Boatyard Bar And Grill

Always a good time to sail away to Annapolis

If you find yourself standing in line early one weekend morning with a stunning view of the Chesapeake Bay, behind a group of friendly locals holding bottles of vodka and champagne, you’ve found the Back Porch Café, the perfect, off-the-beaten-path place to begin a day of exploration in Annapolis, the sailing capital of America.

You’ve been to Annapolis before, right? Perhaps so, but the historic old town has more to it than its City Dock, if you take the time to veer off from the droves of day-trippers who clog the port’s narrow streets on summer weekends.

Start at the Back Porch Café (980 Awald Ave. 410-280-0380, no reservations, open Wednesday-Sunday only, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.), a gourmet, BYOB, summer-only gem of a restaurant hidden away from the tourist hordes, where every table on the porch has a great view of the boats and the Bay. Gourmet delights like the crème brulee French toast, the Maryland crab omelet, and the outstanding crab quesadillas don’t come cheap, but the food is first-rate, the view is sublime, and the alcohol comes cheap, provided you BYOB.

If you have a dog, or kids, or both, or just want to work off your meal with a brisk walk, go to Quiet Waters Park (600 Quiet Waters Park Road, $6 per car entry fee, free for military and veterans), a 340-acre park set right on the South River, just a few miles from downtown Annapolis. The park has some fine hiking trails and playgrounds and is nirvana for dogs with two fenced-in dog parks and a dog beach.

Before exploring Annapolis’ historic core, ditch your car at the state parking lot (off Rowe Boulevard at Calvert Street), which is free at night and on weekends and is just a short walk from the City Dock. If you’re not big on walking, you can get a free ride just about anywhere in town on an e-cruiser (call 443-481-2422 for pickups between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily, free, but tips are encouraged), which is sort of a pimped-out golf cart that can get you where you need to go in style.

Annapolis was the capital of the U.S. from 1783 to 1784 and is home of the U.S. Naval Academy.

“At one time, they called Annapolis the Paris of the Colonies,” says John Astle, a Maryland state senator and longtime resident of Annapolis, who might give you a tour of his circa-1784 home near City Dock, if you bump into him. “It was a cosmopolitan place, with arts and theater and horse racing even started here, but then Annapolis got bypassed by Baltimore as a port, and that saved it because it became a nice little backwater. It’s very different than Washington people actually say hi to each other on the street here.

Wendell Winner of Boatyard Bar and Grill Fishing Tournament

&Nbsp;    Eastport, MD -- Andrew Wendell of Pasadena won his second Boatyard Bar and Grill fishing tournament on opening day of Maryland's trophy striped bass season. Wendell, who had won the 2009 tournament, survived miserable fishing conditions and reeled in a 42 7/8-inch fish near Bloddy Point to win the catch-and-release tournament again.

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