LIVING Off to the right, the twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge swing across to the Eastern Shore, while the silhouette of the Sandy Point lighthouse marks the horizon on your left. Sharpeyed beachcombers at Flag Ponds near Lusby, Md., can find shark’s teeth and other fossils from the Miocene era.
DOUG BARBER
Y orktown Beach, Va.
FLAG PONDS NATURE PARK
BEST OF Niambi THE BAY PICKS Davis Best Beach to Find Sea Glass HOOPERS ISLAND, MD.
A few years ago, author Ellie Mercier presented me with a copy of her book The Sea Glass Companion. I learned that the bags of bright blue, green and white glass I’d seen in craft stores were not the real thing. One day, another friend who is a casual collector invited me to ride along with her to Hoopers Island. We walked the small beach where I found my first pieces of a brown bottle, a shard of broken crockery and the remains of an old medicine bottle, and we ran into another collector looking for pieces to make jewelry for an upcoming show. She told us the beach was her favorite and that when we returned, to come back at low tide. Since that first visit, Hoopers has continued to give its treasures to me, and I am always grateful. visitdorchester.org
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Best of the Bay 2022
birding and wildlife, and proximity to historic New Point Comfort Lighthouse; and Yorktown, with its 18th-century brick buildings, where a stroll along Riverwalk Landing takes you by riverfront restaurants, boutiques, and the Watermen’s Museum. The American Revolution Museum interprets the nearby Yorktown Battlefield National Park. visitmathews. com; visityorktown.org
BEST PUBLIC BEACH S andy Point State Park and Flag Ponds Nature Park, Md. (tie) The beach at Sandy Point stretches more than a mile.
Historic Yorktown boasts a two-acre beachfront where locals and visitors alike enjoy boating, swimming and fishing. A specially-adapted submersible wheelchair is available for rent, allowing beach access to everyone. There’s an ADA-accessible fishing pier and grassy area for picnics, plus kayaks, paddleboards, and bikes for rent. You can also book a ticket on the Schooner Alliance for a sail on the York River. visityorktown.org
BEST COUPLES’ ESCAPE W ylder Hotel Tilghman Island, Md. This boutique hotel welcomes both couples and their canine companions on its 9.5-acre waterfront site, home to 54 rooms and suites in the main hotel or the adjacent cottages. But note, while dogs can lounge on the porch with you or ride along on your rented kayak or SUP, they aren’t allowed in the heated saltwater pool. The chefs at Tickler’s Crab Shack and Bar Mumbo base their menus