When Your Newest Bucket List Destination is Really Rather Close to Home
As a Maryland girl who started her travel writing career writing about great places in Maryland, some 30 years hence I've discovered St. Mary's County. Wow. Just wow.
Pier450, a restaurant and refurbished roadside-style motel on the point where the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac meet in Maryland, has been on my bucket list since before it opened a few years ago. What appeals? It seems so serene, located way the heck in the middle of nowhere in Southern Maryland (St. Mary's County), perhaps one of the few parts of my small state I'd never managed to investigate when I was covering the regional travel beat, in the beginning of my career.
This weekend, I got there. A long-awaited gal pals getaway -- including my longtime friend Cathy Austin, who's a partner in the place, and fabulous travel writer (and Annapolis local) Susan Moynihan (guys! we forgot to get a pic together!). Beyond the great opportunity of reconnecting with friends old and new, there are three big surprises and one-not-so surprising discovery:
1. The setting is pastoral and serene, and the waterfront location calls for the most gorgeous sunsets (note the sunset above).
2. If you are looking for a respite from your busy life, pack a couple of good novels and plant yourself in an Adirondack chair on the beach. If it's nippy, light a firepit and order a good glass of red wine. If it's warm, go for a swim or paddle one of the property’s kayaks. Pier450's POV restaurant serves lunch and dinner (during the season, most days); simply order delicious food (and drink), and dine alfresco (this photo was snapped in the quieter month of March). Also mind that the new gazebo is a great place for weddings and other ceremonies. Seriously, once you get here why would you want to leave?
3. There are 8 motel rooms and it's frankly a disservice to call this place a motel. Transformed from the existing fishing lodge, all are different; mine, Country Club, has a gorgeous hand-painted wall, all the mod cons, such as a great bed, smart television, WiFi, fridge with freezer, and pastoral views out of two windows (the back looks out on POV's herb garden). Great shower. And each room has chairs just outside; another option for enjoying the outdoors. I simply can’t remember the last time I stayed in a room (in mostly high end hotels all over the world) that was so thoughtfully decorated and designed.
4. And what was the not-so-surprising discovery?
POV is an incredible restaurant with a lively bar scene. On our visit, over two nights, I basked in the best of shore cuisine -- fresh oysters, baked, an amazing corn and crab chowder, and a decadent chocolate cake that's baked on the spot (you can smell it, baking, yum). The second night, a Sunday, we attended one of POV's twice monthly chef's dinners (winter/spring; you can get a discounted room rate if you stay in the motel). Each one has a themed; ours was Portuguese and the three course meal sold out before you could say caldeirada. And after that last glass of port, it was a pleasure to stroll the 30 feet to my Country Club accommodations. I've never slept so well.
Next post: While I had hankered to stay at Pier450 to disconnect (and read a good book), I found the towns and sights of St. Mary’s County — the original port of entry for the U.S. back in the 17th century — alluring.