The White Haven ferry saves me. The sun is sinking, and so am I. I am beginning to feel weighed down by my eating adventure across the state.
When the boat comes into view, my spirits soar. The dull-gray ferry, which links Routes 352 and 362 at the border of Somerset and Wicomico counties, is not an impressive-looking craft. But finding a boat in the middle of farmland is so unexpected, such a scenic surprise, that it gives me a thrill.
Instead of plodding along another highway, I am floating on a vessel across the gleaming Wicomico River. I am buoyant, if only for five minutes. The ferry, pulled by an underwater cable, travels only about 75 yards.
It connects me to dinner as I continue my gustatory tour of the Eastern Shore. On this day, the trip features tangy pancakes, a crab-picking lesson, crisp crab balls, perfectly fried chicken and amazing succotash.
I am not easy to impress on the flapjack front. But the stack of pancakes with cranberry and orange topping at Cafe 25 in downtown Easton wins me over. The topping is intriguing. The mixture of oranges and cranberries gives the golden pancakes a tart, citrus flair.
Owner Tom Pinto tells me he came up with the idea for the topping after discovering that the town's favorite breakfast muffin is cranberry orange. What is good for the muffin is good for pancakes, Pinto figures.
As I leave town, the streets are coming alive with well-dressed office workers, some kissing their Volvo-driving spouses goodbye as they begin the work day. An hour later, I am driving along the desolate roads of southern Dorchester County near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I don't see any Volvos or office workers. This is marsh land, crab country.
I make my way to a remote crab-picking house, Meredith & Meredith in Toddville. I am there to learn the Eastern Shore style of picking crabs. As soon as I enter the room, I notice there is no hammering.
Instead of using the Baltimore crab-house technique of clobbering the crabs with mallets, the 30 crab pickers use small, weighted knives to remove the crab meat. They slice through the crab, severing legs and popping out lumps of back fin with astonishing speed.
"I saw some city folks hit crabs with a hammer, and I told them there is no need to do that," says Evelyn Robinson, who continues to pick crabs as she talks to me. "The crabs are already dead. You don't need to kill them again."
