On Smith Island

I drove to Crisfield, MD and caught the 12:30 PM ferry to Smith Island. Since I hadn't made a reservation at Ewell on Smith Island, I was told by one of the ferry boat captains that there was "nothing on Smith" and that I'd better find a place to stay or I might be out " in the cold" and have to "live off the land". I had printed out all the information on the B and B's on Smith so I started calling them. The first one that I contacted was filled with French TV people who were doing a documentary on the island. The next two calls went to voice mail. I was beginning to wonder whether to go to Tangier instead, when I received a call back from the owner of the Ewell Tide Inn. Wayne, the owner, told me that he did have a room so I got on the boat and made the hour long trip to Ewell. I'll be putting up some photos soon but can only tell you that it was a step back in time. Smith Island has slightly more than 100 residents and the houses are typical of the Bay--mostly two story with a room, often the kitchen, off the back. Many of the houses on Ewell have seen better days and are in need of roofing and painting. Boats were everywhere as were the tools of the watermen's trade such as crab traps, oyster tongs, crab scrapes and dredges. It was fascinating to see. Wayne mentioned that the church was having a chicken dinner for $2 so I went over to the church and met a lot of the Ewell residents. They were very friendly and seemed to be glad to have someone from "off" be attending the supper.
There is no internet or phone signal on Smith Island so I'm without communication for a while. I'm hoping that the puppies, dogs, cats and Charlie are doing well!