Fun Times in Oxford

Recharge, relax, recover, refresh... a few days spent at a friend's place near Oxford, Maryland. Her house is right on the water and is just so lovely, it's like a fairy tale.


The weather was misty and cool when we arrived. Leaves were falling, the trees abundant with color.


The house was so inviting, cheery lights on and Sharon there welcoming us in. We were shown our options for sleeping and all chose the 'bunk room' upstairs, four white beds with handmade quilts and extra blankets.


Dinner, wine, stories, knitting time, then to bed.





After a peaceful night's sleep, and coffee in the morning, we pulled the kayaks down to the dock and went for a misty morning paddle.


There are still farms right on the water, although most of the waterfront has houses on it.


I thought this little cabin was so charming, with the rocking chair on the porch, a perfect place to rock away an afternoon.


Most of the trees on Sharon's property had peak color. There are many sugar maples, gingkos and a variety of other specimen trees. Trees were planted every year for years and years and are now decades old.


This sycamore had such lovely bark.


The gingko was just beginning to turn and each leaf had a 'skirt' of yellow.


Susand and Penny chose to paint with pastels in their leisure time, capturing the autumn scenes in the yard.




Sharon showed her prowess with the boat, zipping along over the water at great speeds.


Another fine dinner, with everyone pitching in. We chanced upon the farmer's market while biking in Oxford and had to call back to Sharon's to bring money so we could buy dinner!


Sharon, looking like she's about 25!


Oxford is one of the oldest towns in America, started in 1666. It was, and still is, a port town, with watermen bringing in the catch of the day.




We checked out many of the boats anchored off shore. Yep, pretty nice.





The houses of Oxford are just so darn cute, well taken care of and most were tastefully decorated for fall.


Gingerbready


and more cutaway detailing.


The Oxford-Bellevue ferry, believed to be the oldest ferry in the country, crosses the Tred Avon river. It's not a long ride, perhaps 10 minutes. Just my bike and I (along with the two men who run the ferry) journeyed to the other side this time. The other girls were coming in cars and I was meeting them in St. Michael's for a bit of shopping and lunch.


See ya, Oxford! When I got to the other side, I had an ear to ear grin, riding fast over flat ground with farms on either side. I'm so used to riding around Barnesville, where it's hilly and Cumberland, where it's mountainous, that riding on flat terrain seems so easy.


I passed fields of sorghum (used for food, fodder, alcoholic beverages and even biofuel) and I love the way they look, especially in fall.


Thanks girls, for a very special mid-week getaway. I feel totally rechar