RD 1 (Rest Day 1): Annapolis, MD.

This is my favorite town in the US, what with its history, water, boats and charming 18th and 19th C buildings. So this will be a long post (even for me).

In the mid 1650s Puritan exiles from Virginia moved their original settlement to a location south of the Severn River. It was later called “Anne Arundel’s Towne” and in 1694 became the royal colonial capital of Maryland and was again renamed, this time Annapolis.

Annapolis’ central architectural feature is the Maryland Statehouse, the oldest building still in legislative use in the US. It was, for a short time, the US capitol building, and it was here that George Washington resigned his commission and the Confederation Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris in 1783, thus ending the Revolutionary War. The stately governor’s residence is a short walk across the street.

Annapolis is also home to the US Naval Academy, and officers (such as Capt. Edwin Birch, at left and Cmdr. Elizabeth Heath) can be seen on the streets chatting with civilians while the midshipmen spent a relaxing afternoon in town. The mids were striking in that every one of them seemed very fit, handsome/beautiful and thoroughly enjoying one another’s company.

The front doors of Annapolis are as varied and charming as any I’ve seen north of Charleston, SC.

The late spring flowers were exploding.

And, of course, there is the shopping, which includes some surprisingly good Maryland wines. Leslie would have drained the checking account here.

For Tom, “The Sailing Capital of the United States” locked in Annapolis as the place I’d most like to live… if I were in my 30s with several million to spend on one of those charming townhouses.

Finally, I did promise to cover the food. I haven’t the skills or discrimination to find the best restaurants, and the closest I came to blue crabs was a picture of a picture (they aren’t available until towards the end of May), so I had to settle for a good crab dip and very fresh sushi. Not too bad for someone whose home cooking is often peanut butter.

After ratifying the Treaty of Paris in. 1783 our commissioners, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, celebrated the event in the Maryland Inn… my hotel… perhaps in the fantastic little “Drummer’s Lot” pub, situated just below ground level in the hotel and pictured above at lower right.

Tomorrow will find me back on the bike and heading to DC. The real serious work then lies a few days ahead.