How to spend a weekend in Cambridge, Maryland

As car-free pedestrians and transit riders, my wife and I don’t typically venture beyond everything the Metro touches when it comes to day trips. Occasionally the Amtrak to Baltimore. (Turn to Christina for that inspo!) But a trip the DC Bird Alliance advertised last month piqued our interest and pushed us out of our comfort zone. 

They planned to visit Harriet Tubman’s birthplace — Dorchester County — to learn about her life’s history, as well as interesting facts like how she used a barred owl call to mask her communication while guiding enslaved people to freedom along the Underground Railroad. As the group’s name might indicate, there would also be bird watching. (I started my descent into the madness of that hobby during the pandemic and dragged my wife right along with me — though she’s more “bird-curious,” as Colleen would say.) We also discovered a map of all the murals in the county, so we added art spotting to our itinerary.

We’d never been to Cambridge, the county seat, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. But clocking in at less than a two-hour drive from D.C. makes it a solid day or weekend trip. 

We kicked things off Saturday morning at Black Water Bakery on Race Street, a comfortable spot to ease our way into the morning. The crab in my omelet was as rich as the hollandaise on top of it. And I only regretted ordering the delicious “poor man’s mocha” because I didn’t see the list of additional staff-recommended drinks until after we ordered. 

There are several free parking lots downtown, plus free street parking — so we freely bopped from mural to shop to mural and on after breakfast. We delighted in turning one corner after another to find more bright collages of color that told a piece of Cambridge’s story. 

We spent the whole morning this way, finding Craig’s Drug Store (which sells everything from recliners to books by local authors), Sailwinds Park (which includes the county visitor center), Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh, Pinks Pond, and a (private) house designed by sharpshooter Annie Oakely so she could step out onto the roof and shoot game.

We ended at the “Beacon of Hope” statue honoring Harriet Tubman outside the Dorchester County Courthouse. Tubman rescued her niece from being auctioned at that very spot, and now Tubman's image — as an adult rescuing her child-self — tells those stories.

By then, we’d worked up quite an appetite and headed to Butter and Grace Comfort Food for lunch. This unassuming spot in a strip mall off Route 50 outshone every glowing review that led us there. The fried catfish melted in your mouth, and the butter chicken had the best spice I’ve tasted. We’re not culinary experts, but these are go-to dishes for both of us, and they were the best we’ve had anywhere. 

After lunch, it started pouring rain: the perfect time to head to the museums on our agenda. We started with the volunteer-run Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center. The 2-3 rooms are chock-full of mementos and art that you won’t find anywhere else. Then we visited the newer (2017) and larger visitor center at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad national historic park. The core tenants of Tubman’s story are told at both institutions, but the layers of detail expand and diverge. 

We got up early the next day, thankful for sunshine, to focus on wildlife. We stopped through Rise Up Coffee, a local chain, and this location serves up Mad Eggs made-to-order on the griddle. Then we went to Wildlife Drive in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, where we immediately saw a pair of bald eagles and a mixed flock of geese, swans, and ducks (typical mallards, plush scaups, pintails, and canvasbacks). It was awe-inspiring. 

By the end of the route, we were convinced that ALL geese winter on the Delmarva peninsula. We saw literally hundreds of snow geese (a “lifer” for me!) along with the eagles, herons, and harriers — plus songbirds and woodpeckers galore. My white whale was the Delmarva fox squirrel. We walked the Woods Trail off of Wildlife Drive in hopes of seeing them, but no luck. Just one more reason to return.

On our way out of town, we capped our visit with a sit-down meal at Suicide Bridge Restaurant in nearby Hurlock, Maryland. It was the best fresh seafood I could have asked for before leaving the Eastern Shore. No matter how cliche it sounds, trust the “famous” label on their menu and try the crab balls appetizer. They’re pricey, but rich enough that a small order is plenty for 2-3 people to share.

I wish I had criticism to offer, but every bit of our experience in Cambridge was perfect. Positivity bias aside (any opportunity to escape your usual environment and responsibilities feels good), we’ll definitely head back to hit up Butter and Grace again, see more stops on the Harriet Tubman Byway, maybe rent kayaks, and find somewhere for me to try muskrat. (Did I just lose my restaurant recommendation cred?)