, you just mentioned makers at work
(08:58):
and I've stopped at Rise Up Coffeemakers over on that area before and I
love when I go in and youcan see them in the back, like
in the roastery doing the work thatthey do. I'm like, this is
great. I'm getting the coffee ina show at the same time. That's
right. The roasting facility is herein Easton. When we say we're the
worldwide headquarters for Rise Up Coffee,they started here at that little kioskin Saint
(09:22):
Michael's and then they're now in Eastonwith their roasting facility and they've expanded across
the road there. It's easy todrive through and grab your Rise Up coffee
when you're coming to Tullbock County gotI tell you a couple of years ago,
I gave up caffeine at the requestof my doctor, and the saddest
thing was not buying Rise Up coffeeall the time I used to. They
started getting into our stores here onthe Baltimore Are and I was like,
(09:43):
this is amazing. I'm so gladI can buy this here. But you
know, not drinking much caffeine,I've had to cut back on my coffee
and dick a lot. But it'soh gosh, they make a great product.
Cause Andra, I know you've gotan event going on. Really when
this is going to be running,when we're going to be airing this and
posting it for everybody. But it'scalled the plan Air Easton. Yes,
Planair Easton Art Festival and Competition,and it's one of the most prestigious outdoor
(10:09):
painting competitions in the country and paintingendplan Air is French for painting outdoors,
and so we have artists come fromall over the world. Literally, I
think there's only one continent we haven'thad represented and that's Antarctica. So we
have, you know, people fromRussia, we have people from Europe.
We have some of the most talentedartists in that medium well, and in
(10:33):
that realm of plan air painting.There's multiple mediums, but they come here
and it's because it's such a beautifulplace and that's such a well known festival.
It'll be twenty years old this year, and so we've got lots of
it's ten days of an art festivalplus the competition, so the big reveal
(10:54):
of who the winner is. Artistscoming here to make their and this event
runs from win until whin. Yeah, it's July twelfth through the twenty first
this year, so it's again thereare ticketed events. But then one of
the most exciting events is the quickdraw. So if you've got ten dollars
(11:16):
and some ambition and a little bitof painting. I'm a stick figure painter,
but if you have a little bitof a painting ability, you can
come and compete in the quick draw. And we have two or three hundred
artists come in and pay their tendollars and then they spread out all over
Easton from ten to twelve. Whenthey blow that horn, you come in
(11:37):
display your painting. People buy thosepaintings, they are judged, and then
there's a winner of the quick drawcompetition. So that's a free event and
so the town fills up with peopleto meet the artists and to try their
hand at winning. You're speaking mystyle now when you're talking about turning painting
into a quick competition. I amdown like that sounds exciting to me.
(11:58):
I know it's well, what Ilove about plannair paintings is you're standing there
talking to the artist while they're creatingthis magical view of what you're looking at.
You can see what they're looking atto paint, what they're what they're
putting on canvas. And so it'sthat triangulation between the artists, the place
(12:22):
and you that really makes it work. To me, where can people go
to find more information about pretty mucheverything we're talking about today? Is there
a good central location? Yeah.We have a great website toward Talbot dot
org and we list all of thecounty events there, and we also talk
about all those beautiful towns and thingslike biking and Tabout County, all the
(12:46):
things that there are to see anddo, including our Frederick Tegla's birthplace website.
You mentioned Planair and it just kindof brought to mind how big artistry
is in Talbot County. Like theartists come from all around the world,
as you may for this event,but it's a big area for artists in
general. We have a lot ofreally talented, really well known artists who
choose to move here because of thearts that are located here. Also,
(13:13):
you know, when I was atSouthern Living and was a travel writer,
I asked that question to some artistsbecause I did a story about the Eastern
Shore and I was like, whatmakes this place so appealing? And I
think the longest short of it isit's the light. And the light reflects
off of the water and gives thisbeautiful color, and it saturates the green
(13:35):
and the golds of our farm fieldsand agricultures very much live and well here
on the Eastern Shore. And thenit reflects off of the sky and you
get these amazing blues that are justreally incredible. So I think it's the
light and the natural beauty. Allthose things together make this a very special
(13:56):
place. And those places, Imean, you think about all the places
where are artists are drawn to likeItaly the same thing if he said for
Italy, that's why people come here. That's why people love it here,
and that's why people love to visithere and experience. You've take home a
piece of artwork with you that remindsyou of this place. I love that
(14:16):
we've talked a little bit about youmentioned ice cream earlier. We've talked about
some events. We've talked about somebeverages you can consume, But what about
the food. I imagine seafood's abig deal over in your area. Yes,
you cannot talk about Talbot County orthe Eastern Shore without talking about Chesapeake
cuisine. And we are really fortunatehere in Talbot County to have I call
(14:37):
it an embarrassment of Bridges. Interms of restaurants, I mean, there
are incredible restaurants here and if they'renot good, they don't say this is
here very long. So all ofour restaurants are extraordinary. But we have
one chef here who was just namedthe best chef in the mid Atlantic by
the James Beard or he wanted JamesBeard a word for that. His name
(14:58):
is Harley Pete. He said,Bob raise here and he oversees the blue
paint hospitality properties there and so verytalented and right out of culinary school,
he came here to Domin Island andnow has risen to a star in the
food world. And he's just oneof many very talented chefs who live and
work here. So when you cometo Talbaut County, you better plan to
(15:24):
eat well. And you know,we talk about the trifecta of seafood,
which is rock fish, crabs,and oysters, so you know you want
to you know, all of ourplaces typically will serve some sort of seafood,
but we do have you know,crab houses and places you know that
specialize in seafood. So, yeah, you've got to come and experience the
(15:46):
chesapea culture here. Part of that'sfood. You've mentioned a little bit about
the historical impact of Talbot County fromFrederick Douglass to some other locations. But
you've also got the National Maritime Museum, correct. Yeah. The Testa Pak
Bay Maritimes is located in Saint Michael's. It's an eighteen acre property right there
on the harbor and very very beautiful. Gives you water access and also they
(16:08):
tell the story of the Chesapeake Bayand the people who lived and worked and
played on the Chesta Peak Bay,and so it's a fantastic experience and I
highly recommend that for anybody who comeshere, particularly if you're looking to understand
the bay and what it means nationallyand internationally, you need to go there
(16:30):
and have that experience. It seemslike Tabat County has got a little bit
of everything, and one thing wehaven't really touched on too much is just
the outdoors aspect of it. I'msure there's plenty of places for people to
enjoy a good hike, a goodbike or whatever, because there just seems
to be this beautiful land that peoplewant to see and experience. Absolutely,
we have bikers literally who come fromall over the world to bike here.
(16:55):
And I don't say that lightly becauseliterally I have met pe from all over
the world. And one of thereasons is, you know, it's flat.
You know, we're on a coastalplane here and it's flat, but
you know, it doesn't seem flatwhen you encounter an eastern shore hill,
which is the wind. So sometimesif it's really windy, I'll see bikers
(17:18):
struggling, But by and large,you know, it's road biking, but
people can get on their bikes andzip through our countryside here. We have
a bike map that's very popular.We have six routes that take you one
hundred and eighty miles around the county. There. We have a lot of
bike providers, so you can renta bike, you can buy a bike,
(17:41):
and they'll even deliver wherever you're stayingif you want to have them.
If your lodging establishment doesn't have biking, a lot of them do, they
will deliver for you. So there'sbiking, but there's also wonderful kayaking here,
and we have some kayak maps thatwill have you figure your route.
And if you want the Chesapeake Bayin the Chesapeake Bay experience, that's on
(18:07):
Tilman Island. If you want theriver experience, you've got the Harbor in
Saint Michael's, you've got San DemingoCreek in Oxford, and in Easton you
know you've got the treada Von River. So there's all kinds of different options
and it's for every ability. Soif you're a novice, we can tell
you where to go, what's thebest option for you. And again we
(18:30):
have many people who ran kayaks orwho will deliver them for you as well.
And you know it's it's just agreat place to come and kayak and
experience that Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries. Cassandra, I'm realizing that I have
wildly underutilized Talba County in my timein Maryland. Oh my gosh. Absolutely,
I've been in Maryland. I thinkI moved. I moved to the
(18:52):
DC area in two thousand and seven, so I've been here for about seventeen
years now, and I think it'sbeen a drive through spot for me for
the most part. But I thinkthe families got to make a trip out
there and experience it. Well,you know, that is the funny thing,
and you know I experienced that inother towns. Until you stop and
explore, you are missing a lot. And if you have just driven through
(19:15):
Tamba County, I mean you needto detour and you need to stay a
while because you know, you can'treally see it in about twenty minutes.
You need to come and explore.I'm realizing that you're the third interview that
I've had with a county over thereon the eastern Shore, and I just
I knew that it was beautiful.I knew there were great options there,
(19:37):
But until I hear it talked aboutby someone like you that knows how to
really paint the picture, I justI don't think I realized how much I
was missing out on. So ifyou're sticking to Route fifty, you know
it's going to take you over somebridges, and some of them are rather
large bridges. But you know,our promise is the Chesapeake. So that's
Chesapeake Country, all American Road,and you know Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
(20:03):
Our promise here is that you willsee the Chesapeake Bay. And so you
have to get off of the beatenpath to be able to do that,
and you have to take those littlesidetracks that take you to Tillman Island,
that take you to Oxford, thattake you to Saint Michael's. Even Trap
has water and Easton, so youknow there's water. You know. One
of the great ways to do thisis to get up in the air and
(20:26):
we actually have a gentleman here whooffers rides on a pet Steerman pteen thirteen,
and it's at the Easton Airport here, which is one of the busiest
general aviation airports in the state.But he'll take you up and show you
and what's amazing is to see allof these fingers of water that are so
(20:48):
close in. And again, ifyou're just passing through on a strip of
asphalt, you are missing the picture. Well make sure I turn off on
some of those side roads next timemight come through. Cassandra van Hooser.
Again, where do people go ifthey want to find out some more details,
they want to follow up on someof the things we talked about today.
Absolutely the best place to go istour Talbot dot org. Wonderful,
(21:11):
Cassandra, it was such a pleasureto talk to you. Thank you so
much for the beautiful imagery that you'vepainted for us here today. And I
hope people head out there and checkout Talbot County. Always say y'all come
big. Thank you to Cassandra vanHooser. She's the director of Economic Development
and Tourism for Talbot County. Again, if you want to find out more
details or start planning your trip,you can do that at tor Talbot dot
(21:33):
org. Thank you so much forlistening today. I appreciate your time and
until next week, take care,
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