Fun & funky
The Lifesaving Station
Where: Chincoteague Island, Va.
Overlooks: Chincoteague Bay
Sleeps: Ten
The Basics: Four bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, fireplace, washer/dryer, microwave, central air, cable TV. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: $1,500-$2,000 per week
The Hook: To catch the natural splendor of Chincoteague Island, walk out the front door of this two-plus-story home and down
to your own personal dock—complete with benches—where sights of egrets and shore birds await. Built in the style of the old lifesaving stations, the house has gabled peaks and a roof deck (overtop a screened-in porch) that affords luxurious views. The cozy fireplace inside makes even blustery days fun.
Book it: Island Property Enterprises, Chincoteague, Va. 757-336-3456 or http://www.islandprop.com/propertyplus/index.html, click on “Quick Index page”
The Lighthouse
Where: Broadkill Beach, Del.
Overlooks: Delaware Bay and wetlands
Sleeps: Six
The Basics: Five bedrooms, two bathrooms, outside shower, microwave, washer/dryer, central air, cable TV. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: $1,400-$1,700 per week
The Hook: Built to resemble a screwpile lighthouse, prevalent in the Chesapeake during the mid- to late-1800s, this octagonal-shaped rental is directly across the street from the beach and five miles north of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. A widow’s walk at its pinnacle is the perfect spot for soaking in sunsets.
Book it: Lewes Realty, Lewes, Del. 800-705-7590 or http://www.lewesrealty.com/rentals/lighthouse.html
Old Wharf Cottage
Where: Chesapeake City, Md.
Overlooks: C&D Canal
Sleeps: Two to four
The Basics: One bedroom, one bathroom, full kitchen with microwave, stove, and cookware, central air, cable TV, VCR. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: June-September, $420 per weekend; Monday-Thursday, $400 (includes a continental breakfast). Nightly rentals also available.
The Hook: You’ll feel as though you’ve entered a storybook land when you walk into your miniature, two-story retreat painted in muted tones of blue and gray. The nineteenth-century wooden shingled cottage was originally built as a tailor shop for this shipping village. Relax watching sailboats cruise by from the mini-balcony off your bedroom.
Book it: Bayard House Restaurant, 410-885-5040 or http://www.bayardhouse.com
Enticer
Where: Annapolis, Md.
Overlooks: Your choice of spots around the Chesapeake Bay
Sleeps: Six
The Basics: Stateroom with double bed and en suite bath, two staterooms with twin berths and shared head, full galley (kitchen), central air, two plasma TVs, VCR, DVD, fourteen-foot inflatable tender, sixteen-foot rowboat. No smoking, pets, or children under thirteen.
Rates: $11,000 for a three-day weekend; $22,000 per week, plus tax, gratuity, provisioning, chef, fuel, and dockage.
The Hook: Live the life of Gatsby with a cruise on the water in this eighty-five-foot Mathis-Trumpy, with an interior full of elegant, upholstered furniture, brass, etched leaded glass, and varnished woods. You’ll be afloat in history in this 1935 cruiser, designed by the architect of the presidential yacht Sequoia.
Book it: Nautical Destinations, 410-269-4213 or http://www.nauticaldestinations.com
Cozy cottages
Camp Merryelande
Where: St. George Island, Md.
Overlooks: Potomac River
Sleeps: Varies by cottage. The “Honeymoon Cottage” has a king-size bed; all have double beds, one with bunk beds.
The Basics: One to six bedrooms; all have central air, cable TV, modern kitchens; some have a washer/dryer and fireplaces. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: $95-$445 per night; $595-$1,495 per week
The Hook: Here’s a place with a varied past. Camp Merryelande dates to the 1930s when the Sisters of The Holy Cross, a girls’ school in Washington, D.C., used its cottages as a student retreat. Current owner Michael Evans bought the complex in 1984 from a swingers’ club that briefly owned the property, and turned the cabins into a family retreat. The nine remaining cottages—eight of which sit right on the fifteen-hundred-foot beachfront—have outdoor decks, picnic tables, and charcoal grills. The rest of the property is open to the public for tent camping, beachgoing, and fishing from the 160-foot-long, lighted pier.
Book It: 800-382-1073 or http://www.campmd.com
Governors Run
Where: Port Republic, Md.
Overlooks: Chesapeake Bay
Sleeps: Varies by cottage. Most accommodate two to four.
The Basics: Two bedrooms in each cottage, some with twins, others with queens. Each comes with a fully equipped modern kitchen, central air, TV, stereo, and linens. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: $799-$1,155 per week
The Hook: In the 1930s and ’40s middle-class folk from Washington, D.C., used these simple cottages as a getaway from urban life. With their window seats, period furnishings, ceiling fans, outdoor showers (indoor, too!), and modest designs, a stay at one of the three cottages is a trip back to the Big Band era. Two of the three cottages lie right on a Bay-front hill overlooking the water, private beach, and four-hundred-foot fishing pier (still being rebuilt after Isabelle). Miles of hiking trails lie next to the property, part of the American Chestnut Land Trust, and the flat country roads of Calvert County nearby make excellent bike routes. Solomons is only fifteen minutes away.
Book it: 877-586-1793 or http://www.baycottages.com
Eventide
Where: Deale, Md.
Overlooks: Carrs Creek
Sleeps: Six to eight
The Basics: Three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, full kitchen, dishwasher, central air, cable TV, VCR, stereo, icemaker, washer/dryer, charcoal grill. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: April 1-October 30, $575 per weekend; $1,300 per week
The Hook: This framed cedar cottage, which sits on a quarter acre, includes a private dock, cathedral ceilings, a wrap-around open deck, and a treetop deck on the loft level. The downstairs, decorated with contemporary whimsical folk art, has large sliding glass doors in both bedrooms and in the living room, which open onto the deck. While it’s nestled deep within southern Anne Arundel County, the comforts of city life aren’t far—Baltimore and Washington are within forty-five minutes, Annapolis is only twenty-five minutes away.
Book it: 630-355-4758 or http://www.chesapeakebaycottage.com
Simonson Cottage
Where: Farnham, Va. (Virginia’s Northern Neck)
Overlooks: The mouth of Morattico and Lancaster creeks and the Rappahannock River
Sleeps: Twelve
The Basics: Four bedrooms and sleeper sofas, one bathroom, fully equipped kitchen, central air, washer/dryer, satellite TV, VCR.
Rates: $1,000 per week
The Hook: Set on a peninsula of land, this circa-1940s cottage has water views from every window. A large yard with shade trees, horseshoe pits, and hammocks make for lazy days, topped off with a cool swim in Lancaster or Morattico creeks. A deep-water pier accommodates most boats (kayaks are available on-site), and there’s great fishing in the nearby Rappahannock. The shops and restaurants of Irvington, Stratford Hall Plantation, and Ingleside Winery are short drives away.
Book it: 804-394-4069 or http://www.simonsonva.com
Family retreats
Over the Long Haul
Where: St. Michaels, Md.
Overlooks: Miles River
Sleeps: Ten
The Basics: Five bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, gourmet kitchen with two refrigerators, two sinks, wine refrigerator, stereo, internet access, central air, cable TV, DVD. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: July-August, $4,500 per week
The Hook: Built circa 1930, this four-acre estate was completely renovated in 2003. Its new look offers an enclosed wrap-around porch, a pool overlooking the river, a pool house with two full baths and a kitchenette, a deep-water dock, and all the charm you can handle. For the kids, there’s a fire pit for roasting marshmallows and a cavernous, two-story barn converted into an entertainment center with a downstairs open space ideal for rollerblading, skateboarding, or shooting hoops. Upstairs there’s foosball, ping pong, pool, and air hockey tables—even a nap room where overtired tots (or parents) can conk out in peace. St. Michaels is less than a half-mile away.
Book it: Betsy and Kevin Greaney, 301-873-4104 or http://www.easternshorerentals.com
Beach Enchantment
Where: Cape Charles, Va.
Overlooks: Chesapeake Bay
Sleeps: Ten
The Basics: Five bedrooms, three bathrooms, dishwasher, central air, washer/dryer, cable TV, VCR. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: April-September, $2,800 per month
The Hook: Consider this your dream sandcastle by the Bay. Hemmed by a long stretch of private beach, this impressive rental has vaulted cathedral ceilings, elegant furnishings, and hardwood floors. There’s a private balcony off the upstairs master suite, while the first-floor suite opens onto the spacious waterfront deck. Have a leisurely cup of fresh squeezed O.J. in the breakfast nook, which leads to a screened-in porch adjoining the steps from the deck to the beach. The town of Cape Charles is five minutes south, and Virginia Beach is just twenty-five minutes down the shore.
Book it: Blue Heron Realty, Cape Charles, Va. 800-258-3437 or http://www.esva.us/blueheron/#here
Breakwater Beach
Where: North Bethany Beach, Del.
Overlooks: Atlantic Ocean
Sleeps: Twelve
The Basics: Six bedrooms, six bathrooms, full gourmet kitchen, four-car garage, central air, washer/dryer. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: July-September, $9,800-$12,500 per week
The Hook: Tiptoe down the steps leading to the private beach for early morning walks and rinse off those sandy toes in the outdoor shower. An ocean view greets those lucky enough to score the master bedroom, where a walk-in closet adds a spoiling touch to the vacationing clotheshorse. There are band concerts and great shopping and eating in town, as well as in nearby Rehoboth Beach (eight miles north) and Ocean City (fifteen miles south).
Book it: Long and Foster, 302-539-9767 or http://www.longandfoster.com/vacation/the_beach.aspx (click on “Bethany Beach” in option 1 and “North Bethany” in option 2)
Cherry Point
Where: Woolford, Md.
Overlooks: Fishing Creek
Sleeps: Twenty to twenty-five
The Basics: Ten bedrooms, six bathrooms, two fireplaces, sauna, gourmet kitchen, gas grill, washer/dryer, central air, satellite TV, VCR. No smoking, no pets.
Rates: $6,000 per week
The Hook: This rental, available only for family reunions, marks the spot where once stood the home of a pirate named McKiel, commissioned by the Maryland provisional government as a privateer during the Revolutionary War. Now, many additions later, it’s a virtual amusement park with a two-story tree house, swing set, and children’s beach. The poolside annex playroom has a ping pong table, dart board, puppet stage, and dress-up collection. There’s a floating dock with surf bikes, paddleboats, a canoe, and a Hobie Cat. Sports in the crowd will appreciate the lighted tennis court and a baseball field with equipment for softball, volleyball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and croquet. Cambridge and the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge are less than ten miles away.
Book it: 410-228-7298 or http://www.vrbo.com/13516
