Ice cream always tastes better when shared, so we dragged some good friends along with us to Oxford, MD, home to our next encounter with ice cream deliciousness.
We drove into an earlier era on Oxford Day, with residents strolling the main street, enjoying each others’ company. No one was in a hurry. Oxford is a tiny town on Maryland’s Eastern shore, mostly surrounded by the Tred Avon River. The pedestrians wandering down the main drag (Morris Street) enjoying the beautiful weather were intimidating to me, a non-local driver. The community-building day started with a brown bag breakfast in the park followed by numerous activities–plant sales, games, music, and a few vendor tents. It was unsophisticated and lovely.
We were on a mission to get to the Scottish Highland Creamery, the fifth stop on our ice cream tour. The Creamery is located at the end of Tilghman St., almost at the end of the peninsula where most of Oxford is located. It shares space with Schooner’s, a seafood restaurant located right on the waterfront. It was too early for lunch, so we went right to the Creamery (life is short–eat dessert first!). Their menu has “Flavors of the Moment” because when they sell out of one they put in a different flavor. Some flavors sell out in less than an hour. Good thing they use an erasable white board.
We were lucky there was not the usual long line when we arrived. The employees offered samples of anything we wanted to try. Small batch ice cream can offer more unique flavors than the mass-produced product. Don’t get me wrong, I love Breyers and the rest of the grocery store brands too. But you won’t find avocado ice cream in the Breyers lineup. I’m something of a traditionalist when it comes to ice cream flavors and did not try the avocado at Highlands. I should have, maybe I would have liked it. After all, I like avocados. The black raspberry tasted just like the fresh fruit, only without the seeds. It was pretty amazing and sold out quickly, so no second servings for me. I also had the Belgian chocolate, which was rich enough to satisfy the chocoholic in me.
Your heads are probably spinning at the thought of us having all this ice cream at once. Don’t worry, we paced ourselves, going twice on the same day–once before lunch and once after. I think Kaye and Dave restrained themselves and did not get seconds on ice cream after lunch, but Steve and I did. We all agreed that the Spring Fling flavor, which sounds good in theory, was too sweet.
About lunch. We ate at Schooner’s because it is strategically located close to the Highland Creamery. It was no sacrifice–the food was good and plentiful, and we walked around the building for more ice cream afterward. I took the picture of Steve behind an Indian motorcycle (complete with leather seat and saddlebags) in the parking lot. We’d never seen one in person and were thrilled.
I tried to get reservations at a bed and breakfast for the six of us, but they were all filled, probably because of the wine festival in St. Michael’s that weekend. We took the ferry to St. Michael’s after lunch, arriving just as the festival was winding up for the day. We walked around town for a while and decided on a waterside restaurant for dinner.
It was pretty chilly by the time we finished, so we went back to our hotel in Easton. It had a fireplace and we played Triominoes in the breakfast area until we headed to bed. Good times. The picture below is of the unusual wall sculpture over the breakfast line.
After breakfast Sunday morning we drove to Easton for shopping and lunch. Easton’s business area is quiet on late Sunday mornings and we traipsed through the Historical Society’s garden on our way to the shops. Steve was dying to buy me something, so I found a Vera Bradley handbag (on sale, of course) for him to purchase, making both of us happy.
We stopped for lunch at Banning’s Tavern, which had some bittersweet memories for the women in our group. In May 2003 we spent a weekend with several other couples at a bed and breakfast in St. Michael’s. On Saturday the women in the group went to Easton for a spa day and lunch. That was the weekend our friend Sally told us that she was having difficulty talking. We ate at Banning’s Tavern that day and we all remember how Sally loved their tomato bisque soup. That was the year a lot of us turned 50, and we celebrated Sally’s birthday because hers was coming up in June. Sally was eventually diagnosed with ALS and died 5 years later. She was so courageous through it all.
The back of the bar at Banning’s is made of beautiful carved wood. We all marveled at it, and Steve asked our server about it. I have a tendency to become embarrassed when Steve approaches total strangers, but I should get over it. He has great conversations with people and they all love talking to him. The server told Steve that the tavern owners bought the bar at an auction in Kentucky and brought it to Easton. If you’re ever in Easton, stop in at Banning’s Tavern for a great meal and take a good look at the bar.
Everyone else left for home after lunch, so guess what Steve and I did? A no-brainer. We headed back to Oxford for more ice cream. We also cruised round-trip on the ferry because it was such a beautiful day. Steve quizzed the skipper and discovered that he is retired and now runs the ferry as a second career.
On our way out of Oxford I stopped to take some pictures of one of the houses. The garden was filled with tulips. I could use all kinds of adjectives to describe it, but I’ll settle for a picture:
Saturday night at the hotel was exciting. Steve left for a walk and I was reading. After an hour or so Steve called to tell me he was lost. Thank God for cell phones. Luckily he was outside a volunteer fire station and knocked on the door until the lone fireman answered. He did not know the fire station address and they did not have a website, but he gave me good enough directions to find Steve.
After that adventure, we were both ready return to Delaware on Monday. You probably expect that we went back for more ice cream on Monday. Nope. One of the logistics we have had to consider for the tour is ice cream shops that have seasonal hours, and the Scottish Highland Creamery is one of them. They are only open Fridays through Sundays until the end of April, so no Creamery ice cream for us! That’s okay. We can go back.
Ice "Scream" Tour Blog! 