38: 41.6N 76: 10.1W

We had arrived in the dark but as we left Annapolis this morning we were treated to the sight of the Naval Academy, with its large domed chapel behind it, glinting in beautiful autumn sunshine.  We crossed the bay to the East coast today and headed for Oxford which was the first port of entry on the eastern shore, officially founded in 1683 – but in existence for perhaps 20 years prior to that - and as such is one of the oldest towns in Maryland.   We arrived late afternoon and decided to explore the town which was all within walking distance of the marina.  As we left the marina we walked along The Strand, which is patently the best address in the town.  There was an empty house looking out on the Bay with a box of estate agent details outside and so I picked one up.  Number 280 The Strand offers 4-6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, original front doors (1857), original front staircase (1857), elevator between 1^st and 2^nd floors, library wired for home theatre, a laundry room on both the 1^st and 2^nd floors and is a mere $1,975,000.  Passing a Real Estate office I picked up their current listings and was surprised to find that while there were a lot of houses in this price bracket – and higher – but there were some even I could stretch to.  It may be the town has been badly hit by the recession, given their reliance on tourism, but the listing consisted of 60 houses, which seemed a lot given the size of the town.

There is a ferry here which is believed to be the oldest privately operated ferry in the country.  Started in 1683, service was discontinued after the American Revolution, was resumed in 1836 and has been in continuous operation since that time.

Quaint though it was, we had exhausted Oxford by the time it got dark and retreated to the Tavern & Tap Room where we were easily persuaded to have dinner in front of their open fire as opposed to going back to the boat with no heating and throwing together meatballs and spaghetti. 

We are going to anchor off shore tomorrow night, rather than take a berth in a marina.